By Katharine Sandiford

We feed them, walk them, brush them and bathe them – heck sometimes we even manually express their swollen anal glands – so why not get something in return once in a while from our pet dogs? Skijoring is by far the best way to extract an easy return: simply harness them up, click on your skis and head down the closest skidoo trail. It's fun. Like really, really fun. “It's like the best Disney ride you could every get,” says skijoring queen of the Yukon, Susie Rogan. And it's growing in popularity.

More and more people are skijoring, and some, to win races. Throughout the winter, around the Yukon, there are non-stop sled dog events (sled and skijor races are most often paired together). To name a few, there's the Carbon Hill, the Percy deWolfe, the Silver Sled, and the regular monthly Copper Haul Twister events in Whitehorse – all major mushing competitions with a growing skijoring category. And just announced last week is an all new, spectator-friendly dog race called The Road Runner. It's to start in downtown Whitehorse on February 27 and travel 100 miles, frequently weaving close to the Alaska Highway – good for both spectators and safety – towards Haines Junction. Plus, it will be the longest skijor race offered in North America, say race organizers.

Or just tinker around the backyard trails for hoots and thrills of your own. Yesterday, I took my boy Wilbur right across Marsh Lake and up a wooded trail into the spectacular sub-alpine meadows behind Mount Lorne. I went three times as fast and got three times as far as I would have skiing. So, make your dogs earn their keep: rouse Rover from where he's sleeping on your sofa and put him to work. You'll both be happy you did. Plus, regular exercise keeps your dogs glands from swelling up.