START WITH ART: Dog Blankets

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Title: Dog Blankets

Date: ca. 1890

Medium: Black velvet, trade cloth, cotton backing, yarn, glass beads

Dimensions: 49.5 × 55.9 cm

These dog blankets were made for sled dogs. "Dogs only wore the highly decorated blankets when entering a town as they would overheat if they wore them while running. A few miles outside of town, men would stop their dog team to dress them in their blankets. Usually, there was a set of jingle bells sewn into the red wool that would be audible to the village's inhabitants from a distance."

Start with Art Questions:

• Why do you think the dogs would be dressed in these beautiful blankets? 

• Why do you suppose jingle bells were added? 

• If you had two sled dogs, what would you name them?