Lynn Gagnon was busy training skiers and their furry friends at Revelstoke Nordic Club on Dec 28. With the help of the club, she is offering training lessons to club members so they can safely ski with their dogs.

For Gagnon, there’s nothing like skiing with your dog.

“It doesn’t get much better than watching them run down the hill as you’re skiing fast and seeing them next to you…galloping and with that kind of dog smile on their face, tongue hanging out,” said Gagnon.

The Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club (RNSC) has offered its members a nearly 6 km dog-friendly loop for the past 10 years. RNSC president, Carolyn Lorrain said that of its one thousand members, two hundred members have said that they plan to ski with their dogs.

The program aims to help skiers’ dogs learn skills such as recall. Dogs also learn how to interact with other dogs on the course. “One example last winter where…there were [two] dogs that were not friendly [with one another] and by the end of the class, both dogs were friends,” said Lorrain.

When it comes to deciding which dog would benefit from the activity, Gagnon explained that while some breeds are genetically predisposed to work well with people and do well with activities such as skiing, it ultimately comes down to the individual dog and the training.

Breeds such as Border Collies and Australian Shepherds and hunting breeds like Labradors fall into the camp of dogs who are predisposed to working closely with people.

Whereas Gagnon explained that while Huskies tend to require more training, they have incredible endurance. “They can run [approximately] 200 km a day and pull a sled,” said Gagnon.

The dog-friendly loop consists of the following trails: Roadway Ramble, BCIT, Short Hop and Ellie’s.

The next training dates will be Jan. 12 at 12:00 pm, Jan. 14 at 10:00 am, and Jan. 19 at 2:30 pm.

For more information about the RNSC, you can visit their website and Facebook page.

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