It's All About the Dogs--Part 1

Most of us, until we learn more about the sport of sled dog racing, have a picture in our mind of what a sled dog looks like. And for most that is either the Malamute or the Siberian Husky. But there are also Alaskan Huskies. Let me walk you through the similarities and differences here and what makes each type of dog unique.

The Malamutes are the draft animals of the sled dogs. Think of canine Percherons and Clydesdales. They are big--often weighing a hundred pounds or more with heavy bones and very thick, dense coats. They are handsome animals and very strong pullers but they are not fast. They were the draft animals of Alaska in the old days.

When racing began to become more popular, many folks recognized they needed lighter and speedier dogs. This was very true in the short or "sprint" races which may be just a few miles long. There pure speed with small teams was the key to winning. A lot of other breeds and types of dogs were gradually introduced to the Malamutes and the Native dogs--descendants of those that came across from Asia as much as 10,000 years ago according to recent research.

From this constant tinkering the Alaskan Husky slowly emerged. They are still not a breed recognized by the AKC or any other formal canine group that I am aware of. They do not all look alike, although gradual refinement is starting to create some characteristic traits. Still they come in almost any color, various shapes of ears, sizes from thirty five pounds up to seventy five or so, and some show anything from Labrador to German Shorthair in their ancestry. These are the dogs most of the serious contenders race now. In time they will become more uniform, I expect, and maybe become a recognized breed but that's many generations into the future.

Then there are the Siberian Huskies. Most of the Norwegian and other European racers and those with Norwegian roots do run the "Sibes" as they are fondly called. They are a recognized breed and as such are registered and purebred, AKC acknowledged dogs. They are also what many of us see in our minds when "sled dogs" are mentioned. They are gorgeous animals!

In this year's Iditarod, no Sibe teams placed in the top five and I am not sure if the Joar Leifseth Ulsom, Norwegian now based in Alaska who finished in sixth place, or "rookie" (first Iditarod but a number of European races) Thomas Waerner who placed seventeenth were driving Siberian teams. The photos I saw were not clear enough to be sure, but I do not thing Joar was. However, there were quite a few Sibe teams that finished well in the middle or at least the upper two-thirds. These are good dogs despite the fact most of the major Alaskan and US racers are not "into" them.  They are lighter built than the Malamutes but still not as lean as many of the Alaskan Huskies and have shaggier coats for the most part. They are beautiful dogs and pretty uniform in appearance and size. They have been the trotter or pacer equivalent for the sled dog world.


Here are a couple of photos of Siberians. The first one is a young female owned by Lizbet Norris who finished her second Iditarod this year and whose family has raised them for about seventy years. I "met" Mika along with Lizbet last summer. The second shot is just one I snagged off Pinterest. Most Sibes are playful and clearly love being in the snow!

While many of the Alaskan Huskies have some of the Siberian colors and markings, traces of many other types of dogs are also visible. Many teams have dogs ranging from coal black to sandy dun colored, spotted and even mostly white.  Here are a couple of Aliy Zirkle's dogs who are definitely Alaskan Huskies but carrying some Sibe looks. The first is the incomparable Quito and the other is another fine SP Kennel dog named Olivia last August.  Among the up and coming young SP dogs are eleven puppies whelped by each of these two great girls. More on them next time.

I will also try to track down a good picture of a Malamute--they are not featured so much these days!