Siberian husky sled dog history

Recent DNA testing claims that the breed, Siberian Husky, is one of the oldest living species of the Canidae family (better known as the Canine family). Siberian Huskies date back to the ice age, when they pulled sleds of the earliest humans and aided them for survival.

Siberian Huskies are native to the Inuit (or Chukchi) people of the Northern Hemisphere of Asia. The word "husky" was a derivative of the word "eskie," which pertains to Eskimos. Yes, and in the past, they were even called "Eskimo Dogs."

Although some scholars do not bite this theory, it is dominantly believed that Eskimos used the same breed of dogs to migrate through land bridges during and after the ice age, particularly in and out of Alaska and through the Bering Strait.

Siberian Huskies were a major contribution to the survival of the Inuit tribes. From that point on, their value as sled dogs have been so consistent. Early in the nineteen hundreds, Siberian Huskies were imported to Alaska for the Gold Rush--the hyped discovery and exploration for gold mines as well as migrations of workers from Australia, Canada, South Africa, and United States. Afterwards the breed contended for the All-Alaska Sweepstakes Sled Dog Competition, a 408 mile race to and fro the cities of Nome and Candle in Alaska.

However in 1930 as the Soviet Union closed all its market trade routes, the importation of Siberian Huskies has greatly declined. Most of the Siberian Huskies we have at present are just barely descendants of pure Siberian Huskies; such are crossbreeds from Norwegian sled dogs and the likes.

On the brighter side, the AKC or American Kennel Club recognized Siberian Huskies as official dog breeds of Canada. And, years later Siberian Huskies were used for major explorations on the North and South poles. Richard E. Byrd, a well known explorer, brought 50 huskies with him in a 16,000 mile expedition of the Antarctic coast.

Nowadays Siberian Huskies are still being used for sled races and sporting competitions. On some countries (though rare), Huskies are even being trained for police enforcement because of their excellent sniffing and instinctive abilities that surpasses other breeds. Siberian Huskies up to the present have not outlived their usefulness, nor they ever will.

Because of Siberian Huskies' propitious assets, their pages in history were written with epic treks, advents, and achievements--all the more reason people should love the dog breed, Siberian Huskies!