How to Pick Dogs for a Sled Team
Going sledding is something that can either be done for fun, or can be done on a need only basis. This is because sledding is one of the best ways to get across the frozen landscape up north, since it is cheap and reliable.
However, sledding requires you to use some very trained dogs, which are top quality and ones that you know won’t let you down in your time of need, when you are looking to get from one point to another.
It is very hard to go on and pick the right dogs to be a part of your dog crew, simply because there is no sure shot way of telling just which dog will be able to perform better than the other. This is why you need to study their characteristics, in order to determine which dog it is that you will be picking.
Instructions
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1
Before you do anything, you need to figure out if you want to raise and train your own puppies and then turn them into dogs, so that they go on and become a part of your team. If you don’t want to do that, you need to decide just what experienced dogs it is that you could sign up for your team, and whether they will be able to adopt to your sled unit. Remember there are benefits and losses with both, so choose carefully.
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2
Make sure that the dogs that you are picking are heavy weight dogs, so that they can survive the cold. Ideally, you want a dog that weighs over thirty pounds, just so that they are able to deal with the cold. You also want a dog, with no fur in between the pads on its paws, and one that is not overly aggressive, yet is more than happy to give you all that it is capable of.
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3
Differentiate between the lead dog and the team dog, so that you know just what dog it is that you are getting, and for what area of your sled. Don’t end up mixing the two up, because if you do so, you will end up with a very bad sled team, even if your dogs are amongst the best there are.
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4
Bond with your dogs well in advance, so that when push comes to shove, they are there by your side, helping you edge across the terrain.
