Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel — Attraction in Jefferson

We took our 5 and 8 year old kids for their mini-mush and everyone had a great time. It was a blue-bird day, not too cold, and the hands-on experience with the dogs was great.

It starts with release forms, followed by time to meet the dogs outside. Each dog has a kennel and platform with a short run and there’s about 65 of them. We’ve always had similarly sized dogs so the kids were really comfortable around all the dogs, so much so that after being warned which two dogs (out of 65) would (playfully) try to take your hat or mittens, our five year old decided to test it out and we had to get it back. Then the kids and parents got to help with harnessing the dogs and hooking them to the line, learning about why a dog might go to the back or front to the pack. Soon after that, we were off.

On the ride, our little guy got to see the dogs jostling for place and was a little uncomfortable with how the dogs bark and sometimes snarl or snap at each other if one is getting out of line. Joe had a running commentary on how the dog pack functions and how this is normal and healthy. He also had great recommendations on kid-friendly movies like Togo or Balto to watch to keep the excitement going.

Best measure, our son can’t stop talking about how much fun it was and when can we go back. Our daughter can’t either but we knew that would be the case going in. Highly...

Visiting the Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel was the coolest thing I've ever done. My husband and I did the Howl at the Moon tour on 3/8/18. Because it was late in the season, it didn't get dark during the tour but that didn't matter at all. We followed the email instructions on what to bring and how to dress and we were well prepared for the adventure. We arrived and were immediately greeted by our musher, Andrew, who showed us around the outdoor kennel and explained the process of preparing the dogs for the sled tour. We were allowed to greet every one of the 80+ dogs and help prepare the lucky ones that would be pulling our sled. When the dogs were ready, Andrew helped us sit in the sled and wrapped us up in a warm blanket. We were encouraged to take pictures and videos during the 5 mile tour. Andrew was awesome! He is very knowledgeable and friendly and answered all the questions we had. I could tell he loves his job! When the tour ended, Andrew took care of getting the sled dogs back to their kennels while we gave out treats and said good bye to all the dogs. It was a super cool experience and I am excited to go...

I am a serious dog lover. My wife got us a reservation sled ride with Muddy Paws for me for a birthday present. For anyone who grew up with a dog in the house, prepare yourself for something different. The dogs here are workers. It was like the first time I visited a working farm as a kid and saw how dirty the livestock was. It wasn’t the picturesque barn yard of my imagination. That being said, the livestock were happy, well cared for and well loved. At Muddy Paws, it’s kind of the same deal. The dogs are well loved, cared for and happy. These people know and love their dogs so much. The conditions that they live in, could only be improved by more volunteers to relieve the hard workers already present. Our Musher, Joe, knew every dog by name(from behind and without name tags), stopped us whenever the dogs needed to pee or poop, spoke to them like a patient dad would with his kids. I would highly recommend this to anyone. Tip generously. I can’t...