Photo Gallery: Dryland Sled Dog Racing At Lake Metroparks Farmpark

Suzanne Howe got involved with dryland dog sled racing because of her husband's allergies.

He needed a dog that wouldn't make him sneeze all the time so they picked a Siberian husky.

While that solved one problem, it created a new one. Huskies have a lot of energy, Howe explained, and if they don't find an outlet for all of that energy, they're rambunctiousness can become destructive.

"(The dog) was very active and needed more exercise," Howe said. "And that's how we ended up getting towed on rollerblades through the streets of Lyndhurst."

From there, they graduated to harnessing their dog to a bike and, ultimately, a cart.

Howe is the treasurer of the TrailBreakers Sled Dog Club, which organized the last weekend at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark.

Dozens of competitors from as far away as Kentucky, New York and Wisconsin came to race at the fifth annual event.

They could compete with as few as one or as many as six dogs. And the Huskies were hitched to everything from rigs to bikes to scooters.

Howe admitted that there isn't much a musher can do to steer except make sure their lead dog listens to their vocal commands.

"That's why it's so important that your lead dog listen."

Aleeha Travis, of Stamping Ground, KY, said she her favorite thing about mushing is how much her dogs enjoy it.

"It's a very good bonding experience for the dogs," she said. "There's something about the spirit of it -- how you're all one spirit, working toward one cause."