The Truth Behind Dog Sledding

Jane Stephens came with beautiful visions of gliding across the snow in a dog sled, but the harsh reality of the industry is making her stand up and say "no more."

[lenamorgan]

Not all mushes abuse their dogs. I own a huge kennel. My dogs are not tied up they get a kennel. They are run daily.

[WarSawPL]

I used to race many years. I wanted to compete with my team of purebreed Siberian Huskies in long-distance, hard races like La Grande Odyssee. I raced in Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic. Usually mid and long distance races. After 2-3 seasons of racing I was really disappointed of what I've seen. Many mushers treat dogs just like spare parts of a machine. The "lifetime" of a dog is about 3-4 years, after that time many mushers sells them and replace by younger dogs. Zero empaty. I am pretty sure that many dogs recieve some chemical speciments to boost their strenght and endurance. The way that some mushers treat the dogs on the trail is also bad. That was the reason for which I retired from this "circus". Of course there are many many good mushers - the majority really take care of the dogs and know that only a happy dog will work hard on the trail :)

[MichaelSHartman]

That man should have been jailed without mercy.

[Addwater]

She's not saying all dog mushers are abusive, but you can clearly see in the video and other videos on the internet that there is a lot of abuse, not during the sleighing but the way they're cared for. Why is that so hard to accept? Videos don't lie

[brianzidian]

The Iditarod is nothing but an entertainment business where dogs are forced to run and mushere abuse them and chain them up so whatever you do don't support any thing that leads to this kind of abuse

[salsa]

The people who treat these dogs in such a criminal ways desearve to be locked up for a very long time. This is cruelty. If you cant handle the dogs get help, dont get more and chain them up.

[MonstaMunch]

This video is weird. It's like someone picking a bad apple then making a video called "the truth about apples" and pretending the bad one is what they are all like. Competitive sports can bring out the worst in a lot of people. Try just sledding for the fun of it instead of making the dogs race, you may all prefer it and you'll find people who are in it for the dogs rather than winning a race.

[sheeevpalprotien]

I have a team of 5 dogs. They absolutely love racing and every time they see their harnesses and the sled, they jump up and down. I have acres of land and a large area where the dogs can play and use the bathroom. All five sleep in my home and I never force them to over do it. I’m looking to add 5 more to the team and am thinking about building a structure for all ten.

[airbornemelody]

The people who treat their dogs badly don’t deserve their dogs. However not every musher treats their dogs so poorly. I feel horrible for the percent of dogs who have mean owners, but huskies and malamutes were born to run, and personally my husky loves to, I hope to sled with him one day. These dogs are beautiful animals and it sucks that bad mushers are ruining the dogsledding reputation cause not everyone treats their dogs bad

[kevinp]

People from all walks of life abuse dogs. You happened to encounter a musher who abuses his dogs; one musher's actions are not indicative of the entire mushing culture. It's a biased and illogical assumption to make.

And let's clear the air on some other tangential topics:
1) Not everyone keeps their dogs inside. A lot of people who breed and use their dogs for working applications keep their dogs at outside kennels for a variety of logistical reasons. As long as the dogs have good shelter from the elements and daily access to food and water, there is nothing wrong with this approach. The sled dogs are especially well-suited to the cold weather, and can manage living outside just fine with the appropriate shelter.
2) Sled dogs are purpose bred for one thing: pulling sleds. They love their work just as much as a police dog loves to patrol and a hunting dog loves to track. These sled dogs are not the same as the pet versions of these breeds (husky, malamute) that you see at your local rescue or pet store. These are working dogs; removing them from their work is akin to telling a horse that it can't run or a wolf that it can't hunt.
3) The spitz-type sled dogs, especially husky and malamute breeds, are more inclined towards dog aggression due to their breeding and heritage. A lot of these dogs were historically used for hunting; as well there is some amount of rank drive inherent to their sled work. The "chained-up" method is a practical necessity for this reason; as well, many of these dogs are inclined to wander off and explore if allowed off leash. These dogs get more than enough exercise during their sled runs. A "chain-up" method is certainly preferable to containing dogs in individual fenced enclosures; fences/barriers tend to promote anxiety and tension in the dogs (referred to as barrier frustration by dog experts).

I don't condone dog abuse, but I also think there is huge difference in how people view and handle their dogs. Some people view and treat their dogs as human children. Others have a more practical and utilitarian relationship with their dogs. As long as the dogs receive the proper care and attention, there is nothing wrong with the latter approach. I encourage the person in this video to really take the time to learn about sled dogs and the culture before judging it so harshly. One bad experience should not form your views of the overall culture...that's a narrow-minded way of thinking.

[tritchie]

Part way in I'm having huge reservations about the honesty and knowledge of the woman in this video.

