A dog sled is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function.
A basket sled has a bed raised several inches above the surface of the snow. This type of sled is used in dogsled racing. Sprint sleds are often short-bodied basket sleds. A toboggan sled has a lower carriage and uses a closed bed, allowing the sled to slide or float over deep snow. Freight sleds, which are heavier and sturdier than sprint sleds, may be toboggan or basket sleds. Both of these types of sleds have runners which stick out behind the sled, on which the musher can stand. For brakes, older sleds relied on hooks attached to the sled with a rope, modern sleds usually include drag and claw brakes built into the sled.
Dog power has been utilized for hunting and travel for hundreds of years. As far back as the tenth century these dogs have contributed to the culture of people. (Coppinger, L.) [1]
Today dog sled teams are put together with great care. Putting together a dog sled team involves putting together a team of leader dogs, point dogs, swing dogs, and wheel dogs. The lead dog is very treasured, and seldom will mushers let these dogs out of their sights. Indeed, trained lead dogs become part of the family household. Important too is to have powerful wheel dogs to pull the sled out from the snow. Point dogs (optional) are located behind the leader dogs, swing dogs between the point and wheel dogs, and team dogs are all other dogs in between the wheel and swing dogs and are selected for their endurance, strength and speed as part of the team. Alaskans take great pride in putting together a great team of musher dogs! View: [2] for an example of sled dog team building.
A recent innovation in sled design was introduced in the 2004 Iditarod by Jeff King, who used a split sled for the race. This sled, the Tail Dragger, has a basket-style body with a freight-holding back end, and an open middle. The musher can sit on the back part or stand in the middle.
The komatik is a traditional Inuit sled, used in Canada and Greenland, low-slung and on which the hunter or racer sits or lies down, facing forward. The runners do not stick out as in basket sleds.
A pulk is a short, flat sled used in the Scandinavian sport of pulka. The dog is hitched to the sled and the sled to the skier. The pulk is used to carry supplies or equipment, but not usually a person.
The expedition led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen used dog sleds when they reached the South Pole before Robert Falcon Scott's party did.
A dog sled race was included at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York as a demonstration event.