Arctic Bay (Feb 23/04) - Owning a dog team may sound like a lot of work but for Simon Qamanirq, it's a labour of love.

"If you raise them properly and take care of them, they can be great animals," he said.

Qamanirq has been working with dogs since he was about 25 years old. He started out with eight dogs and now he has a team of 16 huskies.

"My family has been involved in mushing for a long time," he said. "That's how I became interested," he said.

Now Qamanirq uses his huskies for everything from taking people out on outfitting trips to going out alone on hunting.

Being out on the ice pack with no loud machines, just the sound of the dogs running and the Qamutiik moving on the snow and ice, is how he likes things. He said that it's the best feeling in the world.

The only way he describes travelling with his dogs is like being isolated, but never alone.

"When you're out there, it's just you and the dogs," he said. "You just have to let them run. It's better than being on a snowmobile. It's quiet and peaceful."

He said his dogs also provide some extra security. They have even saved his life many times.

"When a polar bear approaches the camp the dogs will start barking and warn me," he said.

Raised dogs from puppies

When he first started working with dogs it wasn't easy. His first team of eight was given to him from a family member in Iglulik.

"They didn't know me. They were hard to control and wouldn't listen," he said. "I realized that I had to raise the dogs from when they were puppies."

Qamanirq achieved his goal just this past summer when one of his females gave birth to nine puppies. He started training them at two months. The dogs are a mixed husky breed.

Traditional training

One of the reasons he has a dog team is to keep some of the Inuit traditions alive.

Qamanirq learned how to take care of the dogs properly, by regular talks with elders in the community. That's how he learned what to feed the dogs, how to train them and how keep them healthy.

"I take a lot of interest in being an Inuk. This is how people used to hunt and travel," he said.

He has also learned how to use the team when he is out hunting.

"Elders have told me that you have to be a good hunter to have a dog team," he said. "You need to be able to feed your animals."

Now that the pups are five months old their training has started to progress. They are now able to pull a full-sized Qamutiik and heavier loads.

When the nine dogs first started training, Qamanirq would harness them to a little Qamutiik.

"My three-year-old son would ride on the Qamutiik and the dogs would pull him," he said. "They love to pull."

A family affair

Even at three years old Qamanirq's son, Ishmael, is starting to learn how to raise dogs.

He often accompanies his father on rides when he is training the pups.

"He loves being out with the dogs. He just sits on the Qamutiik and lets them pull him," he said. "When I give the dogs commands my son tries to copy me and finish my words."

For the past few months, Qamanirq has been preparing his dogs for the Nunavut Quest. This year the race goes from Pond Inlet to Clyde River.

This marks the fifth year he has competed in the race and every year has been a great experience. For seven days, Qamanirq will be out travelling.

"I haven't won yet but it's still a lot of fun," he said. "You learn a lot from the other guys in the race. You talk about the race and the dogs."

This year Qamanirq is planning to add his son to his crew. Ishmael will be on the snowmobile with all of the gear cheering on his dad.

If the weather is nice, he plans to let his son ride on the Qamutiik with him.

"He's looking forward to the race just as much as I am," he said.

The Nunavut Quest is scheduled to take place on April 13.