A Three Dog Night! (or eight, or ten, or eighteen...)

If there's one thing Alaskans love more than their airplanes, it's their dogs. You see them everywhere: riding shotgun in pickups through Anchorage, romping in the dirt streets of Talkeetna, waiting patiently outside restaurants in Fairbanks. Even the native populations had dogs, whether as alarm systems to tell them when a bear was headed for the food cache, or as a handy transportation system in the winter. When the Athabascan Indians dried salmon for the winter, they would set aside one chub salmon for each dog, per day, as part of their food reserves for the winter, and as long as the Alaskan winters are, that's a lot of salmon!

One month old puppies lazing in the warmth.

Today a kennel of racing dogs easily burns through $100,000 worth of food per year. Part of that is defrayed by prize-winnings, the rest through sponsorships (hopefully!). Handling and training of the dogs begin in puppyhood, not only to socialize them, but also to gain insight into their personalities. What makes a good lead dog is not necessarily what makes a good wheel dog, and some pups are not suited to racing at all.

Four month old puppies playing in the spring mud.

I talked to a female musher who tutored under Susan Butcher, and she said the best sled dogs aren't necessarily the smartest ones, who often become bored on the training runs. She said you can practically see them roll their eyes as they pass the same spot for the third time, their enthusiasm fading with every passing mile. By contrast, the best racers are the ones who are like, "Oh, boy! Another time around the lake? Let's go!!!"

A dog team in harness for a exhibition run.

I went for a short ride at the Alaskan Native Heritage Center and I was surprised by how rough it was. I asked the musher if it was smoother over snow. He laughed and said, "No. If anything it's a lot rougher."

A summer run (a ten dog team can easily pull 400 lbs.).

I'm guessing it might be better standing up, albeit a good workout for the knees. I can't imagine being a passenger for any length of time. Give me a plane any day, though I'm forced to admit if I was forced to travel in the midst of a blizzard, a dogsled would definitely be the way to go.