Does the Iditarod Have a Dirty Secret?
The Iditarod dog sled race is an Alaskan and American institution, in which teams of dogs and people race over 1000 miles in the course of several days. It is considered a supreme challenge in endurance racing.
Most dogs I know love to work. Cattle dogs enjoy rounding up cattle. Shepherds enjoy herding sheep. My pal Buster enjoys playing fetch (which is the closest thing to work he experiences). I have always assumed that sled dogs involved in the Iditarod enjoy running the race. And perhaps most of them do.
However, two recent papers in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association have made made it clear that some dogs are not benefiting from their participation in the race. The first paper discusses autopsy results of 23 dogs that died while running the race between 1994-2006.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance–Unexpected death is a rare event among conditioned sled dogs during competition in endurance races. Potentially life-threatening conditions of dogs that are associated with periods of long-distance physical exertion include aspiration pneumonia, gastric mucosal lesions, and severe rhabdomyolysis. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008;232:564-573)
Translated into English, the last sentence implies that prolonged heavy breathing may cause dogs to inhale foreign matter and develop pneumonia; stress from endurance running leads to stomach ulcers; and extreme prolonged exercise may cause muscles to break down.
I should emphasize that the vast majority of dogs that compete in the Iditarod do not suffer such serious consequences. (Although if 23 humans were to die in a dozen years during a similar sized sporting event, the event would certainly be banned.) However, the second paper points out that the stress of intense training may lead to stomach ulcers and reduced red blood cell counts in a much larger number of dogs.
[A]cute blood loss secondary to gastrointestinal tract bleeding was likely responsible for the decrease in [red blood cell count] associated with acute exercise. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008;232:873-878)
Some people believe that running dogs in the Iditarod constitutes cruelty. I am not ready to go that far. But these articles have certainly given me something to think about.
You have questions. 
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As long as there’s something in it for humans [prize money, fame, and possible sales and training of dogs], dogs will continue to be abused in the race. Only if humane limits are imposed on how, and how long, the dogs can run each day will there be the possibility of treating dogs well during such an event.
I totally disagree. Some of the drivers do it for the love of it. For example Lance Mackey! I also have huskies and I dogsled but not for the money. If you consider how much money is put into the dogs there is no profit even if you won the Iditarod every year. It may be nice to get some back once in a while but this is a sport of enjoyment for both dog and man. If too many dogs are dying then why don’t we blame it on the vets at the checkpoints for not doing their job in making sure the dogs are ok to proceed. For only one year so far I have put over $4000 into my 8 dogs and guess what? I ussually run the 4 dog sportmans class which is a sprint race of around 4.9 miles for 2 days and there is no payout for running sportsman. So how can that be for the money? Or even fame for that matter? No No No it is not for money, fame or whatever you may say but for enjoyment between an owner and his/her dogs!
This one article alone has made me decide to leave dogster! People should not judge unless they know first hand what they are judging!
To be honest, I don’t know anything about this sport. What I would like to know is what happens to the dogs when they are ‘past their best’ and too old to compete (probably at a relatively young age) or were never good enough to compete in the first place? I hope it’s not like with racing greyhounds over here in the UK where so many are either put to death for minor injuries or end up unwanted and living in rescue shelters…..hope not.
I would definitely NOT make any harsh judgements against the IIditarod or any other issue without researching more thoroughly, and perhaps seeing it for myself, watching the humans and dogs working together, and interviewing several dog sledders to explain what and why they do what they do in training. I would learn more about their strategies for racing and their reasons behind them. An educated opinion is important, don’t you think? Even media and articles we read are not enough evidence. Sometimes what we read is not complete or accurate. Let’s be intelligent about how we make judgements. There will be animal abusers everywhere, but we should not generalize or stereotype. It gives a false impression. I would think that any human that wants to win the Iditarod would do whatever it takes to fulfill the dogs’ needs to reach the goal. I would hope that participants in the race have an incredible beautiful bond and intimate communication with their dogs. I have been to a dog sledding area, seen the anxious waiting to pull the sled, and seen the gratification in their body language as they are off on a run. Anyone sensitive enough to monitor the dogs’ health during a run is a real winner!
And I totally agree with Chris. Don’t say anything or form an opinion unless you have thoroughly investigated the subject. If it’s for the love, and perhaps honor and prestige to win the race, I would think it would be worse, and embarassing to win and then know that you have injured or even killed your dogs in the process. That would contradict the whole reason for dog sledding. Then there would not be a true bond between human and his/her pack. Let’s hope the majority of humans really care for their dogs. Let’s find out more and go see for ourselves.
When looking at the death rate, one should consider the number of dogs running vs the number of drivers. If you run the numbers, it turns out that the death per mile run for humans in marathons is actually higher than the death rate for dogs in the Iditarod.
For a more detailed description, please read this post:
http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/02/remembering-susan-butcher-master-musher-1954-2006/#comment-411714
I encourage everyone to check out Break The Chains – Save The Sled Dogs and the Sled Dog Action Coalition to begin to discover the horrors behind the sled dog racing industry and the Iditarod.
Exercising to that kind of extreme should be banned! It seems to me it is only being done for the egos of the humans only. Humble yourselves and really think of your animal friends .exercise is good, to much is, well, you know, not good.
. A lot of problems can be avoided by a good diet the best I’ve ever found.www.greatlife4pets.com
. A lot of problems can be avoided by a good diet the best I’ve ever found. Goggle ;great life Rubicon.
This has almost made me leave dogster…I am a musher, I have a kennel of 18 sled dogs, most of the semi-retired Iditarod dogs that I run in Junior races(Junior Iditarod, Junior Yukon Quest, Junior Cantwell Classic). What happens when most dogs get too old is that they go to junior mushers…like me! My lead dogs on Junior Iditarod this year were 9 and 10!
I would suggest NOT posting about something that you know nothing about!
You can not race dogs for money. Lance Mackey has been in serious debt for years because of his dogs. I know that I spent nearly 6 thousand dollars this year on my dogs alone!
You can not push a rope! AKA you can not FORCE dogs to pull you on a sled. Saying that it is bad for them is like saying running marathons is bad.
Yes over 125 dogs have died on Iditarod in 36 years, but this year there were well over 1500 dogs that started the race! Multiply that by 36 and see what you get, then figure how many people died in marathons in that amount of time!
I am getting sick of people who act like they know sled dogs, the post sadly unresearched facts like this…next thing you know Margery Glickman will be here….
And I have always been intrigued by dog sledding and the Iditarod. My school has done an Iditarod unit for several years in a row!
I am a Vet Student at the University of Melbourne in Australia, and out current Dean used to regularly go to the Iditarod to help out with the regular vet checks spaced along the track. True, the dogs are working hard and facing an extreme physical challenge, but they also recieve a great deal of veterinary care and monitoring.
He told us that if there is any concern about a dog’s ability to run, it is pulled from the race. Many dogs do get pulled, and we were told that mushers need to finish with at least 8 dogs, but usually start with more.
There is a great deal of care put into the welfare of the dogs. Possibly more than there is put into the care of the humans.
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