Husky Homestead Tour Review

While we were traveling through Alaska, we went to a few different tours of Iditarod husky homes and training camps. The best one I would recommend is the Husky Homestead Tour of Jeff King.

 It starts outside with the visitors lined up facing the dogs kennels and they get to take turns holding a puppy. If you go to a husky tour, chances are you probably like puppies. You can see the puppy kennels and their exercise wheel.

Then the staff explained to us about how the dogs are picked for exercise and for the actual race. They choose a few to show us an example of the practice on dry land. They harness the dogs up. They tell how the different positions have different jobs and they pick the dog specifically for the position they are best suited. They then had the dogs run through the woods with an ATV as the sled. When they came back around, they showed a husky training treadmill they use as well. It's a large belt the dogs can run on and the ATV powers it.

Then we went inside and had a gentleman tell us about the care and training of the dogs and how the food and supplies are set up for the animals at checkpoints along the way. He was an excellent speaker. When I had agreed to take this tour I had felt sorry for the dogs. After seeing their care and hearing about how the musher has to care for them along the trail and the veterinary care available along the way, I felt much better about the dogs performing in this way.