There are a lot of wonderful and interesting canines in the world, which the Smithsonian Channel miniseries Amazing Dogs explores in its first episode, titled “Man’s Best Friend.”
Hosted by British biologist and TV personality Patrick Aryee, the first episode aired Sunday night, July 28, and focused on a quick general history of how dogs became dogs throughout history...
...As pioneers expanded their territory into the far north, they needed to develop new traits in their canine companions to survive. So the pack element of the wolves and their immense strength were utilized to develop the sled dogs, which can pull over a ton, run at up to 18 miles per hour (30 kilometers) in deep snow and cover up to 1600 kilometers (almost a thousand miles) in eight days.
Patrick visits a Montana sled dog racer (“musher”) named Mark Sherke to learn more about the unique characteristics of the Canadian Eskimo Dogs, one of the dozen-ish breeds (including the Samoyed and the Siberian Husky) of the sled dog subtype.
What makes sled dogs unique is how similar they are to wolves, and since practicality took precedence in breeding over looks, they have a shaggy double-lined coat, stocky build, and fur-lined ears, which allows them to survive temperatures of up to -40 degrees.
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