spirit of the north kennels

Are Alaskan Huskies a True Breed? By Al Magaw

July 25, 2010 by teamineka

Are Alaskan Huskies a True Breed?

By Al Magaw

A recent study led by graduate student Heather Huson on the genetic makeup of sled dogs has revealed some surprising answers to the question, “Are alaskan huskies a true breed? ” A news write up can be found at the “Fairbanks Daily Miner” (“Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – entry Sled dogs are a breed apart study finds”) and the complete study at http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2156-11-71.pdf

In brief, Heather Huson says that the alaskan husky, no matter the heritage, has developed genetic markers that define it as a unique breed of it’s own, “essentially a breed of their own, as unique as poodles or corgis”. “Alaskan sled dogs are selected to be fast, tough, and hard working. That’s been enough to make them a distinct breed, according to a new genetic study” This surprising, to many, result has developed not because of common ancestry, but by breeding for purpose. The genetic markers are more consistent than those found in siberians or malemutes, which often show identical markers. The markers in alaskan huskies do show their genetic makeup, be it german shorthair pointers or siberians or malemutes, eskimos or elkhounds, but the markers that make it an alaskan husky are the same. The study also showed whether the alaskan type was better for distance or sprint and it showed the ancestry that was best for “speed, endurance, or work ethic”. (I find that grouping of ratings amazingly coincidental as that is the same groupings I used when rating the dogs in my kennel as I started the attempt to establish my own bloodlines over 30 years ago and still use today).

“Alaskan sled dogs seem like they shouldn’t have much in common genetically. They look different—they can be long-haired or short-haired, floppy-eared or perky-eared, 13 or 30 kilograms. And though breeders of distance dogs tend to stick to other Alaskan sled dogs, sprint-dog breeders mix in other breeds, like English pointers, shorthaired pointers, and even greyhounds. But Huson found much more commonality than she anticipated”

I have to compare this emergence of a unique breed brought about through breeding for usage to Darwin’s brilliant study of evolutionary development. Darwin showed that how species developed was caused by environmental pressures, as well as mutations, over millions of years. Man has shortened this time frame dramatically in the development of different breeds of dogs to just a few hundred years and the Alaskan Husky may be the latest in this process. So now, all you alaskan husky fans, you can claim that you really are running a true breed of husky, and perhaps, due to this remarkable study, the use of alaskans in some previously prohibiting countries will now be allowed. Please excuse me as I’m on the way out the door now to give my purebred alaskans a big hug!

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Al Magaw is a musher from Salmo, BC. Al keeps a medium sized kennel of 20 – 45 alaskan huskies as well as several pet dogs of various breeds. Al has been training and racing for the last 33 years. Before becoming involved with sled dogs, Al, along with his family, kept and competed with horses for many years. Al can be reached through his website athttp://www.spiritofthenorthkennels.com Al is a guest blogger for Denver Dog Works and can be reached through our website athttp://www.denverdogworks.com

The Homing Instinct by Al Magaw

July 18, 2010 by teamineka

The Homing Instinct

By Al Magaw

Homing instinct, nostalgia, home sickness, territorial identification, what ever you want to call it, the description of the phenomena remains the same with all species – it’s the desire to be in familiar surroundings. Studies have shown that familiarity with a territory increases chances for survival. This “homing” instinct can be seen in life as primitive as a flat worm, perhaps the lowest form of multi-celled organism. Flatworms have no brain, no eyes, no ears, some have no mouths and absorb nourishment through their skin. They have two nerves that run the length of their back, yet flatworms kept in a petri dish will go off their feed if moved from one petri dish to another identical, but unfamiliar, one. Flatworms will even work their way through a maze to find their own dish and the “smart” ones will do it quicker than the rest. The instinct is shared by every species up to and including humans.

