Sled dogs are amazing creatures! They have been used as pulling animals for many hundreds of years in the north. Until the advent of the snowmobile in the 1950’s, sled dogs were the primary means of travel in the snowy parts of the world. Traditionally, long-haired huskies were used as sled dogs but these days you may see any type of dog used to pull passengers on sleds, skis, skates, or bikes.

The Canadian Husky, also known as the Canadian Eskimo dog or the Canadian Inuit dog, is a registered pure-breed dog. These dogs are incredibly durable and hardy. They are not very fast but they have evolved to survive the extremely brutal conditions on the ice, very much like the polar bear or the arctic wolf. These dogs average about 80 pounds.

The Alaskan Husky is 20 percent lighter than the Canadian Husky and has been bred to be much faster and have a thinner coat. They are not considered to be a pure breed since there have been a variety of other types of dogs bred into their lineage.

The Steger Polar Husky is a husky blend. In the 1970’s, Will Steger began combining Alaskan and Canadian Huskies with the vision of creating an extremely powerful dog that has the hardiness of the Canadian with a bit more speed. These dogs are usually bigger and have longer legs than either of the other types of huskie

Dog training at the Homestead started in September, 2005 with a group of 30 dogs. Over the course of these five months, it is inevitable that we come to know and love each dog for its own unique personality and abilities. We spend a minimum of ten to twelve hours a day with the dogs, training and taking care of them. They truly become part of our Homestead family.

We are looking to identify the best 20 dogs for the trip around Baffin Island, to create two 10-dog teams. So far, there are 26 dogs still in the running and we have cut four dogs from the training team. We will make the final cut in early February. Once we cut a dog from the main team they go to recreational kennels or pet homes. With all the care, training and handling the dogs get they inevitably become very loving pets when their sled pulling days are behind them.