GOING TO THE DOGS MANY FACTORS, INCLUDING TALKING TO THE ANIMALS, GO INTO SUCCESSFUL SLEDDING.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

``Mush, you huskies,'' is not what you say if you want to start a dogsled team. Instead of right and left it's ``gee'' and ``haw.''

I learned this and more on a ride with Mammoth Dog Teams last winter.

Aside from knowing the lingo, you need to be part veterinarian, part teacher and part psychologist to assemble a functioning dogsled team. Kind of like coaching an NFL expansion team.

If you want to be a musher - the person who drives the sled and dog team - you also need some athletic ability to help push the sled uphill when conditions are slow.

But you don't have to be a motivator as far as the dogs are concerned. They seem to get a big kick out of pulling a sled. Before we started they were yipping and jumping and straining at their harnesses.

To avoid unplanned departures, the musher tied the sled to an anchor buried in the snow. Once we got going the dogs barked and wagged their tails as the sled quickly built up speed. The winter air was crisp, but I stayed warm under blankets as the sled followed the trail into the woods. The trail twisted like a luge track up a hill before we headed down the road to the ski lodge.

The wooden sleds the company uses can carry up to four adults. They are custom-built and heavier compared to the ultra-light aluminum and carbon fiber sleds used in competitions such as the famous Iditarod race in Alaska.

Jim Ouimet, owner of Mammoth Dog Teams, grew up in Mammoth. After being a dog handler with the company for nine years he bought it from the former owner.

His job starts with breeding sled dogs. While many types of dogs have been used to pull sleds, malamutes and huskies are most common.

Ouimet crossbreeds malamutes into huskies to combine the power of a malamute with the endurance of a husky. He has 30 dogs in his kennel. Generally, there are 12 dogs to a team, depending on the load, snow conditions, weather and mood of the dogs.

The psychology of the dog is important in assembling a team.

Most sled dogs don't want to be lead dogs.

''There is too much mental pressure with nobody to follow up there,'' Ouimet said. ``Just like with humans, not everyone wants to run the company.

``The lead dog is not the alpha dog of the pack. I look for more sensitive and shier-type dogs to lead.''

Ouimet said the lead dogs are more than 50 feet away and need to listen. More aggressive alpha dogs tend to have their own agenda.

``All our commands are verbal,'' Ouimet said. ``We don't carry a whip.''

The company's rides start near the Main Lodge at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort. In February, rides leave from Smoky Bear Flats off Highway 395 north of Mammoth Lakes. Rides return to Main Lodge from March through the end of the season.

The dogs love people, Ouimet said, but skiers can be a problem as their sharp edges can cut the dog's feet. He asks skiers to take skis off before they pet the dogs.

Ouimet likes for his dogs to have had a couple of days rest so they are ``peppery'' and ready to run.

``Just like people, dogs have off days,'' Ouimet said. ``Sometimes they need a day off.''

This day, Lightening and Tiger, the lead dogs, seem happy to be back out on the snow.

After the lead dogs is the point position with Morgan and Jasmine. They are the backup leaders in case the leader doesn't listen to commands.

The front dogs are the thinkers. The dogs in the middle are the engine room.

``High-energy dogs go here,'' Ouimet said. ``You can gear them up or gear them down.''

The largest and strongest dogs go closest to the sled in the ``wheel'' position. Their job is to help steer the sled and hold it on a slope or around a corner.

Ouimet uses simple one-syllable commands the dogs (or an offensive lineman) can easily understand.

``OK'' means ``get ready.'' ``Hike'' - not ``mush'' - means ``go.'' In dog sledding ``mush'' is used as a verb. Ouimet said it's a corruption of the French word that means ``go'' from when Canadian Indians heard drivers yell ``march''.

Dog sledding has a long history at Mammoth Lakes in the Eastern Sierra.

Tex Cushion, a French Canadian, came to Mammoth in the winter of 1927. A bootlegger during Prohibition, he used his sled-dog team to deliver mail and supplies to miners and other residents in winter. Photos of his team decorate the Tamarack Lodge in Mammoth. Occasionally, Cushion used his team to rescue people lost or stranded.

Ouimet has a museum of dog-sledding history at his kennel, including local dog teams and the military's use of dog sleds during World War II. The kennels and museum are open for tours in summer.

After a ride, Ouimet encourages passengers to ``thank the dogs'' with a pat or a hug.

No encouragement was necessary for 11-year-old Mia Mercer from Carlsbad, and her friend, 10-year-old Kelley Tyburski. They were at Mammoth with Mia's father, Andrew Mercer, especially for the dog-sled ride.

``That's all they wanted to come up here for,'' Mercer said.

Mia and Kelley hugged the dogs and received big, wet kisses in return. It's hard to tell who was having more fun - dogs or humans.

IF YOU GO

Mammoth Dog Teams offers rides every day in winter from the Main Lodge at Mammoth Mountain. The rides include the 25-minute Minaret Loop that costs $50 for adults, $25 for children 12-under. Children 3 and under are free. Longer rides are also available. In February, rides from 50 minutes to 3 hours leave from Smoky Bear Flats off Highway 395 north of Mammoth Lakes.

Call [phone] for more information and reservations. Make reservations at least five to seven days in advance.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The dogs at the front of the pack are known as thinkers, and the ones closest to the sled are the strongest animals in order to steer the sled.

(2 -- color) Mia Merer of Carlsbad gets a greeting from one of her dogs after a sled ride. It's important for those who ride sleds to understand animal psychology.

Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News

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IF YOU GO (see text)