Which breeds of dog are used for dog sled racing

A.� Many northern breeds have been used as sled dogs, notably Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies. Also Eskimo Dogs, Greenlands, Samoyeds, Norrbottenspets, and Hokkaidokens are all used as sled dogs.

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Q.� When did dog sled racing begin

A.� Sled dog racing began as a formal sport with the first All-Alaska Sweepstakes race in 1908. Before this there had been little time for doing anything other than using the dogs for real work.

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By the 1920's working dog sleds were becoming replaced by aeroplanes. However there were still some journeys that were too cold for the planes to fly on and where dog sleds proved indispensable.

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Q.� What does 'mush' mean

A.� Mush comes from the French word 'marche' which is from the verb 'marcher' which means to walk: contrary to common belief, the word 'mush' is not used to drive sled dogs.

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Q.� French Is there much snow in France

A.� No, but there were French, along with all other nationalities, in North America during the gold rush days, which is when the rest of the world found out what some indigenous Arctic communities had known for centuries, that dogs make excellent sled pullers.

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There are lots of official dog sledding terms, of which 'wheel dog' refers to the dog closest the sled. Thanks to isaacr for answering this question.

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Q.� Is dog sledding cruel

A.� Apparently not, in fact one of the main problems is getting a team of dogs to stop pulling once you're underway because they love it so much. Obviously it's vital that the dogs are linked to each other and the sled using correctly fitted expert equipment.

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by Lisa Cardy