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If we relied on Yukon Cornelius from the 1964 Christmas classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to teach us about dog sledding, we might be slightly misled. In multiple instances throughout the movie, Cornelius cracks the whip and hollers, “Mush, mush!!” to his dog sled team. But do mushers actually say this? You might be surprised given that they are literally called “mushers” that no, not really. So why are they called “mushers” and where did the idea that they yelled “mush” to their dogs to get them to run come from?
With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 at the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War, France ceded most of its territories in North America to Britain. What does this have to do with dog sleds and mushing? 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. (“Mush” as in a kind of porridge pre-dates the dog sledding definition by a couple hundred years.)
Dogs have been used to pull sleds in certain regions of North America for at least a thousand years (and even further back in regions such as modern day Siberia where it’s thought they were using dogs for this purpose as much as three millennia ago). But we have to fast-forward significantly through history to get to the first “mush.”
The English dog sledding “mush,” in turn, led to the creation of the term “musher” as the name for the dog sled driver that is still used today. However, “mush” itself is almost never used anymore as many mushers consider it too soft of a sound to be used as a distinctive command, particularly when driving the dogs through windy, blizzard-like conditions. Instead, many prefer commands such as “hike,” or “OK,” often with “let’s go!” and “all right!” tacked on to get the dogs moving. (And if you’re curious, see: Why Do American Footballers Say “Hut, Hut, Hike!”)
We actually use our dog sled tours to help train lead dogs as we have found it is the perfect opportunity for a young dog to learn: they get to run up in front of the team but are not up there for too long. The trails we use for our summer dog sled tour are specifically designed to encourage our dogs to learn their directional commands. We love this approach as it creates a very interactive tour dynamic and allows us to show what we love — training dogs — instead of just taking people for a quick ride. Learning how to be a lead dog requires a lot of mental focus so utilizing shorter runs is less stressful on our dogs. It is also less stressful on the older dog who is teaching the younger dog how to behave.
This means don’t deviate! Keep going straight! This command could be used at an intersection or while traveling down a river to get the leaders to stop zig-zagging. It can also be used as a way to say “hey don’t pay attention to that thing on the side of the trail, keep going!”
Because a musher’s only control of the team is verbally, the dogs responsible for interpreting these verbal commands play a vital role in the team’s success. The sled dog or, more often, pair of dogs at the very front of the dog team are in charge of listening to the mushers commands. These dogs are called lead dogs. The lead dogs not only have to correctly interpret the mushers commands but they are also responsible for keeping the team in a line formation in front of the sled. The lead dogs are taught to stay at the front because if they turn around massive tangles of the various lines used to connect the dogs to the sled can occur. Because of the importance holding the team out takes, teaching a lead dog how to stay is extremely important. After a lead dog has mastered stay, it’s time to work on the rest of the commands! It takes lots of time and patience to train new lead dogs.
There are several commands that every dog on the team must know in order for the team to perform as a unit. These commands are relatively basic and refer to the stopping and starting of the dog team. In general, the dogs learn this during their first several runs when they mature out of puppyhood and begin running with the team. When our young dogs begin running for the first time they are hooked up along side some of our older dogs who can show them the ropes. They also help them learn these very basic commands. The commands every sled dog should know are “Ready,” “Alright,” and “Whoa.”
We often look for the Three A’s in prospective lead dog candidates — these are: athleticism, attitude, and aptitude. Athleticism is important because the lead dog sets the pace of the team so naturally a dog that sets a quick pace is ideal. Attitude is essential because the attitude of the lead dogs is like an electric current — it travels down the team. Lead dogs are often like the captains of a team, providing the boost of confidence or surge of energy when the team needs it most. Finally, aptitude or a dog’s natural ability to lead and to learn to lead is important because it can cut down dramatically on training time. Believe it or not, we have found that when we breed two lead dogs together, the pups produced are also likely to be lead dogs.
63 Sled dog commands and mushing terms that you need to know
There are 11 sled dog commands and 52 mushing key terms that you should learn before trying the sport.
Mushing commands
If we relied on Yukon Cornelius from the 1964 Christmas classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to teach us about dog sledding, we might be slightly misled. In multiple instances throughout the movie, Cornelius cracks the whip and hollers, “Mush, mush!!” to his dog sled team. But do mushers actually say this? You might be surprised given that they are literally called “mushers” that no, not really. So why are they called “mushers” and where did the idea that they yelled “mush” to their dogs to get them to run come from?
Dogs have been used to pull sleds in certain regions of North America for at least a thousand years (and even further back in regions such as modern day Siberia where it’s thought they were using dogs for this purpose as much as three millennia ago). But we have to fast-forward significantly through history to get to the first “mush.”
The genesis of this term dates back to the 16th century when Jacques Cartier claimed the Gaspé Peninsula (in present day Eastern Quebec) for France. Claiming is one thing, actually ruling is another given that there were already many humans living there. Unsurprisingly, clashes between the French and various native groups became somewhat commonplace in the region. But while they occasionally battled, they also picked up a few things from one another. Most relevant to the topic at hand, the French soon adopted the practice of using dogs to pull sleds in the region and by the 18th century, this became the common means of transportation in the winter in the northern most areas of New France. In 1749, one Peter Kalm who was traveling through Quebec, noted of this,
With the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763 at the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War, France ceded most of its territories in North America to Britain. What does this have to do with dog sleds and mushing? 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. (“Mush” as in a kind of porridge pre-dates the dog sledding definition by a couple hundred years.)
The English dog sledding “mush,” in turn, led to the creation of the term “musher” as the name for the dog sled driver that is still used today. However, “mush” itself is almost never used anymore as many mushers consider it too soft of a sound to be used as a distinctive command, particularly when driving the dogs through windy, blizzard-like conditions. Instead, many prefer commands such as “hike,” or “OK,” often with “let’s go!” and “all right!” tacked on to get the dogs moving. (And if you’re curious, see: Why Do American Footballers Say “Hut, Hut, Hike!”)
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show (iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Feed), as well as: