Iditarod musher discounts critics after dogs refused to run

By: Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Iditarod musher who was hours ahead in the Alaska race when his dogs refused to keep running is dismissing critics who say he ran them too hard and is chalking it up to a bad memory that spooked them.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/03/2019 (2748 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Iditarod musher who was hours ahead in the Alaska race when his dogs refused to keep running is dismissing critics who say he ran them too hard and is chalking it up to a bad memory that spooked them.

The team stopped last week after Frenchman Nicolas Petit (PUH’-tee) yelled at a dog that was bullying another, but he said they “did not slow down like a tired team would.”

It came a year after they got lost in a blizzard near the same spot along the Bering Sea coast.

This Wednesday, March 20, 2019, photo shows Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit posing with two of his dogs in Anchorage, Alaska. The Frenchman Petit was in the lead of this year's race but his dog team quit running after he yelled at Joey, right, to stop picking on Danny, left. Petit says that isn't the reason the dogs quit running; instead, they quit about the same point the team got lost in a blizzard in the 2018 race. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
This Wednesday, March 20, 2019, photo shows Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit posing with two of his dogs in Anchorage, Alaska. The Frenchman Petit was in the lead of this year's race but his dog team quit running after he yelled at Joey, right, to stop picking on Danny, left. Petit says that isn't the reason the dogs quit running; instead, they quit about the same point the team got lost in a blizzard in the 2018 race. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Petit said this week that the dogs are treated well and they get plenty of rest during the 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometre) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

He faced blowback, including from an animal rights group. Some speculated that Petit overexerted the dogs.

He denies the claims and says he’ll stand by his dogs.

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