Sled Dogs | Sleigh Dogs

The ancient records of the Inuit’s, crudely inscribed on rock or bone, prove that dogs were used to pull sledges from very early times. In the sixteenth century, travelers to Greenland in search of gold, and navigators on the Arctic seas took interest in the practical uses to which these wolf-like dogs were put.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Russians undertook extensive journeys from the borders of Europe to the Bering Strait, taking with them large numbers of dogs. European travelers took fewer but an American explorer, Lieutenant Peary, saw the advantage of using large numbers and was known to have 100 or more.

From the works of Taplin, a nineteenth-century writer, dogs living in these arctic conditions were known to excavate their own beds in the snow, leaving little more than their noses visible. They swam admirably and hunted both in packs and individually. They were used to hunt the Arctic fox, seal and polar bear and had the reputation of being fiercely aggressive with any domestic animals they encountered. Among themselves they would often fight to the death.

Siberian sled dogs
The kamtschatka dogs were strong and active, little different in size from the Russian Boor-dogs and they were held to be the most long-winded runners in Siberia. Dogs there fetched high prices in the early nineteenth century, around the equivalent of £10. Money was also spent liberally on the elegance of the dogs' trappings. Seats were covered with furs or bear skins and each sledge had a crossbar to which the harness was joined. On this hung iron links or small bells: the noise reputedly encouraged the dogs on their way. Sledges seldom carried more than one person at a time but behind the driver were bundles of provisions. Such sledges were usually pulled by a team of four dogs, but some used five.

Dogs and their driver
The dogs responded primarily to voice commands but the driver also used a crooked stick for striking at the snow to regulate speed. Perhaps the most difficult man oeuvre for a driver was when he threw the stick at the dogs to chastise them and then picked it up again while on the move, requiring remarkable dexterity.

Even though owners of these dogs were heavily dependent on them, they were not renowned for their kindness. Usually the dogs were left to fend for themselves, eating mussels, berries and whatever else hey could find. Occasionally, if there had been a large capture of seals, the dogs would be given the blood and other unused portions of the kill. Some were actually used as food and fattened for the purpose, but nothing was wasted. The dogs' skins: re used for coverlets and clothing, as well as for borders and seams of their owners' icy homes. The 5' intestines were used to make sewing thread.

Endurance test
In Greenland as many as 10 dogs were used in a team when pulling a sledge carrying five or six heavy seals as far as 60 miles in a day. By the mid-nineteenth century sometimes even 12 dogs were used, attached to the sledge by a single trace and without reins. Each dog was reported to be capable r transporting 54.6 kg (120 lb) over snow at a rate of 11—13 l/h (7-8 mph). In the summer were used as pack animals, carrying goods up to a third of their own weight fastened securely to their backs. At this time of year the dogs fared better for they could feed on the remains of whales and sea-calves. Towards the end of the century there were reports of teams of four dogs carrying as much as 136.5-182 kg (300-400 lb) for up to 56 km (45 miles) a day over a good track.

There were smaller but similar breeds in Lapland and Iceland but often the general name, Esquimaux Dog, was used to describe them all. Many wolf-like traits could be observed, such as that these dogs were not habitual barkers but tended to howl. They also had the ability to pick flesh from a fish just as cleanly as if it had been scraped. A dog used in Canada around the beginning of the twentieth century was a cross between the Eskimo dog and one which in Canada was called the Staghound. For speed, strength and stamina these dogs were reputed to be second to none. The Samoyed was also used with the sleigh in winter but was better known for its use in shepherding reindeer and acting as a household guard. The dogs used as sled dogs in cold climates varied considerably.