[michellec]

How can they torture such marvelous creatures.

[jasonpettit]

Anger teaches nothing but is always learnt, it’s the wounded inner child that uses anger to control others

[danielcanoles]

it's no surprise that you tube limits search results on this topic

[michaeldolinar]

I've worked as a handler for almost 2 years and i can tell you that an abused dog doesn't work, all the best mushers ive met take incredible care of their dogs. Mushers are some of the most patient people I've the ever met, yes some are arrogant a-holes, but you have to be patient with a dog, wether its training them to sit and stay, or if its teaching them to pull a sled, . The ONLY time I've seen top mushers get aggressive with their dogs is when a fight breaks out, at that point mushers can get pretty physical with their dogs, but the thing is, once the dogs are separated everyone calms down- that includes the musher. I can already hear people saying the top mushers are different from the regular everyfay musher, to which i respond- of course they are, thats why they're in the top, they're who mushers should be emulating. I'm willing to bet that this woman went to one musher, saw this abuse and went screaming to the public that this is mushing. THIS ISN'T MUSHING, this is a man that looks at the top tier and thinks that with proper motivation (sarcasm on proper) his dog will magically be able to perform at the highest level. Thats a load of horse crap, that man has no patients and should not be training dogs, not to sit and stay and for sure not to run a race. I am passionate about mushing and dog care, and i am willing to talk about it with literally anyone, I've given dog tours with people for 2 years, and the amount of people that have come on thinking its abuse to then changing their minds is astonishing. seriously I'm open for discussing this with anyone, just leave the cussing to a minimum

[Harris]

There are too many dogs in that video for the dogs to get exercised properly. I simply don't believe that all of the dogs are well cared. I am not against the sport, but when I see 200 dogs chained up, I am certain there is some abuse. Mushers don't make a living from the sport so selling mushing to tourists a way to make money. I do not think this is the norm, but I believe this video is true in some cases.

[ragingriversiberians]

Ms. Stephens, I am sorry that a bad musher has ruined the beautiful sport of dog sledding for you. Most of the scenes of the dog yards are unheard of to me, as most of the mushers in my area do keep their dogs outside, but they only have up to 20 dogs. For some people keeping the dogs in the house is just not an option. I have 3 dogs. They live in the house with me and my fiance and they are loved unconditionally, as they are children to us. They love running. Any time I ask them if they want to run they get excited and start whining, with tails wagging. The mushers I know and look up to all give their dogs names, multiple meals a day, undivided attention, and veterinary care and can tell you multiple stories of each dog. In places like Canada and Alaska, sled dogs are a large part of tourism. Yes, there are bad ones out there but don't let the bad ones drag the good mushers through the snow.

If you have any questions feel free to contact me and I can show you the good side of dog sledding.

[ethanlamoureux]

I think it’s a shame that the animal rights movement is doing its best to destroy any relationship between man and animals, with particular focus on domestic animals such as dogs. Any human activity has its bad examples, but to focus on the bad and ignore the good is to tell a lie.

[tiffanyclark-grove]

she just stood there and watched the dog be abused.. and is maligning all mushers.. great job lady

[graceborgaila]

I have eleven sled dogs (they're lab/husky/german shorthair pointer mixes AKA: Alaskan Huskies) and their absolute FAVORITE thing is to go running (ie. get hooked up to the sled and go for a run)! When we get out the harnesses and the sled they start jumping up and down and barking like crazy because they're so excited. There's not a single time that I've seen them happier than when we're going running!

However, we do keep them hooked up and they do live outside. Our reason for this is because we don't want fur in the house and, truthfully, eleven dogs inside would be chaotic. The reason we keep them tied up is because they don't get along and might fight with each other (we are aiming to change that: soon we will separate them in groups of three or four with dogs they get along with--we just have to get the fences up and we're a go!).

We go out there every evening and take care of them, picking up poop, giving them fresh water, food, and letting them off so they can run and play. We stay out there with them off for at least an hour, sometimes more, but in winter months, instead of letting them off, we go running.

During the summer they have a big pool and we throw toys into the pool for them to retrieve (that's the lab in them!). We set up tarps in the summer for shade, spray them with fly spray (bc the flies are really bad where we live), and they get fresh water two times a day (bc it's really hot outside with the humidity).

In the winter we make sure they are warm. For the most part they grow heavy thick coats that keep them perfectly warm, but here in Iowa the winters can get below negative (the worst last winter was something like negative 20 degrees), we also will put straw or wood shaving (bc they're insulators) inside their dog houses so they can get in and stay toasty.

Our dogs are really well cared for, but it is true that some owners abuse their sled dogs. This is just one example of a happy pack of doggos who love to run!