Have you ever asked yourself what you really mean when you talk about the “Original Purpose” of the Siberian? There is an apparent tendency among many fanciers to talk about “racing” as the breed’s natural work or original function. It strikes this author that this is a glib oversimplification, certainly not supported by the Standard, or the history of the breed, and that there is a very important, largely unexpressed position that deserves to be made explicit: As this writer has cited earlier, it is clearly evidenced by writings of the accepted breed historians, that the Siberian was not, for the first twenty or thirty centuries, bred for, or even occasionally used for, “sport racing”! That they have only recently been (mis)used for this sport should be firmly noted.    In mid-1999, the SHCA asked its membership to vote on a “revised” Standard, and the results could have changed this ancient breed of endurance and economical utilitarian sled work into a new, and “revised” breed. The parent club may have assumed that its membership was sufficiently informed about the totality of the breed’s early history to easily make an educated decision, but the resulting vote was disturbingly close. The outcome only left one to ponder, “How can one possibly make an intelligent vote on a “revised standard” without the fundamental understanding of the totality of the early history of our ancient breed – an early history which formed the all-important, unique, genetic makeup of the breed which the Siberian Standard describes?”    For what characteristics were the earliest Siberian Huskies used, and selected? A studied understanding of the history of the breed directs us to think immediately of desire to work; of some speed and considerable endurance (with accompanying sound structure and musculature); we think of Arctic survival ability (really, this characteristic should come first!); we think of efficiency of digestion and metabolism (crucial in the Arctic!); we think of compatibility in a group of dogs, without loss of natural social order or dominance structure (because this prevents fighting and subsequent blood loss); we think of good social interaction with humans, especially children (it is known now that pets play a psychologically healthsaving, lifesaving role in our society, and thus probably in all societies); and, of course, the ability to produce and rear sound and healthy young (which attribute insures the propagation of the breed itself). These are the irreducibly few vitally important characteristics that most assuredly originally influenced the development of our ancient Arctic breed.    It may be helpful to draw two analogies. The American Quarter Horse was developed for the primary purpose of assisting the rancher in his everyday management (working) of cattle herds, specifically roping and cutting of cattle for branding and marketing, and as an all around utility animal. Because of his endurance, agility, and quickness, he was occasionally later used for weekend sport racing. The Quarter Horse today can be used as a pleasure animal, a show animal, or a racing animal. Horse people, however, have too much sense to expect the same animal to cut cows and race successfully against thoroughbreds, which are horses bred specifically for the race, and little else. Thus, the Quarter Horse is a perfect example of a breed that has become two breeds as the result of sport racing - fortunately for him, there is active testing of both functions available at every rodeo or small oval track in the country! Economics played an important role in this evolution (yes, folks, there is real money in horses!). Those Quarter Horses that are used for racing the quarter mile are now, under the pressure of their use as money-sport animals, recognizable from some distance and by an amateur eye as a separate type from the short-coupled, shorter-legged, haunchy stock horse who competes at rodeos and exhibitions. Furthermore, if the Quarter Horse is to serve man as a racing animal, it must be fed a diet so rich that most of it is not even digested. In fact, feces from horses fed this super-rich (extravagant) diet are so nutritious and appetizing that they themselves can be used as fodder! Speed for its own sake IS, mechanically and biochemically, a luxury in nature, and is always wasteful. The principles of power transmission through the body of a four-footed animal tell us that there is necessarily a compromise of speed for strength, and strength for speed in each body structure. *    From a strictly mechanical point of view, the automobile is another fine example. The Honda Accord was developed to provide comfortable, economical transportation with minimal maintenance. One might suppose, however, that it can be adapted for the sport of racing, and if it is to be used as a racing car - which is not its original purpose - it must sustain significant mechanical and structural changes which render it no longer the economical, reliable automobile it was designed to be. The carburetor design must be changed completely, fuel efficiency must be sacrificed, and wear, as one might expect, will be excessive on tires, clutch, engine – on everything!    Curtis Brown, a mechanical engineer, has given us perhaps the best examples of the principles of power transmission through the body of four-footed animals in his well-researched, and unrefuted, publication “DOG LOCOMOTION AND GAIT ANALYSIS”, 1986, Hoflin Publishing, Ltd, Wheat Ridge, Colorado. For an informed discussion of any Standard, and any possible “revision” thereof, these mechanical principles are worthy of much more than a mere passing glance. What may be considered “showy” by some, must be studiously discarded for that which is known, in nature, to be sound! Brown is very helpful in helping us understand the many differences between the two. And now, more to the point of Original Purpose of the Siberian: Nature wastes nothing. Everything in nature has a purpose, and is used to the fullest. The harsh Russian Arctic environment, where efficiency is crucial, is the original home of our breed. We can scarcely imagine the stress of survival and the need to measure out every calorie, to drain mileage and warmth out of every scrap of food in a land where temperatures linger at minus 70 degrees below zero (F). “A piece of blubber, measuring 2 inches each way, and some shreds of putrid walrus-meat or whale-skin form the daily ration of every dog…the dogs can go several days without feed, even on the journey…when not at work, the dogs can subsist on very little.” (The Siberian Husky, Vol. 1, Raymond Thompson and Louise H. Foley, Raymond Thompson Co., 1962, p. 22). And this was during the demanding winter season! In the summer, the dogs were reportedly turned loose to forage. For three thousand years, the Siberian has been a breed of economy.    