More about Huskies
Background reading for husky buffs - the wider history of sled dogs and the dogs as animals.
This section is for husky buffs who want the wider history of sled dogs, with a tie-in to CAPE Lapland, the more extreme polar exploration arm of our business. Below we look at dogs as animals and the breeds most used for sledding.
- Dogs were domesticated around 33,000 years ago
- Siberian and Alaskan huskies are the most common tourism sled dogs in Lapland
- Our farm also keeps Malamutes, Nenet-Laika-Taimyr crosses and Taimyrs
Dogs as animals
Dogs were domesticated 33,000 years ago and can no longer be compared to wolves in behaviour or physiology, for instance several male and female pairs can procreate within one group. Semi-feral dogs divide their time between finding food, resting and tending social bonds, and food-related behaviour, searching, hunting and tearing food apart, is a significant need in every dog, varying by breed.
Dogs have sensitive hearing, good vision with a wider field than ours, and communicate primarily by smell. They are intelligent, adaptable animals that need activation, and much of their happiness comes from species-typical activity, exercising in varied surroundings, sniffing and running free. (Telkanranta Helena 2015, Hyvinvoiva koira, 9.)
Breeds used as sled dogs
Siberian and Alaskan huskies are the sled-dog breeds most used in Lapland's tourism industry, though we also keep Malamutes, Nenet-Laika-Taimyr crosses and Taimyrs. For more on dogs in general, try http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/. Enjoy.
Dogs & ExplorationFrom Nansen and Amundsen to Scott, Shackleton, Fuchs, Herbert and Fiennes - the central role sled dogs played in the exploration and science of the Poles.
Famous DogsFrom Balto and Togo of the 1925 Serum Run to Boo Boo, Bothie and the dogs of Antarctica - the hall-of-fame sled dogs whose exploits made history.
History of Sled DogsHow dog sledding developed across Greenland, Siberia and Alaska - and how the Siberian and Alaskan Husky breeds came to be.
Other Polar BreedsBeyond the Siberian, Alaskan and Malamute - a tour of the lesser-known polar and spitz breeds, from the Greenland Dog and Canadian Inuit Dog to the Sakhalin Husky and the Laikas.
Types of HuskiesEurohounds, Alaskans, Siberians, Malamutes, Taimyrs and Laika crosses - the many types of sled dog at Hetta Huskies and what each is good at.Come and meet them
Two hundred huskies, and every one of them has a name.