What does a wheel dog do in Iditarod sled dog race?
In dog mushing the term “wheel dog” refers to the dog or pair of dogs harnessed closest to the sled. The wheel dog(s) take the greatest load in shifting the direction of a sled from one course to another. Typically, dogs used in this position are generally stronger than their team mates and are called upon to do the “heavy lifting” in difficult conditions. In a standard tandem style dog team, the dog at the front is the leader. The two dogs directly behind the leader are the swing dogs. The wheel dogs are the last dogs in the team. Any dogs harnessed between the wheel dogs and swing dogs are referred to as team dogs.
