The Iditarod Race Requires A Specific Kind Of Dog
To run in the Iditarod dog race dogs have to be very fit, and bred for this kind of work. The conditions are extreme, and they have to have trained really hard to be able to cope. If not then there is a good chance that they will become ill and even die, putting the rest of the team, and the handlers in danger too. This is because they all depend on each other and work as a team.
For this reason the breed of dog that is most suitable for these trials was the Siberian Huskie, these are really strong dogs, with the required stamina to run for miles. However over the years other breeds were used to enable certain characteristics to be introduced. So today the dogs used are mostly mongrels, all though not as we see them. These mongrels are worth a considerable amount of money, especially if they are race winners, they would be worth more than all your top Christmas Gifts 2012 put together!
The dogs have very thick fur too, to keep them warm in the extreme temperatures, they are also very loyal and work well in a team. These character traits are just as important as the speed and stamina, because they have to rely on each other, one dog causing trouble is likely to upset the whole team.