Puppy time?

I have searched as much as I could and didn't find the answer to this question. We are sailing on Celebrity Solstice in June. My kids really want to play with the puppies on one of the sled dog tours. Can anyone tell me how long you get to play with the puppies? (I know it probably depends on the tour, but just a general estimation is okay.) And are there enough puppies to go around or do you spend most of your time just watching? I don't want them to be disappointed so I thought I could prepare them for how it's going to work in advance.

Also, we were already planning on doing the helicopter glacier tour, so I thought the dog sledding on the glacier excursion would fit two things into one. But I can't find anything that says you get to play with puppies on the glacier tour. Has anyone done that excursion that can say for sure?

Thanks for your help!

The glacier helicopter tours are fairly tightly timed, so your puppy time will be brief, overall compared to any land puppy interaction. I would not count on more than 15 minutes of actual contact. You may have more viewing time.

You can have a lot more dog contact if you drive to Carcross out of Skagway to Caribou Crossing.

A "preparation" you may also want to consider- is these are mostly, darn ugly dogs. They are NOT those beautiful huskys etc. They are WORKING dogs, usually aren't real clean either.

We had some great "puppy time" at the Klondike Gold Dredge in Skagway. We did a combo tour, through the cruise line, that included gold panning and the 40 degree below zero chamber.

The helicopter/dog sled tours are the most cancelled tours due to weather as the camps are fairly high up.

That would be a hard disappointment for children.

You are better off making your dog-related visits as suggested above which will also save you bales of money.

The helicopter/dog sled tours are the most cancelled tours due to weather as the camps are fairly high up.

 

That would be a hard disappointment for children.

 

You are better off making your dog-related visits as suggested above which will also save you bales of money.

Certainly is a big issue. To hedge the bets, they need to schedule this at their FIRST opportunity, then if canceled- get on the phone for the next port and try to schedule something- direct. This would be between Juneau and Skagway.

IF they are going to Seward- far less canceled there, for a third option.

I absolutely agree about making your helicopter tour and your 'puppy time' seperate excursions. It doesn't take much for the mushers camp to be cancelled, even if your helicopter tour can make it part-way (as in, Mendenhall glacier is fine, but the camp is too high in bad weather). The problem may be bad weather coming in at the time you would need to be flying back out, so you've got twice the chance you'll have a cancellation.

We had about half an hour with the puppies on the tour we did, and not a single one of them was "ugly" or dirty. It was such a precious memory, the picture of my son and husband playing with a pup has been my screen saver for the past 5 years. :) Can't wait to do it again in August!

I have sled dogs as you know Budget Queen. None of mine are dirty...Yes they do smell like dogs, but they are not dirty....and frankly, I don't know of a musher who has "dirty" dogs...They do shed a lot...especially in summer...they have to do that, but dirty? I don't think so....but then I am a dog person....:):)

I have sled dogs as you know Budget Queen. None of mine are dirty...Yes they do smell like dogs, but they are not dirty....and frankly, I don't know of a musher who has "dirty" dogs...They do shed a lot...especially in summer...they have to do that, but dirty? I don't think so....but then I am a dog person....:):)

Well, with the dirt rides that dogs are doing with the nonflight tours, I certainly have seen some very dirty dogs, that people around me were complaining of. The point was only to be prepared, especially with kids. Maybe bring along some wipes.

Well, with the dirt rides that dogs are doing with the nonflight tours, I certainly have seen some very dirty dogs, that people around me were complaining of. The point was only to be prepared, especially with kids. Maybe bring along some wipes.

I can see where Budget Queen is getting this. We did the dog cart ride at Caribou Crossing in 2009. It was unusually hot that week, probably around 80 F. The trails were dry and dusty. The dogs were hot! About half way around the track, they had several plastic kiddie pools set up for the dogs to drink and get wet. The area around them was muddy. The dogs peed in the pools and the surrounding mud and then splashed around in it. Yes, these dogs were dirty, muddy even, but they were hot and working hard and needed to cool down. I didn't find it offensive (and I doubt that BQ would either) but you had to admit that they were dirty, and I can see how someone more "fussy" might be bothered.

Our dirty dogs:

BTW, we were there with a Chilkoot Charters tour and were not there at the same time as the big buses. They only had a couple of older "puppies" out when we were there. I wonder if they had the little ones out for the big tours and then took them in for some down-time. We had a much better puppy experience at the Klondike Gold Dredge, as seen in my previous post.

We did a tour in 2009 with Chilkoot charters where we took the White Pass train to Carcross, then bus to the dog camp. We were able to hold them for atleast 30 minutes! :D Other people went on a sled ride so we had them almost all to ourselves. They are so adorable! The bigger (moms and dads) are there too and they love to be petted as well. It gets pretty loud when they start picking which dogs get to go on the sled rides because they ALL want to go! It was sooooo hard for my kids put the pups down when it was time to go, they are so sweet and cute. I agree that you might want to bring some wet wipes, they are outside dogs so they do get dirty!;)

The dogs who run get dirty, as would be expected. The puppies you cuddle are not dirty.

Not sure what's ugly about them, either. Guess those comments just made me think, huh??

The dogs who run get dirty, as would be expected. The puppies you cuddle are not dirty.

 

Not sure what's ugly about them, either. Guess those comments just made me think, huh??

