This couple moved to Alaska to start a dog sledding business. They now spend their days giving wilderness tours with their 32 dogs.

• When Alyssa and Rohn Buser first met they connected over a unique hobby: dog sledding. 

• They decided to move from California to Alaska to start their own dog sled tour business.
• They spend their days leading tours, and taking care of their 32 sled dogs and their baby son.

Alyssa and Rohn Buser run Susitna Sled Dog Adventures in Susitna, Alaska, a dog sled tour business they started two years ago. Their days are filled with wilderness tours and training and caring for their 32 sled dogs. New to their pack is their baby boy Kaladin, who is 8 months old. 

While starting and owning a dog sled business may seem like an entirely fun venture for some, Alyssa said someone looking to start a similar business has to be willing to dedicate their life to the dogs and the sport. Finding a dog sitter to look after 32 dogs, for example, has proved to be a challenging task for the couple in the past.

"This is our life, which we're stoked on. But we've literally dedicated our entire life to having the sled dogs," Alyssa said.

The pandemic — a time when many people were questioning their jobs or leaving them behind entirely — was also a reckoning point for the couple. Ultimately, that time prompted them to move from Northern California to Alaska to start their business.

When Alyssa, 34, and Rohn Buser, 33, first met in 2016 they instantly connected over a unique hobby they shared: dog sledding. Alyssa had flown out to Alaska to watch the annual thousand-mile Iditarod dog sled race, and their paths crossed.

Rohn and Alyssa both had a history steeped with sled dogs and training teams for races. While Rohn grew up in Alaska surrounded by sled dogs, Alyssa always dreamed of moving from Northern California to Alaska with her own team of dogs.

Nearly seven years since they first met, that's exactly what Alyssa and Rohn, who are now married, have done.

For Alyssa, the 1995 film 'Balto' left an especially indelible impression when she was 3. After seeing the animated film which featured a pack of sled dogs in Nome, Alaska, Alyssa was decided on her career: She told her mom she would one day move to Alaska with her own pack of sled dogs.

That's exactly the life Rohn was living. He grew up in Alaska, where dog sledding is the state sport. There, his family was surrounded by sled dogs, a hobby that his parents turned into a dog sledding business.

Eventually, as an adult, Rohn trained and raced sled dogs for competitions spanning from 8-mile sprints to 300-mile races. Three times, he's shepherded a team of dogs in the "Last Great Race on Earth," or the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

The annual race is a thousand-mile trek across Alaska. Teams can be out on the course for 10 or more days, endure below-zero temperatures, and are tasked with navigating shifting terrains from mountain ranges, forests, to desolate tundra.

By 2016, when Alyssa and Rohn met, Alyssa was handling 15 sled dogs and taking them out on 60-mile races every couple years.

While Alyssa juggled work as a hairstylist, she stumbled into running sled dog tours in California on the side. Then, Rohn was taking a step back from the dog mushing lifestyle.

Growing up in the sled dog business, it may seem obvious that Rohn would follow in his family's footsteps. But he was reticent at first to go down the same path.

"He had to figure it out on his own that it was his thing, and not because it was what he was raised with," Alyssa said.

By 2019, after Rohn moved to California with Alyssa, they were both working seven days a week juggling full-time jobs and winter sled dog tours.

Then, Alyssa and Rohn decided to carve out a business for themselves. That year they formed Sierra Huskies Tours in Northern California, the genesis of what would eventually become Susitna Sled Dog Adventures in Alaska.

"I just can't stay away from it, it's just in my blood," Rohn said.

Together, they made a balanced team.

Alyssa was astute at handling the business-side of things, and scheduling tours.

And Rohn was back to enjoying leading dog tours and taking care of the dogs — just like he did growing up.

When the pandemic hit, they were debating leaving California and moving to Alaska. They wanted to be closer to Rohn's family, and to start their own family.

They went from owning an acre and a half of land in California to upsizing to 40 acres in Alaska.

More land also means more dogs. They doubled their pack to 32 sled dogs, ranging in ages from 6 months old to 13 years old.

In 2022, their second year setting up business in Alaska, they had close to 300 visitors. Most of the visitors were tourists, but about 30% were locals, Alyssa said.

That first year, they were not only setting up their business, they were also outfitting their house with electricity and flushing toilets. Now, they feel settled into their home, and steadier juggling tours and their new responsibilities as parents.

While Rohn goes out to feed and tend to their 32 dogs in the morning, Alyssa reviews their appointments and responds to emails. Then they prep the sleds and harness-up the selected team of dogs for the tour.

After Alyssa checks that the visitors are properly outfitted — in boots and winter coats — Rohn or Alyssa take turns taking visitors out on an hour-long trail tour. While juggling taking care of their new baby boy, they manage to do three tours a day at most, and the team of dogs who lead the tours are switched out throughout the day.

As for selecting the right team of dogs for the daily tours, which average six or seven miles, the number of dogs required depends on the trail and weather conditions. If the trail is packed with snow and ice, the trail will race fast, meaning the sled won’t face a lot of resistance, Rohn said.

For those conditions, Rohn said they'll take a smaller team of seven dogs so the pack will run at a slower pace on the icy terrain. If the trail is soft with snow, Rohn says they could expand their team to as many as 14 dogs to plow through those conditions.

Training a good sled dog, according to Rohn, relies on the dog mastering four simple commands: stop and go, and right and left — or "Gee" and "Haw," respectively. The terms date back to the 17th century on English farms, used as commands by farmers to give directions to teams of plow horses and mules.

Rohn will pair up older dogs with younger dogs, and the more experienced dogs will nudge the younger dogs to the left or right to teach them the commands. "An experienced dog will typically teach them a lot more than we can teach them," Rohn said.

When training a pack of sled dogs for long-distance races, Rohn said it's important to get the dogs used to a routine of running routes and even camping overnight on trails. "Every time we go out on a run, we're doing some kind of training," Rohn said. "We're refining their skills and refining their abilities. The dogs are learning their whole life essentially"

As Rohn and Alyssa navigate their new business, they're also still learning. As new parents, they are hoping their son will latch on to their passion for the sport as well. Alyssa said their son has already taken an interest in their dogs.

It's typical for kids to do their own dog sled for the first time around the age of 2, Alyssa said. By next winter, Alyssa said they're going to get their son his own sled and harness the sled up with one of their older dogs to try out his first time commanding a dog sled.