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When all the dogs you are going to run have been put together as a team, then you must condition them
to run for longer and longer distances. After a team can lope easily for 2km, then run them for 3km. When
they can do 3km easily, then try 4km. They should lope the whole time. Try never to put them in a
situation where the trail is so bad or so long or the weather so hot that they just trot.

If the beginning, if the dogs slow down too much at a new distance, stop them to give them a rest.
Sometimes you can go up and pet them. Stopping does NOT hurt the training programme as much as
letting the dogs go on and on only trotting.

Training your dogs for a 11km event—try and have your dogs run that distance a few times before you
enter, but do not run one distance exclusively or your dogs will learn to pace themselves for that
distance. Keep building your dogs up to longer and longer distances until the season is almost over. You
will be pleased and surprised at how much progress they can make during a single winter.

After the summer layoff when training resumes, start the team out on the same short trail that it began
on a year ago. The dogs will probably lope the distance easily. Increase the length of the trail after only
few runs and keep increasing it quickly until you find a distance that seems to give the dogs a little
trouble. This should be the starting point for your serious conditioning.

Each succeeding year as your start your training, you will find that the same team can start at a longer
and longer distance.