The Canadian Eskimo Dog can exist in the most formidable climate in the world, the arctic. With summer temperatures around 0 celsuis and winter falling to -43 it can be very cold! The Canadian Eskimo Dog is still used by polar explorers and polar expeditions.
Dog teams travel across the frozen ice usually in a “fan hitch” style. This is where the team if dogs are each on individual lines and spread across in a fan formation; thus evenly spreading their weight and also for safety so if a dog falls through thin ice the rest of the team are not pulled in.
The arctic not only has cold temperatures but huge chunks of frozen ice and snow making travelling very difficult, the dogs are strong and are able to navigate their way across the snow and ice far easier sometimes than sleds!
These pictures are of CED’s in the Northern Arctic owned by Matty McNair, of “Northwinds” polar experiences. Matty has kindly let us use these pictures and if you would like to find out more about Matty please follow the link to her website.