TYPES OF DOGS

Native to Yukon was the Eskimo
dog, which was one of the most valued breeds for dog-teams, although Newfoundlands, St. Bernards, setters, spaniels and collies were also used.³¹ The local name for the native breed was "malamute," from the Inuit people that lived at the mouth of the Yukon River. According to A.T. Walden, "the Eskimo dog, the Husky, and the Malamute are all the same breed. Variation in size is accounted for by the food they had had for generations in their particular localities."³²

Husky Dog-Team, Atlin, British Columbia, ca. 1909 Photo: H.E. Brown © Public domain National Library and National Archives of Canada, PA-032411 Nordic dogs were the most expensive. Indeed, the price of a lead dog could be as high as $300. In Dawson, the local dogs were too costly and did not breed fast enough to meet the demand, so dogs were often imported from further south in Canada and from the United States.

Fastest Dog-Team in the Klondike, Yukon Photo: Larss & Duclos Photos © Public domain National Library and National Archives of Canada, C-019248 Several breeds of dogs were used for delivering mail: Eskimo, Malamute, Husky, Newfoundland, St. Bernard, setter, spaniel and collie. The price of a well-trained dog could be between $75 and $100.

Inspector Constantine believed that "dogs should weigh from 80 to 100 lbs [40 to 50 kilos] . . . [and] have a close thick coarse coat in order to withstand cold. Fine haired dogs were useless."³³ The average price for a decent trained dog was between $75 and $100, although one source states that a leader could command as much as $300.³⁴ A dog-team of four might cost up to $600. These high prices led to many purchasing their dogs outside of Yukon.³⁵