Cross Breeds

How common is it for a dog to die in the Idinarod dogs sled races?

Public Comments

1. I think very likely. I was watching the show last year. Some of the contestants dogs died. I guess from the stress, hard conditions, etc.
2. Hey, I've heard it called the "Ikilledadog" instead of the Iditarod. But I'm honestly not educated enough on the event to give a solid response.
3. I watched Alaska's Great Race on descovery and they said it was rare because those dogs train for that so I doubt that many die really. Please share your thoughts on my question , its just on my profile! Thanks
4. It is very common for one to two dogs to die during the course of the iditarod race.
5. It's not even unheard of to have people die during that race. It truly is not a sport for the meek.
6. Before you jump to conclusions you have to take into account that these are high energy dogs that live to work. They are NOT your average underfoot dog rug that most of us have. The people who do the Iditarod (for the most part) take better care of their animals than they do themselves. It's a terrible thing when any living creature dies but we have to understand that we need to truly live to appreciate life and death is something we all face at one point or another. With that said: In almost all of the Iditarod races, at least one dog death has occurred. The first race is reported to have resulted in the deaths of 15 to 19 dogs. In 1997, the Anchorage Daily News reported that "at least 107 (dogs) have died." In the years since that report, 30 more dogs have died in the Iditarod, bringing the grand total of dogs who have died in the Iditarod to at least 137. There is no official count of dog deaths available for the race's early years and this count relies only on a reported number of deaths. Causes of death during the last ten years have included strangulation in towlines, internal hemorrhaging after being gouged by a sled, liver injury, heart failure, and pneumonia. "Sudden death" and "external myopathy," a condition in which a dog's muscles and organs deteriorate during extreme or prolonged exercise, have also been blamed. In 1985 a musher kicked his dog to death. The 1975 Iditarod winner, Jerry Riley, was banned for life in 1990 after being accused of striking his dog with a snow hook (a large, sharp and heavy metal claw). In 1996 Rick Swenson's dog died while he mushed his team through waist-deep water and ice.
7. Proportionately speaking, not very. Last year, I believe 3 dogs died. One of these was killed after being hit by a drunk snowmachiner on the Yukon river. There were -- I think -- 93 teams entered last year, with a standard team size of 16 dogs. That's 1488 total dogs run in the race. So the percentage last year was about 0.2%. Dog care is the primary concern for mushers in this race. No dogs, no musher. ADD: Love Herds...yes. That's a PETA term. And the link provided by oldmrsinms is a site designed and maintained by Margery Glickman, a woman who preaches from her house in Miami, FLORIDA. Enough said. An editorial I like... http://www.helpsleddogs.com/RSF_editorial.html Iditarod FACTS: http://www.geocities.com/sunhusky/IditaFacts.html
8. Due to the conditions and stresses, it is likely that one or two dogs will die. It is rare, but a few get trapped in avalanches every few years.
9. Typically 3 or 4 dogs die each year during that race. The most common cause is digestive troubles. As the others have mentioned, other things happen. The Iditarod is not the only race where dogs can die. It happened to one of my dogs a few years ago. His stomach twisted during a race. He was alive when I pulled into the checkpoint but I opted to put him down. I couldn't justify spending over $1000 for surgery with only a 50% chance of survival. I was disqualified from finishing the race. Nobody likes when a dog dies in a race or in training but we accept the risks of being out in harsh conditions. Unfortunately, that's one of the risks.