I have a book about a guy who lived withe Eskimos for a year circa 1900. In the book he states how abusive the Eskimos were to their sled dogs. One day he confronted some men about the abuse. They told him you have to be abusive towards the sled dogs or they will gang up and kill you.
I believe that. I grew up in a town where stray dogs would form a pack and attack smaller dogs and sometimes people. It was a big problem for many years. Once, an out-of-towner told me he'd witnessed something strange happen in my town. He said he was driving through it when, suddenly, the police pulled up, stepped out of their vehicles, and started shooting dogs in the street. I said, "You mean that doesn't happen where you live?" Left on their own, dogs will form a pack and attack. I thought these packs were a common problem, but apparently not everywhere.
It seems that things have changed a bit. I lived there during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Across the driveway from my office was a track where sled dogs were trained. The owners really babied them — carried them around and such.
Of course, I don’t know what goes on when they’re back home, and I have heard that they cull them at times. I don’t like to think about that.