Our Dogs
MEET THE "DOGS WITH JOBS"
Our Love & Care for Dogs
We feel that the dogs are the most important part of Howling Dog Tours. One example of the love and care we give our dogs is the fact that we only use professional guides to drive our teams; we would never allow an inexperienced driver to take the teams out without intense training.
At Howling Dog Tours, having a kennel of 200 dogs allows for great run/rest ratios during the day as well as during the week. With the advantage of having trained guides on every sled, there is the flexibility to change the strength of the teams to allow for more or less weight, thus allowing the dogs to maintain a nice working pace and our sleds have no need for weight restrictions. As proven with the Iditarod dogs, the Alaskan Husky is capable of handling much more than the runs they take at Howling Dog tours – doing their job is not a hardship at all and they do it with zest!
Sled Dog Ethics & Best Practices
Sled Dog Breeds
Howling Dog Tours runs several sled dog breeds, the Alaskan Husky, the Siberian Husky and the Seppala Siberian Husky.
The Alaskan Racing Husky has been made famous by such long distance races as the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. This breed originated from the villages in Alaska where racers crossed the hearty and beautiful Siberian Husky to other breeds such as the greyhound and pointer; this created a breed well suited to sled dog racing and touring.
Friendly, sleek and good natured, the Alaskan Husky comes in a variety of colors, sizes and attitudes! For a more in-depth look at the fantastic work ethic and physical capabilities of the Alaskan Racing husky please see the following linked article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Racing Veterans
From their early racing days (1989-1995), Rich and Dana have developed a great kennel of eager, friendly dogs; the working breed you will see are kept healthy and happy – it shows in their attitude! We have experienced Yukon Quest or Iditarod veterans in the kennel, along with some sprint lines from profession racing kennels (Streeper Kennels out of BC).
Our company policy is to adopt dogs into our teams rather than have puppies; currently 70% of our kennel are adopted dogs. Additions to the kennel come from a variety of homes - mushers that want to retire or downsize their kennels, or dogs that don't make the race team for a variety of reasons. The latest trend in sprint racing brings us a few Alaskan Husky/German Short-haired Pointer crosses; lean, floppy eared and fast, this super friendly cross breed adds character to the wonderful sled dogs in the Howling Dog Tours kennel. To complete the pack, you can also meet our pure-bred Siberian Huskies.
Adopt A Dog!
Have you ever considered adopting a senior sled dog? It takes a special person with plenty of love, patience and time to help the senior huskies transition to a new home. Depending upon the dog's background, a senior dog can be successfully re-homed to provide companionship and fun for a future family. If you know you would be a good fit for taking in a new family member, send us an email and we can find the perfect match for you.
Meet some of our Team Dogs
Apollo
Alaskan Husky Apollo is a hard working team dog who loves to pull! At 11 years old, he has won the hearts of many guests because of his funky looks and friendly personality.
Ranger
Loki
Loki, the troublemaker that lives up to his name! He was born in our kennel ten years ago and still acts like a young pup! He likes fooling around and playing in the snow. He likes all the attention he can get!
Nikolai
This 9 year old is the son of Dex and Mary! He is a big boy that runs hard and plays hard. He comes by his work ethic naturally and his mother Mary was a two time Iditarod veteran, so his litter is name after checkpoints of the Iditarod: Nikolai, Elim, Rohn, Anchorage, Kaltag, Nome and Safety.
Snoopy
This handsome boy was adopted in from a kennel in Quebec and loves his new teammates here in the mountains. Slow and steady, he loves the colder weather and is happiest outside in the fresh snow!
Vodka
Happy boy Vodka was raised in our kennel. He is a great pulling dog that runs in team or wheel and loves getting attention from all the guests.
Ivan
This youngster, Ivan, was adopted in from Quebec. He love running, but is still shy with guests. He is gaining our trust and will be part of the team for many years to come.
Kooper
Meet Kooper! Big and beautiful, Kooper is enjoying his first season with us after running on a recreational team in central Alberta. Lots of spunk, this boy is a fantastic wheel dog and loves his running mate Ancho.
Ace
Pretty girl Ace is a spunky siberian husky from eastern Canada. She is a great working dog and has become friendly with everyone.
Special
Special is a young sweetheart who came to us from a sprint racing kennel. She is leading her team with a veteran partner and doing fantastic.
Coal
Coal is an energetic yearling looking for adventures on the trail and plenty of attention from humans!
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course! All of our dogs are friendly; we encourage interaction at your own comfort level. Some dogs love a good hug or ear scratch. We are the only company who allows you to feed the dogs cookies at the end of the tour!
We have a good run/rest ratio - the dogs can run 1-4 times per day (depends upon the season) and are on a maximum 2 days on, 1 day off schedule. We have 24+ teams available to rotate in the schedule, so we always have happy, eager dogs!
We use teams of 6 to 8 dogs to pull the sleds. We can adjust the number of dogs pulling the sled according to trail conditions and weight load in the sled.
We run Alaskan Racing Huskies and purebred Siberian Huskies. They are a very athletic breed – the same that you would find running dogsled races, both long distance and sprint. We have dogs in our kennel that have run the Yukon Quest and Iditarod, or smaller sprint races ranging from 4 miles to 50 miles. They are bred for endurance, speed and strength, not looks! Please see our webpage on 'Meet the Dogs' for a more in-depth look at these amazing athletes.