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I have the same dog and saw this exact thing happening and gave it some thought. The kill switch lanyard is mounted up on the handlebars and is not long enough or barely long enough to be working the pull start or the choke after it fires up. I use the electric start on the bars and always have the lanyard at least in my hand with the brake set. After it starts and warms a little I have to hop out of the sled to lever the choke off before taking off. I added about a foot to the lanyard so I can still keep it in my hand, around my wrist or even cinched to my belt.I did have to install a different kill switch because the junk one it came with has a red rubber plug that kept popping off while running. The new one has a plastic key type gadget like what outboard motors have.Glad you didn't have any real issues but I can just see with my luck and on a busy lake the dog with sleds mowing down lots of other guys traps or blasting through a few flip shanties. Lucky you were on a quiet lake with not much to hurt but your own gear and machine. Lesson learned Gunflint so always have the teather and add an extra foot to the cord so you can move around the machine.Gam
After trudging and catching a nice limit of Lakers, I finally got back to my Snowdog and hitched everything up for the ride home.BUT, when I started it up I must have hit the throttle and the gas stuck wide open and my Snowdog took off across the lake towing everything and leaving me standing with my mouth open in disbelief. I watched scooting across the ice with my Livescope, camera, Nils Auger, etc. and finally started running through knee-deep snow after it. It could go a couple miles on that lake if it would have gone straight, but luckily it started to veer slightly left. I was running as hard as I could and hit slush but kept on going. After a while the Snowdog and sleds disappeared in a bay to my right. I kept on running, imagining what will happen when it hits a boulder or tree on the shoreline. As I started around the point of the bay, here comes the Snowdog again! Somehow it had glanced off a cedar and that turned in around and it was heading back out of the bay towards the lake.Luckily, it again veered to the right aiming directly towards the shore. I was just standing there wondering what would happen next. I saw a small miracle. There was an 8 foot opening in the woods with a steep upwards bank. The Snowdog and sleds hit the hole and started uphill, but the before it went 20 feet it hit a boulder and laid over on its side in waist-deep snow. It STOPPED and sat with the throttle still wide-open but not going anywhere.I finally was able to run up to its track and follow it to the shoreline and hit the "kill switch." I then just sat down with my chest heaving. I disconnected the two sleds and pulled them back to the lake. I spent 30 minutes digging out the Snowdog and getting it turned around. I checked the throttle cable and things seemed normal. Finally, I got it started back up and it was once again my obedient Dog. I was relieved that it actually worked with no apparent damage to either the Snowdog or the sleds and contents! I was also glad not to have to walk another 3 miles back to the cabin across a windy lake.I got everything hitched back up and started home - grateful that I was in one piece, the Snowdog still worked and I had a limit of lakers to clean once I got back to the cabin.I debated about sharing the story, but I thought it was more than worth it to give all of you a laugh on me. Snowdog and sleds safely home.2 nice Lakers.