Dogsled Racing - Humane or Inhumane?

I think dogsled racing is humane. I think it is because the dogs are bred to do it. I love dogs and I like to see them run free. The dogs love to run on the open tundra during the Iditarod. They love the open area to just run,run,run. The mushers are very kind to the dogs. They treat the dogs like equals and friends, not slaves. The mushers take care of every dog before they take care of themselves.

The mushers also have to sign a care form. This means that the dogs are taken very good care for. The race rules make sure that the dogs are not harmed. The rules make it so the mushers have to use a special harness that does not hurt the dogs. Also the mushers can not hurt the dogs or they will lose a lot of points and they will lose.

The dogs also like the race. They enjoy running the race. The dogs want to win as much as the mushers do.If a dog gets hurt the mushers will carry them to were they can get airlifted to Anchorage and go to a hospital. This is why I think dog sledding is humane.

I think dog sledding is humane because it would not be fair to cancel the Iditarod because the mushers have trained for it a very long time and the dogs have been bred to do it there whole life. Some facts about the Iditarod are that the dogs get way better treated that a regular dog would at any given time. The dogs have trained there whole life and it is unfair to them to ruin what they have practiced and practiced for a very long time. And the last fact is that the dogs get unreal exercise running like they do.

Here is a list of all of the simulations a dog could have and all the calories that they would burn.
10 days 45 pounds 2 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 29,377 calories
10 days 45 pounds 10 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 15,421 calories
10 days 60 pounds 2 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 37,582 calories
10 days 60 pounds 10 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 24,626 calories
17 days 45 pounds 2 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 48,808 calories
17 days 45 pounds 10 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 35,852 calories
17 days 60 pounds 2 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 66,157 calories
17 days 60 pounds 10 pounds of food 3 pounds of water- 53,201

The reason I like dog mushing is because I love animals and I know they love to run and play so how could doing what they love be bad. I know everybody loves competition and dogs are very much alike us so how would they not like a giant race that you can win.

IS DOG SLEDDING HUMANE OR INHUMANE??

I think dog sledding inhumane for many reasons. Some mushers enter the dog sledding races for the money, and don't care for the dogs. Some cruel mushers whip, beat, and kick their dogs.

Often mean mushers kill their dogs if they aren’t fast enough. If the dogs are really good, they get chained or locked up in a kennel afterward. The chain can rub the dog's neck raw. Also when they get chained up it tends makes them more aggressive. On average, 50% of the dogs who start the race do not finish the race.

I think the treatment of the dogs should be more closely watched during the dog sled races. Too many of the mushers abuse their dogs just the sake of winning.

After doing research I believe that the Iditarod is inhumane. People force themselves and their dogs to go through cold harsh conditions for honor, glory, and money. Shockingly no person has died, but what about the dogs?
Depending on a dog they might need to get roughly 1200-1300 calories a day. They survive the best with a diet of 60% fat. That is a lot of food for a musher to carry. The dogs have to carry that weight and if a musher is delayed the food supplies shrinks. If it shrinks too much the weakest dog would be picked out to die and be left on the trail. However this does not always happen because it all depends on the musher.
I think that if people would just take better care of themselves and the dogs I would not be against it. They should make rules so that you can't drive drunk, you can't go through a blizzard, and that you have to stop at a rest point for at least an hour. These would all help the people and the dogs.

The Iditarod, Humane, or Inhumane.

I feel that the Iditarod is inhumane. Some dogs get left with horrible trainers and are beaten and neglected. Some only care about winning $69,000. These poor dogs are overworked and over trained.

Before the Iditarod, dogs are left chained up in cages, with chains hooking them up. These collars give the dogs scars, scratches, and bruises. Once the dogs are out, they have hardcore training, and can get kicked, whipped, beaten, bitten, and thrown. Then on March 5th mushers bring their dogs to Anchorage to race a 1049 mile race. Afterwords, dogs who were not fast enough get put in shelters, or get shot through the head. The lucky fast ones spend the rest of their lives in a dog cage. But, when dogs stay long chained up, they get more aggressive, and end up fighting.

As I prove my case, I think the government should ban the Iditarod because it is very harmful to these dogs.

I have done research and I have decided I think the race is humane. I think that it is humane because if so many people sign up for it each year then it wouldn’t be bad.

Most dogs will run themselves to death because they love their job. The dogs get special treatment at each break and they are allowed to sleep. The dogs have these boots that keep their feet warm. The dogs eat a variety of meat and fish.

I would like to see the break time longer so the Musher has even more time to sleep. Some people may think about this race as a bad idea and say that you should not do this but I say everyone has their one opinions.

I think that dog sledding is humane because, the kind of dogs that are used for are bred for pulling sleds and doing work like that. The Iditarod is an unusually long race but the dogs love it, and it is a competition so most people do to! The weight of the sled is distributed through twelve to sixteen dogs so the dogs are not strained.

The race lasts from ten to seventeen days long and there are a fair amount of rest stops for the race so the dogs do not get overly tired. If any of the dogs get hurt the musher puts it in the sled until the next checkpoint and once they get there the dog is airlifted. The mushers have to pay a certain amount to get in and if someone entered into the race they would have to pay the fee, so there is a very slight chance of dogs being disliked.

Most dogs like it and it is not against their will. I love animals and I think that it is okay because they have special harness that also help distribute the weight. The dogs love to run and they love the snow so they love pulling the sled.

My class is researching the Iditarod. It is a lot of fun to research. I have found a lot of different facts about it. Before we even started learning about it, I had no idea what it was.

DOG SLEDDING, HUMANE OR INHUMANE?
I think that dog sledding inhumane. They brake animals cruelty laws in 39 states including Washington D.C. 39 states! How would you feel if you were that dog.

Sometimes teams have to race through blizzards. This can blind, kill, or seriously injure them. Do you know how strong blizzards are? They are VERY powerful.

How would you feel if you were those dogs. I know how I would feel. Dead. That could KILL you.

Iditarod..... Humane or Inhumane?

I think that the Iditarod is very inhumane, because the mushers just want the $69,000 dollars at the end. The mushers are very cruel to the dogs. The mushers kick and whip the dogs if they are going to slow. The dogs paws can also get very infected from the ice, and snow. Sled dogs used to be used to find missing people, but somehow they turned that into a sport. It is very unnecessary to kill over 100 dogs in each race just for the money.

I think dog sledding is inhumane. It puts the dogs through stress, pain and other things that humans would would hate to go through. The dogs are forced to run a 1,161 mile course, think of how much work that must be. I don't think any human is fit enough to do that.
The dogs frequently race through whiteout conditions. Some Dogs suffer from "Sudden death" and "external myopathy," a condition in which a dog's muscles and organs deteriorate during extreme or prolonged exercise. In 1985 a dog musher kicked his dog to death. In 1996 Rick Swenson froze to death mushing his team through waist deep water and ice.
Think of how many dogs wouldn't die if we canceled this event. Think of how much better we could make a dogs life if they weren't always chained or caged up. Just think of how much money people could save because they would no longer be paying for dogs, equipment and entry fees. I think that we need to cancel this event to preserve the animal right of dogs everywhere.