Friday, October 31, 2008

Cedarbrook Academy: A Day of Dog Sledding and Sled Dogs.

"Look into my eyes," says Siberian Husky, Sobo.

This past Tuesday, Eric and I along with the Maryland Sled Dog Adventures LLC team of Zoe, T-Bone, Sobo, Okemo, and Acadia visited the home schooling families and children of Cedarbrook Academy in Clarksburg, Maryland outside of Damascus, Maryland to discuss dog sledding, dryland (wheeled) dog sledding, and sled dogs.

Two separate assemblies and dog sledding demonstrations were held. During the assemblies, the kids learned all about dog sledding and dryland dog sledding including, the positions on a sled dog team, the parts of a dog sled, all about dog sledding harnesses, how to harness a sled dog, and how to put booties on a sled dog.

Learning all about dog sledding and dryland (wheeled) dog sledding

Learning all about the dog sled

This girl helped harness lead dog, Zoe.

These lead "dogs" practiced lining out

Learning about the positions on a dog team.

An eight "dog" team, from wheel dogs to lead dogs

After the dog sledding assemblies, the kids went outside to view a short demonstration of the sled dogs pulling a dog sled on wheels (called a "rig" or "gig"). After the dog sledding demonstrations, the kids got to meet and greet the sled dogs. The kids especially enjoyed meeting the sled dogs.

"Is that a hot dog I see?" thinks wheel dog, Okemo.

"Now if you could just scratch a little lower and to the left," says lead dog, Zoe.

Sled dog in training, Acadia, greets the kids

Wheel dog, Okemo, and lead dog, Sobo, get to meet the kids

Sobo and Okemo enjoy the attention from the kids

If you are a teacher or school administrator interested in having Maryland Sled Dog Adventures LLC come to your school, please visit the Tours page of our website for more information on our Classroom Programs on Dog Sledding.

For smaller groups of home schoolers (8-10 children), Maryland Sled Dog Adventures LLC offers our comprehensive dog sledding program including dog sled rides on the Northern Central Rail ("NCR") trail in Northern Baltimore County. Visit the Educational Programs on Dog Sledding section on our website for additional information. To hear what folks are saying about our programs, check out our Bark Backs. For more information on any of our programs, email catherine@marylanddogsledding.com.