Norwegian leading the Iditarod

[runethechamp]

Don't know if anyone here cares about sled dog races, but these guys are badasses. And a Norwegian is leading the race right now! Cool.

http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecurrent.php

[teledave]

Don't know if anyone here cares about sled dog races, but these guys are badasses. And a Norwegian is leading the race right now! Cool.

Nah, the Norwegian isn't a dog racer, she's the exchange student at AKPM's school trying to run away from him very quickly.

[Cliff Huckable]

Sorry man, that shit is just plain animal abuse. You know how many dogs are run to death in "training"?!
To call that a "sport" is just fucking stupid.

[runethechamp]

Sorry man, that shit is just plain animal abuse. You know how many dogs are run to death in "training"?!
To call that a "sport" is just fucking stupid.

I have no idea if that actually happens. Can anyone who knows more about dogs or dog sled racing please fill me in.

[Stu Gotz]

I think the sport is quite tough for both the musher and his/her dogs, but this is what the dogs are born and bred to do.

Interesting site that looks at a few of the problems of the race.

http://sunhusky.com/Facts/

[1080Rider]

And a Norwegian is leading the race right now! Cool.

Uhhmmm, I think that's NORWEDGE, I don't know what the hell a Norwegian is... sheesh, get this stuf straight.

[runethechamp]

Uhhmmm, I think that's NORWEDGE, I don't know what the hell a Norwegian is... sheesh, get this stuf straight.

Hey, it's Norwegian Wood, at least that's what my wife tells me.

[1080Rider]

Hey, it's Norwegian Wood, at least that's what my wife tells me.

One time AKPM posted about the Norwedge exchange student he had the hots for. That's where it came from.

[runethechamp]

Now I understand....

[runethechamp]

I think the sport is quite tough for both the musher and his/her dogs, but this is what the dogs are born and bred to do.

Interesting site that looks at a few of the problems of the race.

http://sunhusky.com/Facts/

Good point and good link.

[runethechamp]

Bump because he's still in the lead. And no word on dog abuse yet.

http://www.iditarod.com/raceupdates/racecurrent.php

[runethechamp]

Bump because he won!!! Two years ago Robert Sorlie was the first non-american to win the Iditarod, and this year he does it again. More to follow.

BC-APNewsAlert,0019

NOME, Alaska (AP) - Norwegian musher Robert Sorlie wins the Iditarod.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APNT 03-16-05 0945PST

[Cliff Huckable]

I think the sport is quite tough for both the musher and his/her dogs, but this is what the dogs are born and bred to do.

That is the worst excuse for animal abuse EVA!

btw - the EXACT same logic was used to defend slavery.

[Cliff Huckable]

And no word on dog abuse yet.

Lots of words on it...
Try any of these out - Fox Sports, USA Today, etc:

http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remarks.htm#Grueling

[runethechamp]

That is the worst excuse for animal abuse EVA!

btw - the EXACT same logic was used to defend slavery.

I'm no dog expert, but it doesn't look like these dogs are suffering to me. Read the article Stu posted for some unbiased opinions on this race. And change your name.

[Cliff Huckable]

I'm no dog expert, but it doesn't look like these dogs are suffering to me. Read the article Stu posted for some unbiased opinions on this race. And change your name.

Oh, how's this:

some other stuff:

Deaths during the Iditarod

Jonrowe's dog Mark dies from surgery to repair his ulcer:

"But the dog [Mark] was in bad shape. He was dehydrated and hypothermic. His gums were white, indicating anemia and possible shock, [Lannie] Hamilton said."

"A few minutes after the vets administered the IV, Mark vomited three liters of blood. Hamilton said that was an indication the dog likely had a bleeding stomach ulcer."

- Lannie Hamilton is a veterinarian in Wasilla, AK.
- Mark was one of Jonrowe's dogs.
- Paula Dobbyn, Anchorage Daily News, March 13, 2002


"The Iditarod Trail Committee was notified today by Musher Dee Dee Jonrowe that her lead dog Mark died during surgery to repair a stomach ulcer."

