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[[File:Wa husky4.jpg|thumb|A sled dog team at work.]] |
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'''Sled dogs''' (or '''sleigh dogs''') are work dogs that are used to pull a [[sled]] over snow or ice by means of [[dog harness]]es and lines. This is called "mushing", the group of dogs collectively is called a "team", and the person directing the dog team, a "musher". Historically, sled dog teams were used for transportation and moving loads. Today, sled dogs are used mostly for recreation. |
'''Sled dogs''' (or '''sleigh dogs''') are work dogs that are used to pull a [[sled]] over snow or ice by means of [[dog harness]]es and lines. This is called "mushing", the group of dogs collectively is called a "team", and the person directing the dog team, a "musher". Historically, sled dog teams were used for transportation and moving loads. Today, sled dogs are used mostly for recreation. |
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==History== |
==History== |
Revision as of 04:48, 9 February 2013
Sled dogs (or sleigh dogs) are work dogs that are used to pull a sled over snow or ice by means of dog harnesses and lines. This is called "mushing", the group of dogs collectively is called a "team", and the person directing the dog team, a "musher". Historically, sled dog teams were used for transportation and moving loads. Today, sled dogs are used mostly for recreation.
History
The practice of using dogs to pull sleds dates back to at least 2000 B.C. It originated in Siberia or North America, where many American Indian cultures used dogs to pull loads.[1] In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen used sled dogs in a race to become the first person to reach the South Pole. He succeeded, while his competitor Robert Falcon Scott, who had instead used Siberian ponies, tragically perished.[2] By the time of the first World War, mushing had spread to European countries such as Norway, where dog sleds were used for nature tours, as ambulances in the woodlands and mountains, and to bring supplies to soldiers in the field.[3]
Mushing was likely used for work as well as recreation by the first mushers. However, today, it survives mostly in the form of the recreational sport of sled dog racing. In the 20th century, more convenient technology such as the airplane and snowmobile replaced sled dogs as the preferred mode of transportation in the arctic and subarctic regions of North America.[1] Nonetheless, it remains an important cultural practice of the aboriginal peoples of Siberia, Canada, and the U.S. state of Alaska.
Practical Aspects
Sled dog teams are put together with great care. A team consists of the leader, swing dogs, wheel dogs, and sometimes point dogs.
Sled dogs and the conquest of the poles
Sled dogs played a large role in the conquest of both the North- and South poles. Roald Amundsen successfully employed them to reach the South Pole, whereas Robert Falcon Scott lacked experience in handling these animals, a major reason why he lost the race to Amundsen.
One of the advantages of using sled dogs in polar regions is their uncomplicated food requirements. They can be fed seal meat; it is unnecessary to make elaborate arrangements for bringing along food for them. Amundsen went even further on his expedition to the South Pole. He shot the dogs he no longer required and fed them to his remaining sled dogs.
Although sled dogs are still used in the Arctic, they are now no longer found in the Antarctic. As a foreign species requiring the slaughter of countless seals, the regulations of the Antarctic treaty specified that these animals had to be removed from the continent by 1 April 1994 [1]. The dogs had no real function any longer after snowmobiles had been developed to the stage that they functioned reliably, but for the sake of tradition, the British Antarctic stations had continued to keep them. Shortly before these last sled dogs were transported from the Antarctic to Maine and Hudson Bay, they were used in their traditional role for one last Antarctic expedition. The report about this journey closed with a quotation by Helmer Hanssen, who had been responsible for the welfare of the sled dogs in Amundsen’s South Pole team:
"Dogs like that, which share man's hard times and strenuous work, cannot be looked upon merely as animals. They are supporters and friends. There is no such thing as making a pet out of a sledge dog; these animals are worth much more than that."
Sled dog breeds
Overview
Several distinct dog breeds are in common use as sled dogs, although any sized breed may be used to pull a sled. Purebred sled dog breeds range from the well-known Siberian Husky[4] and Alaskan Malamute[4] to rarer breeds such as the Mackenzie River Husky[4] or the Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canadian Inuit Dog). Dog drivers, however, have a long history of using other breeds or crossbreeds as sled dogs. In the days of the Gold Rush in Yukon, mongrel teams were the rule, but there were also teams of Foxhounds and Staghounds. Today the unregistered hybridized Alaskan Husky[4] is preferred for dogsled racing, along with a variety of crossbreeds, the German Shorthaired Pointer often being chosen as the basis for cross breeding. From 1988 through 1991, a team of Standard Poodles competed in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Sled dogs are expected to demonstrate two major qualities in their work (apart from basic physical capability to pull the sled). Endurance is needed to travel the distances demanded in dogsled travel, which may be anything from 5 to 80 mi (8 to 129 km) or more a day. Speed is needed to travel the distance in a reasonable length of time. Over longer distances, average traveling speed declines to 10 to 14 mph (16 to 23 km/h). In poor trail conditions, sled dogs can still usually average 6 or 7 mph (9.7 or 11.3 km/h). Sled dogs have been known to travel over 90 mi (145 km) in a 24 hour period while pulling 85 lb (39 kg) each.
