The Siberian Husky was developed over a period of around 3,000 years by the ChukchiEskimo’s (Inuit )and related peoples of Siberia, the breed was developed to ful fill a particular need of the Chukchi life and culture. In one of the most inhospitable climates in the world, with temperatures plummeting to (-1000F)C in winter and with winds up to 100 mph, the Chukchi relied on there dogs for survival, as they were a remarkable tool of ingenuity.
In teams as large as twenty or more they could travel out over the ice sometimes covering as much as 100 miles in a single day to allow a single man to ice-fish and return with his catch, by sled dog standards they were small the large size of the teams minimized per-dog pulling power, while smaller frames maximized endurance and low energy consumption. (Even today, in long races, Alaskan Malmutes the Siberians cousins require twice the amount of food the Siberians consume).
The Chukchi economy and religious life was centered around the Huskies. The best dogs were owned by the richest members of the community, and this is precisely why they were richest members of the community. Many religious ceremonies and iconography was centered around the huskies, according to Chukchi belief two huskies guard the gates of heaven turning away anybody that has shown cruelty to a dog in there life time. A Chukchi legend tells of a time of famine both human and dog populations were decimated, the last two remaining pups were nursed at a woman's breast to insure the survival of the breed.
Tribe life revolved around the dogs The women of the tribe reared the pups and chose what pups to keep, discarding all but the most promising bitches and neutering all but the most promising males. The men's responsibility was sled training, mostly geldings were used. huskies also would act as companions for the children and families dogs slept inside the temperatures at night were even measured in terms of the number of dogs necessary to keep a body warm IE: "two dog night, Three dognight Etc." The legendary sweetness of temperament was no accident.100 miles out on the ice, a single man with twenty dogs, if there's a dog fight, he simply does not get home (this is also one of the reasons for using geldings; the other being food consumption is lowered ).
When winter came, all dogs were tied up when not working, but the elite un neutered dogs were allowed to roam and breed at will, this insured that only the very best would breed. In summer, all dogs were released and allowed to hunt in packs, they would only return to the villages when the snow returned and food grew scarce. The primitive hunting instincts can still be found in the breed today. A story documented a number of years ago testifies to this Siberian bitch a family's pet was lost during an autumn hike.
In the nineteenth century, when Czarist troops were sent on a mission to open the area to the fur trade the Chukchi faced a peril even deadlier than the Siberian winters Czarist troops attempted an all -out genocide of the Chukchi people. Again, the dogs would be the key to there survival. The Chukchi were able to out run the Russian reindeer cavalry on their sleds, the Chukchi to evaded the invading armies for some time. The invasion culminating in a final battle were the Chukchi armed only with spears overwhelmingly outnumbered trapped and routed a heavily armed Russian Troop.
This victory led to Czarist Russia signing a treaty with the Chukchi giving them independence the first tribe to do so. Unfortunately in the twentieth century, the Soviets opened free trade with the Chukchi, then known as the "Apaches of the North," these invaders had a far more effective weapon smallpox! Small pox decimated the tribe. Then with a diabolical understanding of the importance of the dogs in Chukchi cultural coherence, the Soviets then executed the village leaders, who were of course the dog breeders.
They then set up their own dog breeding programs these were designed to obliterate the native gene pool the soviets wanted to replace it with a gene pool that would produce a much larger freighting dog thought to be more effective for their own proposed fur-trading practices in the region. The Soviets even went so far, in 1952, as issuing an official proclamation that the breed we now call the Siberian Husky never really existed.
Some remnant of the breed still survives in its native territory today. The painter Jon Van Zyle has managed to bring back several from the region.
Long before the Soviets managed to relegate them to the category of "those who officially never existed." The reputation of the little Chukchi dogs had already spread throughout the world around the turn of the twentieth century, polar exploration was capturing the worlds attention and adventurers came to the yearly Markova Fair on the Siberian peninsula where tribes of the area came to trade. This gathering included the Chukchi and other dog-breeding tribes, such as the Koryak (all of whom probably had some part in the pool of animals that eventually became the Siberian Husky).
Gdosak, a Russian fur trader acquired a team there in 1908 and, in 1909, took them across the Bering Strait to race in the All Alaska Sweepstakes, a 408-mile, grueling race first run in 1908.The Alaskan Gold Rush had established the sled dog as an invaluable commodity, and the race had been instituted to add excitement to an otherwise pretty grim world, to give bragging rights to the eventual winner, and to give vent to that favourite frontier passion, gambling.
Nome to Candle and back was the route of the race crossing every conceivable terrain, including a valley almost always engulfed in a blizzard. Caches of food were strategically stashed along the route by drivers. Regular checkpoints were established, but rest was at each driver's discretion. The Trade Saloon in Nome was the betting office, bets were placed on a board and betting was open until the first team crossed the finish line.
School children had a holiday the four days of the race and at the start of the race in 1909 event, there was already more than $100,000 bet on the race. The Siberians were about half the weight of the local sled dogs, and much smaller in stature. They were given little chance by the bookies , referred to then as Siberian Wolf Dogs. They were dubbed "Siberian Rats, "because of their small stature.
But Thurstrup was convinced by Goosak to
take on the team in April 1909, the first team of Siberian Huskies to be
seen on the North American continent trotted out of the town of Nome and
into the annals of history.
Unfortunetly Thurstrup was not a
wise or judicious driver. At the halfway point in the race, he took a short
rest period in Candle ,he was overtaken by two more rested teams in the
last stretch of the race. and finished in third place. The little dogs
suprised everyone. This Inspired a young Scot named Fox Maule Ramsey to
spend $25,000 on a freighter to transport seventy new Siberians across
the Bering Sea,. He split these into three teams for the 1910 race, the
results were first, second, and fourth place places.
The Chukchi or Husky, a generic term for a sled-pulling-dog gained popularity in America, dog fanciers then replaced the name Chukchi with the more general term Siberian Husky and this became his official name. Thanks to the Chukchi he is people oriented, and a popular companion .The Husky is still the most popular breed for modern "mushers" or owners who want to try him with a sled, the breed happily ignores frigid temperatures and love’s it when we the snow falls.
Because of his long association with people
they still maintain the fastidious cleanliness which was always demanded
of them and when love and exercised properly are amongst the most loving
magical breed of dog you will be ever Blessed to know.
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