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Note also that Togo was 12 years old when he led the 261 mile journey. Most of his community who knew, expected Togo would die during or immediately as a result

Note also that Togo was 12 years old when he led the 261 mile journey. Most of his community who knew, expected Togo would die during or immediately as a result of completing the trip. I share your views on many purebreeds being immoral, but the "wild-type" breeds with more genetic variability are often much, much more challenging for human owners. I'm personally a huge fan of Australian Cattle Dogs and Australian Shepherds, both of which are very "blended" breeds. But they take soooo much time and energy to raise, they're nearly incompatible with a 9-5 job for the first year or so of their lives.

jstarfish 3y ago
> But they take soooo much time and energy to raise, they're nearly incompatible with a 9-5 job for the first year or so of their lives. So are Huskies. For whatever reason, people bought a ton of them at the beginning of quarantine. Once it was lifted, the dogs started tearing up homes when left alone all day. Local shelters are currently flooded with these things. Buyer's market right now. We just rescued one from a dumpster. > the "wild-type" breeds with more genetic variability are often much, much more challenging for human owners Yeah, fuck mutts. I've owned four in my lifetime and now own a purebred Husky. For the first time, I'm finding dog ownership fun. You never know what you're getting into with mutts, but it's a little easier these days since they have 23andMe type services for dogs so you can get some insight into what your future holds.
- cyberlurker 3y ago
  As someone who has had many mutts and rescued purebreds… I’m assuming you don’t know what you’re doing if you think all mutts are difficult. Generally, people don’t exercise their dogs enough and then run into problems. Doesn’t matter the dog, but a consistent routine of lengthy walks and runs has never failed. And if you don’t have time, don’t get a dog.
  - jstarfish 3y ago
    I'm extrapolating from a sample set of 4. #1 was a half-chow nightmare from Hell (yes, I was clueless) but the next three weren't problem dogs, just difficult to understand. Conventional wisdom did not consistently apply across the three. It was like multiclassing three characters in an RPG you don't even know the classes of. Unlike purebreds. You can literally buy an instruction manual for your specific breed. Way easier.
    - _y5hn 3y ago
      What works is having a test-period before changing ownership. There can be many reasons for incompatibility, and often quite unfair to blame it on the dog who had no say.
- etempleton 3y ago
  There are a two breeds in particular that novices love because of their looks but will almost certainly not be equipped to handle—huskies and beagles. Huskies are just incredibly high energy. They need space and exercise. If you do not exercise them they are smart and will find creative ways to get their energy out. You won’t like it. Beyond that though they are actually pretty good dogs. Don’t be fooled by a beagle’s cute looks. They are scent hounds and all they want to do is track and anything between them and tracking is just a short term obstacle to overcome. They will dig through drywall if need be.
majormajor 3y ago
In my area it's not too hard to find 3+ year old Australian Cattle Dogs and Shepherds mixes at rescues; a great option to not have to deal with that puppy stage but still have a bright pup.
houk 3y ago
> Most of his community who knew, expected Togo would die during or immediately as a result of completing the trip. Do you happen to have a source on that? I don't recall that being mentioned in the books I've read so I'm rather curious.
- runnerup 3y ago
  I cannot source this, despite significant effort. It appears I've fallen victim to Disney's dramatizations.
Doxin 3y ago
> the "wild-type" breeds with more genetic variability are often much, much more challenging for human owners. I think this depends wildly on what sort of environment the dog is from. I'm currently on my first dog and he's damn near trivial to train, I'm quite surprised to be honest. He's a rescue. The first year of his life he has spent "in the wild", though I figure he was probably around villages a lot. I had a DNA test done, and there's no trace of any breed going back at least three generations. He has a keen sense of what sort of people to trust. He steers clear of drunks and is very open towards kids. The way I figure is the environment he was in puts evolutionary pressure towards cute kind dogs, as the best way to survive in a village is by getting people to give you food. So while yes, with a mutt you don't know what you're getting, that doesn't mean all mutts are hard pets to own. The most firm I have to be in correcting my dog is going "Ed, don't."

jstarfish 3y ago

> But they take soooo much time and energy to raise, they're nearly incompatible with a 9-5 job for the first year or so of their lives. So are Huskies. For whatever reason, people bought a ton of them at the beginning of quarantine. Once it was lifted, the dogs started tearing up homes when left alone all day. Local shelters are currently flooded with these things. Buyer's market right now. We just rescued one from a dumpster. > the "wild-type" breeds with more genetic variability are often much, much more challenging for human owners Yeah, fuck mutts. I've owned four in my lifetime and now own a purebred Husky. For the first time, I'm finding dog ownership fun. You never know what you're getting into with mutts, but it's a little easier these days since they have 23andMe type services for dogs so you can get some insight into what your future holds.

cyberlurker 3y ago
As someone who has had many mutts and rescued purebreds… I’m assuming you don’t know what you’re doing if you think all mutts are difficult. Generally, people don’t exercise their dogs enough and then run into problems. Doesn’t matter the dog, but a consistent routine of lengthy walks and runs has never failed. And if you don’t have time, don’t get a dog.
- jstarfish 3y ago
  I'm extrapolating from a sample set of 4. #1 was a half-chow nightmare from Hell (yes, I was clueless) but the next three weren't problem dogs, just difficult to understand. Conventional wisdom did not consistently apply across the three. It was like multiclassing three characters in an RPG you don't even know the classes of. Unlike purebreds. You can literally buy an instruction manual for your specific breed. Way easier.
  - _y5hn 3y ago
    What works is having a test-period before changing ownership. There can be many reasons for incompatibility, and often quite unfair to blame it on the dog who had no say.
etempleton 3y ago
There are a two breeds in particular that novices love because of their looks but will almost certainly not be equipped to handle—huskies and beagles. Huskies are just incredibly high energy. They need space and exercise. If you do not exercise them they are smart and will find creative ways to get their energy out. You won’t like it. Beyond that though they are actually pretty good dogs. Don’t be fooled by a beagle’s cute looks. They are scent hounds and all they want to do is track and anything between them and tracking is just a short term obstacle to overcome. They will dig through drywall if need be.

majormajor 3y ago

In my area it's not too hard to find 3+ year old Australian Cattle Dogs and Shepherds mixes at rescues; a great option to not have to deal with that puppy stage but still have a bright pup.

houk 3y ago

> Most of his community who knew, expected Togo would die during or immediately as a result of completing the trip. Do you happen to have a source on that? I don't recall that being mentioned in the books I've read so I'm rather curious.

runnerup 3y ago
I cannot source this, despite significant effort. It appears I've fallen victim to Disney's dramatizations.

Doxin 3y ago

> the "wild-type" breeds with more genetic variability are often much, much more challenging for human owners. I think this depends wildly on what sort of environment the dog is from. I'm currently on my first dog and he's damn near trivial to train, I'm quite surprised to be honest. He's a rescue. The first year of his life he has spent "in the wild", though I figure he was probably around villages a lot. I had a DNA test done, and there's no trace of any breed going back at least three generations. He has a keen sense of what sort of people to trust. He steers clear of drunks and is very open towards kids. The way I figure is the environment he was in puts evolutionary pressure towards cute kind dogs, as the best way to survive in a village is by getting people to give you food. So while yes, with a mutt you don't know what you're getting, that doesn't mean all mutts are hard pets to own. The most firm I have to be in correcting my dog is going "Ed, don't."