Dog Power. It’s a passion shared. Dozens of dog breeds, men, women, young, old, world-class athletes from all nationalities and athletes with disabilities are taking to the world’s landscapes and shattering the horizon. DP1 is the first film in a series that will take you to the frontier of sled dog sports and give audiences an introduction to the world’s fastest sprint sled dogs, their human teammates, and the incredible variety of dog-powered sports they are involved in. During the 33 minute ground-breaking documentary, audiences will meet a diverse group of dogs and humans who share the common passion of living, working, and playing together in the ultimate manifestation of the human-animal bond. Tens of thousands of mushers from over one hundred countries participate year round in canicross, scooterjoring, bikejoring, cart racing, skijoring, sprint and distance sled racing. From Quebec, Canada to Adelaide, South Australia to Bogota, Columbia, dog lovers have formed clubs and are posting exciting pictures and stories about their dog-powered events on social media. Until now, knowledge of the people, dogs, and the possibilities of dog power has been relatively inaccessible to the average dog lover. We made this movie because we believe that people across the world deserve to know more. The world of dog-powered sports has never been so close to being accessible to people everywhere.
Norwegian Yvette Hoel at the 2013 IFSS Winter World Championships
What we Believe
We believe in the relationship. We believe that our quality of life is better when we run, bike, scooter, ski, and train with our canine companions. We also believe that even the simplest of dog-powered sports gives animal lovers everywhere access to the amazing relationship that can be developed when dogs and humans play and race together.
We want to increase awareness. We believe that there are many dog lovers and athletes around the world who would become involved in dog-powered sports if they knew more about the dogs, the equipment and the thousands of other athletes and international competitors who are already involved. We believe there are some important and inspiring stories from the sled dog world that need to be shared.
We want to promote dog powered sports at all levels. We believe that you can have a great experience running one dog in your neighborhood, taking a dog for a solo bike adventure, racing a team at a local race, or participating in the international racing scene. We want to promote every level of dog powered sports, because we know that the sport of mushing will be stronger and will achieve greater international recognition if Dog Power inspires dog-loving athletes to take on the challenge of competing with the best dogs and best mushers in the world.
Canicross Hungary hosts another well attended events.
Together We Can Inspire and Educate
Taina Teräs from Kiruna, Sweden, is a paraplegic who breeds, trains and races world class sled dogs without the use of her legs. When Taina trains or races with more than four dogs she is in danger of getting injured due to the limitations of her home-made adaptive mushing equipment. Dog Power can help mushers like Taina raise awareness about the need for more specialized adaptive mushing equipment while also demonstrating the potential for dog-powered sports to improve the quality of life for those with physical disabilities.
Adaptive musher Taina Teras from Sweden racing in her homemade sled.
The World’s Greatest Athletes
Sled dogs are arguably the greatest endurance athletes on the planet. In Dog Power, we share with you incredible footage of well conditioned sled dogs running at their finest. We will show you that these are happy dogs who love what they are doing. But are they really they world’s greatest endurance athletes? We let Associate Dean of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Professional Veterinary Medicine Program Dr. Arleigh J. Reynolds, a two-time World Champion musher who is the leading expert on the endurance of sled dogs, give you the answer. Dr. Reynolds points to recent studies involving the measurement of the V02 max (the amount of oxygen an athlete is capable of taking in) of the world’s best conditioned sled dogs. While Norwegian cyclist Oskar Svendsen is thought to have recorded the highest VO2 max of 97.5 mL/(kg·min), a “sensational” value in itself, sprint sled dogs have VO2 max values as high as 240 mL/(kg·min).
So far, So good….
Dog Power is the first installment in a series of short films that will make up the Dog Power Movie Series. We traveled to Alaska to film the 2013 IFSS Winter World Championship. In 2015 we spent three weeks filming the 2015 IFSS Winter World Championship in Bernau & Todtmoos, Germany. Later that same year, we traveled to Bristol, Quebec Canada to film the 2015 IFSS Dryland World Championships. Inspired by the racers and dogs we met while filming, we traveled to Norway, Sweden and Alaska to see where some of the world’s fastest sled dogs are bred and trained. In 2016 we filmed the IFSS European Championships in Savalen and Snorok. We have been able to stretch our modest budget by focusing on content rather than equipment. Our innovative production kit was designed specifically for this project and is simple, compact, and flexible to allow us to film in the high energy race environment without disturbing dogs and mushers.
With your help we will be able to begin planning for the second movie in the series (DP2). We want to bring this world of intense passion, adventure, and love to you and dog lovers across the world so that you can help us to spread the word: Our goal is to show the world that this ultimate manifestation of the human-animal bond is within the reach of everyone. You don’t need fancy equipment, fancy dogs, or snow. All you need is your dog, a harness, and you.