Sled Dogs Dont Synchronize

The sled dog team offers a time-tested system for studying cooperative transport and collective behavior in multi-agent teams. Harnessed into a synthetic network of tethers, these dogs comprise an artificial collective where cohesion is enforced and arrangement is decided by the driver, or musher. Considering the dogs in their tether network as a system of coupled oscillators, we find that dogs rarely synchronize their strides. Our model of the system suggests that greater coherence does not always equate to enhanced performance. Building on these findings, we aim to shed light on the nuanced relationship between synchrony and performance in the pulling team.