Alaska summer sled dogs - shenanigans?

[mlayton14]

Hi all , looking forward to Alaska cruise next summer. My question is around the musher camp type places that offer rides and interaction with the sled dogs. Watched many videos and these don’t appear to be sled dogs do they? The most common breeds I think would be authentic would be huskies and malamutes - I rarely see more than a couple of these in the videos unless you fly a helicopter to the glaciers. Are these more local places offering the sled dog experience seem authentic or more like a gimmic where you don’t interact with actual sled dogs? Love mutts as much as any other dog but the advertising sure seems misleading ? Would love to hear your recommendations and experiences. Thank you

 

[_auroraborealis_]

They are real. Not every dog is purebred, especially given the way inbreeding can diminish bloodlines.

 

[mlayton14]

They are real. Not every dog is purebred, especially given the way inbreeding can diminish bloodlines.

Makes sense, there just seems to be a huge differences in the appearance of the dogs on the glacier and the ones closer to port

 

[DCLMP]

What difference does the breed make as long as they can pull a sled?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

When the malamute bloodline gets too close, problems can include elbow dysplasia, inerhited polyneuropathy (nerve issues), some skeletal issues, and heart defects. So there are other breeds that get into the pool that have good mushing characteristics, but alter the look of the puppers. But they're more functional puppers.

 

[anricat]

We did a summer dogsled and I have no idea what kind of dog they were but they were READY to run and they ran hard. They just seemed to love running and got so excited when it was time for them to get hooked up. They looked husky-ish to me, but I don't know. Seemed like some kind of mix. I'm not a dog expert, but they definitely did the job well. The musher explained how she was training them and what she was looking for. When we rode, they were testing out some different pairings to see which dogs would be good together.

This is that day from my trip report if you want to see photos of the dogs we had: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...-extra-fun-in-vancouver.3537617/post-56316268

 

[mlayton14]

We did a summer dogsled and I have no idea what kind of dog they were but they were READY to run and they ran hard. They just seemed to love running and got so excited when it was time for them to get hooked up. They looked husky-ish to me, but I don't know. Seemed like some kind of mix. I'm not a dog expert, but they definitely did the job well. The musher explained how she was training them and what she was looking for. When we rode, they were testing out some different pairings to see which dogs would be good together.

This is that day from my trip report if you want to see photos of the dogs we had: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...-extra-fun-in-vancouver.3537617/post-56316268

What you were doing looks perfect and what I’m looking at as part of private excursion , but I don’t believe the Disney excursions goto Carcross where you went? I’m looking at the more recent musher camp excursions much closer to port which Disney sells that seems to have a more diverse mix of dogs hence the question I asked - your post was great

 

[Fuzzycaterpillar1]

We did a summer dogsled and I have no idea what kind of dog they were but they were READY to run and they ran hard. They just seemed to love running and got so excited when it was time for them to get hooked up. They looked husky-ish to me, but I don't know. Seemed like some kind of mix. I'm not a dog expert, but they definitely did the job well. The musher explained how she was training them and what she was looking for. When we rode, they were testing out some different pairings to see which dogs would be good together.

This is that day from my trip report if you want to see photos of the dogs we had: https://www.disboards.com/threads/w...-extra-fun-in-vancouver.3537617/post-56316268

Oh, those huggable puppies.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

What you were doing looks perfect and what I’m looking at as part of private excursion , but I don’t believe the Disney excursions goto Carcross where you went? I’m looking at the more recent musher camp excursions much closer to port which Disney sells that seems to have a more diverse mix of dogs hence the question I asked - your post was great

We went this last august and visited Tutshi on our own rented a car here is the link to my tr. https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-wonder-in-alaska-the-last-frontier-completed-10-09-22.3894990/
I also talk about a woman sherry who owns a tour company that will stop here. This was certainly a highlight for us.

 

[auntlynne]

Hi all , looking forward to Alaska cruise next summer. My question is around the musher camp type places that offer rides and interaction with the sled dogs. Watched many videos and these don’t appear to be sled dogs do they? The most common breeds I think would be authentic would be huskies and malamutes - I rarely see more than a couple of these in the videos unless you fly a helicopter to the glaciers. Are these more local places offering the sled dog experience seem authentic or more like a gimmic where you don’t interact with actual sled dogs? Love mutts as much as any other dog but the advertising sure seems misleading ? Would love to hear your recommendations and experiences. Thank you

I think a mix of dogs is pretty standard, although Siberian huskies are lovely for promo photos. Here’s a working team: (photo from Visit Anchorage).

 

[lunaland]

Google Alaskan Huskies, they are true sled dogs. You will see very few purebred Alaskan Malamutes or Siberian Huskies actually used for these purposes. Sled dogs are typically an Alaskan Husky-mutt which includes Sibe, Malamute, herding dogs, and retrievers all mixed together to produce a lighter, higher drive dog.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

We rented a car in Skagway and went to Tutshi sled dog camp and it was amazing. The Alaskan huskies look different than how films depict them. You can read my tr https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-wonder-in-alaska-the-last-frontier-completed-10-09-22.3894990/ for details. I also mention a woman who does private tours to here if you do not want to drive yourself.

 

[luv2cruisedisney]

Here are the pups from the glacier. There is a big mix of different breeds.

 

[mlayton14]

We rented a car in Skagway and went to Tutshi sled dog camp and it was amazing. The Alaskan huskies look different than how films depict them. You can read my tr https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-wonder-in-alaska-the-last-frontier-completed-10-09-22.3894990/ for details. I also mention a woman who does private tours to here if you do not want to drive yourself.

Nice report thank you