The dog team who was leading the pack in Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race lost their position after the team went on a canine strike following a yelling incident. As reported by the Associated Press, Nicolas Petit’s team refused to continue running on Monday morning after he yelled at a dog named Joey who had instigated a fight.

Petit explained what happened to the Iditarod Insider,

“I yelled at Joey, and everybody heard the yelling, and that doesn’t happen, and then they wouldn’t go anymore. Anywhere. So we camped here.”

According to Petit, the dogs are healthy and well-fed, but hearing a teammate get into trouble, got into their head. He expressed hope that seeing other teams run past would inspire his dogs to start running again.

PETA doesn’t agree with the musher – in a statement, PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman voice disdain for the race:

It’s not the dogs who need to have their heads examined — it’s anyone who supports this merciless race. Illness, injury, or fatigue likely prompted Nicolas Petit to drop four dogs from his team, forcing the remaining 10 to work even harder before they gave up altogether, which he blamed on ‘just a head thing,’”

What do you think? Is the Iditarod race cruel, or is it a sport like any other, providing highly trained canine athletes the opportunity to show their stuff? Feel free to comment below.

(Image via Pixabay)