Last updated 09:47, Friday, 13 June 2008

It isn’t really a bark. The noise bursting from the four tightly-muscled, silver-streaked dogs began as a yelping, became a bawling and is now a screaming, ear-splitting chorus of anticipation.

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Matthew Clarke and dogs

Matthew Clarke has removed the huskies from the back of his van and is attaching them to ropes at the front of his three-wheeled rig. He is about to ride it through this remote forest beyond Longtown, dog-powered at up to 25 mph.

As each husky is fixed to a rope the others yank and leap against their restraints, howling their impatience to the sky. Their cousin the wolf is clearly not a distant cousin.

Then they’re off, sprinting to the horizon and instantly silent. Now there’s only the sound of wheels skidding along a track and Matthew urging “Come by!”

At 23 Matthew is the youngest competitor in the Sled Dog Association of Scotland (Sdas). He and his girlfriend Adele Moffat travel hundreds of miles with their Siberian huskies, testing the animals against some of the best in Britain.

Back home in Cummersdale the racing machines are much-loved pets – or as much a pet as a wolf’s cousin can be.

“They only lie down when they go to sleep,” says Adele. “I would never advise anyone to keep them in the house unattended,” cautions Matthew, a joiner with Carlisle-based Alan Irving Construction. “They’d probably come back and there’d be no settee left.”

But those who understand that skidding down a forest track is not the only bumpy ride a husky can bring are in for an exhilarating journey.

Three-and-a-half years ago Matthew and Adele bought their first husky, as a pet. “It was either going to be a fish or a dog,” recalls Adele.

Perhaps the thought of goldfish racing did not appeal. The couple had watched husky racing and decided that their lives would be enriched by the presence of these beautifully sleek athletes. Soon they realised it would be wrong not to let them pursue their urge to run.

Matthew and Adele bought another husky to keep the first one company. “Then,” explains Matthew, “it just escalated from there.”

Now they have five adults: Koda, Keano, Rogue, Regan and Draya. Five weeks ago Koda gave birth to six puppies, fathered by Keano, the only male in the pack. Five puppies will be sold in the next few weeks. One will be added to the Cummersdale racing stable; or rather the three runs in the back garden.

It was hard to believe when they were straining at the start line, but huskies are usually quiet. Adele says that when she and Matthew moved to Cummersdale their new neighbours took two weeks to realise they had dogs.

These are not house dogs, except for occasional visits indoors to increase the bond with their owners. They are, however, demanding dogs. The huskies are never left alone for more than a few hours and they demand regular exercise.

In the warmth of summer the dogs’ perpetual motion is enough to keep them fit. When the air cools to suit their Siberian Arctic blood Matthew and Adele take them out to train several times a week. “It’s not just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle,” says Adele, a film processor at Boots. “Everybody thinks I’m absolutely off my head to have so many dogs.” Adds Matthew: “You can get the fishing rod out then chuck it back in the cupboard. That’s not an option here.”

Huskies are widely regarded as an expensive breed to keep but the biggest expense for Matthew and Adele is not food but diesel. Raw chicken and biscuit are cheap compared with the cost of transporting the dogs to training runs and competitions all over Scotland.

Matthew has just finished his second season of competition, finishing fourth and then third in his four-dog class. Some courses are more than five miles long. Huskies live for about 12 years and can race until 10 if they’re not pushed to excess.

The racing season runs through winter, from the end of October until March. Matthew and Adele take off in their van around Scotland, savouring a fulfilling outdoor life for them and their dogs. They are organising their first Sdas rally at Kershope Forest next January. (Husky events are known as rallies, not races, just like fast cars.)

Injuries happen, to dogs and drivers, but they are thankfully rare. Other problems can include huskies being tempted to pursue a nearby rabbit, and the perils of tangled ropes and frayed tempers.

“We’ve had one or two problems with two of the girls fighting with each other,” says Matthew. “Bitches tend to hold a grudge more. Dogs will have a fight and it will be over and done with. Shouting at them doesn’t work. If someone shouted at me at work I wouldn’t respond well.”

The slither of wheels precedes the sight of four sleek beasts dragging Matthew forward on his three-wheeled chariot. Panting at journey’s end, Keano and Rogue’s piercing ice-blue eyes dart between their water bowls and the fascinating world around them.

No wonder people stop in their tracks when they see these speed kings in Cumbria, thousands of miles from their ancestral Siberian home.

But nowhere is really home to a wolf’s cousin, always looking for the next place to run.

• For more information about huskies or to sponsor Matthew Clarke contact matthew.clarke15@btinternet.com