Dogs and their owners came from around the state for the Tasmanian Association of Sleddog Sports boot camp, which marked the beginning of the winter racing season.

The sport, which has been growing in popularity in Tasmania recently, involves being pulled along by running dogs, using voice command to start, steer and stop them.

“They just want to run, so getting them used to the harness is the hardest part, but other than that, it’s very easy to train them,” Siberian husky owner Matthew Baker said.

“I got these dogs and struggled to wear them out. I was running everyday with them and just wearing myself out, and they still wanted more.”

Mr Baker said dog sledding was the perfect fix for that.

“Any medium to large dog can do it – it doesn’t have to be a husky.”

There were about 30 dogs at the boot camp, including Siberian and Alaskan huskies, border collies, malamutes and kelpies.