He or she must carefully monitor the dogs at all times for signs of sickness or injury. All mushers take certain precautions to help maintain their dogs' health. To protect the dogs' feet from trail hazards, mushers use special dog booties. These sock-like booties keep feet from being cut by ice, rocks and other hazards and, in turn, keep each dog running at full potential. Iditarod rules require mushers to use dog booties in certain conditions and each musher must carry at least 128 of them with them on the trail.
Mushers also use liniment to keep foot pads from cracking in the intense cold.
At checkpoints along the Iditarod Trail, race veterinarians work to monitor the health of each team. Once again, if a vet deems any dog unfit to race, that dog may be pulled from the race. Mushers, too, can drop dogs at a checkpoint and that dog will receive medical care. If a dog is pulled from a team along the trail, the dog must ride in the sled until the next checkpoint. Once again, it is up to the musher to ensure that each dog is properly fed while on the trail.