The structure of the Siberian, as represented by the Standard, reflects his correct Original Purpose. Because Form follows Function, there is a tremendous difference between the structure of a racing breed, and a breed used for endurance sled work. As Curtis Brown points out, speed and endurance demand two distinctly opposing structures. “Endurance trotting dogs tend to have the lower leg length vary from 1.0 to 1.1 times the depth of chest.” (op. cit. p. 31) The long distance [endurance] sled dog has a gallop of only “moderate speed”. (Ibid. p.32) There is a variation of about 10 degrees in shoulder layback between endurance breeds (the Siberian) and racing breeds (the Greyhound), with the latter being the steeper. (Ibid. p.36) The endurance gait of the Siberian is the trot; the sprint gait of the Greyhound vastly exceeds the speed and economy of the endurance trot. The paws of the Siberian are “medium in size”; “small feet are an adaption for speed.” (Ibid. p. 42) A long body (Cheetah, Red Fox) is needed for [absolute] speed, “whereas a square body is advantageous for endurance… Dogs with short bodies tend to have endurance with [only] reasonable speed.” (Ibid. p.79) A longer, more flexible back is needed for speed. Specifically, regarding Arctic sled breeds, Brown states, “shortening the back to a square build (arctic sled dogs) increases endurance, but because of the less flexible back, a small decrease in maximum speed occurs.” (Ibid. p.80) The big cats of prey, namely the Cheetah, are notable for having long, archable backs essential for speed, but these same cats are not known for endurance pursuits. The Original Purpose of the Siberian is known to be that of endurance, and economical sled work.    Coming from his native Arctic environment, one would predict that the Siberian Husky would serve a function close to survival. The early history of the breed teaches that the overwhelming influence was primitive survival and purposeful work; “sport racing” was absolutely both frivolous and inconsistent to this cruel land of constant trial and unsurpassed hardship. In general, there is much evidence which indicates that speed was far from the highest priority in the breeding of these original dogs. Quoting again from Thompson and Foley, “The average trotting-speed of good dogs is generally from 4½ - 6½ and 10 miles an hour. In general, dogs are inferior in speed not only to horses, but even to reindeer, but they occupy first place, reindeer second, and horses last, when capacity of running long distances with only brief rests is considered. They make long journeys without long rests provided the food is good. These figures, giving the speed of dogs, apply to well-trodden and level trails.” (op. cit. p.38) These noted historians again cite what is to be expected regarding appropriate Siberian speed: “In short runs, dogs may be a little slower than the best reindeer or horses; but for LONG DISTANCE, THEY EXCEED ANY ANIMAL USED FOR CONVEYANCE. I once had occasion to make, with a large sledge and good dogs, 110 miles in 23 hours, and 200 miles in two days.” This calculates to 4.78 miles per hour. The historians continue: “In the month of March and on a good trail, a strong and well-rested team can make 500 miles in ten days. And after two days rest, will continue with the same speed.” (Ibid. p.29) According to his history and ancestry, the Original Purpose of the Siberian was clearly not one of speed, but of endurance, stamina, economy, temperament, and reasonable speed. If anyone still insists that the “Original Purpose” of the Siberian was racing, or speed per se, let him re-read, and study, the early historical descriptions of the breed.    An important caveat: This writer does not wish to minimize the worth of continual work-testing of Siberians, by whatever means are available in our culture (or on its fringes!), as a large and important portion of our evaluation of them, and he has suggested (in the previous issue of this Quarterly) a reasonable, fair, and realistic means by which this characteristic may be tested.    Any work that roughly resembles that for which they were used throughout most of their history is desirable, under humane conditions, so long as the interpretation of their performance in that test takes into account the difference between the test and their Original Purpose. This is especially important in the case of speed per se, (the greyhound, bless his simple soul, was bred to chase game in a temperate climate!), since the principles of power transmission through the body of a dog tell us, once again, that there is necessarily a distinct compromise of speed for strength and strength for speed; and that long distance travel implies more endurance than speed.    In today’s modern world, we are now well past the need to strive to survive in an elemental sense. We now have a choice. If one wants a freighting dog, he may acquire the Malamute. If one wants to race dogs competitively, he should acquire Alaskans, or hounds. The Siberian has been, and is, an exquisite balance among strength, endurance, and speed; he is a careful balance between beauty and function, with a delightful, compatible temperament.    Thompson and Foley (Ibid. p.69) quote George Kennen’s (Tent Life In Siberia) great tribute to the indomitable spirit of the Siberian dog: “Referring to the ancestors of our Siberian Husky as ‘nothing more than a half-domesticated Arctic wolf…there is probably no more hardy, enduring animal in the world. You may compel him to sleep out in the snow in a temperature of 70 degrees below zero, drive him with heavy loads, until his feet crack open and stain the snow with blood, or starve him until he eats up his harness, but his strength and spirit seem alike – unconquerable… I have driven a team of dogs more than 100 miles in a day and night, and have frequently worked them hard for 48 hours without being able to give them a particle of food.’”    This writer suggests that this is hardly the description of any of the “racing dogs” we see running, and winning, today’s Iditarod! A comprehensive study of his early history, on the other hand, quickly reveals that the Siberian is a noble dog of unique Character!    Consider This: The Siberian is a “medium-sized working dog…. He performs his original function in harness most capably, carrying a light load at MODERATE SPEED, over great distances.” The totality of the breed’s history describes the Siberian this way. As his guardian, let’s know him this way, breed him this way, and love him this way.    Special thanks to the late F.R. Cornell, Sr., 1979 Montana State Horseman of the Year, for research material on the American Quarter Horse.   ### -- The above article is published in The Siberian Quarterly: Hoflin Publishing, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Winter 2001-2002 Issue, pp. 9 -11

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