Eurohound
Template:Infobox dog breed A Eurohound (also known as a European sled dog or Scandinavian hound) is a type of dog bred for sled dog racing.<ref name="thet_Coul">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The eurohound is crossbred from the Alaskan husky and any of a number of pointing breeds ("pointers"), but most often the German Shorthair Pointer.<ref name="theo_Fora"/><ref name="spok_Alas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Sundance2010">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="cadi_Sled">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0" />
HistoryEdit
After World War II, skijor and pulka style dog sled racing gained rapidly in popularity in Norway and neighboring Scandinavian countries.<ref name="Waaler2019">Template:Cite book</ref> These styles of racing required small, fast teams of 1-4 dogs who competed over short, hilly distances of Template: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.<ref name="Waaler2019" /> At the beginning of the 1970s, the "sled pointer" had emerged, a pointing dog who was bred for sledding and not hunting.<ref name="Waaler2019" />
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.<ref name="Waaler2019" /> 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.<ref name="Waaler2019" /> 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.<ref name="Waaler2019" />
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. <ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Waaler2019" />
The term "eurohound" was coined by Ivana Nolke, to distinguish the European racing dogs being imported into Alaska.<ref name="howl_Abou">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DescriptionEdit
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.<ref name="theo_Fora" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="theo_Fora">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Alaskan huskies are chosen for their ability to pull for extreme distances and in subzero temperatures while pointers are vigorous and energetic sprint racers.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name="Waaler2019" />
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.<ref name="the-_Sled" /> 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.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name="the-_Sled">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The eurohound is sleeker than a husky and can hit speeds of 25 miles per hour.<ref name="Wojna2008">Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref name="theo_Fora" /> Once the percentage of pointer drops, the dogs start to look more like Alaskan huskies.<ref name="spok_Alas" /><ref name="theo_Fora" />