Cross Breeds - Dog Sled Racing, Yay or Neh?

Dog Sled Racing, Yay or Neh?

What do YOU think about dog sled racing? Do you think it's animal abuse, fun, good, what?? Please give detail, like why and how. Thanks!

Public Comments

it is very goog for the dog if they are not pulling to much wieght and it can very funn for the dog just dont overdo it
I'll star for my contacts that have more experience with the sport than I do. Personally, I think it's no different that an Australian Shepherd herding, a terrier bringing in rats, or a Bloodhound tracking. It's what the dogs were bred to do, what they do well, and above all, what they LOVE to do. Nothing cruel about that.
This is like greyhound racing - the dogs involved are bred to do this sport, and as long as there is humane treatment involved, it is fun and healthy for these dogs to be involved. It makes their lives that much brighter.
Star for my contacts I have no experience opinion only. As a job or a sport fine. You do not plan on beating them or running them for days without food and water do you. There is a balance in everything. I am sure if it were thought abuse it would be illegal by now! *;*
The dogs love it. Just like Border Collies do. They WANT to Herd. Huskies and Alaskan Malamute yes, They love to do it.
Depends how you treat the dog
The dogs love it. It's fun for the people. It's healthy way for dogs and owners to stay in shape. So yeh. Don't listen to the crap that the animal rights groups spout off about dog racing. They're ignorant and wrong.
i think it cool but you have to make sure that you treat the dogs well or it not cool at all
Well I say Yay. Even though I have heard of some breeders that have malnourished dogs, I don't here much of abused sled dogs ( though I know it happens). I say " yay" because the dogs LOVE it. They get so exited and pumped before the race and they love it. It is the closet thing to their natural instinct. Running together as a pack for long distances while respecting the leader. When they are treated right I defiantly agree because the dogs love it and I think that's the most important part!!
I don't think it's animal abuse, at all. It's great exercise for the dogs, and it's fun to watch! So, Dog Sled Racing = YAY! ♥RL
It depends on the type of dog. If its a Husky, Alaskan Malamute, or dog of that sort, then no sledding would not be considered abuse. Those types of dogs were born and bred to pull and they consider it fun and good exercise to pull sleds as long as the sled is not too heavy. Huskies in particular are made to run and if you let them off their leash, they will run and run and run. One way to channel that energy is to have them pull a sled.
As long as the dogs get breaks and naps when they slow down from lack of energy, are well cared for, and do not have to pull too much weight, I don't see anything wrong with it. As long as the dogs are treated with respect and taken care of its just a fun thing for them to do. Just like other breeds being trained for hunting, tracking, and other things, huskies and malamutes have been used for taking medicine and mail across alaska and other places where the snow prevents it from being delivered normally. It's been that way for a long time but now, since we have things like planes and cars and trains, we just do it for fun, just go google the Iditarod Dog Sled Race(not sure how to spell Iditarod).
As with all things, too much of a good thing can be bad. But the sport in and of itself is not inherently abusive. As a previous owner of a mushing siberian, I can tell you that she LOVED to pull and go, go, go! I bought an x back racing harness, and hooked her up to my red flyer wagon almost every day. The sport is challenging and exciting. I am all for it!
Nobody is going to make the dog pull you across the country with no food or water, hitting the animal everytime it tries to stop for a breath! I don't know whoever does that, but it's giving a bad name to one of my favourite animal "sports". Obviously you had to be crazy to make a Chihuahua pull five people across the snow, however, there are breeds that you can clearly see that just LOVE doing that. I think it's an awesome, exciting, thrilling thing to do. I wouldn't mind getting into urban mushing in the near future! http://www.samoyed.org/ows/images/sledding8.jpg That's me in a couple of years, so watch out. :3