- Iditarod Race Advisory, Iditarod website, March 15, 2002


Jonrowe ignores signs of dog's fatal stomach ulcer:

Andrea Floyd-Wilson: "I'm pulling this now off Margery's site which is Sled Dog Action Coalition. This is a reference from a veterinarian who was talking about Mark, a dog owned by DeeDee Jonrowe. Have I pronounced that correctly, Margery?"

Margery Glickman: "Yes."

Andrea Floyd-Wilson: "And, it says ‘But, the dog, Mark, was in bad shape. He was dehydrated and hypothermic. His gums were white, indicating anemia and possible shock, the vet said. A few minutes after the vets administered the IV, Mark vomited three liters of blood. Hamilton said this was an indication the dog likely had a bleeding stomach ulcer'. Was this something that would have just cropped up all of a sudden or had this dog been suffering with this for quite a time?"

Dr. Paula Kislak: "Perforations don't occur acutely. They occur over days to weeks to months. At times, the actual rupture may occur acutely but signs should have been evident-- lack of interest in food, more vomiting than normal, discomfort in the abdominal area. There would be signs detectable before the actual rupture."

- On February 23, 2003, Andrea Floyd-Wilson, the host of All About Animals Radio Show, interviewed Margery Glickman, Director of the Sled Dog Action Coalition, and Paula Kislak, DVM, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.


- High incidence of ulcers in Iditarod dogs caused by NSAIDs:

Many Iditarod dogs have gastric ulcers and some have died from this condition. Ulcers predispose the dogs to vomiting. Normally, the trachea closes the airway so that foreign material does not enter the lungs. But because these dogs run at such high speeds for such a long period of time, they cannot stop gasping for air despite the vomiting. Consequently, dogs inhale the vomit into their lungs which causes suffocation and death.

According to Michael Matz, a highly regarded expert in gastrointestinal disorders in small animals, the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is the most common cause of gastrointestinal ulceration in small animals (Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy XII- Small Animal Practice). Aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen are just some of the NSAIDs that cause ulcers. These drugs reduce swelling, inflammation, relieve pain and fever, which allows the dogs to run farther and faster. Unfortunately, some dogs pay with their lives for the use of these drugs.


- High incidence of ulcers in Iditarod dogs caused by stress:

Andrea Floyd-Wilson: What are they thinking is the cause that these dogs are getting, and it really seems like a very high number of them do get ulcers?

Dr. Paula Kislak: That's correct. And it's almost universally known to be as a result of the amount of stress that they endure and the medication they're given. Just like people under extreme stress develop ulcers. This is the exact same etiology or cause in these dogs as well.

- On February 23, 2003, Andrea Floyd-Wilson, the host of All About Animals Radio Show, interviewed Margery Glickman, Director of the Sled Dog Action Coalition, and Paula Kislak, DVM, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.


Dan, a 3 year old dog dies; ulcers are found in his stomach:

"The dog's death was determined to have been caused by pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs. The only other significant abnormalities observed included a decrease in esophageal and gastric (stomach) muscle tone combined with gastric ulcerations (emphasis added)."

- Iditarod website, March 10, 2001


Backen's dog dies from blood loss associated with ulcers:

Preliminary findings of a necropsy indicate the 7-year-old male [Takk] died of blood loss associated with gastric ulcers, according to race officials.

- Mary Pemberton, Associated Press, March 16, 2004


Goro, a 5 year old male dog, dies from a spinal injury:

Jim Oehlschlaeger's dog Goro died in the 2002 Iditarod. He was a 5 year old male.

"The preliminary report released Monday night said the dog suffered a spinal injury in the neck area as the result of a tangle in the gangline.

The accident occurred after Oehlschlaeger missed a turn on the trail and was turning the team around. Goro got ahead of the pair of dogs in front of him, became tangled and when the team was being straightened out, he sustained the fatal injury."

- Anchorage Daily News, March 12, 2002

Dog chokes to death on vomit:

"Lance Mackey lost a dog [named Wolf] that was found to have regurgitated food and choked on it."

- Joel Gay and Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 15, 2004


Sick dog gets no vet care after leaving checkpoint and dies:

"Little from Kasilof, a reporter for the Daily News, left the dog [Carhartt] in the care of Iditarod handlers Tuesday because it looked tired and wasn't eating well."

