Green Dog Svalbard — Local services in Spitsbergen

We had booked two expeditions with Green Dog Svalbard. Our first day was the half-day trip in Templefjorden and the next day we had a day trip to the Ice Cave. Our experience with Green Dog was mixed. Green dog has several guides, each who are assigned to the care of 30 dogs and the share a kennel space with another guide. We were informed each guide works independently to care for the dogs, putting together their routes, etc. which this is important to know for this review. If we did not have a second trip booked with Green Dog, this rating would be 1 stars at most because of our guide Matteo. Matteo should NOT be working with sled dogs.

Our first day our guide was Matteo, we get to his kennels, and see dogs that are on short chains because snow had covered them and they had not been pulled out, it was clear that had not been pulled out for sometime either given the depth at which the chains were buried. This was also the first dog sled kennel not only on this trip, but with dog sledding in 5 different countries on two continents that had a very strong urine and feces smell. His dogs appeared stressed and several had wounds that we expressed concern about why they were being allowed to pull. We were given a flimsy excuse as to way the dogs had injuries. Several dogs were also very clearly underweight and Matteo said they cannot be fat, several of the dogs you could easily feel the pelvic bones, spine, and ribs in a way that should not be for sled dogs, feeling some of the bones is expected, but not to the extent his dogs had. During our trip, we witnessed Matteo punch one of his sled dogs for misbehaving, and hit another with an anchor rope at another point. This is completely unacceptable in the dog sledding world. The dogs ARE YOUR coworkers and you would never hit a coworker. I was so despondent over this that when we returned to our hotel I desperately looked for a different company to take us on dog sleds to the ice cave, willing to forfeit the cost to not endure seeing this again. Unfortunately, we had no other alternatives and my spouse said lets just go since we paid for it and ask for a ride back if we were not comfortable with what we saw.

Olivia, thankfully, was our guide to the Ice Caves, her father had worked dogsleds for the Danish Government on Greenland, and as such there was a night and day difference between her dogs and our prior guide, Matteo's. Her dogs were at a healthy weight, no signs of injury, the chains were well above the snow allowing her dogs to interact with one other in their immediate vicinity, and the kennel did not smell. Our guide was conscientious checking the dogs if something seemed off in their gait. The ice cave was beautiful and overall it was a pleasant day. Olivia and her guidance to the ice cave is the only thing that redeemed Green Dog in our opinion, without her this would be a 1 star review.

I would look to other dog sledding companies before Green Dog after our experience on our first day. While Green Dog likes to portray themselves as a small family kennel, it is in fact a very large operation with what we were told is approximately 200 dogs in total. The dogs are run for 5 days and get 3 days of rest, this is contrary to what I've heard previously in dogsledding of this style with most kennels doing 1 day of running then 1 day of rest. Our dogs were on their 5th day when we went to the Ice Cave and were clearly tired. Green Dog uses expedition sleds which for the passenger are colder and less comfortable than the racing style sleds other...

Whilst I can understand why many visitors have rated Green Dog Svalbard highly, I cannot say that I had a positive overall experience.

First, I want to say that I don’t have a bad word to say about our guide (Josephine), because she did a flawless job from beginning to end. I think she did a great job, was super friendly and informative, and I appreciate her work at the kennels. Her enthusiasm for the dogs is infectious!

However, I did have problems with the structure of the tour as provided by Green Dog Svalbard as well as certain interactions that took place between myself and a different employee.

It was initially challenging to absorb all the rules of how to operate a dog sled safely and effectively. That said, it was manageable and in the end, we enjoyed the experience sledding around the valley.

That said, it does not say on the Green Dog Svalbard website that upon finishing the tour, you are expected to drag one of these very strong animals from the sled to its own kennel. Whilst this sounds easy, it is most certainly not – especially if you are inexperienced with handling large, powerful dogs around other dogs with whom they like to aggressively fight.

I was warned that my dog was very strong, and that I had to meander my way around other dogs whom it likes to fight. I ultimately took control and very quickly lost that control as my grip fell from my hand because the dog quickly jumped up and started fighting aggressively with another dog. I naturally panicked because I was unfamiliar with what to do in such a situation with dogs like this (would they attack me by intervening and dragging one away?).

Josephine had to come and separate the dog. The other employee then looked at me angrily, shook his head, and dismissively told me that I’d “better go back and get changed”. He later came to me and apologized for his passive aggressive conduct and expletive-laden communication. Similarly, Josephine apologized on his behalf too. Whilst this was appreciated, I was left very shaken by the experience and it wrecked the remainder of the tour for me.

That other dog handler spoke to us like we were employees rather than visiting guests. Why are visiting guests given the responsibility to drag a powerful dog to its kennel around other aggressive dogs when it’s not even stated in the website listing? If it were, I never would have agreed to have done it (precisely because I don't have that experience). Furthermore, the dog handler should not assume we all want to do it. Had I been asked, I would have told him that it isn’t for me because I don’t have experience dealing with strong dogs. We are not employees of Green Dog Svalbard, we are tourists.

Whilst there were many positives about the tour, it was wrecked by the conduct of that dismissive...

Overall, I had a memorable dog sledding tour with Green Dog. Our guide, whose name I believe was Josephine, picked us up promptly in Longyearbyen. After a short, scenic drive to the kennels, we received a comprehensive safety briefing. While necessary, it occasionally felt like information overload for a first-timer.

Green Dog provides suitable snow gear, such as gaiters and anti-fog snow goggles, for those who don't have their own. The overalls were also easy to put on. The dogs themselves appeared to be well cared for.

During the sledding experience, Josephine was fantastic. She was highly professional throughout, prioritizing guest safety and comfort. She may well be one of the best guides we've ever had, and her genuine care for the dogs was evident.

However, while Josephine excelled, I was disappointed by one of her male colleagues at the kennel. Two issues stood out to me, which I find unacceptable in tourism and hospitality. Firstly, this colleague shouted profanities in a customer-facing setting, which was highly unprofessional. Certain expletives are common or exactly the same across many languages.

Secondly, his tone came across as condescending. Unlike Josephine, he never checked to ensure customers were comfortable with certain tasks. His attitude felt dismissive, as though we were employees rather than paying guests. That said, his apology at the end to other members of our party was appreciated and did not go unnoticed.

Unfortunately, this male colleague's behaviour was the only thing preventing me from giving 5 stars. I felt he should not have been in a customer-facing role at that time.

Everything else with Green Dog was delightful—from the dog sledding itself to the waffles and the puppy meet-and-greet afterward.

I especially want to commend Josephine for her professionalism and for making our dog sledding experience in Svalbard...