Cross Country Skiing With a Doodle

[Donna K & Quincy]

I've recently started cross country skiing with my boy Quincy. We do most of our skiing at a local camp ground where the ski club keeps the trails groomed. He has to be kept on a leash at all times. He does really well most of the time. He is learning not to pull me(although sometimes its fun). He especially loves the downhill sections as he gets to run all out. The problem is that when he gets excited he grabs the leash and pulls me sideways. He's pulled me down a few times but nothing serious until yesterday when I got tangled in my skis and now I'm nursing a sprained ankle. We have a lot of fun and it is great exercise for both of us. When we get home I have one pooped out puppy. Any ideas on how to get him to stop grabbing the leash and pulling me over. All advice welcome.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I love the Gentle Leader Harness. :) That is a great suggestion Family of Nugget

[Nugget's Family]

Have you thought about using a chest harness for Quincy when you ski? I think Gentle Leader makes one....

He might not be so inclined to grab the leash if it isn't so close to his mouth on a traditional collar.

I love to x-country ski with Nugget, too. My problem is she steps on the backs of my skis and I come to a crashing halt. She thinks it's a great joke because then I'm down in the snow. She doesn't do it so much when we snow shoe, so I've been doing more of that. This week our snow melted and ruined the fun!!

Enjoy and I hope your ankle is better soon.

Susan

[Sofie, Maggie, and Luna]

Sorry to hear you have a sprained ankle, I hope it gets better soon. I dont know if this will help, but we taught our pup to drop the leash when we say "open" so if we see her grab it we say open right away and she drops it. It keeps her from grabbing the leash...but not necessarily from pulling, but she doesnt' seem to pull near as bad if she's not holding it in her mouth.