Most people think that every dog team has one dominate “alpha” dog that is the Lead Dog. Jack London writes about this in his books; White Fang and Call of the Wild. History is replete with famous lead dogs such as Leonhard Seppala’s famous Balto, and the lesser known Togo who ran in the now famous serum run that is commemorated in today’s Iditarod. Many movies have been made about sled dogs and the lead dog seems to be the central character. However most dog teams are a little more democratic. The lead dog is always the two legged member of the team–the musher or what some people still call the dog driver and the leasers in the team are the dogs that are willing to run in front, find and follow the trail, set the pace, and listen to the musher’s commands.
Today a lot of mushers run two dogs in the lead position. This is done for myriad reasons. Some lead dogs work better in tandem (together), others like to pull to one side or the other, etc. Some mushers use leaders to train other dogs in the lead position. Many mushers say that any dog can be trained in lead but the best are born for it.
Tomorrow: Swing Dogs
Robert Forto | Team Ineka | Alaska Dog Works | Mushing Radio | Dog Works Radio | Denver Dog Works | Daily Post
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Robert Forto is a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular radio shows, Mush! You Huskies and Dog Works Radio Shows
