For the Love of a Fine Dog

Some people think that sled dogs are forced to run. It’s not true. As I’ve been told already a dozen times this week by  mushers: You can’t push a rope.

Sled dogs are Alaskan Huskies. This means that they are an amalgam of breeds; sled dogs are different sizes, different colors, different looks. What they have in common is a genetic desire to run along with physical characteristics that support the ability to run long distances in cold.

There’s a science and an art to raising sled dogs and putting together a winning team but the part that impresses me the most is the relationship dimension between the musher and their dogs. There is an enormous amount of physical affection that goes on, a lot of physical care and handling, laying on of hands at every stop, praising and long talks.

Yes, long talks. Kristin Pace told a story of…