Our Story
We are a young family situated in the Perth Hills region of Western Australia. My husband and I have always been surrounded by animals and nature, and dogs have always had a special place in our hearts and families. Personally, my obsession with dog sledding has been lifelong but at the time of buying our first dog as a couple, it was at the back of mind with no knowledge of the sport in our climate. Rogue, a perfect mixture of three traditional sledding breeds, proved to fit in with our active lifestyle and a passion for sled dogs arose in our household. As soon as I discovered dryland dog sledding, I delved in deep, buying the equipment before joining a club, refurbishing a rig to run teams with before even participating in my first race let alone having a team. With two dogs by that stage and a complete obsession for the sport in full bloom, I decided to channel my passion into Itahni Kennels.
What we had with Rogue was unique and we knew we needed more just like her, so in my spare time, aside from adventuring out in the bush, taking the dogs to as many sporting events as possible and pursuing a side quest to read every memoir of every musher out there, I embarked on rigorous research and training courses to develop my knowledge of arctic breeds and dog breeding in general. We have since bred our foundation litter, have had years of experience racing and training our sled dogs, become committee members for a local sledding club and expanded our pack to develop our breed. Seeing how my dogs thrive doing what they were born, and absolutely love, to do, and how Rogues incredible blend of my three favourite breeds makes her uniquely and seamlessly fit into family and sporting life without the issues experienced with her purebred counterparts, gave me a purpose. Breeding the Australian Laika as a sled dog and versatile team and family member is and always will be my passion in life.