Dog Sledding in Alaska

Ms. Petrie shared her experiences in Alaska at a dog training camp, As you can see in the pictures, this environment is very different than ours!(The following pictures and captions are from Ms. Petrie.)

We flew in a helicopter to a summer training camp for sled dogs. This glacier was snow covered and they told us that the ice and snow was more than a mile deep. It seemed very cold to us, we wore gloves, hats, boots and coats. It was about 45 degrees. It was funny because some of the trainers were wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts. They of course were working very hard taking care of the dogs and their camp so they were producing a lot of heat. It was considered very warm weather for the dogs who have skin and fur to protect them from the cold. The dogs were very friendly animals who were used to people touching them. My husband and I helped remove their harnesses and their booties. It took us much longer than the trainers but the dogs waited patiently, standing still for us.

We were told that they wear the booties to protect their feet. Without the booties snow and ice can get packed into their feet causing injuries to their feet and sometimes affecting their gait.