Our short 'experiential' guide training packages are from 1 day to 1 week in length. These products are actually available year-round, apart from in our peak times in December and February, when we are simply too busy to fit in short-term training.Our '1 day in the life of a husky guide' products are particularly popular in Autumn; a very dog-intensive time on a husky farm.
The day programme and long-weekend programme are described here. Contact us directly if you are interested in joining us for longer periods of time - or have a look at the husky guide school section of this website. We may be able to come up with a customised product just for you.
The 1 day in the life of a husky guide product is designed for those who want a real connection with the dogs and a true understanding of life in the Arctic. You will get a behind-the-scenes insight into the rewards and challenges of life as a husky guide as you spend your day - at any time of the year - being mentored by an experienced guide.
The day normally begins with giving morning soup to all of the dogs and then pooping the farm whilst meeting and greeting the dogs along the way (although if you wish to skip this part of the day you are, of course, welcome).
Regardless, you are likely to spend the majority of the day outside with the dogs so be prepared to deal with the elements and to be tired by the end of the day. Most mornings start out very cold in the Autumn but quickly warm up although by the end of the training season, be prepared for the fact that it may well be -20C all day!
Most visitors choose to spend their day doing a combination of agility training, obedience training and conditioning training with the quad or on sleighs. We often train groups of dogs between 12 and 20km per day at this time of year.
If you want to join in a wider range of farm tasks, then that is fine. Guides may be building kennels, fixing cages, sorting lines or any number of the many and varied tasks that are part and parcel of daily life here and you are welcome to join in any of them.
You will learn how to handle and train the dogs, how to socialise the pups, how to maintain a healthy environment for the dogs, and how to feed 100+ adults and pups 2 to 3 times per day.
We will target the day towards your specific interests and make sure that you get a chance to join in with anything that particularly interests you. You may find, depending on when you visit, for instance, that you are out preparing the training tracks by skidoo, riding sledges or quadbikes as part of our standard dog-training programme or even helping with a kennel building or farm maintenance project. Lunch will be spent in the guide house, sharing stories and asking questions from guides so you will have every chance to leave with a real insight into life in this primarily reindeer-herding community. If you are here in snow season, we will of course make sure that you get to mush!
You will spend the whole day under the wing of one of our experienced guides who will talk to you about any aspect of work on the farm and introduce you to as much or as little of the harder side of the work as you are interested in taking part in. This is a very time-intensive product from our side, since it obviously takes one guide away from standard guide tasks for a whole day.
You won't get to know all of our dogs in one day but you will get to know a handful of them fairly well and you will leave with a true insight into what it is like to live and work on a husky farm.
Available: Year-round (excluding peak season months: December & February).
Duration: 1 day
Summer Price: €150
Winter Price: €195