Originally posted by rebeccarichardson

I guess I have a clearer picture. But as far as S.Husky's[is that the breed?] being "born to run"........ one must still be careful...
My dog is an Australian Cattle Dog who is hard wired to herd and chase balls and frisbee's. She loves the frisbee so much she'd retrieve it to the point of exhausion or worse if she had her way.......does that mean I should allow her to get to that point just because she loves it so....?
In fact, last year she tore a cruiate ligament from landing on her knee after a vigorous session of frisbee. I have felt devastated over this....
Frisbee and ball chasing is now a thing of the past for her........dogs do NOT know their limits...that's OUR job....and somehow I think that may get missed in the heat of a race such as the Iditarod?
First off, I don't think you are much of a fair, educated judge of all this, being that you don't know what a Siberian Husky is ( ). Glacier rescued all of her dogs, they are dogs that live to run and most would probably be very unhappy if they were forced to live without it (just like most herding-bred Australian Cattle Dogs/Border Collies/etc are very unhappy without work)! There are crappy people everywhere, in every dog sport, from dog shows to sledding dogs to herding dogs. I have been to a dog show when, because the handlers wanted a win, they had their Boxer out in 90-100 degree heat all day and the dog died of heatstroke right in the middle of the show.

Next, I think it's very very sad that you would deprive your dog of Frisbee and Ball play because of a previous injury. Yes, it is your responsbility to monitor your dog during play and make sure she doesn't hurt herself. Just like you should prevent her from over-heating by offering her water, you should prevent her from being injured by taking precautions. I've taken a lot of professional disc dog classes, which teach you NOT to overthrow, encouraging the dog not to jump vertically and therefore run a much lower risk of injuring themselves, and to give your dog plenty of breaks in between. You should try to only send your dog out for far, low throws - which provides the most exercise and the least trauma to ligaments, joints, hips, etc. I have never heard of a dog being injured from ball playing.... unless they'd try to catch the ball in mid-air? My dog gets (at lEAST) 1 hour-long Frisbee and ball sessions every day, he has great hips, knees and hasn't torn or traumatized anything in the 3 years he has been doing this.