What makes a competative sled dog and at what age can you tell a dog will be competative?
Tough question. In racing sled dogs, most competative dogs are built with good angulation in both the shoulder and rear; have long backs; tight feet with tough pads; weigh somewhere between 40-60 lbs; and have a hard driving attitude. This is a condensed version of what competative teams strive for. The dog’s build is very important because certain builds have been found to facilitate speed and endurance — its no good if the dog is fighting his body all the time. Attitude is also very important — you can have an exceptionally built dog but if he doesn’t want to work, then he isn’t a good sled dog. The dog’s bloodlines are considered important because these dogs have produced more of the kinds of dogs mushers consider desireable. Dogs out of Gareth Wright’s “Aurora Huskies” are considered exceptionally fast with a really good attitude; Curtis Erhart’s and George Attla’s dogs are considered tough. There are a number of kennels that have good dogs and by buying dogs with these bloodline
