Talk:Sled dog

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Shouldn't this be at Sled dog? RickK 01:35 20 Jul 2003 (UTC)

"Sleddog" is pretty much the preferred usage among sleddog people. I was aware of the potential ambiguity but just posted the article and hadn't had time to look for the alternative usage. If you're concerned about it, perhaps you could do a redirect from "sled dog"? Ditkoofseppala 02:05 20 Jul 2003 (UTC)


Actully non users of American english call them sleigh dogs. FearÉIREANN 02:13 20 Jul 2003 (UTC)


As "an unarmed American with health care" (yeah, I'm Canadian actually) I have heard that usage occasionally in Canada — but only among people either not part of the sleddog subculture or bush-rats who maybe had a dog team but rarely saw another dog driver. Within the active dog driving community (maybe I should say "mushing" these days but that word's one of my pet peeves), the "sleddog" usage is pretty much universal. Sorry if this offends anyone's "Queen's English" sensibilities, but you know how it is, one has to move with the times . . .  ;-) Ditkoofseppala 02:48 20 Jul 2003 (UTC)

According to google, the most popular term is sled dog at 169,000. The next is sleigh dog at 53,300. Sleddog is by far the least popular at 14,800. So this article should clearly be at sled dog or sleigh dog, but clearly not at sleddog. So this article will clearly have to renamed. FearÉIREANN 23:05 21 Jul 2003 (UTC)

All right, but let's be complete then and include the Europeans; I've added "sledge dogs" to the alternatives, which I yesterday discovered to be very common on the web, I suppose due to the many references to Antarctic expeditions and the like. Tell me something, FearÉIREANN (is it okay if I just call you Sinn Fein?) -- how does one access these obviously very useful and informative numbers for various search term requests from Google? I just did a cursory check but couldn't see any obvious tool or link for that kind of thing. How does one do it? Ditkoofseppala 00:42 22 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Eurasiers

Hello Elf, please note that Eurasiers should not be mentioned here, as they are NOT sled dogs. Eurasiers are a German breed and they are a family and companion dog. Cross check with the German Wikipedia for "Schlittenhunde" and you will see that Eurasiers do not belong in the category of sled dogs. User:80.201.80.220

The information I have says that they were developed in the '50s to be similar to a russian sled-pulling dog (probably "The Canadian" mentioned in various places). One book says that they are used for sled pulling although companion pet is their most common use. (The New Encyclopedia of the Dog, Bruce Fogle, 2000). Another book doesn't specify but classifies it as a working dog. This site says "The Canadian was, according to Wipfel's characterization later, a perfect sled dog type, " which he wanted to emulate in his new breed, and later says his spec included "It should be a dog of polar type, " which as far as I know are all classified as sled dogs. This site says "Activity level: A robust breed with sled-dog capabilities... " This site bills itself as "The home page for this new European breed of sled dog".
So, whether many people use it to pull sleds now or not, it certainly seems to fit into the classification of a sled dog.
Elf | Talk 19:55, 3 Sep 2004 (UTC)


Hello Elf, with "polar type" Julius Wipfel meant the construction of a dog, not the utilization. Julius Wipfel aimed to create a family dog, that is reserved to strangers, but with a strong bond to its family. According to the FCI Standard No. 291, the utilization of Eurasiers is "Companion Dog". In Germany, the Eurasiers country of origin, and in the FCI, Eurasiers belong to the spitz-type group. That makes sense, as European and Asiatic spitz-type dogs (Wolfsspitz females, Chow males and, about twelve years later, ONE Samoyed) were used as foundation breeds. All in all, there are three Eurasier Clubs in Germany in the VDH (EKW, ZG, KZG) and they (and not only they) follow very strict rules, of which some were set up by Julius Wipfel himself; his "Mindesthaltungsbedingungen für Eurasier" = "How to care and keep a Eurasier" make clear that Eurasiers were meant as a family and companion dog. And, because Eurasiers can be reserved towards strangers due to their Chow ancestry, the German Eurasier Clubs in the VDH/FCI take great care to place Eurasier puppies into loving homes where they live indoors with their family, participate in family life and family activities, get moderate exercise and where they are a treasured member of their family - for all their life. Compared to that, some sled dogs might be kept in large numbers, in a kennel or chained in an outhouse and/or might even be exchanged against better runners ... Those are just not the conditions anybody would wish for a Eurasier.


