The Chukchi people, from Siberia, developed the breed we now
know as Siberian Huskies. They were bred to meet specific
requirements like transporting the Chukchi to and from villages
for trading and to their hunting grounds, often up to 100 miles away.
Once there they would catch as many seal as they could load on their
sled then the dogs would pull this light to moderate load back to the
village. A prime consideration in the breeding of these dogs was that
they provided speed and endurance over great distances while
expending the least energy and food. Their dogs also had another useful
purpose. They were sometimes brought into the igloo at night to sleep
with the children to keep them warm, this would explain their loving
temperament with children even today.
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A change to the Siberian Huskies original function occurred in 1908. A
Russian fur trader called William Goosak brought a team of Siberian
Huskies with him from Siberia into Alaska, with the purpose of entering
them into the All Alaska Sweepstakes, a long distance race of 408 miles
with stops, for resting. These were the first Siberians to start racing.
These dogs were described as small and compact, with not a lot of leg
length compared to the taller longer legged mixed breeds already being
used for racing in Alaska. The team came third in this endurance race,
beaten due to a poor strategically manoeuvre on the part of the driver.
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These imports and later litters from them were also described as having
heavy bone, when the first AKC standard was drawn up in 1938. That
was changed to medium bone in a later standard. From this point the
future held a dual purpose for these little dogs, showing and working
(although not as popular, competition in obedience was undertaken too).
The records prove many of the American breeders did work and show
their dogs, certainly in the early stages of the development of the breed.
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They were introduced into Britain in 1971, at first for pets, showing and
obedience, then used for very short sprint races of between two to five miles.
Obviously nowhere near what they were originally bred for. In Britain we
do not have the freezing weather for long enough, or the longer trails
needed to truly work test our dogs, but we can asses working attitude.
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As with all breeds, there are differences of opinion on how we interpret the
British standard, but one phrase, which stands out, is "never appearing so
heavy or so coarse as to suggest a freighting animal, nor so light and fragile
as to suggest a sprint racing animal". Siberians are not a heavy freighting
breed, but is accepted that they were required to pull light loads over long
distances. So very heavy and coarse dogs are equally as unacceptable as very
fine and racy dogs.
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This is where the judges are important, for it is how they interpret the standard,
which influence breeders of the future.
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The Chukchi people, from Siberia, developed the breed we now know as Siberian
Huskies. They were bred to meet specific requirements like transporting the
Chukchi to and from villages for trading and to their hunting grounds, often up to
100 miles away. Once there they would catch as many seal as they could load on
their sled then the dogs would pull this light to moderate load back to the village.
A prime consideration in the breeding of these dogs was that they provided speed
and endurance over great distances while expending the least energy and food.
Their dogs also had another useful purpose. They were sometimes brought into
the igloo at night to sleep with the children to keep them warm, this would explain
their loving temperament with children even today.
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