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Breeds and Characteristics Needed:
In the book, The Call of The Wild, one of the dog breeds used are a St. Bernard and Scotch Shepherd mix. In the Klondike Gold Rush, some dog breeds used were Eskimo and Intuit. The Intuit and Eskimo breeds are the genetic baseline for today's modern Alaskan Huskies. Typically, these dogs have a double coat and thick ears to keep them warm in the bitter weather. The dogs, in both real life and the book, are bred for speed, stamina, and the ability to adapt to the different conditions they pull sleds in. Dogs must be smart, social, trainable, have manners, and must be easy to work with. The dogs have to acquire the tolerance to be harnessed and the knowledge of how to stand still while they get their protective boots put on. They must also learn how to be quiet and to leave snow and the lines alone when they're required to. All of the dogs in The Call of the Wild had these qualities which is what made them good dogs for the job.
Dog teams:
Usually, dog teams consist of 1-4 dogs and no more than 10. In the book, there were around ten dogs sometimes, but for the majority of the time, less than that. The dogs are bred to be large and incredibly strong. The average sled dog weighed around 75-100 pounds. Dogs were very expensive during the gold rush, due to the low supply and high demand. We see an example of this in the book when John Thronton was offered $1,200 for Buck after he pulls the 1,000 pound sled. People looking for dogs were usually searching for larger dogs before smaller dogs because the small dogs were faster for shorter distances, but larger dogs could pull more weight while covering more miles per day. This is where Hal, Charles, and Mercedes made their mistake, they chose many small dogs, over a few large dogs. Another benefit to owning larger dogs was having a smaller team which means fewer dogs. Smaller teams were easier to control while sledding.
In the book, The Call of The Wild, one of the dog breeds used are a St. Bernard and Scotch Shepherd mix. In the Klondike Gold Rush, some dog breeds used were Eskimo and Intuit. The Intuit and Eskimo breeds are the genetic baseline for today's modern Alaskan Huskies. Typically, these dogs have a double coat and thick ears to keep them warm in the bitter weather. The dogs, in both real life and the book, are bred for speed, stamina, and the ability to adapt to the different conditions they pull sleds in. Dogs must be smart, social, trainable, have manners, and must be easy to work with. The dogs have to acquire the tolerance to be harnessed and the knowledge of how to stand still while they get their protective boots put on. They must also learn how to be quiet and to leave snow and the lines alone when they're required to. All of the dogs in The Call of the Wild had these qualities which is what made them good dogs for the job.
Dog teams:
Usually, dog teams consist of 1-4 dogs and no more than 10. In the book, there were around ten dogs sometimes, but for the majority of the time, less than that. The dogs are bred to be large and incredibly strong. The average sled dog weighed around 75-100 pounds. Dogs were very expensive during the gold rush, due to the low supply and high demand. We see an example of this in the book when John Thronton was offered $1,200 for Buck after he pulls the 1,000 pound sled. People looking for dogs were usually searching for larger dogs before smaller dogs because the small dogs were faster for shorter distances, but larger dogs could pull more weight while covering more miles per day. This is where Hal, Charles, and Mercedes made their mistake, they chose many small dogs, over a few large dogs. Another benefit to owning larger dogs was having a smaller team which means fewer dogs. Smaller teams were easier to control while sledding.