Alaska: Iditarod Kennel Dogsledding & Husky Puppy Cuddles

4.98

(123 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll never forget the first thing that happened—one of the mushers, I think her name was Jamie, handed me a pair of slightly chewed gloves and grinned, “You’ll need these.” The air out at Turning Heads Kennel felt sharper than in town, but it wasn’t just the cold. It was the noise—dozens of huskies barking, howling, tails thumping against kennels. A little chaotic but kind of contagious. Someone’s kid kept giggling every time a puppy tried to chew their shoelaces. I didn’t expect to feel so immediately swept up in it all.

Our guide (he’d raced the Iditarod twice—just casually dropped that) showed us how the sled dogs responded to commands like “Gee” and “Haw.” The dogs actually listened—well, mostly. When we went out for our run (on a wheeled cart since there wasn’t snow), you could feel the energy through the handlebars. Wind in your face, paws pounding dirt, someone behind me whooping because their hat almost flew off. At one point we stopped by an eagle’s nest—our guide pointed it out quietly like it was some secret only locals knew about. The whole place smelled like pine needles and wet fur.

Afterwards, there was this short talk about mushing history—I zoned out for a second watching a puppy try to climb into someone’s lap—and then they let us cuddle with the husky pups. Softest fur ever. One licked my nose and I laughed way too loud (sorry to whoever’s video that ruined). On the ride back I kept thinking about how much those dogs just wanted to run; it made me weirdly happy for them. So yeah, if you’re looking for something real near Anchorage—a day trip with sled dogs and mushers who clearly love what they do—I’d say go for this.