Gee I wish I knew all this when I first started. That being said if I had listened to the old ones I wouldn't have had to go through what I did.
Yes, commercial dogfood is horrendously unhealthy for a dog.
I fed my dogs commercial dog food for one one winter and one winter only. The cereal grains in it actually made my dogs poop blood while they were running. I wondered what was going on so called a friend that raises Qimmiq. When I went to visit her she gave me a bunch or written material and a cpl bags of Eagle Power Pak 30/20. Way better. Then I started feeding meat. Way better again. And don't listen to rthem bleeding hearts that say "Oh your poor dogs so skinny". There is hinnly built dogs that when they are slim and trim look skinny to people that apparently need to,see dogs obese waddling down the street with hemmorhoids, laying on the couch with cataracts from too much glucides, rotting teeth from plaque build up from complex carbohydrates, stinking breath and coat from the consumption of rancid oil products, mouldy grain products, diseased animal flesh and guts, feet, feathers, hooves and hair of them same waste animals..
This may sound horrific but it's true. My buddy Maurice worked at one of the rendering plants where petfood was produced. It is horrible.
Here is link for you. Please read the whole thing. It gets kinda grosse but please empower yourself.
rawfed.com/myths/
Also know that my old leader Okimaw lived to almost 17. On his 16th winter he came for a 5km walk with me while I snowshoed to pack a dogsledding trail. I ended up having to take him to the vet a cpl days later. He'd suffered a severely debilitating stroke the night after the walk. Keep in mind the (apparently) life expectancy of a Siberian Husky is 10-12years.......according to "specialists" &"professionals".
I fed him deer, moose, caribou, pork, beef, goose, duck, fish, chicken, elk, and treated him to a biscuit or a cpl slices of bread or the odd cookie now and then I also made fish and veggie and fruit soup when it was cold out. Oh yeah he loved wieners, garlic sausage and balogna but I only gave my dogs treats of that once in a great while since its expensive.
General rule of thumb is 1 dog for every 50 lbs. if your sled weighs 50 lbs, you weigh 130 lbs, and you take 100 lbs of gear, you're good for 6 dogs.
I commend
. you for wanting to utilize rescue dogs. But please do your best to get about the same size. The shorter haired will do......if you're gona carry coats and straw and have dog houses(not plastic) that have hanging canvas doors and they're filled with straw. Straw is hollow so it's warmer than hay. It's also A LOT more hygienic than hay and cloth( blankets and coats). Don't have your doors at floor level. All the bedding gets dragged out. 4-6 inches from the floor level is good. Remember that your dogs body is the " interior heater" for the doghouse. No need for " mansions" .
Shade is good in summer. I use tarps on a framework of saplings. The south-westside of their space. Just be mindful of their chains. If you're using kennels tarps over top and down on south side to about a foot off the ground for air flow.
Breed, . I hear that practically any breed of dog can be taught to pull a sled. I don't know for sure though since I've always sled dogs. But if you mix Mals and Qimmiq with Sibe you will find one slows the other, a well Qimmiq has longer hair than Mal has longer hair than Sibe.
Montana winters sounds similar to here.. I don't shave my dogs. Although last summer I had a cpl of young dogs get "hotspots" or "sunspots". First time ever for my dogs. Mind you I fed commercial this summer. High quality but still ciommercial.
This a long post and I am sorry if anyone becomes annoyed but I am excited about mushing and assisting new mushers, or in this case a tentative/prospectable musher.
Also I don't know how to start a PM.
Please, everyone, HAGD. We've been blessed with another day of life.
I am grateful.
I think he would do great, strength wise, but he might not want to actually go straight as he isn't very dependent. If I get him past that and he wants to pull, do you guys think it would be okay to start my team with him? Also, has anyone tried German Shepard and Husky crosses? Shepards seem to be easier to find around here than pure Alaskan Huskies. What other crosses has anyone tried and has worked? Thanks for answering all my questions. 
Okay, thanks. I will do some research on it.
Thanks for the information. I'm not annoyed at all, it's very helpful.
What do you guys/gals think about a Lab and Dane cross? He is a VERY powerful dog, super excitable. He's a little shorter than a Dane but taller than a Lab and he's got bigger paws, too.I think he would do great, strength wise, but he might not want to actually go straight as he isn't very dependent. If I get him past that and he wants to pull, do you guys think it would be okay to start my team with him? Also, has anyone tried German Shepard and Husky crosses? Shepards seem to be easier to find around here than pure Alaskan Huskies.What other crosses has anyone tried and has worked? Thanks for answering all my questions.
Not any off the top of my head. My mentor might. The only time she goes to MT is for Race to the Sky.He runs pretty smooth. He's kinda big and goofy, though. I was just wondering because we hooked him up to a cheap flat snow sled and he pulled my little sister around (we had to throw a stick and he would go fetch it; hey, it worked, don't judge! XD). I live in North Western Montana, at the southern tip of Flathead Lake. Know of any in my area?
He runs pretty smooth. He's kinda big and goofy, though. I was just wondering because we hooked him up to a cheap flat snow sled and he pulled my little sister around (we had to throw a stick and he would go fetch it; hey, it worked, don't judge! XD). I live in North Western Montana, at the southern tip of Flathead Lake. Know of any in my area?
