Nicolas Petit of Girdwood, Alaska, and his 10 dogs were just off the Shaktoolik check point on a stretch of Bering Sea ice when a disagreement between two dogs, a veteran and a younger dog, caused the sled to pause, then completely halt, when Petit raised his voice to discipline the animals.
The 38-year-old's sled earlier in the day left Shaktoolik in the lead "like a rocket," he told
local television station KTUU. But then one of his dogs wanted to stop for a bathroom break and an older dog jumped on top of it in disagreement. Petit raised his voice and it spooked the rest of the team, which refused to mush.
"Everybody heard daddy yelling. Which doesn't happen. And then they wouldn't go anymore. Anywhere," he said to KTUU.