Sled dogs pull various sorts of sleds, from the small 25 lb (11 kg) sprint-racing sleds, through the larger plastic-bottomed distance racing toboggan sleds, to traditional ash, freighting sleds and the trapper's high-fronted narrow toboggan. Sled dogs are also used to pull skiers, kicksleds and to draw wheeled rigs when there is no snow. They have even been used to pull kick scooters in places where there is a lack of snow, a sport known as dog scootering. Modern teams are usually hitched in tandem, with harnessed pairs of sled dogs pulling on tug lines attached to a central gangline. Trappers in deep snow conditions using the toboggan will hitch their dogs in single file with traces on either side of the line of dogs. Dog teams of some Inuit are run in "fan hitch", each dog having its own tow line tied directly to the sled.[5]
Types and breeds
- Alaskan Husky is not a breed, but a category or type of dog.
- Alaskan Malamute was originally bred to be used as an Alaskan sled dog. It is generally a large and domesticated dog.
- Canadian Inuit Dog is an Arctic breed and is considered to be the oldest and rarest of the remaining purebred indigenous domestic canines.
- Chinook is a rare New England sled dog breed of "in-between" type, neither a sprinter nor an endurance freighter; the original lead dog "Chinook" on whom the breed is based was a mixture from working sled dog lines and of a more mastiff-type build than most sled dogs, and the breed varies in appearance much more than most sled dog breeds and often superficially resembles a yellow German Shepherd Dog mix.
- Eurohound is a crossbred dog, a mix between the Alaskan Husky and the Pointer. It has both the Alaskan Husky's sledding ability and the Pointer's enthusiasm and athleticism. It is one of the most formidable sprint-racing sled dogs in the world.
- Greenland Dog is a large breed of husky-type dog kept as a sled dog and also used for hunting polar bear and seal.
- Greyster sled dog type bred in Norway.
- Labrador Husky was bred as a strong, fast, working sled dog and originated in Canada.
- Mackenzie River Husky is built for heavy freighting in single file through deep snow. Less a specific breed than a certain set of varieties of sled dog types from a specific geographic area, a mix of Arctic and subarctic sled dogs.
- Sakhalin Husky is rarely used and usually lives in Japan.
- Samoyed is a pure or mostly-white dog that was used for herding reindeer as well as pulling sleds.
- Seppala Siberian Sleddog is active and energetic, sharing the same ancestral base as the Siberian Husky.
- Siberian Husky was originally imported from Siberia for dog sled racing but has gained widespread popularity as a show dog and pet. Current sled racing lines are bred separately from the more common family pet and show dog bloodlines, and frequently do not possess the common "husky" look associated with the breed.[6]
- Tamaskan Dog originated in Finland and bred to look like wolves. Not bred specifically for (though still capable of) sledding work, it excels in agility, obedience, and working trials.
- Northern Inuit Dog are bred to resemble wolves, but are mixes between the Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, and Siberian Husky.
There were ten distinct husky breeds differentiated by region, height/weight and color: the Husky proper (recognised by the American Kennel Club under the name of Eskimo), the Alaskan Malamute, the Toganee, the Mackenzie River Husky, the Timber-Wolf Dog, the West Greenland Husky, the East Greenland Husky, the Baffinland Husky, the Siberian Husky, and the Ostiak.[4]
The Husky or Canadian Eskimo dog is rare outside of the Northwest Territories. These are mostly used by trappers, explorers, Eskimos and Indians; the Hudson Bay traders, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, lumber-jacks, doctors, priests and others generally use what the Indians call the white dogs, or crossbred dogs which are half Husky and half Hound, Great Dane, Newfoundland or any other type that is handy.[4]
The Toganee and Mackenzie River Dogs were closely related to the true Husky and sometimes interbred. The Toganee had longer legs while the Mackenzie River Dog had a longer coat. The Timber-Wolf Dog of the Yukon basin was a first-cross between the true Husky and the timber-wolf and used as a leader or "king" dog. The Baffinland Husky differed from the true Husky in having a black coat with white markings. The West Greenland Husky and the slightly smaller East Greenland Husky both had timber-wolf blood and were sometimes crossed with the Baffinland Husky. The East Greenland Husky (also called the Angmagssalik Husky) was considered the oldest and least diluted type. The comparatively small Ostiak or West Siberian Husky was used not only for sled hauling but also in hunting elk, bear and wolf. The tenth recognised type was the Chuchi (Siberian Husky) first imported into Alaska in 1909.[4]
See also
- Dog sled racing
- Balto
- List of sled dog races
- 1925 serum run to Nome
- Sled dog race at the 1932 Winter Olympics
References
- ^ a b White, Tim. "A History of Mushing Before We Knew It". International Federation of Sleddog Sports, Inc. Retrieved 10/21/12.
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(help) - ^ "Roald Amundsen". PBS Online. Retrieved 10/21/12.
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(help) - ^ Myhre, Knut. "Nordic Dogsledding in Scandinavia". International Federation of Sleddog Sports, Inc. Retrieved 10/21/12.
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(help) - ^ a b c d e f g Ten Distinct Husky Breeds in the 1940s
- ^ Northern Wilds: Dog Sledding History
- ^ That Doesn't LOOK Like A Siberian Husky!