When discussing the origins of the Siberian husky, we will talk about a family of dogs whose characteristics are coincident. It is quite possible that they all have their origins in a common type that we know today as sled breeds. They have a certain kinship with the wolf of which they preserve certain morphological and psychological characteristics, which we will mention later and which demonstrate their genetic proximity; The wolf continued its evolution parallel to the lupoid races that lost contact with it as they approached man and a differentiation was created that today is total between Cannis familiaris and Cannis lupus.
At this point there are several theories in this regard: the Nobel Prize winner in Medicine and Philosophy Konrad Lorenz in his ethology studies states that their resemblance was not only an external similarity but that they both had lupoid blood, reaching 50% or 75% in blood. some cases.
At first these types of dogs were known by the typical name of the place of origin and later they were grouped into breeds based on their appearance, sizes, etc. In the northwest of Hudson Bay, Canada, they were known as Eskimo or Mackenzie while those from the west were called huskies. This type of dog had an official standard back in 1870, however it does not specify between the different Nordic breeds that exist today but rather included all those that the Eskimos used to travel by sleigh or umiaks (canoes made with the skins of the animals they hunted) There has always been doubt about whether the origin of dogs is not in the wolf, jackal or crosses between these and wild dogs. But regarding the Siberian husky there does not seem to be any doubt: its behavior, fur, howl, customs, way of raising children, way of hunting in groups and other characteristics reveal it as a descendant of the wolf. The Eskimos observed that in captivity the wolf became sociable, changed its character, became an ally for hunting and perhaps most importantly learned to pull sleds, the only means of transportation in polar regions. They were the nomadic tribes located in the north of Lake Baikal and along the Kolyma estuaries, in central Siberia, which began to use these dogs for transport and hunting. The study of how the dogs should be positioned was carried out by the Ciukci, who were the first to select dogs for their qualities for fast and light transport and heavy and resistant others. Previously, reindeer were used for transportation but they were less resistant and needed grass to eat little food three-quarters of the year. This improved their quality of life since they settled on the coast of the Bering Sea, becoming fishermen and hunters.
The success of these dogs lay in the strong selection made by this people. They were dogs with an elongated and thin head, not very large, with a deep chest, thin and muscular legs, fast, with a docile character, different from those used by the Eskimos. This homogeneity was achieved by killing the puppies and castrating the males that did not meet the requirements so that they could not harm the race with their future children. In their society it was not possible to feed useless mouths, with only the most resistant and active surviving in harsh conditions; until they managed to use them as shepherds, guardians, hunters and even a religious cult, since cave paintings have appeared indicating that dogs had to be treated well because they could demand revenge after they were dead. There were other peoples who also selected and bred like the Yakuty, Yukaghiry, Koriki, Itelmen, but even though they were great sled drivers, they did not enjoy the reputation of the Ciukci. This name Siberian Husky is composite, the name Husky comes from the old name by which white men knew those Eskimos who lived in those glacial places, while the adjective Siberian is due to the place where the Kolyma River is considered to originate, in which due When the waters froze, natural communication was established with Alaska. There is also a great variety of nicknames in the native language, such as chuchi, chukehi, tchusky or tusky, which differ somewhat depending on the geographic location, but all refer to the same type of dog. The history of the Siberian husky is linked to that of its founding people, the Ciukci, who could not imagine at that time dedicated to hunting and fishing, that their future was going to depend on their dogs. In the tsarist era (1742) the Russians tried conquer the North Pole and subjugate almost all the peoples thanks to their powerful armies, but the Ciukci survive the attempted genocide thanks to the mobility acquired with their sleds, defeating them in 1837 and obtaining independence in 1847. But the Russians had conquered the North Asia and crossing the Bering Strait they colonized northern America, where they founded their first cities to maintain the world monopoly on furs. In 1867 the United States bought this entire area for 7.2 million dollars and these territories remained almost uninhabited because the people was in charge of colonizing the west, which were less harsh areas, until in 1896 gold appeared on the Klondike River (border between Alaska and Canada) and about 30,000 men arrived in a few months, forming the first cities, among which Nome stood out, which became in a commercial center of those confines in which almost all the activity was carried out in summer, since in winter it was very difficult to survive and they immediately realized how dependent they were on these dogs. This heterogeneous humanity as part of the Western mentality happened winter nights playing and betting and, logically, the object of these bets were the dogs, who held contests of resistance, strength and speed in the center of the city and without any rules.
The first to implement rules and limitations, to safeguard the lives of mushers and dogs, was Scotty Allan. The competitions became increasingly popular, the first professional mushers, clubs, sponsors and special reporters appeared who contributed to the myth of great races such as the "All Alaska sweepstakes", created in April 1908 between Candle and Nome, the majority of dogs used in those times were mixed breeds and selected by size according to the criteria: the larger the size, the greater the endurance, without having into account: agility, speed, resistance, sense of direction, etc. In 1909 a Russian merchant, William Goosak, imported from his trips to Siberia a group of ciukci dogs that were the source of ridicule and criticism among the town's inhabitants for its sweet appearance, moderate size, thin and long joints and malnourished appearance, the complete opposite of the phenotype used in those places (heavy dogs, large size, strong bones and often crossed with molossers or the malamute type), finally of the hand of the Norwegian Louis Trustrup they got third place and to the amazement of those present they were the least tired. Among the audience was an English nobleman, Fox Maule Ramsay, who bought in Markovo (in the same place where Goosak had bought it) 70 dogs that The following year they got 1st, 2nd and 4th, the following year with the help of the legendary John Johnson ("Iron Man") and also winning in 1914 to definitively change the thinking of these people. In this same year, Leonard Seppala participated, After great difficulties in reaching the finish line, he is in last place, but he begins the hard work to select his dogs, place them in the right place, stimulate them against fatigue and the cold, speak to them kindly, pampering their care and feeding, and he gets first place in 1915, 1916 and 1917, shattering all records. The first huskies came to him by chance in 1913 when his friend Jafet Linderberg prepared a group of dogs for Roald Amundsen who was organizing an expedition to the North Pole, but he gave up and sold them to Seppala. Among these were part of those imported by Goosak and Ramsey, their leaders were "Suggen" and his son "Togo". In 1925 a diphtheria epidemic broke out in Nome and serum supplies were not sufficient for the population and reserves were in Anchorage 995 miles away. It was essential to get it there in the shortest possible time, for this it had to be transported by train to Nenana and from here to Nome by sleigh. As soon as Seppala heard the news, he volunteered and managed to make the 658-mile journey in 5 and a half days, a distance traveled by the couriers of that time in 25 days. The American public was amazed by the feat and the Congress of this country wanted to record it by erecting a statue of the guide dog "Togo" in New York's Central Park. In 1927 it was donated to Elisabeth Rickey during a propaganda tour in the northeastern United States. In 1924 the New England Sled Dog Club was founded in Boston and in all the tests until 1927, Arthur Walden with the kennel Chinook, an expert musher who had lived in Alaska and raced with large hybrids, won. This year Seppala entered the scene and once again demonstrated that huskies were superior. Many wanted to have dogs of this type and Seppala gave some of them in co-ownership to Harry Wheeler and Elisabeth Ricker (among whom were Kreevanka, Tserko, Volchov, Laika and Togo). After her divorce, she sent her dogs from Canada to New England near Wheeler and the products of these breedings spread throughout the country. Unfortunately, it is difficult to follow the breed because in the 1930s they were not recognized because they were native breeds that were too small. , and at the Russian Cynological Congress of 1947 they established a division between four breeds: Karelo-Fin, Russian-European, East Siberian and West Siberian, these official dogs were called Laikas and were dedicated to shooting, reindeer herding and hunting, in 1970 the department for nature preservation of the Soviet Ministry of Agriculture publicly declares that the husky does not exist and has never existed as such a breed. The Siberian Husky was recognized as purebred by the American Kennel Club in 1930 although the first standard was not published until April 1932 in the magazine "Bred dogs/American kennel gazete". Most of the registered dogs came from Alaska, the first Champion was Northern Lights Kobuck and since then he has triumphed in exhibitions, which is why it is considered an American breed although developed from dogs imported from Eastern Siberia. In 1928 Eva Seeley and her husband Milton were asked by Waldan to take care of his dogs until his return, who was going to conquer the South Pole with Admiral Bird. Upon his return he sold her the dogs and the Seeley family continued preparing and training dogs for the army and was present on the Committee that formed the Siberian Husky Club of America in 1938, of which Ricker and Seppala were also members. Another great female figure who has laid the current foundations has been Lorna Demidoff, founder of the Monadock kennel made up of excellent racing dogs, among which Pando and Akela stood out. In 1938 the standard was revised and expanded with new, more specific data that still prevail today. In 1939 Canada adopted the standard at the height of the breed's rise; In 1950 the husky arrived in Europe, specifically in Switzerland, and in 1966 the International Cynological Federation recognized the breed. On April 18, 1979, the American Kennel Club approved the official standard, translated into French by the International Cynological Federation in 1983. On October 9, 1990, the SHCA approved a revision of the standard in force today since November 28, 1990. and which you can see translated on the next page. Although we have managed to reach a tenth generation prior to Pando (Harry and Kolyma probably descendants of those first specimens purchased by Goosak where the trace is lost) this male born on April 4, 1955 is considered by many breeders as the father of the breed. for being the father of more than 25 U.S.A. Champions. and be present in the pedigrees of the best American breeders and champions.
