Is dog sledding or racing abusive to the animals?

i dont thinks its animal abuse, dogs need exercise most dogs love exercise and it stops them from being bord and angry. i'd rather a happily exercised dog then a bord dog.dog fighting is different it cruel dog die and are badly injured from this and even…

    Is dog sledding or racing abusive to the animals?

    i dont thinks its animal abuse, dogs need exercise most dogs love exercise and it stops them from being bord and angry. i'd rather a happily exercised dog then a bord dog.dog fighting is different it cruel dog die and are badly injured from this and even…...
    General Dog Discussions : Is dog sledding or racing abusive to the animals?...

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    • Is dog sledding or racing abusive to the animals?

      Is dog sledding or racing abusive to the animals? General Dog Discussions
      i dont thinks its animal abuse, dogs need exercise most dogs love exercise and it stops them from being bord and angry. i'd rather a happily exercised dog then a bord dog.dog fighting is different it cruel dog die and are badly injured from this and even tough its a sport it shouldnt be. its disgusting that people do that to them. and its not their job their forced to do it. do or die it called.

      Is dog sledding or racing abusive to the animals?

      Is dog sledding or racing abusive to the animals? General Dog Discussions
    • Sled dogs love their job. They were built for it. About greyhound racing, I don't know as much about it... It's much more popular as you don't have to be in the snow like you do for a sled race, so there are a ton more greyhounds that end up without homes. The tracks don't care for them the same way a musher would care for his team.And pit bulls were NOT bred to fight each other.They were bred to bait bulls.The only reason they are used for dogfighting is because of some of their characteristics and the horrible people that abuse them because of this.

    • This is such a common myth. My family and I have owned a sleddog kennel of 60 dogs for about 10 years now. The only abuse to them (non physical) is when they arent running. They love this sport. It is what they were bred to do. They scream to run. Litterally, scream, pull, jump, even sometimes get so excited they get lippy with their nextdoor neighbor. We are a sprint kennel and we have actually taught our dogs to be calm at the start line, this saves energy. However, when I worked in Alaska, with DeeDee Jonrowe an Iditarod Sleddog Musher...her dogs were yelling with joy to run. It is quite an amazing sound to hear them scream and as soon as you say mush, up up, whichever term you use...it is silent. I would say that there are owners who abuse their sleddogs yes, which that will always be the case in any sport involving animals. But a Malamute, Samoyd, Siberian, Alaskan...any dog that likes to pull, let him.Our site is under some construction but...www.pawpowerracing.com

    • Running dogs in harness is about as "cruel" as asking a Retriever to retrieve, or a Newfoundland to swim.Sled dogs were born and bred to run and pull. They love it. As others have said, it is in their blood.You cannot "force" a dog to pull a sled. It's like pushing a rope...if they don't want to go, they simply won't do it.Modern-day mushers do not use whips or anything other than their voice to command or urge on their dogs. The dogs run because they were born to it.My dogs SCREAM to go...they jump into the dog truck, and wiggle their way into their harnesses when we offer them.If you think that running sled dogs is cruel, you need to go watch a race or experience a run for yourself.ADDED:orionmobile wrote: "Dog sledders and breeders of the dogs freely admit that hundreds of dogs have to be produced in order to get just a few good sledders. Almost all of those dogs will be put to sleep, usually by being shot."This is patently false, PeTA-regurgitated garbage. High-level, professionally racing mushers are the only people who can afford to keep/breed hundreds of dogs at a time to select the best for their teams, and high-level, professionally racing mushers have no trouble selling dogs who don't make their own teams to people trying to build/improve their teams.As for comparisons to Pit Bull Fighting -- not sure how you can make such a comparison at all, when the goal of dog fighting is to wound and kill dogs. The goal of running and racing sled dogs clearly is not. How do you expect to get home if you kill off your team?

