[sophistacavy]

Wow, I didn't know that they were actually taken such good care of, I thought I would like to believe that, but it's so good to hear it from someone like cavyinhawaii who actually lives where it goes on. It makes perfect sense that thats the only part that the media would show. The media typically want to blow everything out of proportion, unless its some small-town news channel like Wlos news 13 near me. The small, never-much heard of ones might as well not bother competing with the well-known, big names, so they have no use with making everything seem different than it really is. I don't like how they do that, but if they didn't, they wouldn't have a business.

I'm going to become an exotic animal vet, and I don't think that vets can save every weak or sick, or otherwise unfit animal out there. Vets are really expensive, especially if they have to drive out to a farm themselves, and if an animal is that far gone then its not worth risking finances and the entire rest of the group's health just for a few animals' sake. Yes, the vet could help, but I think that most of the farmers and people who practice culling have so many animals that helping a few get better if they're very sick isn't practical. Farmers don't really make much in the way of profits, or so I've heard. I guess they're in it because they got started, and became hooked on farming because thats what they enjoy doing.

And the more animals that are there, the faster that the food supply goes away, so the more money the farmer has to spend more often on replenishing that food supply. And in nature, I guess animals just move on to another food source once they clean out one place, and ones that are too weak to make the jouney to find a new food source just don't make it. That makes alot of sense, and it doesn't even really matter since cavyinhawaii just told us that they don't kill any of the sled dogs for the Iditarod.

And Thief is right too, in your first post where you said its probably harder on the musher. Yup, us wee naked bare skined humans don't have anything like the fur coats dogs have.
Hey, there's a siberian husky/shepard mix at Pet Harmony where I volunteer, his name is Max. I live in N.C. though, is there a way I could see if he would make a good sled dog or not? He definetely needs a job, like Cesar suggests. Max is a very strong walker on the leash, I can barely walk him sometimes L0L, he would probably enjoy pulling a sled. He likes pulling, alot. xD Are there local sled dog organizations or clubs in most towns, cause he doesn't even have a foster owner that we'd have to convince to let him go do this, I'd just have to talk to the head honchos there.

Thanks for setting me straight everyone!

P.S: Cesar Milan and Victoria Stillwell are both equal in my book, you can't really compare the two.. and they both more than likely have the same qualifications/education. And it would be hard to be a CPDT (certified professional dog trainer) without having a good strong background in canine psychology, so both Cesar and Victoria more likely than not do have experience with that stuff.....dog training is based on canine psychology. And, as I'm deducing from my [human] Psychology class, it also is based off of human psychology principles, laws, and rules, but is adapted to work with a dog's brain, and given slightly different names.

I think there should be mock-sled dog teams that do little funny recreational/pleasure races, like one starring my dog, Lexie, who's a shih-tzu. Like a run around some park. That would be so adorable...all in good fun and zero seriousness, of course.