A ten-dog team of Seppala Siberian Sleddogs in tandem hitch on a frozen Yukon lake (Photo by Isa Boucher)

Sled dogs, known also as sleightman dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs are types of dogs that are used to pull a wheel-less vehicle on runners (a sled or sleigh) over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines. The origins of this arrangement are unknown.

Overview

Several distinct dog breeds are in common use as sled dogs, although any medium-sized breed may be used to pull a sled. Purebred sled dog breeds range from the well-known Siberian Husky and Alaskan Malamute to rarer breeds such as the Mackenzie River Husky. Dog drivers, however, have a long history of using other breeds or crossbreds as sled dogs. In the days of the Gold Rush in The Yukon, mongrel teams were the rule, but there were also teams of Foxhounds and Staghounds. Today the unregistered hybridized Alaskan husky is preferred for dogsled racing, along with a variety of crossbreds, the German Shorthaired Pointer often being chosen as the basis for crossbreeding. From 1988 through 1991, a team of Standard Poodles competed in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.) hitching sled dogs into their harness

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 five to eighty miles (8 to 130 km) or more a day. Speed is needed to travel the distance in a reasonable length of time. Racing sled dogs will travel up to an average twenty miles per hour (32.2 km/h) over distances up to 25 miles (40 km). Over longer distances, average traveling speed declines to 10 to 14 miles per hour (16 to 22 km/h). In poor trail conditions, sleddogs can still usually average 6 or 7 miles per hour (10 or 11 km/h). Sled dogs have been known to travel over 90 miles in a 24 hour period while pulling 85 pounds each.

Sleddogs pull various sorts of sleds, from the small 25 pound (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 and to draw wheeled rigs when there is no snow. A team of sled dogs may consist of anywhere from three to two dozen dogs. 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 Arctic natives are run in "fan hitch", each dog having its own tow line tied directly to the sled.

Driving sled dogs has become a popular winter recreation and sport in North America and Europe; sled dogs are now found even in such unlikely places as Australia and Patagonia.

Sled dog breeds

A typical sled dog breed, such as the Greenland Dog, has a very dense double coat, wide padded feet, erect ears, a curled tail, and a muscular build.

• Alaskan Husky
• Alaskan Malamute
• American Eskimo Dog
• Canadian Eskimo Dog
• Chinook
• Eurohound
• Greenland Dog
• Labrador Husky
• Mackenzie River Husky
• Northern Inuit Dog
• Sakhalin Husky
• Samoyed
• Seppala Siberian Sleddog
• Siberian Husky
• Tamaskan Dog
• Utonagan

Some great trainers can train other non-sled dog breeds, such as Labrador retrievers, Poodles, and some pointers.

See also

Indian Dog sled near Fort Clark. Watercolor by Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied 1833.

• Dogsled racing
• Dog sled
• Mushing
• Leonhard Seppala
• Balto
• Togo (dog)

External links

• Mushing Magazine
• Sleddoggin - Resources for sled dog enthusiasts

de:Hundeschlitten eo:Sledhundoj fi:Rekikoira fr:Chien d'attelage it:Cane da slitta ja:???? nl:Hondenslee no:Trekkhund pl:Psi zaprz?g ru:??????? ?????? sco:Dug sled simple:Dog sled sl:vle?ni pes sv:Slädhund