Togo began training, and after a few years filled the lead dog position. His prowess as a leader consisted of many impressive feats of intelligence and endurance, documented by writers and historians through accounts by Seppala himself. One such occasion was during a crossing of the Norton Sound in a deadly northeast gale; Seppala had ordered Togo to turn in order to avoid a crack forming in the ice, and immediately after doing so Togo abruptly stopped and somersaulted backwards into the rest of the team without being commanded to stop moving. When Seppala arrived at the front of the team to scold the dog, he discovered that Togo had bailed not on the trail, but to avoid an open, growing water channel less than 6 feet from the team which was not visible from the sled, having saved all of them from nearly drowning in the freezing water. Another impressive feat was during the same trip across the Sound. When arriving at the shore of the Berring Sea, the ice floe the team was on top of was too far from land for them to cross or Seppala to jump over. He hitched Togo in single lead with an anchor in the ice and tossed him across to pull the ice closer to the shore. Togo understood and dug in, however the line snapped, suddenly leaving Seppala and the team stranded. Without guidance or prompting, Togo leapt into the water, took the broken line in his mouth, spun around to wrap it around his shoulders twice fashioning a makeshift harness, and pulled the ice floe to shore, his team with it.