What Do Dog Sledders Yell?
The French Dog Sled Drivers Would Commonly Use “Marche” (Walk) as the Command to Get the Dogs to Start Moving. When the British Took Over, This Is Thought to...
The French dog sled drivers would commonly use “marche” (walk) as the command to get the dogs to start moving. When the British took over, this is thought to have eventually given rise to the English dog sledding command “mush,” with the first known instance of this term (referencing dog sledding) popping up in 1862.
What are sled dog commands?
The most common commands for a dog team are:
- Hike!: Get moving. ...
- Gee!: Turn to the right.
- Haw!: Turn to the left.
- Easy!: Slow down.
- Straight Ahead!: move forward, for instance at an intersection of trails.
- Whoa!: Stop.
- On By!: Pass another team or other distraction.
- Line Out!
What to say to sleigh dogs?
- Gee — Command for right turn.
- Haw — Command for left turn.
- Come gee! Come haw! ...
- Line out! — Command for lead dog to pull the team out straight from the sled (mostly used when hooking or unhooking dogs).
- Mush! Let's go! ...
- Trail! — Shouted to oncoming mushers or snowmobile users to request right-of-way on the trail.
- Whoa!
Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.
