March 23, 2020

Last week, on March 18, the Norwegian musher (sled driver) Thomas Waerner won the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. The Iditarod is the world’s most famous sled dog race. The roughly 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) race starts on the first Saturday of March in Anchorage and ends in Nome. Waerner won his first Iditarod in just his second try. His only previous race had been a 17th place finish in 2015. The Iditarod, which began this year on March 7, was one of the few sporting events not cancelled or otherwise effected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Iditarod is a famous sled dog race held every March in Alaska. Teams of sled dogs race between Anchorage and Nome. Credit: © Shutterstock

Waerner’s winning race time was 9 days, 10 hours, 37 minutes, and 47 seconds—nearly 6 hours ahead of the second-place finisher, Alaska’s Mitch Seavey, a three-time Iditarod champion (2004, 2013, and 2017). Jessie Royer of Fairbanks, Alaska, finished third for the second-straight year, bringing her dog team in an hour and half after Seavey. Of the 57 mushers who began the race, 40 were able to complete the grueling course.

The Iditarod crosses the Alaska and Kuskokwim mountain ranges, heading northwest across the state and then north along the Bering Sea coast to Nome. The race follows a northern route in even years and a southern route in odd-numbered years. The Iditarod requires enormous endurance, both from the musher and the dogs. The race follows icy, snowy trails and typically takes about 10 to 17 days. Mushers and their dogs may train all year for the race.

Click to view larger image
The Iditarod race begins in Anchorage, Alaska. It crosses the Alaska and Kuskowim mountain ranges, heading northwest across the state and then north along the Bering Sea coast to the finish line in Nome. The race follows a northern route in even years and a southern route in odd-numbered years. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Each musher begins the race with between 12 and 16 dogs. At least 5 dogs must finish. (Waerner and Seavey both finished with 10 dogs running, and Royer finished with 12.) The dogs, usually Siberian or Alaskan huskies, are selected for speed, endurance, and courage. The sled is extremely light, but it must be strong enough to carry the weight of the musher, equipment and provisions for the race, and sick or exhausted dogs.

The current Iditarod format originated in 1973, developing from shorter sled dog races first held in 1967 and 1969. It is held on the Iditarod Trail, a dog sled mail route first used in 1910. The race also commemorates an emergency rescue mission by dog sled to get medical supplies to Nome during a diphtheria outbreak in 1925. Balto, the lead sled dog in the final leg of that mission, became a popular canine celebrity.

February 17, 2020

Last week, on February 11, Siba, a luxuriously black three-year-old standard poodle, pranced proudly after earning the coveted Best in Show award at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. With a storied history of over 140 years, the show is highly anticipated every year. Beginning last Saturday, more than 200 canine breeds and varieties competed in the initial round of judging, but only one could be “top dog.”

Siba, the standard poodle named Best in Show, competes in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Feb. 11, 2020. (credit: Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

The Westminster Kennel Club of New York City holds the most prestigious dog shows in the United States. The shows have been held annually since 1877. That year predates the invention of the automobile, the airplane, and the television; the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial; and baseball’s first World Series. Since Westminster’s first show, 12 states have joined the union. Westminster even predates the establishment of the governing body of the sport, the American Kennel Club (AKC), which was founded in 1884. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second longest continuously held sporting event in the United States. Only the Kentucky Derby, first run in 1875, has been staged longer.

Kennel clubs in many countries sponsor dog shows. At these competitive events, dogs are evaluated on their physical appearance and behavior. In the United States, the AKC regulates most dog shows, and dogs must be AKC-registered to compete. The club maintains official descriptions of each dog breed called breed standards. Breed standards include such details as the size and shape of the dog’s body and the color and texture of its coat. Other characteristics include temperament, type of movement, and how the coat must be trimmed. Judges award points based on how closely an animal meets the breed standard.

In an all-breed dog show, judges first select the best member of each recognized AKC breed. These dogs then compete against one another to be chosen best in each of the seven major groups of dogs. From these seven dogs, the judges name the overall champion as Best in Show. The most coveted award in the dog show world, Best in Show at Westminster was given for the first time in 1907.

The Westminster Dog Show includes multiple events over four days. This year, a Shetland sheepdog named Conrad won the herding group. Bourbon, a Whippet, represented the hound group. The toy group was won for the second-straight year by Bono, a Havanese (the national dog of Cuba). Daniel, a golden retriever and the crowd favorite in the final competition, won the sporting group. Wilma, a boxer, repeated as the working group winner. The terrier group champion was Vinny, a wire fox terrier. Siba, representing the non-sporting group, was the fifth standard poodle to win Best in Show, and the first since 1991. Miniature poodles have won three times and toy poodles twice. Wire fox terriers have more Westminster Best in Show titles (15) than any other breed.

The Westminster Dog Show also includes the Masters Agility Championship, won by a border collie named Pink; the Masters Obedience Championship, won by Heart, a Labrador retriever; and a youngster named Johnathon Wehry claimed the Best Junior Handler prize (for kids aged 9-17) for guiding his cocker spaniel, Jagster.

