How many of you are able to tour with your pup? We sat down with Renoun athlete and dog-mom Keli Spencer (@kelli_out_exploring) to talk about tips and tricks for taking your furry friend on the trail with you.
Things to bring for you/your dog:
- Dog Puffy jacket, Dog Booties, Dog Harness⠀
- TREATS (bring plenty!)⠀
- Extra water
- Extra puffy for me or the dog in if it's extra cold.⠀
- First Aid and a splint made for dog legs.⠀
1. Teach your dog heal. She is always at least about 1 ft. Behind me. That’s essential. ⠀⠀
2. Make sure your dog has a healthy ‘fear’ of the actual skis, but not of skiing. I trained Kenai early to not get too close to the skis.
3. Utilize that ‘heel’ during skiing. When I start off downhill, she’s always in heel…meaning she’s running 3 feet behind me on my right. Once I get ahead of her, I’ll release her and she can run her little heart out to the bottom. I always make sure she’s behind me and clear of the edges.
4. Harness, Winter Jacket, and Booties are ESSENTIAL. Here in AK, we are out skiing in -10 or -25 weather. Kenai has a puffy jacket and booties to always protect her from the cold/snow. Her harness is amazing for steeper chutes or any ridge lines. She’s pretty smart about it, but I always take the extra precaution of having her harnessed and roped on to me if we are up on something gnarly. If it’s a steep chute or a ridge, she will ride on my shoulders through the sketchy part, and then she can get off and run. All her gear is @Ruffwear. Their gear holds up, and is made super well (like Renoun Skis).⠀
5. Confidence boosting. TREATS TREATS TREATS! I legit have a pocket full of treats. She gets treats on the skin line up when she’s good, comes to her command I always give her a bacon strip on the summit. She KNOWS she’s getting treats. Then on the way down I honestly just hoot and holler at her and she loves it. And more treats at the bottom so she knows she did a good job.
6. It’s okay to turn around, watch their body language.
Follow Kelli on Instagram to see more adventures with her and her pup Kenai!
