The first thing you hear about sled dogs is that, descended from wolves, these dogs are not to be confused with pet dogs! Walking up to a sled dog pen, where sled dogs are chained and chewing on chunks of raw musk ox, one can definitely understand this statement.
However, these dogs, while more aggressive and powerful (almost pure muscle) than regular domestic dogs, they are still extremely affectionate. When approached in the right manner sled dogs wag their tails and compete for your affection. Since they are competing with the other animals for the affection of the humans, it is primarily with other sled dogs that you see the most amount of aggression displayed. For instance the above picture is a sled dog growling at another sled dog to keep the other at bay so this one can have the humans' attention. (By humans I mean myself and a boy in our DIS group.)
If you knew me growing up or have heard some family stories, you may know that I was not only afraid of dogs, but of most animals. However, I was terrified of dogs. Yet somehow when we went into the sled dog pens, I was playing with them. Don't ask me what caused the transition from being deathly afraid to walking up to pat one of the more "aggressive" breeds of "dog".
Whenever you pet a sled dog be aware that they want to be at eye level to make sure that you see them.
Another point to note is that sled dogs are almost pure muscle and are thus extremely strong. When three sled dogs are all scrambling towards you at once and jump up on you for attention - you will fall!! (trust me, this is personal insight)
I really loved getting to pet the dogs, and not many people can say that the sled dog they were petting, brought them a fresh piece of musk ox meat that was hunted just that week.
Most people stuck with the more subdued sled dogs, which were, of course the puppies. These were adorable little guys, who liked to crawl up into people's laps, sit on your feet, and lick cameras. So having a puppy in her arms and a puppy on her feet, the girl who was scared of dogs, survived her encounter with the sled dogs of legend!
