About the Dogs

Typically sled dogs used for racing fall into two distinct categories. There are the sprinters and the distance types. The dogs used for stage stop races are for the most part of the sprinter type.
As a rule, working dogs are kept thinner than your typical pet and sprinting dogs are kept thinner than the other class of racing sled dogs. Weight for these athletes is a balance determined by the musher. If the dogs are too thin their stamina is reduced, too fat and they are slowed down, become overheated easily and are prone to cardiac diseases. Generally sprint dogs rarely weigh more than fifty pounds or less than thirty.
Sprint dogs are highly specialized dogs and are picked for their speed, endurance, and attitude. Sprint dogs must be fast and have an attitude that drives the dog to run along the edge of peak speed and all out exhaustion.

When watching these teams compete look for the rhythm specific to each team. When a team is in sync the team moves as one, each dog landing in the tracks of the dog before it and no dog standing out. A musher will strive to build a team of dogs that closely resemble each other in stride and gait. A balanced team performs as one dog, each sharing the burden of the sled and each enhancing the efforts of the other. The average speed for sprint dogs is around twenty miles an hour with speeds of thirty miles an hour not uncommon in the right conditions.

Though any breed of dog can be trained to pull a sled and work under harness, the breed of choice for sprint teams is the Alaskan husky. Mixed husky breeds are also quite common and mushers will blend a variety of dog types and breeds in the attempt of developing the perfect sprint dog.