[edit] Husky?

Why isn't information on husky dogs simply at husky, instead of being lumped in with all other sled dogs?

Well, for one thing, husky is a disambiguation page that points to a lot of articles about various husky-like topics. For another, "husky" really refers to a lot of breeds, there's not just one "husky". And lastly--I don't see anything in this article that doesn't belong here, since it's all about sled dogs. Can you identify what you think doesn't belong here? Thanks. Elf | Talk 20:34, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Sakhalin Husky

This breed--odd--can find one page only in a discussion forum that says that they found a web site that they now can't find. Are there other referenes to this breed? Could it be spelled differently perhaps? Elf | Talk 04:43, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Tried a different search; here's a photo of a "Sakhalin": [1]. But not much more info. Sigh. Elf | Talk 04:51, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
Offsite article and Eight Below this was the breed the was actually used in the 1958 occurrence. Saw the movie last night, I enjoyed watching the women around me balling their eyes out right through the whole movie hee-hee....SirIsaacBrock 11:43, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] hola

sled dogs are beutiful did you now about akiak is a beatiful story y want you to bay akiak . thanks for have this page of internet

[edit] The Keeshond is a small sled dog ...

I believe the Keeshond is a (small) sled dog. Any opposition to this? Shall I add the breed to the list? Keesiewonder 17:35, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

It looks too small to pull anything more than a kid’s sled, really. Has the breed ever seriously been used for hauling or racing? If not it probably doesn’t belong. And just because someone used them once doesn’t count, otherwise we’d have to include poodles... — Jéioosh 22:21, 13 December 2006 (UTC)
Interesting. Thanks for asking/pointing this out. I have read a lot about this breed and own two Keeshonden. Time and again I've read that they are small sled dogs (and even more so barge dogs and companion dogs). I can tell from my male's behavior that he descends from sled dog blood. Maybe that is the confusion; these dogs are descendents of sled dogs, which does not necessarily mean they are sled dogs themselves? Unfortunately, most of my books are in storage right now. So, I agree that until more definitive documentation surfaces, Keeshond needs to remain off the list. I also remember viewing literature from a Keeshond sled dog club based in Missouri ... I know ... I didn't believe it either ... but there were lots of photos, meetings, seasonal events, etc. Anyway, when/if I find proof, I'll share it. Regards, Keesiewonder 11:42, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
I knew a breeder who used to live in New Brunswick (M.Clements) who once put her Kees together in a sled dog team for a local event. Obviously, she didn't win anything  :) I would submit that Keeshonden should not be considered to be sled dogs because they are not commonly used as such. PKT 13:56, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sled Dogs are nothing like wolves

They don't even look alike. Having seen real life wild wolves and being an owner of a Husky I think its safe for me to say they are nothing alike. Whoever put in the "wolf like" comment, doesn't know what they are talking about.

I’d tend to agree. Although it is certain that most sled dogs (excepting the Samoyed) have a much more similar appearance to wolves than most other breeds, they are unlike wolves in behavior and temperament. A family friend of mine raised some wolf crosses, and I will vouch for the wolf’s “domesticated” behavior being unlike that of any dog I’ve ever known. — Jéioosh 22:24, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Is This Helpful

This is so neat, at the present moment I am writing a scholarly article on them! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.141.77.177 (talk • contribs)

[edit] Corn Dogs

Somehow I think the sentence that mentions corn dogs is vandalism. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dablyputs (talk • contribs) 18:24, 20 February 2007 (UTC).

Nice catch! I have removed that statement --Coaster1983 00:22, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Okay, since THIS one isn't a factual statement, I'm going to add a question to it. Why does it not state the Aleutian names for the positions (ranK) of the sled dogs ANYWHERE on Wikipedia... I'm surprised a place like this doesn't have simple terminology. I do not know exactly what the terms are, or I would write them myself. Hopefully, someone will fix this.