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These are not really different dogs. They are often from the same kennels and breedings as dogs in the sprint races and some could be quite suitable for the faster races. They are sometimes larger, slower and have more fur as speed is not such a priority requirement and the ability to keep warm laying on snow is a big plus. Their training or use is quite different however. “Distance” dogs are often allowed to do things that would raise a sprint musher’s blood pressure. Biting snow while moving is encouraged by some mushers as is allowing weaker dogs to run with slack harness lines to regain strength for hours of travel ahead. A trotting pace is sometimes preferred. There are many other examples
Below are some pictures of dogs used in this fashion. Also we are looking for pictures of dogs from years past to put on this web site. Please contact us if you can help in this regard.
The following is a slide show of a dog sled trip starting out of Tanana through some awesome country using dogs. A Tanana musher helped set up this tour and while the text is in German the pictures are understandable to all.
Note: this is a very large file (20 MB), so best to right click on below picture and select save target as
and download to your computer first before trying to run (will take some time).
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