Husky News

To build a successful sled dog racing team, Frank Caccavo of Deer Park, Wash. looks for Alaskan Huskies born with competitive instincts.

Caccavo’s team of eight won the 100-mile course Jan. 17-18 in the 2008 Eagle Cap Sled Dog Race. His dogs weren’t especially beautiful, but they knew how to run as a team. He acquired the crew from John Barron, a decorated veteran racer and a trustworthy breeder who has competed in the Iditarod (1,150 miles across Alaska) 28 times.

“There’s a huge difference most people won’t see unless they get on the course,” he said. “You might say, ‘that’s a good looking dog,’ but you don’t know anything about their speed. So much of that depends on their thinking. There’s training and nutrition, but mostly, it’s genetics.”

Magatu leads the team because he follows commands the best. He is trailed by the other seven: Hurricane, Calico, Hayes, Shrek, Buckwheat, Red and Viagra (Barron named the dogs). Caccavo picked the eight of the 15 he has trained for sled dog racing.

In his third year as musher, Caccavo switched to the forgettable-looking Alaskan Huskies from suave and graceful Siberians. The old team grew to as many as 12, with varying degrees of success. They finished races in second and third place, but not consistently. “They were a decent team, but I wanted more,” Caccavo said.

Siberian Huskies please the eye and tend to land on magazine covers, so Caccavo began working with them. While living in Bozeman, Mont., he adopted an abandoned Siberian. Its breeder scoured around for a new home after the dog killed a family’s cat and scared off customers. Caccavo still remembers his joy when the dog jumped into his arms. “It was love at first sight.”

Caccavo continued adopting Siberian Huskies, adding three more before he found a born racer, a puppy named Ootek. Already the owner of three full-grown Huskies, Caccavo considered going to competitions. In a practice session, the trio slowly lugged him around their neighborhood block while Frank’s wife, Lori, was ready to bike with Ootek attached by a leash. Without warning, Ootek took off after the bigger dogs, pulling her along, and eventually passing the other canines.

“That’s how I got into racing” Frank said. “Or as I like to say, I got pulled into racing.”