WATERBORO — As the lead mushing dog for the Daigneault family of Waterboro, Jethro knows that when his harness goes on, it’s time to run. A husky/pointer mix, the slight black and white freckled dog trembles with anticipation whenever the racing sled comes out of the family truck.

And he’s not the only one who looks forward to hitting the trails.

“We’re the type of people who get excited when winter comes,” said Melissa Daigneault.

The Daigneaults have taken to the sport with enthusiasm: Parents Melissa and Lenny train and care for their kennel full of racing dogs, while their three boys ”“ Ethan, Braden and Rylan ”“ are all learning how to take the reins.

Local races start in January and go through March, with events nearly every weekend. The Daigneaults belong to the Down East Sled Dog Club, part of the Minnesota-based International Sled Dog Racing Association, which hosts races throughout the Northeast.

“New England has a very long history of sled dog racing and is still an area with many active clubs and events,” said ISDRA Executive Director Dave Steele, via e-mail Wednesday. “Outside of Alaska, New England and the Midwest probably have more sled dog activity than the rest of the lower 48. Of course, the snow belt is a factor also.”

According to the ISDRA website, New England is home to 7 percent of its members, as of 1999-2000 figures.

Youth racing is very popular in New England and the Midwest, said Steele. Youth race in the junior class as young as 9 or 10 years old, with the younger children, such as Rylan, 7, starting off with the 100-yard dash race with a one-dog sled.

“They have to be able to handle their dogs,” said Melissa.

This past weekend in Farmington, Ethan, 11, and Braden, 9, took first and fourth place, respectively, in the junior three-dog speed class. This weekend, the boys will compete at the Laconia World Championship sled dog derby in New Hampshire.

Though he’s only in sixth grade, Ethan said his longterm goal is to attend college in Alaska and work as a handler for one of the large dog sledding teams.

“Just riding a sled and being on the trail with the dogs, it’s amazing,” he said. “I just got really into it, I never get tried of it.”

The Daigneaults’ journey into mushing began with a wedding present, well before the boys were even born. Lenny Daigneault had participated in sled dog racing as a Boy Scout in his youth and had wanted a sled dog team ever since, his wife said.

She got him a husky as a wedding gift ”“ and the rest, as they say, is history. The couple joined the Down East Sled Dog Club to learn about the sport, said Melissa, and when she heard that one member owned four racing dogs, “I looked at my husband and said, ”˜No way,’” she recalled with a smile.

Sixteen years later, the couple own a kennel full of dogs, mostly huskies, and Lenny still mushes them nearly every weeknight. They oversaw the birth of their first litter three years ago and another last year.

Though some may picture only huskies and malamutes pulling sleds, short-haired Jethro is no anomaly at the races.

“Many crosses with pointers, especially English pointers, have proven to be very good sled dogs ”“ at all levels of racing,” said Steele. “It’s all about performance. A sled dog is any dog that pulls a sled.”

Lenny and Melissa participated in their first race in 1997 and after a few years off while the boys were toddlers, they’ve gotten back into the sport with a focus on getting their children involved.

“Ethan was mushing in the womb,” said Melissa. He’s now in his third year racing on his own.

“It’s a great sport for the kids,” she said, noting that sportsmanship is stressed for the beginners.

Melissa said she was particularly proud of Ethan at a recent race in Bridgton, when one of his friends flipped his sled and lost his team. Though Ethan was about to pass his friend and make good time on the race, he decided to stop and help instead.

“I got his team and let him get back on and untangled the dogs,” he said. “I gave up my race ”¦ but it made me feel good, and I would do it again.”

Keeping the sled in control, especially around corners, can be a challenge, and racers have to be careful not to run over their dogs, he said.

“You kick up the hills, you’re always doing something,” said Ethan, “steering, braking, pushing, untangling. You’ve got to be in shape.”

Eventually, he said, he’d like to start his own team and his own kennel and race the Iditarod. For now, he keeps busy helping his father care for their dogs every evening. Along with the near-weekly races, the dogs have to be trained and cared for daily.

“There’s a lot of responsibility involved in this sport,” he said.

Each team of dogs is trained two nights per week, with two teams training together. In all, the training consumes about 12 hours a week of the family’s time. In the off season, the family uses heavy-duty scooters with the dogs instead of sleds, but has to be careful that the animals don’t overheat.

“We don’t train when it’s over 50 degrees,” said Melissa.

Weight training for the dogs begins in the fall, she said, and the training is like that of any athlete, from the dogs’ carefully monitored diets to endurance training.

“They’re like people, they have quirks,” she said, noting that the family once had a dog that was afraid to cross snowmobile bridges, which took some confidence training to overcome.

Last year, the icy conditions prevented training and races much of the season, said Melissa, but “we’re making up for it this year” with all the snow. After the Laconia race this weekend, the family will have a rare weekend off and two more races to go before spring.

— City Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.