JOZSEF TOTH
victoria australia
One of the pioneering mushers from times gone by, Jozsef has a rich history embedded into the foundations and past of sled dog racing in Australia today. It all began with his first dog, a dachshund his father had bought home when he was seven years old. From there, he owned many dogs including German Shepherds, Kuvasz, Komondors, and of course West Siberian Laikas which are all common working breeds in Hungary.
“My first Siberian was in South Australia, her name was Mashka. I bought her from a farmer because apparently she didn’t turn out to be a very good farm dog… don’t know why, apparently she loved the sheep.”
We are sure those of us with the breed could sympathise for the farmer. Jozsef’s kennel of Siberian Huskies were named Chuvashkaya located in Adelaide, South Australia. He began sleddog sport simultaneously to Victoria where he would later reside. In those days, he was joined by Graeme Cook, Andrew Moriarty, and a little later Michael Herbst. Jozsef was not entirely new to trying the sport however,
“… much earlier back in Hungary, I used my dogs to haul some supplies and equipment up to the snow covered mountains. They were West Siberian Laikas.”
Throughout his journey into pulling sports, he upgraded to racing Siberians by importing two dogs from Ann Stead of Northhome Kennels, Minnesota. A little later he purchased and imported the first Alaskan Huskies into Australia. The Alaskans were Angola who was in whelp (Tim White), and Hawk (Rick & Annette Johnson). Jozsef’s inspiration to pick this style of dogs came from these breeders and mentors.
“The type of Alaskans I had were fast but with great stamina. If needed they could do it all day. My greatest influences and mentors were Tim White, Rick and Annette Johnson, and Ann Stead all from Minnesota, USA.”
Now owning just one dog as a pet, the most he’s had was around 25. There were many stand outs over the years, but the smartest leader he ever owned was ‘Cliff’ from Ann Stead. An intelligent sled dog, he would calculate, plan, and execute all throughout the race.
The most important aspects of puppies he bred were work ethic, temperament, and build. In his time, the races were different to what we experience at present day. Dogs were required to run a minimum of 2 kilometres per dog, so four dog teams hardly ever ran less than 8 kilometres per heat – there were even a few races that were longer than 20 kilometres per heat.
Understandably in these conditions, preparation was a multi layered approach involving physical training, nutrition, feeding regime, and hydration before, during, and after the race. Jozsef would build up stamina and endurance at the beginning of training for the season, and later shift toward working on speed. His trails greatly varied from flat, to great hills, river crossings, over bridges, mud, and more.
The equipment used was originally made by himself, but later he had cable lines made by Rick Johnson, his sled by Tim White, scooter by Pettifer, rig by Wayne Baker, and harnesses by Hans Boss.
Today, Jozsef is glad that he was a part of introducing this fantastic sport to Australia and is pleased that it continues to grow and evolve in the hands of many young, enthusiastic mushers. He hopes we can pass it on to more and more generations for the future.