"Iditarod executive director Stan Hooley sid the dog had been flown to Anchorage on Wednesday by volunteers of the Iditarod Air Force. It was kept overnight and into the day at Eagle River's Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, where inmates tend dropped dogs."

"The dog was signed our of Hiland Mountain late Thursday by Melissa DeVaughn, an experienced musher and co-worker of Little's."

"She found it dead in her yard Friday morning."

- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 10, 2001

Snowmachiner kills dogs

In spite of snowmachiners killing dogs and harassing mushers, the Iditarod Trail Committee does not want to regulate where snowmachiners go:

"The chance for disaster is out there," said Rick Koch, president of the Iditarod Trail Committee, "and I think we've seen that this year."

"I [Rick Koch] definitely wouldn't ever want to see any regulations saying this is where you can go with a snowmachine and this is where you can go with a dog team, because we all want to go to the same places."

"Koch said the Iditarod has a similar view."

- Beth Bragg, Anchorage Daily News, March 7, 2001

Snowmachine kills dogs:

"More violent were the deaths of two dogs and the injuries to two others in Rollin Westrum's team. Westrrum was nearing White Mountain, about 85 miles from the finish line, when his team was illuminated in the glaring headlight of a snowmachine. 'It came head-on,' the musher told reporters later. 'It hit the dogs and then glanced off to one side and went right by.'"

- O'Donoghue, Brian Patrick. My Lead Dog was a Lesbian, New York: Vintage Books, 1996
- O'Donoghue was a reporter with the Fairbanks News-Miner

Musher kicks dog to death:

"He (the musher) faced me now, had worked around the team so that he was facing in my direction, but I do not think that he could see me in his fury. I was quite close- twenty, thirty feet- close enough to see that his eyes were red with blood and anger and he could not see past it, past the dogs in front of him.

Then he did it. With great deliberation he selected one of the dogs near his feet, a small brown dog with a white ruff of fur around his neck and a thick, dense coat, and he kicked it.

He did not kick it to get it up. He was wearing bunny boots- large, heavy, rigidly insulated boots that weigh three to four pounds each, boots that easily become weapons. He kicked with one of these boots and he did not kick simply to make the dog rise and run.

'Your son of a bitch,' he hissed, 'you dirty son of a bitch. I'll teach you not to duck....'

And all the time he was kicking the dog. Not with the imprecision of anger, the kicks, not kicks to match his rage but aimed, clinical, vicious kicks. Kicks meant to hurt, to hurt deeply, to cause serious injury. Kicks meant to kill.

He kicked the dog in the head and it screamed in pain and again in the head and then carefully, aimed carefully and with great force, in the side just to the rear of the rib cage. The dog's screams had gone on all this time but with the last kick- the blow must have almost literally exploded the dog's liver- the dog fell back and grew still and it was all over...."

- Paulsen, Gary. Winterdance, New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994

[Cliff Huckable]

or this:

Other causes of death:

Causes of death have also included strangulation in towlines, internal hemorrhaging after being gouged by a sled, liver injury, heart failure, and pneumonia. "Sudden death" and "external myopathy," a fatal condition in which a dog's muscles and organs deteriorate during extreme or prolonged exercise, have also occurred. The 1976 Iditarod winner, Jerry Riley, was accused of striking his dog with a snow hook (a large, sharp and heavy metal claw). In 1996, one of Rick Swenson's dogs died while he mushed his team through waist-deep water and ice.

Iditarod dog deaths do not surprise vets:

"Veterinarians contend it is normal to expect some deaths among hundred of dogs in an event as long as the Iditarod."

- Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 1997

Dogs love to run but not run to their death:

"Rodman died during the 1999 race from complications associate with acute pneumonia. Rodman's death was tragic but not unusual. In fact, 114 dogs, including Rodman have died during the Iditarod since the race started 26 years ago. Sure, dogs love to run but not to run to their death."

