What makes a lead dog?
Lead dogs are born, not made. A lead dog could be compared to a CEO of a company. They love their job, take it very seriously and can handle a great deal of responsibility. A lead dog must be particularly tuned into the musher in order to take commands. It can be a somewhat stressful situation having eight or ten screaming athletes at your heels, and so the lead dog must be confident of his or her abilities up there. We see lead dog-potential pups at a very young age. At the same time, we never discount the “sleeper” dog, who may be a late bloomer and decides at age three or even five years that he or she wants to take the helm. Contrary to popular belief, the lead dog is not always the alpha dog in the kennel.
