Howling Bay Kennels

We had a great time at Howling Bay Kennels. We went when they had puppies onsite. The dogs were all super cute, and very friendly. We went on dog sled ride that was beautiful with all the snow and we were quite warm. I was wearing warm weather gear - Parka, snowpants and boot rental from Alaska Outdoor Gear Rental. Great experience.

5/5 highly recommended! Tabitha was an awesome host and we had a lot of fun dog sledding and interacting with the beautiful dogs! We learned a lot about the dogs and Tabitha gave us plenty of time to take photos as well. Thank you for the great experience!

Tabitha and Kevin were excellent.The northern lights tour were amazing! Tabitha took us to the right spot for aurora view and helped me a lot with my camera settings.
I highly recommend this family business, they are very friendly and professional.

The goodest, cutest and most affectionate dogs!! They will improve mood 10x!! Lovely snowy tree lined trail. Host is very informative about dog sledding and dogs. Bring toe/foot warmers! It might have been because of the cold but the Swiss hot chocolate at the end was the best I've ever had.

This was an exceptional experience, and I recommend that tourists try them out. Tabitha and Kevin and welcoming, and they ensured that we were provided the extra warm layers of clothing that was needed. The time spent afterwards with the dogs sent my wife to the moon. If you have never tried sledding, this is something unique to do. It is worth the experience. You will not be disappointed.

I can not imagine a dog sledding and kennel experience better than Howling Bay Kennels!

Kevin & Tabitha's heart is really in sharing their love of their dogs and dog sledding with visitors and that shines through! Our whole family loved learning about dog sledding as a sport and the kennel's dog. The dog sledding experience and meeting all the dogs was amazing. Fantastic company and family, would recommend them for any tours/experiences they offer!!

Thank you so much Kevin, Tabitha & Bella!

This was such an amazing and unique experience!! We did the dog sled tour and it was a blast! The owners Kevin and Tabitha were so great! They answered all questions and Tabitha was telling us some history of the area while on the tour. The dogs are so friendly and happy! They also love attention and you get to spend as much time with them as you would like. If you're looking for a great experience with awesome tour operators then book with them!

Decided to book an aurora dog sled tour. Communication and booking was very easy. We were told they will pick us up, drive us to see the aurora if we can't see it during the dog sledding, take pics of the experience, etc. We had a rental car, so pick up wasn't necessary. The bigger sled was broken, so they had to use the smaller one and split us up for two different runs, which wasn't a big deal. We were given a lot of time with the dogs to play, pet and hug. That was the best part of the experience but everything else was just okay. They had a camera out but didn't take any initiative to take our pics with their dogs, by the camp fire or sky. They offered marshmallows but they were kind of stale, small and hard to pierce . We did enjoy the hot cocoa before leaving. Everything was done in their home, which is fine if the living area was bigger. Instead, it became awkward later in evening when the youngest wanted to go to sleep.

Overall the value we got from the tour is 2 &1/2 stars, 5 stars for the dog Interaction, 2&1/2 stars for the professionalism.

Suggestions--

1) if someone drives instead of being picked up, offer more services or a discount

2) take initiative and take some pics of guests

3) if you offer to meet your guests to take pics another day when the weather is more clear, follow through and honor that offer

4) treat this more like a business. We loved meeting your family and fur babies, but a separate area for guests would be more professional and would make it not as awkward when it gets late in the evening

5) have better Marshmallows and sticks ;). Maybe have some kind of tray table you can set up to make it easier and more inviting, so guests feel like they can grab one as needed

6) if you offer to drive guests to find a more clear area to see the aurora, follow through or at least give options

We really want y'all to succeed, so I hope you don't take this personally and simply accept it as constructive criticism

I am glad to hear others are having a good experience with Howling Bay Kennels, I did not. I booked back in September 2021 for a dogsled ride on my birthday in January 2022. I paid in full up front and anxiously awaited for January 12th to arrive. Unfortunately when I called them to confirm the ride before the trip my call went unanswered and no one replied to my message that I left. I heard there was a family emergency, these things happen and I hope it all worked out well for them. I called again the morning of my ride and they answered the phone and confirmed they were not able to provide the dogsled ride, they said they could do it Saturday but our trip ended that day and we were flying back home. I asked for a refund and they said yes, they would immediately refund my money. A couple of weeks passed and no refund, so I called again and they assured me they thought they had already refunded it and would make sure it was done immediately. I waited another couple of weeks and then called Mastercard. I had to file for them to force my refund because services were not provided as promised. It is now two months past when we were supposed to have had our dogsled ride, and I just now see Mastercard reversed the charges from September.
Better communication between them and us would have gotten them a full 5 star review, I fully understand life happens. Them not communicating and then promising they refunded the money twice when they didn't is why I rated them with only 1.

Howling Bay Kennels provided my friend and I with the best aurora viewing tour! They picked us up from our residence and drove us to their beautiful home and ecodome where we could comfortably and successfully view the lights all night long! They took amazing photos for us throughout the night that we will be able to cherish forever! Kevin and Tabitha provided us with delicious smore's, hot chocolate, and teas to keep us warm throughout the night. One of my favorite parts was getting to play with their amazing sled dogs. Thank you again Kevin and Tabitha for the wonderful experience! Would highly recommend this experience to others !