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Previous Issues > February 2007 > Come Out & Play > Sled Dog Racing
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 Come Out & Play
Sled Dog Racing
If you have a dog, you probably already know that walking with your pet can be good exercise. But did you know there is also a sport that pairs people with dogs? They race not only against other teams, but against nature as well!
Sled dog racing began as the Alaskan Eskimos' way to get around, but became a sport. A team of dogs pulls a sled weighing about 30 pounds across snow and ice. The driver of the sled, called a musher, directs the dog team using voice commands and a small whip.
Dog teams are made of four to 10 specially bred and trained dogs. These dogs are usually Siberian Huskies, Samoyeds or Alaskan Malamutes. A team of six to 10 dogs can pull a sled and musher over 20 miles per hour. Most sled dog races are 12 to 30 miles long. Sled dog racing was played at the Winter Olympics once in 1932, and Canada won the race.
The most famous sled dog race is the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. This 1,100-mile race from Anchorage to Nome is held in honor of an emergency sled dog run in 1925. Nome had an epidemic of diphtheria, a lung disease. The only medicine available was in Anchorage, and planes could not get through the winter storms. Sled dogs were used to transport the medicine instead, and saved the town. The team was lead by a husky called Balto. The Iditarod race travels on the same paths that the sled dogs used to deliver the medicine.
Sled dog racing may not be for everyone. But if you have a dog for a pet, remember to include him in your outdoor play. Our pets need exercise as much as we do. Throw a ball with your dog, have him join you and your friends outside to play and take him walking whenever you get the chance. Your pet will love spending time with you, and it will be good exercise for you both!
Ashley Genova is a freelance writer from Fayetteville, NC. Source: Britannica Encyclopedia Online; Wikipedia. Balto.
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