reddragon105 t1_iu22380 wrote on October 27, 2022 at 11:46 PM

Reply to comment by hitchhiketoantarctic in TIL: The famous Alaskan sled dog "Balto" was preserved in taxidermy and is on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Ohio. by alex6219

I have two Siberian huskies and I was researching their family tree earlier this year and was surprised to find that they were descended from Togo! Or maybe I shouldn't have been that surprised as, like you said, his progeny are plentiful. But these aren't sled dogs, they're just pets - their mum wasn't Kennel Club registered but their dad was, so I looked up his kennel name and went from there.

hitchhiketoantarctic t1_iu251g3 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 12:08 AM

You’re almost certainly wrong about one thing—they almost certainly would LOVE to pull a sled. In fact, in the ~20 years that we ran sibes I can only think of one that didn’t like pulling or the sled.

Fun fact: Most of the time all the training that they needed to join the team was to put them in the dog bag and let the team run. Usually 10 minutes later (not exaggerating) they were screaming to be let out, and they joined the team without issue. It’s really amazing how quickly that drive unlocked in them.

We had a few dogs who would join our team every winter that were definitely pets first, but flipping loved putting on a harness and joining the team.

reddragon105 t1_iu27q5i wrote on October 28, 2022 at 12:29 AM

I mean they weren't bred or trained as sled dogs, but of course they love(d) running and pulling stuff, and I have had them pull me along on a sled before - but mostly what they've done is canicross (long distance running with me and my partner, training for half- and full marathons, attached to us with specialised harnesses and bungie cords) and bikejoring (me cycling, dogs attached to bike with special arm and harness).

Although with them turning 14 in a few weeks, and one now being blind, they're not really into that sort of thing anymore - long, sniffy walks with a bit of bouncing around are fine, otherwise it's snoozing on their favourite cushions.

hitchhiketoantarctic t1_iu2ara2 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 12:52 AM

Sounds like they have led a pretty amazing life with you!

One of the cutest things we got to watch our elderly dogs do was help raise the pups. They’d show them how to do all the sled dog things for like 2 miles and then it was time for a nap for everyone.

If there were a kennel near me (or if I could talk my wife into caring for a whole kennel—it’s a whole lifestyle though) I’d be busy just sledding with the pups and the retirees.