-United Animal Nations, Spring, 1999

Dogs are bred and trained to be subservient and some may willingly run themselves to death. At least one musher has acknowledged this limited mental capacity:

"I've heard people say that a dog's intellectual and emotional development is about that of a three-year-old human child. I'd have to agree. They're very bright and curious, but they're also very dependent on the musher."

-1998 Iditarod musher Kris Swanguarin

"...Driving a team of 16 huskies in the Iditarod sled dog race ‘is like trying to take a group of 3-year-olds across Alaska. You have to watch them every minute."

- Eric Sharp, Detroit Free Press, March 5, 1998

Musher thinks not entering her dog who died in the Iditarod would have been cruel:

"You know, it would have been cruel and inhumane if I had not taken him on this race."

- Linda Joy discussing her dog Trim after his death in the Iditarod
- Doug O'Harra, Anchorage Daily News, March 20, 1998


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dog deaths after the race is over

Dogs may die from hours to weeks after the race is over as a result of extreme exertion or from injuries:

Dr. Paula Kislak: "119 [dog deaths] is my understanding for only in the more recent years of the race. It only accounts for the deaths during the actual time of the race. It doesn't account for the deaths that occur either before the race, during training, and after the race, anywhere from hours to days to weeks later, as a result of the extreme exertion or injuries."

Andrea Floyd-Wilson: "Now are these sickly dogs to begin with? Is that why they're dying? Or are they not in good shape?"

Dr. Paula Kislak: "No. All these dogs are very athletic but they're being asked to perform extreme and prolonged exercise that is not natural to their organ and muscle functioning. And, they are also getting injured; they're getting strangled by the towlines. There are cases of internal injuries after being gouged by a sled. There can be heart failure and lung failure in the form of stress pneumonia. It is common for there to be such a build of lactic acid and other chemicals from muscle degradation as a result of the extreme exercise that it creates toxicity to the liver and the kidneys, the results of which may not cause death for days or weeks after the race."

- Andrea Floyd-Wilson is the host of the All About Animals Radio Show. On February 23, 2003, she interviewed Paula Kislak, DVM, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.


Physiological damage to the dogs may appear during or after the race:


Andrea Flyod-Wilson: "Let's take a look at a dog that is days into the trail and perhaps not in good shape to begin with, and now being asked to pull a heavier load [because dropped dogs cannot be replaced]. What kind of physiological changes will we be looking at in their bodies?"

Dr. Paula Kislak: "There are a number of them. There would be hemorrhaging in the lungs and there would be a breakdown of the muscle tissue. When that muscle tissue breaks down and gets into the blood stream, it creates a very severe toxicity to the liver and the kidneys which can fail either suddenly or slowly. And, because of the stress on the heart, there can be sudden heart failure or there can be irreparable damage to the heart muscle, that doesn't manifest itself until after the end of the race like many of other deteriorating conditions that occur from the extreme prolonged exertion."

- Andrea Floyd-Wilson is the host of the All About Animals Radio Show. On February 23, 2003, she interviewed Paula Kislak, DVM, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.


Aspiration pneumonia, severe inflammatory reactions and resulting death may occur after the race is over:

"The inherently stressful conditions of endurance races like the Iditarod predispose dogs to vomit and have diarrhea while racing."

"Dogs that vomit while racing are at high risk of aspirating (inhaling) the vomitus. The implications of the acidic and bacterial stomach contents entering the normally sterile respiratory tract are grave. Aspiration pneumonia and severe inflammatory reactions can be anticipated with only a small number of dogs showing symptoms acutely (within 24 hours). Most morbidity (disease) and mortality (death) would be expected to occur days to weeks later which, coincidentally, is when scrutiny has lapsed."

- Dr. Paula Kislak, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, September 7, 2004 in an email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition

[Cliff Huckable]

Dogs whipped and beaten by mushers


Dogs beaten into submission:

"They've had the hell beaten out of them.""You don't just whisper into their ears, 'OK, stand there until I tell you to run like the devil.' They understand one thing: a beating. These dogs are beaten into submission the same way elephants are trained for a circus. The mushers will deny it. And you know what? They are all lying."

