Sled dogs come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Some are large and some are small. Some have tall ears, others have floppy ears. Some have blue eyes while some have brown eyes. Some have one eye that’s blue and one eye that’s brown! Some look like a wolf, some look like a hound. I’ve heard my handler say, “Looks are only skin deep.” Well that’s for sure. With sled dogs it’s what’s on the inside that counts!
I consulted with 4 friends to come up with a list of criteria that apply to sled dogs. Sue Allen who is running Martin Buser’s puppy told me what she and Martin look for in sled dogs. Joe Runyan wrote an article, “Description and Origin of the Alaskan Husky” which is posted on the Cabela’s Iditarod website. He talked to folks like Doug Swingley, Rick Swenson, Dee Dee Jonrowe and George Attla to come up with a list of sled dog criteria. Chief Iditarod Veterinarian Dr. Stuart Nelson wrote a story, “What is a Sled Dog?” posted on the Iditarod website that lists the criteria for a sled dog running the Iditarod. The fourth contributor is Balto, a true Alaskan Husky hero.
To start with, here’s my basic list of criteria. Any dog that’s going to run in a cold northern climate needs to have a WARM COAT. That same dog needs a TAIL to help keep areas like the groin warm that don’t have much fur. When sleeping in the cold, dogs also wrap their tails around their face to cover their eyes and nose. This helps to warm the air they breathe. Sled dogs need TOUGH FEET. Top-notch Iditarod or Quest dogs will run more than 3,000 miles a year over ice, snow, gravel and other really abrasive surfaces. Booties help but a dog needs tough feet to start with. With all the running they do, sled dogs need a RAVENOUS APPETITE; picky eaters won’t make it very far down the trail. Sled dogs are born with the INSTINCT to PULL - it’s in our genes just like a retriever knows how to retrieve. The first day I went into harness was the greatest day of my life - I was born to pull and FINALLY I was running with the team - I knew exactly what to do.
According to Joe Runyan and his panel of experienced mushers, here’s what they look for in a sled dog that’s going to make the “A” team. Females should weigh 45 to 50 pounds and males should weigh 50 to 55 pounds. More weight means less speed and endurance not to mention more injuries. Mushers want dogs that are willing to please, easily trained and love to pull in both good and bad weather. Tough feet and a good coat are important considerations for icy rough trail conditions and extremes in weather. Dogs must be able to rest comfortably on top of the snow in extremely cold weather. Iditarod dogs must be capable of running for 12 hours and covering 150 miles a day for 10 or more days in a row. “A” team dogs must recover quickly from exercise and metabolize about 10,000 calories daily. Conformity is also important. To work well together on a team, the dogs should be similar in size and gait. The dogs must be able to maintain speed and have multiple gaits. Multiple gaits means that the dog should be able to lope or trot and change between the two easily. If you look closely, weight is the only physical trait; the other criteria are performance based standards. These mushers put together a pretty tough job description!
Mushers who have large kennels will create a checklist of criteria. Your teacher would call this a rubric. All of the different people who work with the dogs will “grade” them. As Sue Allen runs Martin Buser’s puppy team in Iditarod 2008, she’ll be giving them a score for each of the criteria. These grades will help Martin choose his team for future races. Some of these puppies will be running the 2010 Iditarod with Martin on the “A”. This idea of using a checklist or rubric is exactly what your teacher use to give evaluate your work.
From the veterinarian and Iditarod end of the sled, dogs have to meet another set of criteria listed by Dr. Stuart Nelson, DVM.
1) Willingness to be harnessed and desire to participate.
2) Be adequately trained and conditioned for the activity.
3) Be vaccinated and dewormed.
4) Capable of withstanding environmental extremes.
5) Pass a pre-race physical.
Balto was the lead dog that brought the serum into Nome during the 1925 diphtheria epidemic. There is a statue of Balto in New York’s Central Park with the inscription
“Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs…
ENDURANCE - FIDELITY - INTELLIGENCE.”
Well, there you have it - an inscription describing the spirit of the sled dog, a short list of physical traits and a long list of performance criteria for the greatest athletes on earth.
22 Comments
well we are learing about the iditarod in our fifth grade class in north carolina wallburg elem. this sounds like something i would like to do. i love challenges and dogs. and in the ididtarod i would get both. what edvice would you have to give for some 11 year old that might want to race one day and has no idea where to start or what to do. Tori
Well we are learning about the Iditarod in our fifth grade class in North Carolina wallburg elem. this sounds like something i would like to do. i love challenges and dogs. and in the ididtarod i would get both. what edvice would you have to give for some 11 year old that might want to race one day and has no idea where to start or what to do. Tori
Hi, Zuma!
We’d like to know what you are studying at the university.
Can you give us some idea of what the musher banquet is like? Do you get to attend/eat?
