Dog Sledding
Special | 3m 12sVideo has Closed Captions
Dog sledding has a long history in North America & one couple keeps the tradition alive.
David Gouger & Valerie Chiang are recreational dog sledders in Bowdoinham, Maine. They groom their own trails and run their beloved huskies as often as they can, pulling their sled through the snowy woods sometimes at night. Dog sledding is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years and David & Valerie love keeping the tradition going with their dogs who love sledding as much as they do.
Assignment: Maine is a local public television program presented by Maine PBS
Assignment: Maine on Maine Public is brought to you by Maine Public members like you.
Dog Sledding
Special | 3m 12sVideo has Closed Captions
David Gouger & Valerie Chiang are recreational dog sledders in Bowdoinham, Maine. They groom their own trails and run their beloved huskies as often as they can, pulling their sled through the snowy woods sometimes at night. Dog sledding is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years and David & Valerie love keeping the tradition going with their dogs who love sledding as much as they do.
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(snowmobile engine revving) - [Woman] You ready?
Let's go.
(upbeat, funky music) (upbeat, funky music continues) - My name is David Gouger and we live in Bowdoinham, Maine.
- And I'm Valerie Chang.
- Yep.
We're a recreational dog We've been doing it for approximately 15 years.
We have seven Siberian Huskies and we have some retirees.
And then we have four active dog team right now.
All right.
This is Dio, lead dog He wants belly rubs for rewards.
And then Journey.
He loves snack And then Maiden after the the band Iron Maiden.
Okay.
And last but not least is after Motley Crue.
Name all our dogs after eighties rock band, right buddy?
Good boy.
- We're not competitive dog sled We just do this sort of fun of i It's our way of walking the dogs and just having fun with our pets at the same time.
Getting exercise, enjoying the outdoors, enjoying the snow.
- [David] Here's our sled.
Not a racing sled.
It's a freighting sled.
This is a little smoother sled than a racing sled because it can, it's longer.
- [Valerie] When the dog team is there's two picks here that go into the snow and you stand on it and you can shift your weight as you need to to give yourself more stopping power, you really put all your body weight into it.
And we rigged it up with some he - [David] And we loved night dog We're really into it.
We like staying on our property 'cause it's pretty much the safest it could be.
- [Valerie] And my favorite time on the dog sled is when it's perfectly quiet, it's just me, the dog's running, and you just hear the the slides of the dog sled and you're just in the woods.
Pe It's like skiing but you're getting some help along the front.
- [David] Yeah.
Nothing beats wh a pull along by your pets you know that you care and love It's pretty cool.
We love these guys.
(gentle rock music) (electronic chiming) (piano music)
Assignment: Maine is a local public television program presented by Maine PBS
Assignment: Maine on Maine Public is brought to you by Maine Public members like you.