Alas, show judges and race vets don’t agree what a healthy dog should look like, so the dogs carry extra weight on the show circuit.

The speed initially came from the Siberians. They have speed, but they don’t have the pulling ability, so the weight of the sled and cargo slow them down. The Malamutes are the draft horses of the sled dog world, while the Siberians are similar to Arabians.

The dogs need to work when they are in race mode, so they have to be exercised during the layover at Dawson. The human is the weak link on the team.

well, back in the day, working sled dogs had to be low maintenance and long-lasting – and in the case of the samoyeds, all-purpose – with “fastest” not necessarily a priority. so it’s really nice to see that the working sled dogs can actually keep up with the bred-for-one-thing-only speedsters.

which is what dog shows should be more of – where you show off your best working / hunting / performance dogs.

Yes, Hank and Tony both run Siberians, but Mike’s are show dogs when they aren’t pulling sleds. Unlike human ‘models’ they have to put on weight for the show circuit.

Currently the Siberians are at the back, but there is always hope. They tend to be smaller than the crossbreeds.

as always, I’m a fan of keeping the “working” in “working breeds” 🙂