A Bit On The Inuit (Dog)

A busy day for me with preparing for traveling over to Munising at 5:30 AM tomorrow to do a safety course for what must be a group of hardy paddlers (the weather is really raw and predicted to be just as raw tomorrow and this weekend).
I am heating the house in this shoulder season with the basement wood stove, my father's excellent Jotul 118. I was up early and getting the stove filled and heating from the coals left from the night before.. Much of my morning was trying to get in touch with Sam Raymond at Copper Harbor to arrange to pick up the Tandem kayak that Carl, over in Munising, bought from him. Prepping to go up there to pick up the boat with a set of cradles on the roof rack and all set to go for the 1 hr. drive. I stopped at the Keweenaw Co - Op for a bit of salmon chowder which was surprisingly HOT and not at all to my liking. The day was dark and looking like rain in the morning. During the ride up the sun began to glint in between misting rain with a prevalent big wind.The color change is on the downtrend but was especially nice with a bit of occasional sunlight. When I got up there I had to wait for an hour to get the boat as Sam was in a meeting with some township people but then finally got on the road and back in time to make up my own salmon and cod chowder that was appreciated by all (Muir and Lynn).
Now to get packed and on my way after a rising-time of 4 AM. I plan on stopping over at Fillmore's Marquette house for Tim's breakfast at about 7 AM or a bit later.

This dog is one of the older but still Alpha male dog's at Paul Schurke's Wintergreen Dog Sled Lodge. He is named Carhartt and is one of my favorites. He is a very self assured dog and very photogenic as well as a strong puller. Inuit dogs are known as fighters and they definitely do that, being as with pack canines like sled dogs are, they have a strong hierarchy or pecking order. Males generally fight with males and females fight with females. Female Inuits are generally submissive to the males.
Carhartt is past the fighting though: as he ages he will probably be challenged for his alpha position by younger up and coming males. Wintergreen's kennel setup is really well managed. The doghouses are very functional with flat roofs and with a slot on the back side for the dry dog food to be scooped and emptied into the house so that the dog can eat without having to contend with other dogs being in view.

This is an Inuit from out of Yukon Territory. Two friends in Eagle, Alaska, Charlie House and David Helmer, run Inuits . This dog is at David's kennel and shows a common red color and markings. Often the Inuits are stocky of leg compared to huskies and some malemutes. Charlie is line breeding an old fashioned very large and leggy Maloot (like a malemute) with his Inuits to come up with what could be called a "polar husky": a 100 pound dog with the heavy Inuit coat and toughness but longer legged for deeper snows of the area that he mushes in. The heavy coat is being bred out of some Alaskan huskies used for racing, as they will not overheat with shorter coats. The difference on the trail for camping is the short coated dog takes more food to keep warm, tends to shiver when not in harness, and after being picketed out for the night on snow will melt out a deep depression where the dog lays. The long haired dog is so well insulated that very little heat is lost to the snow.