This isn’t dog sledding — it’s a theme-park imitation.
What we’re seeing here is a tourist attraction: underfed dogs, reluctant to run, dragged through repetitive short routes for photo ops. That’s the opposite of how real sled dogs are managed.
In legitimate sled-dog operations — such as long-distance races like the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race or the Yukon Quest — dogs are treated as endurance athletes: high-calorie diets, progressive training, strict rest cycles, vet checkpoints, and immediate withdrawal if a dog shows fatigue or injury.
Tourism models that cut costs turn animals into props. When dogs are visibly malnourished or unwilling to pull, that’s not ‘culture’ or ‘sport’ — it’s welfare failure.
The problem isn’t sled dogs.
The problem is commodifying animals for mass tourism.