This dog training camp in Freeport can teach your dog how to skijor
“Pretty much any dog can do skijoring for at least part of their life, if not all of their life.”
YOU KNOW YOU DON’T WANT TO WALK OUT AND NOT KNOW. TRUE. VERY IMPORTANT. THANKS. WHEN IT’S THIS COLD, IT CAN BE REALLY HARD TO FIND THE ENERGY TO GET OUTSIDE. BUT IT’S STILL IMPORTANT FOR YOU AND YOUR DOGS. IF YOU HAVE PETS, NEXT TIME YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOME EXERCISE, BRING YOUR DOG AND TRY SKIJORING. JACOB MURPHY JOINS US LIVE FROM BLISS WOOD FARMS IN FREEPORT, WITH DETAILS ON HOW YOU CAN TEACH YOUR DOG THIS UNIQUE SPORT. SO, JACOB, GOOD MORNING. HOW’S IT GOING OUT THERE? HEY GOOD MORNING NORA. YEAH, EARLIER WE WERE SHOWING YOU A DOG THAT WAS TRYING IT OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME. SO WE WANTED TO BRING BACK OUT MOTION WHO YOU SAW MUCH EARLIER THIS MORNING. MOTION HAS A BIT MORE EXPERIENCE WITH SKIJORING. HE’S A BIT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH IT. SO I HAVE JENNY ALL THE WAY OVER AT THE OTHER END OF THIS FIELD, AND SHE’S GOING TO BE COMING TOWARDS ME WITH MOTION TO KIND OF SHOW YOU GUYS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. SO HONESTLY, IF YOU GUYS WANT TO GET STARTED, YOU GUYS CAN HEAD OVER THIS WAY. AND, YOU KNOW, JENNY WAS TELLING ME EARLIER, SHE’S A HOBBYIST SKI DRAW. IS THAT THE WORD? I’M NOT SURE, BUT SHE’S NOT SO MUCH INTO THE RACING. IT’S MORE JUST ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE CASUAL WALKING THROUGH THE WOODS. AND THIS IS SUCH A FUN WAY TO ENJOY THE WINTER SEASON. GOOD JOB MOTION. YOU DID IT. YAY! GOOD JOB. OH, LOOK, HE’S SO EXCITED. NICE JOB. SO THAT WAS JUST A TASTE OF WHAT IT’S LIKE. AND SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO SUPER FAST. I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS A GOOD POINT TO LIKE, GET ACROSS TO PEOPLE. IT CAN BE VERY RELAXED AND MOTION WASN’T REALLY PULLING YOU AT ALL. NO, NO, I’M SKIING AND HE’S JUST KIND OF KEEPING MY MOMENTUM GOING WHEN WHEN HE’S IN THE MOOD AND EVERYTHING’S, YOU KNOW, WE’RE IN AN EXCITING PLACE. THEN HE DOES ADD MORE OF A PULL TO ME. BUT A LOT OF WHAT I TRAIN IS WHAT TO DO IF I FALL DOWN, HOW TO UNTANGLE IN CASE, YOU KNOW, LIKE RIGHT NOW, WE’RE PROBABLY GETTING KIND OF TANGLED, LIKE TANGLED UP WITH YOU, RIGHT? RIGHT. HOW TO GO BY OTHER DOGS AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS WE HAVE ON BY CUE. AND SO IT DOES TAKE SOME PRACTICE. BUT IF YOU HAVE LIKE THIS KIND OF PERFECT SNOW WHERE YOU’VE GOT TRACKS AND YOU CAN SAY RIGHT WHEN YOU GO RIGHT AND LEFT, WHEN YOU GO LEFT AND HAVE SOME PEOPLE TO HELP YOU PRACTICE SLOWING DOWN AND SPEEDING UP AND ALL THAT, IT REALLY IS QUICK TO LEARN. AND IT’S FOR FOR MY LEVEL ANYWAY. I’M NOT LIKE A RACER. I’M DOING IT RECREATIONALLY AND IT’S IT’S FUN AND QUICK AND IT’S REALLY THE MOST FUN THING I DO WITH THE DOGS. IT’S IT’S GET YOU PLACES WHERE YOU’D NEVER GO OTHERWISE. AND IT’S JUST, IT’S BEAUTIFUL. IT’S LIKE GOING ON A SLEIGH RIDE WITHOUT THE SLEIGH. YEAH, I LIKE THAT. THAT’S A GREAT WAY OF PUTTING IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. OH, YEAH. OKAY. MOTIONS. VERY EXCITED. SO IF YOU GUYS ARE INTERESTED IN COMING TO WHOLE DOG CAMP TODAY, THEY’RE GOING TO BE DOING THIS FROM 10 TO 11. YOU CAN TRY OUT THEIR TRAILS EVERY SUNDAY ALL THROUGH EVERY SUNDAY. GREAT OKAY. SO PERFECT OPPORTUNITY. AND NORA, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW MAYBE SEYMOUR CAN TRY TO DO SOME SKI JORING. I KNOW SEYMOUR’S A LITTLE SMALL, BUT LIKE WE SAID, HE DOESN’T HAVE TO PULL YOU OR ANYTHING. HE CAN JUST KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WALK WITH YOU AS WELL. YEAH. HE MAY NOT LOOK LIKE HE’S GOING TO BE A GOOD SKI TOURING DOG, BUT HE HAS THE SKILLS. SO I THINK I’M GOING TO HAVE TO GO LEARN.