March 18, 2019

Last week, on March 13, the American musher (sled driver) Peter Kaiser won the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. The Iditarod is the world’s most famous sled dog race. The 1,100-mile (1,770-kilometer) race starts on the first Saturday of March in Anchorage and ends in Nome. Kaiser, who is from Alaska, is the first musher of Yup’ik descent to win the race. The Yup’ik are an Inuit people native to the region.

The Iditarod is a famous sled dog race held every March in Alaska. Teams of sled dogs race from Anchorage to Nome. Credit: © Shutterstock

Kaiser’s winning race time was 9 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes, and 6 seconds—just 12 minutes ahead of the defending champion, Joar Leifseth Ulsom of Norway. (The third-place musher, Jessie Royer of Fairbanks, Alaska, brought her dog team in nearly six hours after Leifseth Ulsom, a more common time differential for such a long endurance race.) It was the first Iditarod win for Kaiser, who has raced every year since 2010.

The Iditarod crosses the Alaska and Kuskokwim mountain ranges, heading northwest across the state and then north along the Bering Sea coast to Nome. The race follows a northern route in even years and a southern route in odd-numbered years. The Iditarod requires enormous endurance, both from the musher and the dogs. The race follows icy, snowy trails and typically takes about 10 to 17 days. Mushers and their dogs may train all year for the race. Both men and women compete.

Click to view larger image
The Iditarod is a famous sled dog race held every March in Alaska. Teams of sled dogs race from Anchorage to Nome on the Iditarod Trail, a dog sled mail route first used in 1910. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

At least 12 dogs and no more than 16 dogs must start the race. At least 5 dogs must finish. The dogs, usually Siberian or Alaskan huskies, are selected for speed, endurance, and courage. The sled is extremely light, but it must be strong enough to carry the weight of the musher, equipment and provisions for the race, and sick or exhausted dogs.

The current Iditarod format originated in 1973, developing from shorter sled dog races first held in 1967 and 1969. It is held on the Iditarod Trail, a dog sled mail route first used in 1910. The race also commemorates an emergency rescue mission by dog sled to get medical supplies to Nome during a diphtheria outbreak in 1925. Balto, the lead sled dog in the final leg of that mission, became a popular canine celebrity.

February 15, 2019

With a storied history of over 140 years, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City is highly anticipated every year. Beginning last Saturday, more than 200 canine breeds and varieties competed in the initial round of judging, but only one could be “top dog.” On February 12, the appropriately named King, a wire fox terrier, pranced proudly after earning the coveted Best in Show award.

King, a wire fox terrier, proudly paws the Best in Show trophy at the conclusion of the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Feb. 12, 2019. Credit: © Lev Radin, Shutterstock

The Westminster Kennel Club of New York City holds the most prestigious dog shows in the United States. The shows have been held annually since 1877. That predates the invention of the automobile, the airplane, and the television; the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial; and baseball’s first World Series. Since Westminster’s first show, 12 states have joined the union. Westminster even predates the establishment of the governing body of the sport, the American Kennel Club (AKC), which was founded in 1884. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second longest continuously held sporting event in the United States. Only the Kentucky Derby, first run in 1875, has been staged longer.

Kennel clubs in many countries sponsor dog shows. At these competitive events, dogs are evaluated on their physical appearance and behavior. In the United States, the AKC regulates most dog shows, and dogs must be AKC-registered to compete. The club maintains official descriptions of each dog breed called breed standards. Breed standards include such details as the size and shape of the dog’s body and the color and texture of its coat. Other characteristics include temperament, type of movement, and how the coat must be trimmed. Judges award points based on how closely an animal meets the breed standard.

In an all-breed dog show, judges first select the best member of each recognized AKC breed. These dogs then compete against one another to be chosen best in each of the seven major groups of dogs. From these seven dogs, the judges name the overall champion as Best in Show. The most coveted award in the dog show world, Best in Show at Westminster was given for the first time in 1907.

The Westminster Dog Show includes multiple events over four days. This year, a Bouvier des Flandres named Baby Lars won the herding group. Burns, a longhaired Dachshund, represented the hound group. The toy group was won by a Havanese (the national dog of Cuba) named Bono. Colton, a schipperke, represented the non-sporting group. Bean, a Sussex spaniel, won the sporting group. The working group winner was Wilma, a boxer. And the terrier group champion was the Best in Show winner, King. Wire fox terriers have won Best in Show at Westminster more times (15) than any other breed.

The Westminster Dog Show also includes the Masters Agility Championship, won by a border collie; the Masters Obedience Championship, won by a Labrador retriever; and the AKC Meet the Breeds event that allows people to interact with more than 100 different dog breeds and—surprise!—more than three dozen breeds of cats.

July 27, 2018

Last Friday, July 20, the Golden Retriever Club of Scotland hosted a cute and furry gathering to crown a short week celebrating the 150th anniversary of the creation of the golden retriever dog breed in 1868. Hundreds of dogs and their owners attended the “Guisachan Gathering,” named for the Highlands estate where the four-day anniversary event was held. It was at Guisachan that the first litter of golden retrievers was born from a cross of a tweed water spaniel and a yellow flat-coated retriever (also called a wavy-coated retriever).

