There is many ways of reaching a goal. Here is how I prepare my puppies for adulthood and potentially also life as a racing husky!

1-4 weeks:

At this age human contact is crucial. Socialising is of great importance and as we always have a lot of guests who are more then willing to pet the puppies this is an easy task. At about 3-4 weeks I introduced the litter to propper dog feed, which is usually a very exciting experience for the little once. 

Key takeaways:

• As much human contact as possible
• First meet with dry feed

Read more about Hanna: Here

4-8 weeks:

Now the puppies would be big enough to start to eat dry feed several times a day. We focus on giving them high quality feed to support development early on. Nothing is left to chance. I also take them out for long walks in the woods, trips which will gradually get longer and longer so that they get to explore new surroundings, smells and textures to chew on. There is also a big focus on exposing the puppies to different challenges and they are usually with me all the time, so that we can build a good foundation together. 

Key takeaways: 

• The puppies appetite is important 
• Quality feed 
• Lots of playtime and slowly longer trips exploring the surroundings 
• Challenges and achievements goes hand in hand

2-6 months:

The puppies will still have daily walks which will get more challenging as time passes. Now I will also introduce them to the dog yard with all of the adult dogs. This way they will become a part of the "gang" so to say. At this stage becoming a part of the group is very important, we all need to trust each other. 

Key takeaways:

• Important to keep a good appetite
• Longer and more challenging walk
• Playtime with the adult
• Build trust and a good relationship with everyone 

6 months - 1 year

I usually put the puppies in harness around this age and they get to pull a sled for the very first time. Always very short trips in the beginning to get used to all thats new. We use small teams, pairing puppy with an experienced adult, when they get comfortable and have learned all they need to from the adult we start to change things up. At this age they are old enough to move in with the big guys, and get their own house in the dog yard. 

Key takeaways: 

• Get confident in a dog team
• Learn to live in a dog house in the yard
• Appetite is still crucial 
• Socialising and getting handled by different people

Follow our team: Creating an Athlete 

 1 - 2 years:

Their first autumn, when they´re about a year old, the puppies starts to train as normal with the adults which doesn't run on a race-team. I also will adapt the training and activity to the specific litter, and if there is something they need more experience with. With the one year olds we don´t do long races, but they get to test out some smaller distances. We also use them in the family business and let them go out on trips with guests. It´s important that they only have good experiences in harness pulling a sled, this should be nothing but fun. 

Key takeaways: 

• Give the puppies only good experiences in harness
• Exposure to shorter distance races
• Get used to training as an adult 

2 years and onwards 

When the litter meets their second autumn it´s time to start to train for racing. The puppies usually gets to try out longer races and some goes straight into the A-team. Some might need a little more time which we will of course give them, we all mature differently. I race the dogs for as long as they have fun with the whole process and that their body can take it. 

Learn more: Joars way - preparing puppies for success