Customer Reviews

Racing Alaskan Sled Dogs

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This is a collection of articles by 23 mushers compiled by Bill Vaudrin shortly before his death in 1976. Many were the "Great Ones" back in the 1970s and here they tell how they do it. Often there are as many viewpoints as there are contributors.

Since there's no peek available and no publisher's description, here is what is inside:
Introduction by Bill Vaudrin
Early Day Sled Dogs by Robert Kennicott, H. M. Bannister, F. S. Pettijohn and Gus Jensen.
History of modern sled dog racing in Alaska by Earl Norris.
Breeding and conformation by Dick Tozler, Natalie Norris, Gareth Wright, Bill Taylor and Orville Lake.
Care and Feeding of Racing Dogs by Dr. Roland Lombard and Dr. Charles Belford.
Training Pups by Joe Redington Sr., Issac Okleasik and Orville Lake.
Training Leaders by Lloyd Haessler, Natalie Norris and Joe Redington Sr.
Training Teams for Races by George Attla, Shirley Gavin, Joee Redington Jr., Bill Sturdevant and Dr. Charles Belford.
Building the Sleds by Ed Moody, Darrell Reynolds and Nels Hedlund.
The Development of the Sport by Jimmy Huntington and Gareth Wright.
Famous Sled Dogs (brief bios of 18 dogs; Togo is here but Balto ain't).
Race Statistics (for several races covering the period 1946-1976).
Glossary (of mushing terms).
Selected Bibliography.

Several black and white photos and illustrations are interspersed throughout the book.

Bought my copy back when it was first published and I've learned a lot from it. It's sad that this book is no longer in print. I believe it belongs on every dog driver's bookshelf; if you can get a copy somewhere, go for it.