-Tom Classen, retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over 40 years
-USA Today, March 3, 2000 in Jon Saraceno's column


Dogs beaten for going off of trail to sniff or lift a leg and for going too slowly:

"Punishable offenses include pulling off of the trail to sniff or to lift a leg, going too slowly, not keeping the tugline tight, disobeying a command, being aggressive to humans, or fighting with each other." "...A 'spanking' may be administered with...a birch/willow switch."

- Hood, Mary H. A Fan's Guide to the Iditarod, Loveland:Alpine Blue Ribbon Books, 1996


Musher says Alaskans like dogs they can beat on:

"I heard one highly respected (sled dog) driver once state that "'Alaskans like the kind of dog they can beat on.'"

- Welch, Jim. The Speed Mushing Manual, Eagle River: Sirius Publishing, 1990


Musher says beating dogs is very humane:

"Nagging a dog team is cruel and ineffective...A training device such as a whip is not cruel at all but is effective." "It is a common training device in use among dog mushers...A whip is a very humane training tool."

"Never say 'whoa' if you intend to stop to whip a dog." "So without saying 'whoa' you plant the hook, run up the side 'Fido' is on, grab the back of his harness, pull back enough so that there is slack in the tug line, say 'Fido, get up' immediately rapping his hind end with a whip...."

- Welch, Jim. The Speed Mushing Manual, Eagle River: Sirus Publishing, 1990


Musher says mushers should always have the whip with them:

"Denis Christman passed on a piece of advice that he had gotten from Bill Taylor years earlier. Never let the dogs see the whip until you are actually going to use it. Hide it, but always have it with you."

- Welch, Jim. The Speed Mushing Manual, Eagle River: Sirus Publishing, 1990


Dogs are forced to train by pulling very heavy loads

Anabolic steriods an issue because dogs are forced to pull trucks and heavy sleds:

"The dogs are pulling sleds totaling more than 400 pounds each. To prepare, teams might pull a truck. No wonder anabolic steroids are an issue."

- Greg Cote, Miami Herald, March 5, 2002


Dogs pull trucks:

"How is Emmet [Peters] training with no snow on the trails? ‘Well, I saw Emmet hook a team to his truck,' Mark [Nordman] reported."

- Mark Nordman, is Iditarod's Race Marshall
- Joe Runyan, "Weather Confounds Iditarod Mushers" on Cabela's website, Feb. 22, 2002

"Some people use their truck. This method, though it gives control to the driver, is fraught with pitfalls. The driver is unable to sense how fast and hard the dogs are working."

- Jim Welch, The Speed Mushing Manual, 1990

"Martin Buser told me of a trick he has used when training with his truck. He has a length of very heavy chain between his front bumper and the rear end of the gangline. The chain is long enough so that he can see it from the driver's seat and heavy enough so that the dogs have to be pulling fairly hard in order to keep the chain from drooping on the ground."

- Jim Welch, The Speed Mushing Manual, 1990


Dogs pull ATVs:

"I always try to free-run the dogs with a four wheeler whenever I can."

- Doug Swingley, Iditarod race winner
- Joe Runyan, "Doug Swingley-The Greatest Ever?" on Cabela's website, Feb. 25, 2002

"Susan [Butcher] harnesses a team to an ATV."

- Ellen Dolan, Susan Butcher and the Iditarod Trail, 1993

"The four wheeler is a great training tool."

- Joe Runyan, Winning Strategies for Distance Mushers, 1997

"Comparatively few Iditarod fans realize that when the snow is gone, we still mush. Instead of a toboggan sled skimming over the snow, the driver rides an all-terrain vehicle."

- Lew Freedman & Dee Dee Jonrowe. Iditarod Dreams, Seattle: Epicenter Press, 1995

"We've been running our teams for a couple of weeks with ATVs on unpaved local borough roads." [Alaska has boroughs, not counties.]

- Bowers, Don. Back of the Pack, Anchorage: Publication Consultants, 2000

"Dogs are hooked up to all-terrain vehicles for runs."

- Jon Saraceno, USA Today, March 5, 2001

Dogs pull heavy car chassis:

"[Terry] Adkins kept his dogs working through the summer, dragging a heavy car chassis through mountains near his home."