    • For the TRUTH about greyhound racing go to the National Greyhound Association. NEVER NEVER NEVER rely on PETA or ASPCA reports. They are mostly from the 90's. The NGA has since instituted laws and sanctions among the industry to prevent devastating loss of life like we saw when casino gambling was introduced at racetracks and forced the actual races in a MAJORITY of the tracks in the US to cease. OF COURSE there were alot of tragic and senseless deaths of greyhounds when over half of the racing kennels were forced out of business. There are actual reports of #'s of dogs registered, dogs racing and dogs adopted availiable from the NGA on their website: http://www.ngagreyhound.comLATE: I just read "orionmob''s response in horror. A classic example of a misinformed opinion. The penalty for ANYONE caught using a live rabbit to train a greyhound is PERMANENT BAN FROM THE RACING INDUSTRY. A person caught doing this cannot own or co-own ANY racing greyhound, nor can they breed, register, train or work at a pari-mutual greyhound track. This ban was introduced in the EARLY 1990's!!! However, PETA reports these horror stories like they happened yesterday. As for the track paying anyone to do anything with a dog...THEY DON"T!!! The kennel is responsible for the dog not the track.

    • I don't think the job of Pits is to fight. People have taken a trait and made it into a fighting dog.The people I know who sled, take good care of their dogs, are knowledgeable. How is it abusive? Are herding dogs abused when they are out in bad weather herding? No because their coat and endurance is made to do that. To them it would be abusive to expect them to be a coach potato 24.7.

    • If you have ever seen the way sled dogs react when they see the musher coming with their harnesses and gear....there would be no doubt in your mind that these dogs LOVE what they do! They go nuts and have to be held back because they just want to go. I see no harm in it as long as the animals are taken care of and are given breaks and not run to death.

    • No. They use breeds that were meant to do that. Have you ever watched races? The dogs are so happy and can't wait to start running. Besides, the owners take really good care of their dogs. They're like a pack or a family. People have been sled racing for over hundreds of years. Wolves live outside in the cold weather. What makes you think huskies and malamutes can't? Their fur is incredibly thick for warmth and if anything happened to their paws, they couldn't run. So why would the owners neglect them?As for greyhound or whippet racing, they need to run. It's the way they were bred. They need a lot of exercise and it's not like people are forcing them to run. They decide that on their own. They chase the little ball of fluff on the cord like it's a game. They love it.Anyone who thinks this is cruel is just ignorant.

    • Aside from any treatment of the dogs actually used in sledding or racing, there is the issue of the number of animals bred and destroyed for those sports. Dog sledders and breeders of the dogs freely admit that hundreds of dogs have to be produced in order to get just a few good sledders. Almost all of those dogs will be put to sleep, usually by being shot. There is currently a case against a company accused of throwing dogs shot but still alive into a cesspit. They admit it happened but that they were not wrong since the dogs were their property. In racing, the same issue occurs. Hundreds of dogs are produced in order to get a small handful of dogs that are fast enough. Most of the extras are destroyed. A couple of years back in Florida, there were hundreds of dog carcasses found behind a man's house in Florida. Tracks had been paying him to euthanize the dogs. He took them home and shot them. In addition, trainers of race dogs often use live rabbits in training. The dogs are taught to tear rabbits apart while still alive so they will chase the fake rabbit around the track later. People who support these sports are either ignorant of what goes on or else just completely heartless and cruel. Yes, they are very abusive sports.

    • i agree and disagree-most people have different ideasmine is-racing is ook but i think it should be stopped because its what happens to the dogs afterwards-i have a retired rancer and he was lucky-most greyhounds get drowned/strangle/shot or worse just cos they are usless-www.freewebs.com/greyhoundsforeveri dont know about sledding-dont know much about it-i think thats ok

    • Is dog racing or dog sledding an animal rites issue? I heard a little on bth sides of the argument, but I'm still unsure if its cruel to the dogs.What are your thought , good or bad.Knowitall & animal expert, arent pitbulls bred to fight? Isnt that there "job" ? I hate pit fighting, but one can make that argument.

    • Allowing dogs to carry out the jobs they were BRED to do can never be a bad thing.And breeding dogs to excel in their working area produces strong, healthy dogs - unlike those who are bred for the show ring, where looks comes first, and everything else second.