Why did dog teams become more common after the fur trade began?

Prior to the fur trade, dog teams were not commonly used to pull toboggans because they required large quantities of meat, which made them difficult to maintain in a subsistence-based economy.1

The rise of the fur trade changed this dynamic as indigenous peoples began to supplement their traditional diets with European staples, such as flour, lard, and sugar. This shift in food resources made it more feasible to sustain the dogs required for transport. Consequently, dog teams became increasingly important and common as a means of transporting furs to market.1