Agreed! I've never met an ugly dog.

Some people find beauty in different things and, sadly, some people just never see beauty at all because they're too busy being nasty to others.

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The dogs who run get dirty, as would be expected. The puppies you cuddle are not dirty.

 

Not sure what's ugly about them, either. Guess those comments just made me think, huh??

A LOT of people expect those photo huskys. Since you have been there, clearly those are not the Alaska working dogs.

I'll admit I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, but if I'm correct in thinking you mean the dogs I saw weren't working dogs, that would be an incorrect statement. If you meant they were not huskies, that would be partially correct; some were, some were not. The puppies we met were mixed breeds, and just absolutely darling. If you meant something else, my apologies but I don't know what it could be.

The OP asked about time with puppies, not about time with Huskies. But (IMO) a dog doesn't have to be a Husky to be beautiful. I can't say any of the dogs we saw were ugly, even if they weren't Huskies. Their energy and enthusiasm and obvious love of what they were doing may have blinded me, but I found them delightful.

I'll admit I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, but if I'm correct in thinking you mean the dogs I saw weren't working dogs, that would be an incorrect statement. If you meant they were not huskies, that would be partially correct; some were, some were not. The puppies we met were mixed breeds, and just absolutely darling. If you meant something else, my apologies but I don't know what it could be.

 

The OP asked about time with puppies, not about time with Huskies. But (IMO) a dog doesn't have to be a Husky to be beautiful. I can't say any of the dogs we saw were ugly, even if they weren't Huskies. Their energy and enthusiasm and obvious love of what they were doing may have blinded me, but I found them delightful.

Good Grief. Plenty of people expect those perfectly groomed, Siberian Huskys, which are NOT the Alaska sled dogs, who ARE working dogs, not pets.

I'll agree with you on that: they're working dogs, not pampered pets. Working dogs that produce cute, cuddly puppies that the OP's children will get to spend about 30 minutes loving up. :D

(sorry...the thought of it made my spelling go all wonky!)

Sled dogs today usually are not Siberians Huskies, although there are several people who race Sibes, most people run Alaskan Huskies which are basically high class mutts. They have a lot of Sibe in them as well as hound. They are breed for endurance and speed....People who see them for the first time often remark about how small they are...Most weigh 40-60#...males being on the 60# end, females on the 40# end....Now think marathon runners....vs....sumo wrestlers...Lot of difference there. They also run best and are more comfortable running when it is cold. During the summer, dogs on the land operation need to be able to cool down so yes, they do get muddy when they go through puddles but they also have a special type of hair that sheds mud after it dries pretty well....Mushers will tell you that they are working dogs, but many of the mushers bring their dogs in their house a lot of the time, and I have one that sleeps on the bed at night...and she did the Yukon Quest Last year...a 1000 mile race.....Dogs on the glacier stay cleaner because there is snow up there....no need to cool down in mud..because there isn't any...What dogs do need on the glacier is sun screen on their nose if they have pink noses....:) Hope this explanation helps a bit....One more piece of advice....if you can possibly afford a glacier experience, do it....you get a real feel for what it is like...

Thanks everyone for all the feedback! That's what makes this site so wonderful. I really appreciate it!

We had some great "puppy time" at the Klondike Gold Dredge in Skagway. We did a combo tour, through the cruise line, that included gold panning and the 40 degree below zero chamber.

I'm thinking about doing this tour on our cruise next year, but I wonder about the 40 degree below zero chamber :eek:. I'm game to do it, but dh is very sensitive to the cold, and it would be a deal breaker for him. Do you know if that part of the tour can be skipped?

Thanks,

Sue

I was wondering the same thing -- my DH is on blood thinners and is very sensitive to the cold.

We just returned from an Alaskan cruise on the Norwegian Pearl. In Skagway, we rented a car and drove up to Whitehorse, stopping at Carcross, the desert, Emerald Lake, etc. We also stopped at Caribou Crossing to see the puppies, both on the way up and the way back. They had a dozen really cute and friendly puppies in the large fenced area and, for $7.50 each (or $3.88 if you mention Bells Guide) you get unlimited time in there with them. A very fun worthwhile experience.

I have searched as much as I could and didn't find the answer to this question. We are sailing on Celebrity Solstice in June. My kids really want to play with the puppies on one of the sled dog tours. Can anyone tell me how long you get to play with the puppies? (I know it probably depends on the tour, but just a general estimation is okay.) And are there enough puppies to go around or do you spend most of your time just watching? I don't want them to be disappointed so I thought I could prepare them for how it's going to work in advance.

 

Also, we were already planning on doing the helicopter glacier tour, so I thought the dog sledding on the glacier excursion would fit two things into one. But I can't find anything that says you get to play with puppies on the glacier tour. Has anyone done that excursion that can say for sure?

 

Thanks for your help!

Are you also doing a land tour before or after your cruise? We also plan on doing the helicopter/glacier/dog sled in Juneau and understand that it is often cancelled so we also booked Seavy's dog sledding in Seward while doing our land trip just in case. Our land portion is before our cruise so we will do Seavy's first (it will be in June so their's is done on dry land). I just didn't want to go to Alaska & not dogsled. If your cruise is first you could always wait to book one on land if your cruise excursion is cancelled.