GETTING TO KNOW THE SLED DOG

Written by ADMIN

Thursday, 14 August 2008 20:45

A sled dog is a very muscular; medium to large dog that possesses remarkable intelligence, physical endurance and strength.  They are grouped, for racing purposes as a team, and used to pull a sled or sleigh over ice and snow.  A sled dog has a thick doubled layered coat that will often appear messy and tattered.  They lose their undercoat in the early summer months by means of heavy shedding.  While a sled dog may require regular brushing and grooming they are practically built to be durable and stay strong in very low, cold temperatures. Any medium to large sized dog breed can be used to pull a sled but there are several distinct breeds commonly used as a sled dog.  The Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky are purebred sled dogs.  There are also breeds like the Mackenzie River Husk, the Chinook, Sakhalin Husky, Tamaskan Husky, and the Seppala Siberian sled dog.  In today’s dogsled racing, the hybridized Alaskan husky and other crossbreeds, often based on the German Shorthaired Pointer, are commonly used for sled dogs.   The Alaskan husky is good in modern sled racing because whatever they lack in strength they make up for with speed.  The Alaskan husky represents a variety of different lines and are bred purely for performance.   A sled dog is required to not just pull considerable weight but to show amazing endurance and travel anywhere from five to eighty or more miles a day.  It’s also assumed that the sled dogs will be fast and cover these distances in a reasonable amount of time.  A racing sled dog is expected to cover up to twenty miles per hour for up to twenty-five miles.  A long distance sled dog is expected to do at least ten to fourteen miles per hour.  Poor trail conditions aren’t even an excuse since a good sled dog can still average six to seven miles per hour. Sled dog racing is both a winter and fall sport with the sled dogs pulling either a sled or wheeled cart.  The sled dogs are hitched in tandem with pairs of up to 22 sled dogs per team.  The driver is standing on a runner with tug lines attached to the central gang line.  Races are categorized as short distance, middle distance and long distance with the sled dog team either racing against a time clock or against each other. North America and Europe drive sled dogs for fun winter recreation, energy conservation and sport.  Breeds of sled dog have also gained popularity as a household pet.  Sled dogs are also now common in unlikely parts of the world like Australia and Patagonia. .