BELLAIRE -- Snowflakes dropped onto the furry heads of Joy Cowles' canines, three big, Bernese Mountain Dogs, all ready to frolic in the snow.
Cowles and friend Francie Dorman, both of Bellaire, gathered at the Grass River Natural Area on Saturday to demonstrate skijoring and kicksledding for a group of about 20 people. The sports are all about exercising large, energetic dogs during long winter months, they said.
"Some dogs like to sleep all the time, but not mine," Dorman said.
Dorman has a retired Alaskan husky race dog and a younger German shepherd that she takes out to exercise on the trails at the natural area near Bellaire, like Cowles does with her dogs.
Skijoring is a term for dogs pulling a person on skis through the snow, while kicksledding uses one or two dogs to pull a wooden sled that's smaller than usual dog-mushing sleds.
Jordan Breakey, 10, of East Jordan, was at the event to help demonstrate skijoring.
"It's really fun because when the dogs pull me, I get kind of a jerk and I go really fast," Jordan said.
Jordan was harnessed to Belle, one of Cowles' dogs and when she yelled "hike," Jordan and the dog rushed forward through a snow bank.
"They like that word and they like to run," Cowles said.
The winter activities boil down to "have dogs; need to do things," she said.
"It's addictive and people find in the winter it's cold and they don't want to go out. But if you get out and exercise, you get warm and feel good. And it's beautiful," Cowles said.
Jackie Gort of Rapid City attended the event after meeting Cowles and Dorman at dog sled races in Kalkaska a couple weeks ago. She hopes to adopt kicksledding with her husky and greyhound mixed breed, but not skijoring, she said.
"I want something to hold onto, so no skijoring. I don't ski," Gort said with a laugh.
Gort hopes to find a bargain-priced kicksled or a hand-me-down, she said.
"This is Michigan. We're going to have winter. You might as well enjoy it."
Anyone interested in learning more about skijoring or kicksledding should call Pine Meadows Dog Training Center at 1-877-276-6215.
