Inuit Sled Dog History

The best part about winter travel, besides the solitude, is traveling with dogs. Skiing across a frozen lake or along a frozen river with a hearty dog pulling a toboggan full of gear is thrilling. Part of the thrill comes from relying on your knowledge and companions' instinct, but much of the fun comes from knowing that you're traveling in the same manner that people have for 1000s of years.

Lichen and Saylix love to pull and are continuing a family tradition that goes back many generations. Lichen and Saylix's ancestors have help pull sleds to the north and the south pole as well as many other places in the Arctic.

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In areas that are blanketed with snow for most of the year, where temperatures rarely climb above freezing, people have had to adapt to their surroundings. They've had to rely on their environment to provide their shelter, clothing, food, and safety. In Alaska, Greenland, northern Canada, and the Russian Arctic, people have had to forge an existence out of very harsh climates and landscape s. However, the Native people who have lived in these areas have thrived for 1000s of years, creating wonderfully rich and distinctive cultures.

According to most sources, the roots of the Inuit Sled dog can be traced back to over 4,000 years ago! It is believed that the dogs first originated in the northern reaches of Mongolia, where the dogs were bred as work dogs. Because the Inuit Sled Dog's purpose hasn't changed all that much, or perhaps they were such a perfect breed to begin with, they haven't needed to evolve the way that other species of dog have. Therefore, many of the Inuit Sled Dogs today are very similar in physical and behavioral characteristic s.

The Inuit Sled Dog is perfectly adapted to its environment. It has a thick layer of fur that keeps the cold and snow away from its body. Below the longer, wiry fur is an under-layer of soft fur that acts as an insulator. Think of wearing a down jacket or sleeping bag that is actually part of your body. This allows the dogs to curl up comfortably in the snow at temperatures lower than -40º F.