Types of Sled Dogs: The Four Common Breeds
📝 Summary
The four best-known sled dogs are the Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Samoyed, and Canadian Eskimo Dog. The Husky is the smallest and lightest of the group, while the Malamute is its distant cousin — and Huskies and Malamutes rank lower in obedience intelligence than the Samoyed and Eskimo Dog.
1 The Four Common Sled Dogs
1. Siberian Husky — recognizable by the blue eyes common in Taiwan. It is the smallest and lightest of the four sled breeds, with several hundred present in Taiwan.
2. Alaskan Malamute — a distant relative of the Husky, with a very similar facial pattern.
3. Samoyed — called the ‘Samoyed dog’ in Hong Kong. Originating in Siberia, it is all white with soft, fluffy coat.
4. Canadian Eskimo Dog — one of North America’s oldest breeds. It has varied coat colors, upright ears, and a tail curled over the back, with a dense coat that withstands sub-freezing cold.
2 Intelligence Differences
These breeds also differ in intelligence. Huskies and Malamutes rank lower in obedience — the Husky at 45th and the Malamute at 50th among all breeds — though ‘lower’ is relative and their antics sometimes just betray their cleverness. The Samoyed and Eskimo Dog are comparatively sharper. For more, see our comparison of the Alaskan Malamute and the Husky.
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