This dog training camp in Freeport can teach your dog how to skijor
“Pretty much any dog can do skijoring for at least part of their life, if not all of their life.”
Updated: 11:25 AM EST Dec 28, 2025
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Whole Dog Camp is run by Jenny Yasi, a certified dog trainer. Located at Bliss Woods Farm in Freeport, Yasi hosts different group training events and private lessons. In the winter, she holds skijoring lessons every Sunday from 10 to 11 a.m.”If you want to get your dog some exercise but you don’t want to let your dog off -, it’s a great thing to do,” said Yasi.To begin training a dog, Yasi recommends having paths already cut out in the snow for them to follow. Then it’s a matter of getting them used to the equipment so it’s not a distraction. For equipment you will need basic cross-country skiing equipment: skis, poles and boots. Then, you’ll need a dog. A common misconception is that you need a big dog to skijor, but the dog isn’t actually pulling the skier, like they would in sled dog races, so having a lot of strength isn’t necessary. “Pretty much any dog can do skijoring for at least part of their life, if not all of their life.”Yasi has a “fear-free” training philosophy. “I don’t think it’s a good thing for dogs to hurt them or frighten them or to dominate them. I don’t think that that works well,” she said. “You’re not teaching a dog to be a robot or to be obedient and just do what I say. But the dog is actually able to communicate back to me and tell me what they think about things, which has been very helpful.”During all parts of the year, she specializes in this fear-free training and helping people have better experiences walking their dogs on- and off- leash.
Whole Dog Camp is run by Jenny Yasi, a certified dog trainer. Located at Bliss Woods Farm in Freeport, Yasi hosts different group training events and private lessons.
In the winter, she holds skijoring lessons every Sunday from 10 to 11 a.m.
“If you want to get your dog some exercise but you don’t want to let your dog off -, it’s a great thing to do,” said Yasi.
To begin training a dog, Yasi recommends having paths already cut out in the snow for them to follow. Then it’s a matter of getting them used to the equipment so it’s not a distraction.
For equipment you will need basic cross-country skiing equipment: skis, poles and boots. Then, you’ll need a dog. A common misconception is that you need a big dog to skijor, but the dog isn’t actually pulling the skier, like they would in sled dog races, so having a lot of strength isn’t necessary.
“Pretty much any dog can do skijoring for at least part of their life, if not all of their life.”
Yasi has a “fear-free” training philosophy. “I don’t think it’s a good thing for dogs to hurt them or frighten them or to dominate them. I don’t think that that works well,” she said. “You’re not teaching a dog to be a robot or to be obedient and just do what I say. But the dog is actually able to communicate back to me and tell me what they think about things, which has been very helpful.”
During all parts of the year, she specializes in this fear-free training and helping people have better experiences walking their dogs on- and off- leash.