Sledge dog

Sled dogs were important for transportation in arctic areas, hauling supplies in areas that were inaccessible by other methods. They were used with varying success in the explorations of both poles, as well as during the Alaskan gold rush. Sled dog teams delivered mail to rural communities in Alaska and northern Canada. Sled dogs today are still used by some rural communities, especially in areas of Alaska and Canada and throughout Greenland. They are used for recreational purposes, and are raced in events known as dog sled races such as the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest.

Sled dogs have been used in Canada, Lapland, Greenland, Siberia, Chukotka, Norway, Finland, and Alaska.

In 2017, a study showed that 9,000 years ago the domestic dog was present at what is now Zhokhov Island, arctic north-eastern Siberia, however this area was connected to the mainland then. The dogs were selectively bred as either sled dogs or as hunting dogs, which implies that a sled dog standard and a hunting dog standard existed at that time. The optimal maximum size for a sled dog is 20-25kg based on themo-regulation, and the ancient sled dogs were between 16-25kg. The same standard has been found in the remains of sled dogs from this region 2,000 years ago and in the modern Siberian husky breed standard. Other dogs were more massive at 30kg and appear to be dogs that had been crossed with wolves and used for polar bear hunting. At death, the heads of the dogs had been carefully separated from their bodies by humans and is thought to be for ceremonial reasons.

The Danish military act as the police in Greenland and conduct sled dog patrols during the winter, which also record all sighted wildlife. The number of patrols averaged 14,876 km/year during 1978-1998. By 2011, the arctic wolf had re-populated eastern Greenland from their reserve in the northeast through following these dog-sled patrols over distances of up to 560 kilometers.

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