"Barf!" said Kathy Lenniger, yelling the name of a white dog howling with excitement. The dog quickly lowered his howl to a whine and turned in circles.

Barf and nine of his teammates were exited because they were ready to run.

An Outdoor Adventures trip introduced 12 people to the Alaska state sport of dog mushing Feb. 4 with the help of Sled Dog Adventures owner Kathy Lenniger.

Lenniger, who has had sled dogs for almost 30 years, started the afternoon off by explaining the equipment used in the sport. She showed the group two different styles of sleds, including one used for hauling cargo, because, historically, dog sleds were used to deliver mail in the Alaska bush. Back then, the musher would stand in front of the sled on skis and help turn the dog team with a pole.

Valerie Lemens, 21, an exchange student from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, thinks it is important to learn about mushing because it is "part of Alaska's history." Lemens had never been mushing before Saturday and was excited for the opportunity to try it.

After going over the parts of the sled, Lenniger explained how the dogs are clipped along the towline. The dogs are placed in different positions along the line depending on how they perform. The lead dog, or dogs, are the dogs who respond well to the musher's commands and direct the team. Swing dogs are placed directly behind leaders and also know the commands. The bigger wheel dogs are positioned in front of sled and help bear its weight.

Each person harnessed a different dog, and with Lenniger's help, clipped them to the line.

The dog I harnessed, a strong wheel dog named Snoopy, was raring to go. He hopped on his back legs from where he was chained over to the sled.

"He likes to chew," Lenniger told me as she helped clip him in. She told the group that you have three seconds to stop a dog's inappropriate behavior before they forget what they are being punished for.

Lenniger uses Tabasco sauce to discourage bad behavior and wishes someone would invent a material with Tabasco in it because of how well it works.

Each member of the group then got a turn to ride in the basket of the sled and also stand on the runners of a secondary sled hooked behind the main sled.

After completing their run, the dogs were each given a bowl of soup. This mixture of dog food, chicken fat and water helps the dogs get their strength back after running. According to Lenniger, a 50-pound dog can burn 20,000 calories during a hard day on the trail. The dog's diet is very important, because it affects how they run.

They take care of you and you take care of them Lenniger said of her "canine family."

"(You need to have) a great relationship with dogs," said Conor Brennan, 20, a geography major from Hawaii, when asked if he would want to be a dog musher.

"It's a whole lifestyle if you want to do it," said 23-year-old Mark Oldmixon, an Outdoor Adventures graduate assistant. "Golden retrievers are for me."

Thanks to Tim Stallard and Outdoor Adventures