“Sled dogs have played an important role in the transportation of human population… Genetic evidence suggests that dogs commonly used in sledding are descended from an ancient lineage of dogs from Zokhov Island, Siberia dating back to 9500 years ago.”
As Canmore’s best dog sledding company, we pride ourselves on prioritizing our dog’s wellbeing. Maintaining the highest standards of ethical dog welfare is our number one priority. Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours is a family-owned and operated company that believes in the heritage of working animals. We recently participated in a study, “The Activity Patterns of Nonworking and Working Sled Dogs” by Nature Scientific Reports.
The research team investigated how biological, environmental, and human factors impact dogs. The study examined 52 working dogs from two Canadian locations, 23 from our kennel in Canmore, Alberta. The study included environmental factors on working sled dogs, including temperature and moon illumination. “Staff at Canmore confirmed that Alaskan husky breeds were the hardest working breed and ideal for running sled tours due to their strong desire to pull for long durations.”
The investigation discovered the following findings:
- Males were more active than females during the day in domestic dogs
- Our Canmore dogs were less active during periods of greater moon illumination
- Temperature had no effect on working dogs’ activity
- Group-housed dogs exhibit greater activity than dogs that were housed individually
- Alaskan huskies had higher activity levels than non-Alaskan husky breeds
- Younger dogs were more active than older dogs
In conclusion, the study found, “The comparison of working and nonworking sled dogs showed that environmental conditions, like temperature and moonlight, had relatively minor effects on dog activity despite sled dogs being outside all day.”
Thank you to Ming Fei Li, Lavania Nagendran, Lauren Schroder, and David R. Samson for the opportunity to take part in this interesting research study for Nature. It was an honour to be asked to participate.
Read the Research Paper: The activity patterns of nonworking and working sled dogs | Scientific Reports (nature.com)
Learn more about our ethical dog welfare.