- O'Donoghue, Brian Patrick. My Lead Dog was a Lesbian, New York: Vintage Books, 1996
- O'Donoghue was a reporter for the Fairbanks News-Miner


Pulling heavy loads harms dogs:

"In order to condition dogs for racing, they are forced to pull heavy loads like vehicles. Not only does this put inordinate stress on their cardiovascular and respiratory systems, but it also causes strains and fractures of their musculoskeletal systems and rupture of the tendons and ligaments of their joints. In addition to painful acute injuries, almost all dogs allowed to survive until middle age will experience crippling arthritis from cumulative, repetitive damage to the spine and joints."

- Dr. Paula Kislak, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, September 7, 2004 email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition


Cattle prods used on dogs

"There is an undeniable need, in some cases for negative reinforcement.

One of the most effective tools for doing this is an electrical shocker. I always bought the small pocket models available at stores that sell stock supplies which are inconspicuous, yet effective."

"This is the way I do it. Stop the team and snub them to a tree. Say the name of the offender, 'Blazo,' in a firm voice and give the slacker a short blast of electrons."

"When he slacks off again, say his name again. If Blazo doesn't hit the tow line, try it again. Usually a couple of times is all it takes."

- Runyan, Joe. Winning Strategies for Distance Mushers, Sacramento: Griffin Printing Co.,1997
- Joe Runyan reported on the Iditarod for Iditarod sponsor Cabela's Incorporated


Electric shock to terrorize dogs is very detrimental:

"The use of electrical shock to terrorize a dog is very detrimental on many levels. It will force a dog to exceed his reasonable physical limitations and predispose him to painful injuries. And psychologically it creates fear and apprehension which degrades his quality of life. The shock stimulus itself, if inaccurately calibrated, can cause localized burns or sudden cardiac arrest."



- Dr. Paula Kislak, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, September 7, 2004 email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition

[Stu Gotz]

That is the worst excuse for animal abuse EVA!

btw - the EXACT same logic was used to defend slavery.

To equate the use of sled dogs in the Iditarod to slavery is beyond obtuse.

[PNWbrit]

To equate the use of sled dogs in the Iditarod to slavery is beyond obtuse.

and offensive

Cliff please shut the fuck up

[runethechamp]

Oh, how's this:

some other stuff:

Don't come here with some animal right's activist BS when I'm asking for UNBIASED information. These guys seem to think these dogs are happier if they get to stay on the couch all day.

And when was it necessarily a bad thing to put your body under extreme physical stress. I think a lot of people on this board do the same and enjoy it. When a dog can't perform any more in this race, it's taken out of the race.

[Cliff Huckable]

Get over yourselves, morans!

I said it was the exact same reasoning used by slaveowners to defend the practice of slavery.
As you can see that is not equating one thing with another, it is merely pointing out a line of defense common to them both.

Back to school for both of you.

[PNWbrit]

Get over yourselves, morans!

I said it was the exact same reasoning used by slaveowners to defend the practice of slavery.
As you can see that is not equating one thing with another, it is merely pointing out a line of defense common to them both.

Back to school for both of you.

do you mean morons?

mo·ron
Pronunciation: 'mor-"än
Function: noun
Etymology: irregular from Greek mOros foolish, stupid
1 usually offensive : a mildly mentally retarded person
2 : a very stupid person
- mo·ron·ic /m&-'rä-nik, mo-/ adjective
- mo·ron·i·cal·ly /-ni-k(&-)lE/ adverb
- mo·ron·ism /'mOr-"ä-"ni-z&m, 'mor-/ noun
- mo·ron·i·ty /m&-'rä-n&-tE, mo-/ noun

oh and still shut the fuck up

[Dr. Gaper]

I have a friend that has THREE freaking HUGE huskies. Well, we live in the 'burbs, and neither him or his wife are very active people. He walks them maybe twice a week. He thinks he's doing them a real favor.

[lemon boy]

Edit- sorry, arguing with cunts just gets you slimy and smelly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regardless of all the BS in this thread, Congrats to Mr. Sorlie. It is quite an accomplishment and is a great testament to his and his dawg's fortitude. Truely, the last great race.