The golden retriever dog breed was created in Scotland 150 years ago in 1868. Credit: © Micimakin/Shutterstock

Guisachan landowner Dudley Marjoribanks, later known as Lord Tweedmouth, crossed his water spaniel and flat-coated retriever in hopes of creating an ideal hunting companion. That first litter in 1868, kept within the Marjoribanks family, produced ideal companions for all endeavors, and subsequent litters found their way into other hands and, eventually, other lands. (Early golden retrievers were mated with dogs of their ancestors’ breeds as well as with the occasional Irish setter.) Detailed accounts have the first golden retrievers (then called yellow flat-coated retrievers) arriving in Texas in 1882, and in Canada in 1883. By 1925, registered “golden retrievers” were starring in Kennel Club dog shows and making friends and puppies as far away as India and New Zealand. Golden records have been lovingly kept by generations of dog owners, and numerous books detail the breed’s conquering of the pet world.

Events for the 2018 sesquicentennial began at Guisachan on July 16 with a special welcome to the golden retrievers and their fanciers who made the trek to the Scottish highlands. On July 17, a dog lecture and afternoon tea preceded a torchlight procession that ended with a heartfelt toast to Lord Tweedmouth. A seminar was followed by a gala dinner and dance on July 18, and outdoor games and food highlighted Guisachan events on July 19. On the last day of the gathering, photographers crowded the well-behaved field of 361 golden retrievers as they competed in the Breed Championship Show.

The golden retriever is a medium-sized dog. It has won recognition as an intelligent, hard-working hunting dog, as a therapy dog, and as a guide dog for the blind. The golden retriever stands 21 to 24 inches (55 to 61 centimeters) high at the shoulder and weighs from 55 to 75 pounds (25 to 34 kilograms). The dog has a thick, water-repellent double coat of flat, golden hair. It has a friendly, good-natured personality that makes it a popular pet.

May 3, 2018

Dogs have lived with people as pets for more than 10,000 years. Over that time, dogs have accompanied people in all sorts of situations, including when people have gone to war. Dogs fought alongside soldiers in the days of ancient Rome, and they continue to do so today. One hundred years ago, in the final year of World War I (1914-1918), one particular war dog earned military and other honors in the United States Army. That dog, a pit bull terrier named Stubby, also earned his stripes and achieved the Army rank of sergeant.

Sergeant Stubby wears his stripes and several medals on his Army uniform. Credit: Division of Armed Forces/Smithsonian National Museum of America History

Stubby was a scrawny brown-and-white puppy when he wandered onto the campus of Yale University in Connecticut in 1917. At the time, the Army’s 102nd Infantry Regiment was training there before being sent to Europe to fight in the war. Stubby seemed to enjoy running among the troops on the practice field as they marched and drilled. One of the soldiers, Private John Robert Conroy, became especially attached to Stubby.

When the 102nd received orders to board a troop ship headed for France, Conroy smuggled Stubby aboard. The rest of the men quickly became fond of the little stowaway, and Stubby became the mascot of the 102nd Regiment. The soldiers even taught the dog to salute—Stubby would raise his right front paw to his face.

John Robert Conroy and Sergeant Stubby pose for a post-war photo in March 1919. Credit: Division of Armed Forces/Smithsonian National Museum of America History

Soon after the 102nd arrived in Europe, the regiment was sent to fight on the Western Front in France. Stubby had never been trained in the horrific conditions of war, but from the beginning, the small dog reacted calmly to the noise and confusion of the battlefield. When the soldiers heard incoming shells and ran to take cover in the trenches, Stubby ran, too. Soon, with his superior canine hearing, Stubby would know that shells were coming before the men did. When the soldiers saw Stubby run for cover, they ran too.

But Stubby did more than run and hide from danger. When any of his men were injured during a battle, Stubby would run out onto the field, find the soldier, and stay with him until he could be rescued. Stubby’s daring actions resulted twice in wounds and the dog was cared for in a Red Cross hospital.

Besides his excellent hearing, Stubby also possessed a canine’s superior sense of smell. During a gas attack by the enemy, Stubby gave his troops early warning and saved the soldiers from injury or death. Stubby also carried messages across the battlefield, took turns at guard duty, and once even caught a German spy! For his service, Stubby was made an honorary sergeant in the U.S. Army.

After the war, Sergeant Stubby returned to the United States with Conroy. He was introduced to President Woodrow Wilson (whom Stubby saluted) and later met Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Stubby marched in many parades and was named a life member of the Red Cross, the American Legion, and the YMCA.

When Conroy went to Georgetown University to study law, Stubby became the mascot of the university’s football team. Stubby often enjoyed playing with the football on the sidelines at halftime. Stubby eventually died of old age in 1926, with his favorite soldier, Conroy, at his side.

Sergeant Stubby was the subject of the 1978 children’s book, Stubby—Brave Soldier Dog. In 2018, an animated film, Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, recounted Stubby’s story and that of his best friend, Private Conroy.