Meet the "Dogs with Jobs"

Howling Dog Tours runs two sled dog breeds, the Alaskan Husky and the Siberian Husky. The Alaskan Racing Husky has been made famous by such long distance races as the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. This breed originated from the villages in Alaska where racers crossed the hearty and beautiful Siberian Husky to other breeds such as the greyhound and setter; this created a breed well suited to sled dog racing and touring. Friendly, sleek and good natured, the Alaskan Husky comes in a variety of colors, sizes and attitudes! For a more in-depth look at the fantastic work ethic and physical capabilities of the Alaskan Racing husky please see the following linked article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Husky.

In the Howling Dog kennel, you can meet dogs from well known racers such as Sam Perrino, Ross Saunderson, Terry and Buddy Streeper, and Doug Swingley. From their early racing days (1989-1995), Rich and Dana have developed a great kennel of eager, friendly dogs; the working breed you will see are kept healthy and happy – it shows in their attitude!

Additions to the kennel and breeding lines are proven Iditarod and Yukon Quest veteran dogs – Whitney, Tanner, Gizmo, Flounder, Bullet, Enigma and Eclipse have competed in 1000+ mile races, and have found a great post-race career home within the kennel of tour dogs. The latest trend in sprint racing brings us a few Alaskan Husky/German Short-haired Pointer crosses; lean, floppy eared and fast, this super friendly cross breed adds character to the wonderful sled dogs in the Howling Dog Tours kennel. To complete the pack, you can also meet our pure-bred Siberian Huskies. Learn more about a few team dogs below.

  • Magic
    Magic

    Meet Magic, one of the pure-bred Siberian Huskies in the Howling Dog Team. Her grandmother appeared in the movie "Snow Dogs"; she would definitely fit in with movie dogs, since she knows she is there for her good looks! With lots of spunk & attitude, Magic is quickly everyone's favorite.

  • Zsa Zsa
    Zsa Zsa

    One of our very best leaders, Zsa Zsa is an Alaskan Racing Husky who comes from the lines of Iditarod racer Doug Swingley. She has a fantastic work ethic, loves people and loves running. Retiring from mid-distance and sprint racing, Zsa Zsa has settled in very well to leading the younger touring dogs on the Spray Lakes trails.

We feel that the dogs are the most important part of Howling Dog Tours. One example of the love and care we give our dogs is the fact that we only use professional guides to drive our teams; we would never allow an inexperienced driver to take the teams out without intense training.

At Howling Dog Tours, having a kennel of 200 dogs allows for great run/rest ratios during the day as well as during the week. With the advantage of having trained guides on every sled, there is the flexibility to change the strength of the teams to allow for more or less weight, thus allowing the dogs to maintain a nice working pace and our sleds have no need for weight restrictions. As proven with the Iditarod dogs, the Alaskan Husky is capable of handling much more than the runs they take at Howling Dog tours – doing their job is not a hardship at all and they do it with zest!