![]() Laika traits can still be found in mixed breed dogs of these regions to present day.Īs of 1930 there were only a few pure bred Laikas remaining in remote pockets of the Vyatka Province, Komi Republic, Perm Province and North Ural. From there uncontrolled interbreeding of these new breeds with the Native Laika dogs decimated the population and brought purebred Laikas to the point of near extinction. Dogs that could guard or herd sheep, scent hounds, sight hounds and bird pointing dogs became the new favorite.ĭuring the late 19th Century and through the early part of the 20th Century, the land in even some of the most remote regions of the Taiga forests was settled and stripped in favor of agriculture over hunting by hordes of settlers from the west and south that brought with them these new breeds of agriculturally suited dogs. ![]() The Laikas of this time were used for hunting all types of game both big and small and as watchdogs for their masters family and property.Īs agriculture began to replace hunting as the primary means of sustainment for families in the region, the land was deforested and these hunting type Laika dogs were slowly replaced with other dogs more suited to this new world economy. ![]() Since these early times and up until the early 20th Century, strong, medium sized Laikas with pointed muzzles and prick ears were widely distributed across the Taiga Forest zone of Northeastern Europe all the way from Finland and Karelia to the Ural Mountains in the west. In archeological sites in Central and Northern Europe, fossilized remains of dogs very similar to the Laika dating back some 10,000 years ago have been found. It is thus theorized that it was the ancestors of these Spitz type dogs that mated with wolves, and human selective breeding from that point lead us to the variety of dogs present in this category today. Genetic testing of Spitz type dogs has found that dogs in this group are the most closely related to wolves, and thus are presumed to be some of the oldest types of dogs. This statement is different from previous reports which said that Laika died painlessly in orbit about a week after blast-off.ĭespite that Laika was meant to die in space, she was taken care of by the Russian scientists in her travel by making her flight with the most comfort for a dog possible.Although the exact origins of Spitz type dogs are unknown, it is believed that all dogs of this type present today originated in arctic regions. No life signs were received from Laika through her medical sensors after 5 to 7 hours into the flight. It is concluded in 2002 that the animal died from overheating and panic just a few hours after the mission started. The blastoff of Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. Eventually, Sputnik 2 burned up in the upper atmosphere in April 1958 after orbiting the Earth 2,570 times. The scientists were left with no choice since no re-entry strategy had been worked out in time for the launch. And they were only able to make the dog’s trip to be one way.Īt the time this statement was released, observers were outraged. ![]() Laika’s fate in the historic space mission was ultimately decided by the Russian scientists. Mushka was used to test instrumentation and life support. But Laika prevailed to have survived the healthiest after kept in a small cage and made to eat a nutritious gel as food.Īlbina was the first “backup”, having flown twice on a high-altitude rocket. There were two other dogs named Albina and Mushka which were trained for the space mission. But the Soviet scientists thought a stray dog would be the ideal candidate for space travel because their kind has already learned to endure harsh conditions of hunger and cold temperatures. It could have been any animal chosen for this feat. ![]()
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