This homing instinct was demonstrated in spades by a friend’s dog one winter after it had got loose from it’s kennel and was picked up by the dog catcher. The pound where the dog was taken to broke their own rules when they released the dog to a new home in the matter of a few hours. By the time my friend had traced the dog to the pound in Nelson, a town 25 miles away, the dog was gone. The only information about the dogs location that the pound would release to my friend was that “Gill” had been sent to a pet home in Castlegar, another town, also 25 miles from home, and 35 miles from Nelson. My friend decided to drive the back alleys in Castlegar to see if he could find his dog, but on the way to Castlegar, just before he crossed the bridge over the Columbia river, he saw something in the water. Whatever it was, it was swimming through the rapid current between the many ice flows rushing along in the frigid river. Before very long, my friend could make out it was a dog swimming. In a few more minutes he could make out that it was Gill in the water, swimming towards home. Gill emerged from the water after the long difficult swim, dragging a fairly heavy 12 foot cable that he had obviously been tied with. Gill had barley survived the swim, but was very pleased to see his “dad” waiting for him on shore. Gill was taken home to his kennel where he happily lived out his life. What amazes me about this story is how did Gill know which way was home? – he had been transported in the back of a closed van to a town 25 miles to the north on twisty mountain roads, then transported another 35 miles to the west, yet he knew exactly which way to go without retracing the way he had gone by road. The homing instinct, nostalgia, or what ever you want to call it, is very strong.

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Rupert Sheldrake by Al Magaw

July 11, 2010 by teamineka

Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of works on telepathy research, and morphic resonance that explains the ability of dogs and other animals to communicate by a term he calls “Morphic Resonance” . He uses that term to explain many behaviours that others put down to genetics, or family or species memory. I like the term “Learned instinct” to explain behavior that is passed from one generation to another for as long as the instinct is needed or cultivated. Examples of Learned Instinct have included pair bonding in humans when that behavior was needed for species survival. When human ancestors first walked upright and hunting became the main way of life, society went through major changes. Previous to the hunting lifestyle, so research claims, our ancestors lived in close knit groups where the group was responsible for the safety and teaching of the young. Pair bonding was unnecessary and even detrimental to the groups survival. Once hunting became a way of life, the group was no longer viable because of the distances traveled for successful hunting. Pair bonding became necessary for the upbringing of the slow to mature human offspring and the assured return of the hunting male to the homebound female. Todays society is changing in such a fashion that the community offers the support to the mother and offspring that hasn’t been available for 10’s of 1000’s of years. Some researchers give that reason for todays high divorce rates and the seemingly lack of strong pair-bonding is given as the reason for the high incidence of divorce. My question is this, are the specific behaviors bred into dogs, genetic or are they a learned instinct? Will the behavior of dogs that were bred for a specific purpose that are now bred for show alone, lose the natural desire to do the job they were specifically bred for? Does a specific behavior, not required when dogs were wild, become a genetic trait, a family memory, or a learned instinct? Will the siberians and other working type dogs lose their true desire to do a job when the family has no job?

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Nutrition by Al Magaw

July 4, 2010 by teamineka

Nutrition

By Al Magaw

In the early 1980’s, a study about nutritional requirements for racing sled dogs was done by D.S. Kronfeld and T. Adkins and was a big factor in my and other dogsled racers decision to feed raw meat in addition to a good quality kibble – a lot of effort was put in by a group of veterinarians and scientists to measure various body reactions to different diets on dogs belonging to Harris Dunlap, the top unlimited sprint driver of the time – another related study, done by Kronfield and others at or around the same time is one I missed reading until recently – the study centers on protein content and is as follows —

“Erythrocyte (red cell) counts were depressed significantly during the race, by 15% in dogs fed an experimental diet and by 27% in those fed a commercial stress diet. Erythrocyte parameters have also become depressed during the racing season in middle distance sled dogs fed 28% protein (energy basis) but not 32 or 39%. Depressed red blood cell production has been demonstrated previously in dogs subjected to stress induced experimentally in several ways, and its restoration has been affected by dietary protein. Erythrocyte parameters may be useful indicies of the degree of stress in a dog as well as the adequacy of its protein intake during stress.”

