Sled Dog University

At the Chena Indian Village stop on our riverboat Discovery tour, we got the opportunity to hear from a real sled dog breeder, trainer, and musher.

We even got to rub the fur on a couple authentic Alaskan Husky puppies.  Alaskan Huskies are the marathon sled dogs which have resulted from a wide variety of dog breeds which came to Alaska with early settlers and eventually produced the non-AKC recognized breed.

This breeder/trainer/musher keeps about 60 dogs in order to build a competitive racing sled dog team.  Sled dogs must be over 3 years old to qualify for racing since that length of time is required for proper body maturity and stamina.  Iditarod sled dog teams have a maximum starting dog team of  16 with a minimum of 12.  At least 6 dogs must be on the tow line at the finish.  In order to build a capable dog team of 16, it is easy to see why a serious musher would have 60 dogs at a time. 

The leading dogs on the team are called the "lead dogs",  followed by the "swing dogs", followed by the "team dogs", followed by the "wheel dogs", and finally the sled and musher.  See the real details here:  ultimateiditarod.com

The towline or gangline is the basis for the tandem hitch on which pairs of dogs work from either side of the line to tow the sled.  A number frequently mentioned is that a single dog can tow a 60 pound load.  Not knowing any other details such as conditions, time, etc this is only a ballpark number for the sake of conversation.  A lot of careful thinking and strategy as well as love for the dogs on the team factors into grooming a competitive dog team.