If you have one or two dogs who love traction sports and want to give them a good workout in winter, snow scooters are a great activity.
The principle of kicksledding is identical to dog sledding but with a smaller dog team. In general, because of its weight and design, the snow scooter is ideal for 1-2 dogs. For teams of 3 to 4 dogs, it's best to opt for our SIGMA dog sled which, thanks to its weight, design and snow mat option, offers greater control.
As the number of dogs on the front of the scooter is limited, it's best to practice this activity on well-groomed trails to offer the best possible gliding experience and enable your dogs to pull more easily and for longer. Depending on your 4-legged athletes' level of training and the sliding conditions, it may be a good idea to help them by keeping one foot on one skate and using the other to propel the scooter forward on climbs or when conditions are more difficult.
If you'd like to get started but don't know what equipment you'll need, here's a list of the essentials:
Dog pulling harness
With snow scooters, the attachment point of the hitch system is much lower than the dog's back, so the pulling force results in direct pressure on the dog's hips. For this reason, it's essential to have a harness that's suitable for pulling and that offers good support for the back (“X” straps), so as to distribute this pressure and free the hips. Snow scootering is a fairly intense harnessed canine sport, so good padding is essential to provide maximum comfort for your dog - our dog pulling harness uses dense, closed-cell foam padding that's waterproof and very low in abrasion compared to many harnesses on the market.
Kicksledding
It needs to be light, equipped with a brake and offer a minimum of flexibility to make it easy to ride. Our OMEGA kicksled fully meets these criteria, as well as being foldable (with no hardware to remove or tools to use) for easy transport in any vehicle. Made entirely of aluminum, it offers a perfect balance of lightness, strength and durability. Its flexibility provides excellent handling and stability when turning. A unique piece made entirely in Quebec!
Bungee
The traction dynamics of the snow scooter are very different from those of other harnessed dog sports such as the canicross or bikejoring. Most of the time, you stand on the scooter and let your dog(s) pull. The load pulled by the dog(s) is therefore much more static than in canicross, where the rider is dynamic and propels himself forward while running. These elements mean that a regular bungee line cannot be used for snow scooters. The bungee must have very little elasticity, so as not to cause a loss of energy by constantly stretching as the dogs pull. It must still absorb impacts to protect the dog. Our bungee for dog sled has been developed. It stretches and absorbs impact when starting off, recovering on a slope or braking suddenly, but won't stretch constantly with each dog's stride. Despite its name, our dog sled bungee is perfectly suited to snow scooters;
Tugline(s)
This is the line which, on one side, attaches to your dog's harness rope with its snap hook and, on the other side, is linked to the bungee by a simple loop. If you're harnessing two dogs, you'll need a second tugline. They will separate in a “Y” shape at the bungee, allowing your two dogs to run side by side. In this case, the use of a neckline may be relevant to link their collars and prevent them from becoming too separated from each other (because two dogs deciding to go around a tree on their own doesn't always give good results).
Proudly made in Canada
Proudly made in Canada
Tugline12.99$
Dog pulling harness74.99$
Dog pulling harness | PIGMA89.99$• P I G M A •
Dog collar | Harness sports 19.99$
Dog collar | Buckle 24.99$
Dog collar | Reflective 29.99$
Neckline14.99$
Dog boot | Snowy surface5.49$
