DCHP-1 Online
lead dog 
in a dog team, the dog, sometimes a female, who leads the team, setting the pace and carrying out the driver's commands.
See also: leader (def. 2)
- 1934 . . . I leapt from the carriole, held the team while John circled the dangerous air-hole and grabbed the lead-dog of the other train, dragging him upon the ice.
- 1965 The 38-year-old civil servant, who has been a musher for three years, claims that the key to a successful team is a good lead dog.
- 1934 . . . I leapt from the carriole, held the team while John circled the dangerous air-hole and grabbed the lead-dog of the other train, dragging him upon the ice.