Can Kerry Blue Terriers skijor?
Yes! Kerries are good pullers. I have heard of at least a few people who trained their KBTs to skijor. We are casually training Misha, our 4 year old male. He was a little reluctant to lead, and a little wary of skis, but each time we take him out he improves. Once he understood that his job was to stay out front and pull, he began taking his duties seriously. He doesn’t always run hard, but maintains a steady trot and provides a pleasant boost. We also do informal “canicross”, in which all the harnesses and gear used in skijoring are used to go running. “Bikejoring” is another option! It takes some patience to teach a dog with good leash manners to pull, but one of the tricks is to get them to understand the difference between being on leash and in harness. At the end of this article are several website and books that provide details about training dogs to pull.
