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A dog sled or dog sleigh is a
Dog power has been used for hunting and travel for over a thousand years. As far back as the 10th century BCE these dogs have contributed to human culture.
Assembling a dog sled team involves picking lead dogs, point dogs, swing dogs, and wheel dogs. The lead dog is crucial, so mushers take particular care of these dogs. Another important detail is to have powerful wheel dogs to pull the sled out from the snow. Point dogs (optional) are located behind the leader dogs, swing dogs between the point and wheel dogs, and team dogs are all other dogs in between the wheel and swing dogs and are selected for their endurance, strength, and speed as part of the team. In dog sledding, Siberian Huskies or
The Canadian Museum of Civilization - History of Dogsled mail in the Yukon
Dog sledding Animal-powered vehicles
A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled
A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners ...
pulled by one or more sled dog
A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow.
Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transport ...
s used to travel over ice
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing
Sled dog racing (sometimes termed dog sled racing) is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, Greenland and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sled dogs tha ...
. Traditionally in Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
and the eastern Canadian Arctic
The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...
the Inuit
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
had the dogs pull in a fan shape in front of the sled, while in other regions, such as Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and the western part of Northern Canada
Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...
the dogs pull side by side in pairs.
History
Dog power has been used for hunting and travel for over a thousand years. As far back as the 10th century BCE these dogs have contributed to human culture.
Assembling a dog sled team involves picking lead dogs, point dogs, swing dogs, and wheel dogs. The lead dog is crucial, so mushers take particular care of these dogs. Another important detail is to have powerful wheel dogs to pull the sled out from the snow. Point dogs (optional) are located behind the leader dogs, swing dogs between the point and wheel dogs, and team dogs are all other dogs in between the wheel and swing dogs and are selected for their endurance, strength, and speed as part of the team. In dog sledding, Siberian Huskies or Alaskan Malamute
The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance to haul heavy freight as a sled dog and hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Canad ...
s are the main types of dogs that are used for recreational sledding because of their strength and speed and endurance as well as their ability to withstand the cold. However, Alaskan Huskies are also a popular dog for sled dog racing
Sled dog racing (sometimes termed dog sled racing) is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, Greenland and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sled dogs tha ...
, because of their endurance, good eating habits, speed, and dedication to running even when tired.
Sometimes, for sprint races, mushers use short-haired hounds that are faster than the average husky
Husky is a general term for a dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies that mai ...
. These hounds are raised from a young age to pull. It is harder to train hounds than it is to train Siberian Huskies and Malamutes to pull a sled because it is not in their nature.
See also
*Drafting dog
A drafting dog, pulling dog, or draft dog (also spelt draught dog) is a dog bred and traditionally used for pulling a dogcart, or in winter also for sled pulling. Dogs bred for this work have strong builds. Many draft dogs are either mastiffs o ...
* Dogcart
A dogcart (or dog-cart) is a light horse-drawn vehicle, originally designed for sporting shooters, with a box behind the driver's seat to contain one or more retriever dogs. The dog box could be converted to a second seat. Later variants included ...
* Sirius Dog Sled Patrol
The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol ( da, Slædepatruljen Sirius), known informally as ''Siriuspatruljen'' (the Sirius Patrol) and formerly known as ''North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol'' and ''Resolute Dog Sled Patrol'', is an elite Danish naval unit. It ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, DogsledsThe Canadian Museum of Civilization - History of Dogsled mail in the Yukon
Dog sledding Animal-powered vehicles