About Us
Welcome to the Sled Dog Society Of Wales Therapy Dogs Website.
If you feel your dog is suitable as a therapy dog or would like a therapy dog visit please continue to the relevant page.

You will also find that we have lots of information and some wonderful photos for you to read through and look at. We hope that you will find the information, both interesting and helpful. If you have any questions then please get in touch by going to our contact page.

Every year we host multiple club events for our club members, and even a few family fun dog shows that are open to the members and public alike. You will find the dates for all our events, which will be available in the calendar, and these will be updated on a regular basis.  We are on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, so please come and join us!

How it all began….
The Sled Dog Society of Wales was started at the beginning of 2015, when my two Alaskan malamutes Shila & Desna were amongst the very few sled dogs in South Wales, and I was looking for other sled dog owners to socialise my dogs with.  Since these early days this club has evolved into what it’s know as today, the Sled Dog Society of Wales or SDSW for short.  

We are however, not a breed specific club and we have an open door policy to any responsible dog owner whose dog’s have a passion to pull.  Our aim has always been to educate, work and train our dogs in a safe environment, and to show people that sled dogs have a place in the community where people can see they are not wolves, but are in fact very social dogs with a love for anyone and everyone.  Through our summer shows we are helped immensely in this department.  We train our dogs correctly and safely and through pack walks with vocal commands so that they know which direction we want them to go in.  They then eventually get to the level where the dogs can transition into being worked in harness to pull a scooter or dry land rig.  We have plans to eventually introduce backpacking and weight pull to the clubs list of activities available.

In 2017 we hosted our own "Ain't Nothing But A Hound Day" family fun day and dog shows throughout South Wales.  We're also available to give educational talks on the different sled dog breeds, their origins and what they are able to achieve through reward bases training and a bit of patience.  We also advocate responsible dog ownership and working and training of our dogs and the equipment we use to enable us to do that safely and responsibly.  We are supporters of the "Yellow Dog Project", where dogs that need space for a multitude of reasons, are given the space they need through wearing a yellow ribbon or bandanna.

In August 2024 we are launching our own Therapy Dog Service (SDSWTD) has come to be born.   We recognise that people, young and old, in all walks of life, can profit from the psychological and physiological advantages of a positive relationship with a dog. Thus, SDSWTD volunteers visit a variety of settings, including, but not limited to, hospitals, residential care homes, schools, prisons and public and private sector businesses.  Unfortunately, due to insurance restrictions, we are unable to visit individuals in their own homes at this time, but that’s really the only restriction.

Throughout the spring and summer months we regularly hold pack walks, BBQ's and even a camping/caravan holiday with our dogs.

As the Autumn and winter months come around we wait for the weather to get colder and the humidity levels to drop sufficiently to allow us to do what we really love and that is to work our dogs in a safe controlled environment.  We have a lot of new members now who have never had an opportunity to work their dogs in harness; this means a few basic beginner sessions where the owners during our weekly pack walks are reminded to use the correct commands so that when the time is right their dogs will transition into working dogs, with as little distress to the dogs as possible, which as you can imagine with owners who are nervous and excited at the same time is a challenge, but one that we relish and look forward to as winter comes around every year.

Through the club’s fundraising it has given us the opportunity to purchase Coleman Shelters, gazebo’s and a scooter.  These are available to ensure that all club members have access to quality equipment with the equipment checked and fully maintained so that it's ready to go.  We have various size harnesses, available for members to use and also, tug-lines and snub-lines that are all checked ready to be attached, to the scooter, and with the loan of the founders dry land rig, we can give members an all round experience working their dogs in harness.  At this moment we are fundraising for equipment to enable us to offer members further opportunities within the sled dog world, as well as other items which the club members and dogs will benefit from.

Every day when you own a sled dog is exciting and during the winter we are waiting to get out early in the cold frosty mornings to have fun with our dogs and to teach other members what owning a sled dog is truly about.  To us that is being at one with our dogs, whose love is to pull, and run, with pure joy on their face.  

​Hike on, we are ready for you!
 
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