History of "Village" or "Trap Line" Huskies
Under Construction
Technically a husky is any husky dog that was
developed by Inuit or Native American / First Nations people. Historically,
North American huskies were most commonly referred to
either "Eskimo" or "Indian dogs". Of course the
terms 'Eskimo' and 'Indian' are no longer considered politically
correct among Whites (aka 'Euro-Americans'). In more modern time the terms
"Village dogs" or "Trap Line Dogs" have been used to describe
the working dogs that evolved and were selectively bred
primarily by Native American / First Nations peoples to help
meet their transportation needs.
To understand the selected traits common to 'village /
trap-line' huskies, one
must first have an understanding of the people they served.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America, indigenous
people were primarily nomadic hunter/gatherers relying on
stone-age technology. The harsh climate of the boreal
regions of Canada and Alaska provide adequate resources to make
a living, but nothing close to surplus. In order to hunt
adequate game for survival the Natives had to keep moving
throughout most of the year. They developed some very
sophisticated tools to help them travel in a land that is
covered by snow more often than not. The most important of
these tools were snowshoes and sledges, called toboggans today.
Some 4,000 years ago, give or take a few centuries, the
ancestors of modern dogs were scavengers, genetically related to
wolves but adapted to an ecological niche in which they relied
on human garbage as an important source of food. Early
dogs that were less fearful than their mates had easier access
to human leavings, as they were more willing to stay close to
the source. Thus less fearful dogs were more likely to
survive long enough to breed and pass on their genetic tameness
than dogs that were more timid.
At some unknown point in time
humans took an interest in these early scavengers, perhaps
tossing food treats to those willing to approach most closely.
It may not seem like much, but the added nutrition from food
that was probably better quality than that simply thrown out
gave the tamer dogs a edge in the survival game, and at some
point the aboriginal people accepted dogs into their homes and
lives. Dogs that could help
humans survive in the harsh conditions were more likely to be
supported with extra food and care than dogs that could not.
This resulted in an evolutionary shift from totally natural
selection to a limited form of artificial selection, in which
humans inadvertently selected genetic traits that would be
passed on to future generations of dogs.
Somewhere along the way
someone decided to try to tie a dog to a toboggan, and learned
that the dog could help carry the tools necessary for survival.
Though their materials possessions were few, they nonetheless
needed the assistance of their dogs to help them in their
travels. Whether pulling a sledge or a travois, the
aboriginal dogs shared some common traits that are still
inherent in their breed. The
aboriginal huskies were "easy keepers". which means they were able to
survive and work on a minimal amount of food. This trait
was vital in a region where there is little surplus food to
share. Meanwhile, dogs that were picky eaters were more
likely to die young than those willing to eat almost anything
that could provide a bit of nutrition. Thus today's
huskies tend to have voracious appetites and are willing to eat
anything that doesn't eat them first.
Because the dogs that were supported by nomadic humans were dogs
that did not run away to return to their home territory, dogs
that were most willing to abandon "home" were most willing to
survive. We see this trait in huskies today, as huskies
that escape from their owners may run for many, many miles
making no attempt to return to their home yards.
Dogs that displayed
aggression toward humans were a huge liability and were most
likely killed at the first sign of danger. Consequently
those that survived were dogs that showed the least amount of
fearfulness or aggressiveness toward people. Today it is
very rare to encounter huskies that show any significant amount
of human-directed aggressiveness. Even the most timid and
fearful of feral huskies only rarely actually try to bite
humans, and then only when cornered. This is why huskies
make very poor watch dogs.
Most importantly from the musher's stand point, the dogs who
were most willing to run and pull a load were those most favored
by their Native masters. As a result running and pulling
is a genetically hard-wired self-rewarding behavior in
aboriginal huskies.
Intelligent dogs were much more likely to survive than those
with less brain power. Stupid dogs tended to die from
predation or injury, while those smart enough to avoid predators
and other dangers survived to pass their genes on to future
generations.
Intelligence must not be
confused with trainability, though. Any animal with a
central nervous system can be trained to perform behaviors on
cue. Highly intelligent animals are frequently more
difficult to train than dummies, because they tend to weigh the
benefit of compliance against the benefit of noncompliance.
Dogs always do what is best for the dog, from the dog's
perspective, so smart dogs require smart trainers.
When European fur traders first encountered aboriginal huskies
in the late 17th or very early 18th century they recognized
their potential value very quickly. The ability to travel
quickly over snow made it possible to carry trade goods or furs
over long distances relatively quickly. The French, who
were the earliest Europeans to exploit the northernmost regions,
were familiar with working dogs that were frequently used to
pull wheeled carts in their home nation, and seem to have been
very willing to adopt Native technology to meet their own needs.
Consequently they were among the first Whites to run sled dogs.
When the English took over
the northern fur trade in the mid-18th century (following the
Seven Years War), they quickly learned that sled dogs were vital
to moving goods and especially for moving information quickly.
This is described more thoroughly in my
article on sled dogs in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Prior to the last decade of
the 19th century the fur traders relied on local sources to
acquire sled dogs, trading for the surplus dogs of their Native
customers. For most of the time period the local supply
was sufficient to meet the demand, but that changed with the
discovery of gold in the sub-arctic north. As thousands of
non-Native people rushed north to seek their fortunes demand for
dogs far outstripped the locally available supply. In
response many gold seekers brought Euro-American dogs of various
breeds north, to press them into service as sled dogs.
Many of those impromptu dogs were of large or even giant breeds
such as St. Bernards, Newfoundland Dogs or Mastiffs.
White and Native breeders
were all willing to cross-breed their dogs to perpetuate the
'best' traits of each and the best of them selected their breeding stock based on their local needs.
For example, in regions of exceptionally deep snow, long legged
dogs that could more easily break out a new trail were
preferred. People who needed more gear to survive
preferred larger and heavier dogs that could more easily manage
massive loads. People who had to travel longer distances
to find adequate game and resources selected for dogs that could
cover those distances more quickly.
By the end of the 20th
century the only purebred aboriginal dog remaining in North
America was the Canadian Inuit Dog (aka Canadian Eskimo Dog).
The sled dogs used by both Native and white mushers in the
interior regions were the progeny of the mixed Native and
European types developed during the Klondike and other gold
stampedes.
As we enter the twentyfirst
century, the "village" or "trap-line" huskies are also becoming rare simply
because the need has changed. Rather than relying on dogs
for transportation, most bush dwellers today rely upon snow
machines and small aircraft. Those who still keep dogs
most commonly use them for racing, and though they have plenty
of the original aboriginal husky in their bloodlines, the modern
Alaskan huskies have been selected more for speed and endurance
resulting in a similar but nonetheless different type of dog.
Fortunately, a few mushers and bush dwellers have resisted the
modern trend. Some back country people who rely on
subsistence for their living still breed and use the "village dogs" of history, and today there is a growing interest among
recreational dog mushers to preserve the "village dogs" of the
past for touring in the back country. The Stardancer
Historical Freight Dogs team is proud to contribute to the
effort to preserve the old ways, and the old school village or
trap-line sled dogs.
|
