~ ᗯEᒪᑕOᗰE TO ᗩᒪᗩᔕKᗩ ~
Plot
Your heart pounds and your legs throb as you struggle to push through the thickening blizzard-like snow. You must strain your ears to the faint commands of your musher against the thrum of your teams paws and the jangling of your harness. You keep telling yourself that this is what you've trained your whole life for but you also worry of the worst to come. Blizzards are the teams worst nightmare and come with major setbacks. You push your legs harder than ever, hoping the destination is close by since the blizzard has seemed to swallow you whole. Straining to see only taillengths in front of you, you slam into something hard, knocking the wind out of you. the sled goes spiraling, dragging you in the snow with your harness still attatched. Luckily a branch catches on to you, setting you free of the sled as it slides off a steep cliff. Most of your team made it free, but the musher is nowhere to be seen...
Can you make it back to camp with what's left of your team, without the guidance of your musher? Or will you perish, never to be seen again?
ᔕᒪEᗪ TEᗩᗰ ᖇOᒪEᔕ
Lead Dogs- The lead dogs set the tone for the entire race, they lead the pack, carrying out the musher's commands. A lead dog is the dog that goes first in formation, it must be both smart and fast to have this position. All commands are given verbally so the lead dog must be able to comprehend what the musher is saying, hence the need for intelligence. There can be 2, side by side depending on the number of dogs for the race.
Swing Dogs- The swing dogs follow the lead dogs with their main duty being to follow turns. They "swing" the pack left or right.
Team Dogs- The dogs that actually pull the material and control the speed. They make up the rest of the team, usually 6+ dogs.
Wheel Dogs- The wheel dogs take the full weight of the sled on take-off and when climbing uphill. They also help steer the sled. These dogs are the strongest in the pack and must have good control so as not to get distracted, or overtake the others and not be scared of the sled traveling so closely behind them. Generally, an even-tempered dog is best suited as a wheel dog.
ᗪOG ᗷᖇEEᗪ E᙭ᗩᗰᑭᒪEᔕ
Alaskan Husky- This mixed breed has been specifically developed for their performance as a competition sled dog. Alaskan Huskies are one of the most commonly used dogs in sled racing and are revered for their ability rather than for looks or personalities.
Alaskan Malamute- The Alaskan Malamute is a large, muscular, and immensely strong dog that us quite literally bred to be a sled dog and one of the oldest of the Arctic sled dog breeds. On the ice, Malamutes have long been revered for their strength, and while not the fastest of breeds, they have made a name for themselves hauling heavy sleds.
Greenland Dog- The Greenland dog is another extremely old breed that shares an ancient origin with the Canadian Eskimo Dog. These large, heavy, and powerful dogs have been a staple of Arctic sledding for centuries and are revered more for their endurance and strength than their speed over snow and ice.
Sakhalin Husky- (This is a breed I'd like to add in for a little recognition). The Sakhalin Husky is a Russian sled dog that is now practically extinct. As of 2015, there were only 7 remaining Sakhalin Huskies known to exist. These Huskies were used by the Red Army as a sled and pack dog for a short while during WWII. These dogs tend to be loyal, affectionate, and very entergetic.
Scandinavian Hound- The Scandinavian Hound is a modern hybrid that is the result of mixing a Germain Shorthaired Pointer with an Alaskan Husky. The resulting breed is used extensively in Scandinavia in sled racing. While these dogs take longer to train and develop, the breed has had considerable success.