Mrs. Berry
Hello Mrs. Berry,
I am studying journalism but I am taking lots of general classes as well. I didn’t go to the banquet this year, but Sanka W. Dog did. Perhaps Sanka will tell you more details about the banquet. The humans ate salad, steak, potatoes, and vegetables.
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
Hi Zuma,
We would like to know what the winner receives for crossing the finish line first. We know it will take a lot of perseverance just to finish the race, and we’re discussing how we need perseverance in our lives.
We have “Iditarod fever” in our classroom and can’t wait until the race begins.
Mrs. Resh’s Second Grade Class
Dear Zuma,Gypsy,Sanka,and Libby,
Why is Balto so famus? Togo ran more miles than Balto when delivering the serum to the children who had diphtherria.
Your Friends,
Abigail and Madeline
We are studying the iditarod in school. I have some questions, How long do you sleep at night? Is the southern trail worse than the northern one? Miranda
Could you tell us why dogs need booties?
Mrs. Allington
I think the dogs are wonderful creatures to work with and one of the worlds most beautyful creatures of them all.I would love to have such a privlidge to work with animals like that.
Melissa Owens biggest fan,
Courtney
Hi your cool Hows it going with the iditarod I am traking Cim Smyth! Are you a dog runner?
Lauren
It is getting exciting, Lauren, the race will soon get started. I am not a racer, but I’ll enjoy watching the race. Have fun and work hard in school.
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
Sanka,
can you tell us why mushers need to where lots of clothes.:)
kaitlyn
Zuma,you are sweet,and very cute. The Iditarod started!!!! I love the Iditarod just like you! I have learned a lot about it at school. My teacher has some stuffed animal sled dogs,there so cute(just like you). I love you.
-Grace
Grace, The Iditarod starts today, Saturday. Every year the race starts on the first Saturday in March. Enjoy watching the race.
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
Hello Zuma,
We are following the iditarod, and we have each chosen a musher.
We’re wondering what amount of money mushers will receive for getting first, second, third place, etc.
We also wonder if you can publish the prizes that mushers will get for being first at the mid-point checkpoint, or any other prizes received. We heard that at one point, a musher will get gold nuggets, and at another, a 5-course meal. Is that right?
Third Grade at Mustard seed school; Hoboken, NJ
Hello from Alaska,
Keep watching the website, there will be an article soon on the prize money (the purse) so you’ll be able to learn all about it.
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
We are a third grade class in Florida and following the Iditarod after reading about Balto and how he saved Nome. Most of us haven’t ever seen snow! Our question is, what does “Iditarod” mean?
Thank you Zuma for sending a note back to me! It was really nice. How did you learn to type,and where did you learn,I think it is really neat. I learned to type at my school in the computer lab. We go to Type To Learn 3,and now I can type really fast,without looking at the keys. We got a lot of snow down here in Grand Rapids Michigan. There’s about two feet and eight inches. I can’t wait to see who wins the Iditarod. You rock.
-Grace
Hello Grace,
Practice! Practice! Practice! That is how we learned to type.
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
When did the Iditarod begin? And what kinda dogs are ideal for musher?
thanks
Kay
hey well we have a report with some of the mushers in the race. I was assigned melissa owens! she rocks!!!! well how did you first figure out you put on this earth to race. what is like out there just you and your dogs.
Hi Zuma,
I am one of Ms. Thompson’s students, while checking the standings we noticed a heading at the top of the page that said “red lantern”. What does this mean? We love reading your articles and learning about the Iditarod.
Connor
Dear Connor,
The ‘Red Lantern’ is the award given to the last musher to finish the race.
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
how do you watch it on t.v on this website?
Im tracking Aliy Zurcle. My teacher Ms. Huski We talk about you like every day. Hope you write back. Molly
Yup. Togo ran his heart out for Seppala on the Serum Run and wound up injured because he just wouldn’t quit. To add insult to injury, when the statue of Balto was unveiled in New York’s Central Park, reporters at the time mistakenly attributed Togo’s race record to Balto!
Media at the time was the problem. The last team into Nome was Gunnar Kaasen’s led by Balto, so he got to hand the package of medicine over to Dr. Welch. Pics of this event were recreated sometime after the fact with Kaasen posing with Welch in Nome (and again with Balto) and once these photos made it to the newspapers Outside there was no turning back: in the public’s mind those pics of Kaasen and Balto in Nome *were* the Serum Run.
The good part of all this is while the statue in Central Park is of Balto, it really stands as a monument to all the sled dogs who took part in the Serum Run *including* Togo, which is why the inscription reads, “dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs” as opposed to just Balto himself. I’m sure Togo would be proud.
Andy, Vancouver B.C.
We are third grade students in Mr. Long’s and Mrs. MacMartin’s classes in Centennial, Colorado. We are learning a lot about the Iditarod and we are having fun with our own version of the race in our classrooms. We look forward to your race updates!
Is it a real dog typing the letters? Annie Mary, Kuspuk School District
Hello Annie,
Zuma here. I am a REAL dog and so are the other K-9 reporters!
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
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