This information would help explain the behaviour of some of my teams in longer distance sprint races (30 – 35 miles) – I was feeding what was claimed to be high quality food by the manufactures, but my dogs were running out of steam about the 20 – 25 mile point of a race – I realize now that in addition to the chicken and red meat I was feeding, the kibble I was using was about 27 – 28% protein – the study shows that the kibble I was using could have been the cause of the premature tiring of my teams

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Al Magaw is a musher from Salmo, BC. Al keeps a medium sized kennel of 20 – 45 alaskan huskies as well as several pet dogs of various breeds. Al has been training and racing for the last 33 years. Before becoming involved with sled dogs, Al, along with his family, kept and competed with horses for many years. Al can be reached through his website at http://www.spiritofthenorthkennels.com Al is a guest blogger for Denver Dog Works and can be reached through our website at http://www.denverdogworks.com

Odd and Interesting Facts about Dogs!

June 27, 2010 by teamineka

Odd and Interesting Facts About Dogs!

By Al Magaw

It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.
Dogs DO have better low-light vision than humans because of a special light-reflecting layer behind their retinas.
Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes with age.
The breed Lundehune has 6 toes and can close its ears
Franklin Roosevelt spent $15,000 for a destroyer to pick up his Scottie in the Aleutian Islands
In Roman times, mastiffs donned light armor and were sent after mounted knights
The Russians trained dogs during WWII to run suicide missions with mines strapped to their backs
A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old human
In 2002 alone, more people in the U.S. were killed by dogs than by sharks in the past 100 years
Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic – a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese
An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner’s will
Dog’s nose prints are as unique as a human’s finger prints and can be used to accurately identify them
Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years
Only dogs and humans have prostates
Every dog on earth likely descended from a species knows as the Tomarctus – a creature that roamed the earth over 15 million years ago

Daisy the Stray, Mixed Breed Dog

June 20, 2010 by teamineka

“Daisy the Stray Mixed Breed Dog”

By Al Magaw

Daisy charmed herself to a New York City family on vacation at a lake approximately thirty miles from the city. The family befriended her and gave her all of the food and love she demanded. After a short time, Daisy delivered four healthy puppies, which also received the love and care of the adopted family.

When the summer ended and the human family had to return to their home in New York, they gave Daisy and her puppies to a permanent resident neighbor. They felt that Daisy and her puppies would be happier in the freedom and space that the country offers, rather than their Manhattan apartment.

About three weeks after their return to the city, they heard a scratching at the apartment door. When they opened it, there was Daisy, carrying one of the puppies in her mouth. It was a happy reunion and nothing was too good for Daisy and her puppy.

The next day, Daisy was gone. The family scoured the neighborhood but with no success of finding Daisy. About five days later, Daisy came back with another puppy. This went on until she had her four puppies under the roof of her human family.

How in the world was she able to find her human family in an apartment she had never seen, in a city the size of New York? Nobody has a clue, and ESP would seem to be the only answer.”

It could be possible for “Daisy” to scent the tire tracks of her family’s vehicle, though I think extremely unlikely that a mixed breed dog would have that ability – I have read of a bloodhound being able to follow the fresh odor of human sweat coming from inside of a moving vehicle through heavy traffic, but from the sound of this story, any “sweat” given off by Daisy’s family wouldn’t have been fresh enough to follow – I have to put it down to another mystery of canine ability.

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Al Magaw is a musher from Salmo, BC. Al keeps a medium sized kennel of 20 – 45 alaskan huskies as well as several pet dogs of various breeds. Al has been training and racing for the last 33 years. Before becoming involved with sled dogs, Al, along with his family, kept and competed with horses for many years. Al can be reached through his website at http://www.spiritofthenorthkennels.com Al is a guest blogger for Denver Dog Works and can be reached through our website at http://www.denverdogworks.com