It's interesting to think that the canadian huskies diverged from the US huskies, as was mentioned in one of the articles. Here are some pics from the Canadian National Archives of Canadian police huskies (northern patrol, RCMP, etc)

"In 1939 the last Siberia imports, along with several of Seppala’s dogs, became the breed foundation for the “Siberian Huskie” in Canada. The Canadian Seppala Kennels of Harry R. Wheeler in St. Jovite Station, Quebec, developed and bred Seppala Siberians until 1950 in genetic isolation from the developing Siberian Husky breed in the USA, which gradually became oriented more and more toward conformation dog shows. A succession of Seppala breeders kept the strain alive through the 1950s and 1960s." - From : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seppala_Siberian_Sleddog

"Whеn thе North-West Mounted Police wеrе first assigned tο thе Yukon аnԁ οthеr northern areas, thеу quickly learned thаt thеу wουƖԁ nοt bе patrolling bу horseback.

Thе North Country hаԁ few roads. Travel wаѕ bу waterway аnԁ lake. In thе summer, thаt meant boats аnԁ canoes. In thе winter, whеn thе rivers wеrе frozen, thаt meant dog teams.

Frοm thе beginning, thеу adopted thе native huskies аnԁ malamutes. Without thе thick-coated huskies, whісh wουƖԁ curl up іn thе deep snow tο sleep, thе Mounties wουƖԁ bу nο means hаνе accomplished thеіr long winter patrols." From : http://www.potty-trainingpuppies.com/north-west-mounted-police-dogs-huskies-and-other-sled-dogs

Canadian husky pic from 1957:


Two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.) hitching sled dogs into their harness before going on patrol. 1957.
Source: National Archives of Canada From : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rcmp_sled_dogs_1957.jpg

1909 dogs! Go to the link to see the big pic. They used huskies and labs, after realizing they had a hard time controlling the locally bred husky/wolf hybrid.

From : http://data4.collectionscanada.gc.ca/netacgi/nph-brs?s2=&s4=&s3=&s1=royal+mounted+dog&s8=&Sect4=AND&l=20&Sect1=IMAGE&Sect2=THESOFF&Sect4=AND&Sect5=FOTOPEN&Sect6=HITOFF&d=FOTO&p=1&u=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/02011503_e.html&r=5&f=G

Vintage postcard with RCMP husky (no year mentioned, however, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) used dog sleds to patrol the north until 1969). Looks like a mal! Look at the ears!

From : http://www.ebay.com/itm/RCMP-LEAD-HUSKY-SLED-DOG-CANADA-FLAG-POSTCARD-/370252187484

I enjoy these kinds of threads, but the reality is, all the Siberian Huskies alive today are descended from about a dozen entire dogs/bitches amongst the early imports. The interesting thing is that those original imports from Siberia were a really mixed bunch - among them you can see dogs which resemble modern day "show" sibes, others that look like modern day "racing" sibes and others in between the two extremes.





I believe the red colouration in Siberian Huskies is (at least in part) due to the fact that following an appalling famine in Siberia during the 1860's, when the Chukchi sled dog was almost wiped out, the breed was re-established by using other native breeds to interbreed with the remaining Chukchi dogs. Amongst these breeds was the small, foxlike red Tungus Spitz. Before the 1860's, travellers amongst the Chukchi always reported that the Chukchi dogs were "shaggy coated" and "wolflike." After the famine years, the Chukchi dogs began to be described as "foxlike."

Mick

I asked about the Seppela Breed awhile ago, as the woman we got Sisi from stated she wondered if Sisi came from the Seppela line. Didn't get quite this much info! Thanks for all the links this time around.

Was disappointed to see Lyzelle quit posting in here as I enjoyed her knowledge and willingness to learn more about Siberian Huskies.

Where did she go????

There was a disagreement in a topic I think.

This is actually very interesting to me. I had been noticing that some huskies looked "friendly" and others looked "menacing". I also noticed that some have more energy than others

Talk about dragging up an old thread! Its an interesting read, but there is a lot of misinformation in there. We had some discussions about this that where much more accurate about 6 months ago.

Because some people posted about Balto, Togo, and Fritz I found this website a little while back, it was really interesting and has some cool photos of the Nome Run dogs so figured I'd share no clue how accurate it is http://www.baltostruestory.net/

Very nice site - thanks for sharing. For those that might be interested in the Seppala working sled dogs, there are a couple links below. Keep in mind that there is significant bias on both sides. Read for the information and ignore the occassional digs, and you'll get a sense of that breed.

http://seppalanews.com/?id=100

http://seppalawiki.pbworks.com/w/page/6683733/IntroductionToSeppalas

While some Seppala owner might say their dogs are the original Siberian huskies, they will tell you plainly that your Siberian husky is not a Seppala. I've had a chance to work with a Seppala owner, and there are physical differences in terms of structural flexability, and well as work ethic and speed.