Английская Википедия:Eurohound
Шаблон:Infobox dog breed A Eurohound (also known as a Eurodog or Scandinavian hound) is a type of dog bred for sled dog racing.[1] The eurohound is crossbred from the Alaskan husky and any of a number of pointing breeds ("pointers"), but most often the German Shorthair Pointer,[2][3][4][5][6]
History
After World War II, skijor and pulka style dog sled racing gained rapidly in popularity in Norway and neighboring Scandinavian countries.[7] These styles of racing required small, fast teams of 1-4 dogs who competed over short, hilly distances of Шаблон:Convert. Required to use purebred dogs by the Norwegian Sled Dog Racing Association, the German Shorthair Pointer quickly emerged as the dog breed of choice.[7] At the beginning of the 1970s, the "sled pointer" had emerged, a pointing dog who was bred for sledding and not hunting.[7]
In the 1970s, "Nome-style" sled racing, which mimicked the bigger teams running long distances and overnighting in subzero temperatures seen in North American-style races, started to attract interest in Scandinavia. In 1974, the first Nome-style sled race, the Skjelbreia Sweepstakes, was hosted near Oslo.[7] For this style of racing, Norwegian mushers began to import Alaskan huskies; popularized by mushers like Stein Havard Fjelstad and Roger Leegaard who traveled to Alaska to race in the Iditarod.[7] However, as a performance crossbreed, the Alaskan husky could not be raced in Norway until 1985, when the Norwegian Sled Dog Racing Association removed the requirement that sled dogs be purebred.[7]
This new ruling paved the way for Nordic-style mushers to breed their best performing dogs regardless of breed, with mushers mixing Alaskan huskies, sled pointers and even greyhounds for Nordic-style racing, while Nome-style mushers began to mix Greenland dogs with Alaskan huskies to produce a dog better suited to Scandinavia's heavy snowfall. [6] The Nordic-style dogs gained in popularity across Europe and later North America, especially with the rise in popularity of dryland mushing, such as bikejoring and canicross.[7]
The term "eurohound" was coined by Ivana Nolke, to distinguish the European racing dogs being imported into Alaska.[8]
Description
Rather than inbreeding similar-looking dogs in order to create a new breed with a consistent appearance, eurohounds are bred for the specific working traits and health needed to run short, high intensity sprint races.[2][9] The foundational dogs most often used for eurohounds are German Shorthaired Pointers (and English Pointers), other pointers, and Alaskan huskies from tightly bred sprint dog lines used for racing.[2][6] Alaskan huskies are chosen for their ability to pull for extreme distances and in subzero temperatures while pointers are vigorous and energetic sprint racers.[6] Greyhound and saluki may also be crossed with sled pointers; however; these dogs are known as Greysters. Greysters are popular for dryland racing, and limited-class snow racing.[7]
A first-generation eurohound cross (fifty percent pointing breed, fifty percent husky) have short coats, suitable for sprint races, which doesn't involve resting or sleeping on the trail.[10] Often sprint racing eurohounds are housed indoors or in heated barns in subzero temperatures, whereas their Alaskan husky counterparts would be immune to the cold.[6] When the first-generation cross is crossed again with the Alaskan husky, the resulting generation can have thicker coats, suitable for longer-distance teams. Most distance mushers prefer the pointer genetics to only be 1/8 in a dog for maximum performance. This then reduces the eurohound influence, and dogs should be termed Alaskan Husky crosses or mixed hounds.[10] The eurohound is sleeker than a husky and can hit speeds of 25 miles per hour.[11]
Fairly common features of fifty percent crosses are half-dropped ears, black with white blazing as shown in the photo, or solid with patches of spots. Some completely spotted dogs appear as well. These dogs have a similar coat to German Shorthair Pointer and looks like standard hunting dogs.[2] Once the percentage of pointer drops, the dogs start to look more like Alaskan huskies.[3][2]
References
External links
Шаблон:Spitz Шаблон:Norwegian dogs
