Like any sport, mushing has its own unique language. Some of the terms are interesting, and some are downright colorful. If you attend your first sled dog race or training session, you will surely hear some of these words and phrases.
Mush: This term comes from the corruption of the French word "marche". Dog mushers (and yes, we are called mushers) heard the French Canadian trappers using the word marche to make their dogs run, since the word means "to go". They thought it sounded like mush and the word was born. Modern dog drivers don't use this word though; they might use the word "Hike" or more likely just "All Right" to make their dogs run or go faster.
Husky: This is the term most dog drivers apply to all northern breeds.
Alaskan Malamute: Probably the oldest breed of sled dog, now used mostly for freighting and weight pulling than for racing, because of it's size and weight which can reach 100 or more pounds.
Siberian Husky: The "classic" sled dog. These are smaller than Malamutes, weighing 40 to 70 pounds. They were brought to Alaska from Siberia at the turn of the century.
Alaskan Husky: A term that applies to racing dogs of mixed breed. These dogs usually share ancestry with the Siberian Husky and some type of hound. Greyhounds, black and tans, and coon hounds have all been used to produce some of the fastest racing sled dogs of today.
Gangline: The main line from the sled to which all the dogs are attached.
Gee: The command given to the dogs to make a right turn. This is an old mule skinner's term.
Haw: The command used to make a left turn.
Come Gee or Come Haw: The command used to make the dogs make a 180 degree turn to the right or left. Very exciting with a lot of dogs.
Whoa: The command to stop. Only the mushers know this command, the dogs never seem to learn it very well.
On By: This phrase is short for "go on by" when you want your team to pass another team from behind or to go by a distraction along the side of the trail.
Handler: There are two meanings to this term. One is the owner and trainer of weight pull dog(s). The term is also used to describe the person or persons helping a musher get his/her team to the starting line.
Pedaling: When the musher keeps one foot on the runner of the sled while pushing with the other foot to help speed the team along.
Trail!: Request from one musher to another for the right of way when one team wishes to pass another.
Drop the Dogs: More than any other term, this causes the most problems. When mushers announce "I'm going to drop the dogs", it conjures up visions of mushers dropping their dogs, maybe on their heads. What it really means is, the musher is going to lift the dogs out of the dog truck so they may get a little exercise, be fed or watered or go to the bathroom. When finished, he will lift the dogs back into the dog truck. The complete process is called a "Dog Drop".