About A.K.K.O.

*A.K.K.O. Sports* - Smart Solutions for Dog-Powered Sports
Oh, so many years of making harnesses! The early development of *A.K.K.O. Sports* began in 1970 when a local outfitter needed help producing harnesses for the increased demand from beginning mushers such as ourselves. Sewing was something I knew well, so the machine was set up in the family room and harness creation began. In those days, the most popular model was an open-back harness, the forerunner of today's X-back, but without the "sliding X" innovation. The other prevalent harness of that era was called the Siwash or Yukon harness - and would evolve into the modern H-back. I learned all this and more, and when he eventually retired I was on my own!

Concurrently, our career in sled dogs was also evolving. Racing in the sprint sector, eight-dog class, we had interesting and rewarding race experiences in the US mid-west, Alaska, Central Canada, and throughout Quebec-our snowy "belle province"! The mushers we met on these travels were generous with their knowledge. We increased our understanding of sled dog sports - both from the point of view of equipment and of maximizing the energy cycle with selected feed and nutritional supplements. At one time we supplied 50 dogs (and ourselves!) to a film company to make a movie about a sled dog race: "Toby McTeague". Managing a group of dogs in that kind of pressure situation turned out to be an awesome training experience.
During summers we explored other dog activities such as obedience and tracking. These different disciplines helped our overall appreciation of how dogs "think", and so how better to teach them our goals in sledding. Summer was also used to hand train leaders for ourselves and for other people. When I look back, these experiences definitely gave us insights to the equipment and how to improve on it. The Scandinavian sport of ski-pulka has evolved here in North America into skijoring, an exciting winter sport where one to three dogs work as a team with the skier on snowy cross country trails. Even pet dogs become enthusiastic participants after some basic training, and the equipment required is nominal. We are definitely seeing more widespread participation as its popularity increases.
It didn't take long to realize this smaller scale, dog-powered pursuit could easily be adapted to off-snow activities, such as cani-cross (running with your dog in front of you), bikejoring, and scooterjoring. These are exhilarating developments in traditional dog sledding since it allows greater participation by those who are unable to maintain large kennels. Now more dog owners can have a small taste of the wonderful world of mushing.
We hope you enjoy our web site. If you have questions, please feel free to contact us. The A.K.K.O. Sports team: Judith and Bryan