Iqaluit dogsledders on Baffin Island trip deal with dog in heat

Dealing with a dog in heat can be tough for any owner. But when you're in the middle of a four-month, 4,000-kilometre trip around Baffin Island by dog sled, days from the nearest community, that situation can escalate quickly.

"It's lasted about a week, which basically means all the guys are distracted," says Sarah McNair-Landry, who is dogsledding around Baffin Island with her partner Erik Boomer.

"And all they want to do is argue over her and go hang out with her, so it's pretty tough to get her to go forward."

So far, the pair of adventurers from Iqaluit have faced rough terrain, extreme cold, winter storms and a few close calls. 

When it came to overcoming this dilemma, McNair-Landry says "it took a while" to come up with the best solution. 

"At home it's a lot easier, because I can just throw her in a cage and she doesn't have to come dogsledding, but out here we can't just leave her," she says.

"And we also have to watch her and be very aware that if she gets knocked up, then we have puppies on the trip."

The couple tried out a few different methods, before deciding to take turns skiing ahead of the team with Gloria, the dog who was in heat.

"And then [the other dogs] were really motivated to keep up." 

Managing dog team 'an art'

Earlier this month, McNair-Landry met some aspiring dogsledders in Qikiqtarjuaq and gave them some advice about putting together a team. 

"There's a whole art to how you hook your dogs up so everybody's happy because they're all on different length ropes," McNair-Landry says. "So nobody fights and to try and separate the dogs that don't like each other."

Of their 13 dogs, six are females, which "tend to be really fast" and the rest are males, which are slower and stronger. 

"They all have a huge personality and it's trying to get all these personalities to work together," she says.

"All of sudden when a female goes into heat, it escalates."

While Gloria was in heat, the couple had to keep a close eye on the dogs throughout the day. 

"They'll keep us up, whining and howling for her," says McNair-Landry.

"We're glad that phase is over... until the next female comes into heat."