Dog Power Adventures in Prince George

This weekend I hopped on the back of a dog sled for the first time thanks to Dog Power Adventures in Prince George.

Sally Swan and her team met us at their property which is just a few minutes outside of town. There she has almost 30 Siberian Huskies who were already howling and ready to go for a sledding adventure when we shows up. Sally operates a year-round sledding facility where you can take the dogs out for an afternoon excursion, day tours, multi-day treks or training runs.

We warmed up at the campfire pit before meeting our teams (giving them snuggles) and getting quick lessons on how to operate the sleds. From commands such as “Hike!” and “Gee!” to learning how to mush and applying the brake. Our 10-15 minute crash course covered all the essentials and gave our group the confidence to head out with our teams.

With the dogs very excited about their chance to get out and play, we took off for a few hours around fields and into the woods where Sally’s team had a campfire and goodies waiting for us.

The dogs, completely giddy and filled with glee after their run rolled around in the snow and scooped it up in their mouths to quench their thirst. Lapping snowflakes off their noses with their tongues our teams rested while we cooked our lunch over an open flame.

I made sure to give the dogs more snuggles during the break since really, you can never have too many snuggles.

Over half of Sally’s Huskies are rescues that were either adopted, abandoned, or dropped off by owners who simply couldn’t handle the task of raising a Husky. Many of them hailing from across North America these guys need a huge amount of exercise daily which is a daunting task for those who do not have the time, the manpower, and the acreage like Sally does.

For a bit of back-story, Sally’s family hadn’t originally planned on going into business with dog sledding but as their pack expanded with more and more rescue dogs, they needed a way to take care of the growing expenses. They also had an increased demand to take folks out on tours so they figured this would be the perfect combination.

Back at the campfire pit stop, we enjoyed our dessert of homemade cookies dunked in cocoa and after one last bun-theft attempt by one of the pups, we hopped on the sleds and headed back towards the main camp.

Snow whipping at my face, feet balanced on the runs of the sled, and three strong pups tugging me along through the powder-covered canopy in the woods, I let out more than a few giggles. If you ever have the chance to try this at least once in your life, I highly encourage you to do so.

Disclosure: cmp.ly/2 – I was there with a group thanks to Northern BC Tourism. Our adventure was on the house. For the record, I would gladly pay $95 for an afternoon out with the dogs anytime although now I have my sights set on the 3-Day or Bed & Breakfast tours with John.