PullDoggies Weight pull 101

How to begin your Dog or Puppy in canine weight pulling. Weight pulling is a fun and enjoyable way to exercise and compete with your Dog. People say to me all the time does this look like a good weight pull dog, my reply is it doesn't matter what the dog looks like its the effort you want to put into training. I also hear "I want to weight pull my dog" but don't know where to start below is a good article on what and how to start training your dog for weight pulling.

There are some very basic things you can do to develop your dog into a good puller. I like to begin harness introduction at a very young age of 12-16 weeks. At this point we are not doing any more than putting the harness on playing with a tug just playing around and letting them wear it and get used to it being on. You can get small harnesses that go as small as a 12lb dog and will fit it up to about 30-33lbs. These are very inexpensive and are a great way to get going but do not work for older dogs being started unless they are a toy or miniature breed. You can also do this basic step if introducing a adult dog to his new weight pull harness.

Once the pup/dog is comfortable wearing a harness we like to have them start pulling a something small and lightweight just to get used to a little tugging and begin to get the idea for what's going on.

After this you can have them pull a Plastic bottle (2 liter or a milk jug) half full of pebbles tied to a 15-20 ft close line rope. Be sure to always have a leash on your dog. Just let them walk around and just keep the dog getting used to the tugging of the bottle and the noises it makes behind them. If your pup/dog is attacking or getting spooked by the bottle put it on a long line so the noises are quieter and further away.

Once you dog has worn the harness and you have had a little fun it is time to get serious. You will need a quality PullDoggies Harness and a Slipless collar. We like the Slipless collar as it will keep your dog focused and will not slip off but it also loosens and allows for free breathing while pulling. You must be sure to keep your dog leashed even a well trained pull dog will still use a leash on drag walks and in cart/rail training.

Once a pup gets around 6 months or is an older dog that is being started pulling and is comfortable with wearing a harness and pulling the bottle or very light weight have the dog walk 20-30 yards at a time pulling a light tow chain or small sled. Keep telling it to pull/work, whatever you want the dog to know when you want it to pull. Keep them walking if they go to stop correct them with a tug on the leash and have them walk a little more and then allow them to stop. Be sure you keep a slower pace as it will help them feel comfortable when pulling heavy loads in competition. This is when you really need to do what is called "learning your dog" during this time figure out what your dogs strengths are. The most important thing is to never set your dog up to fail, never let your dog fail and give it more weight than it can handle. You will also figure out what keeps your dog/pup most interested in pulling. Keep doing long walks as stated above with light weight being sure to give the dog its pull command and not allowing it to stop unless it has been told to do so. Give them lots of praise while stopped and while pulling, treat them if you are comfortable with food praise or a toy. The down side to using food praise or a toy is they are always looking for the food or the toy and if you are going to compete food treats and toys are not allowed while the dog is competing. What we do is give them the food praise or toy when they are done with a 45 minute to 1 hour training session. I do both we play a little, I give them a good rub down then give them one of their daily feedings. Do a good week before moving on to the next phases. Make sure you take things slow and do not push the dog at this point we want the dog to do best in the long run and not set it up to fail. Be sure you always use a leash training and keep the dog focused.

Once your dog understands its job you can start to add weight, just a few pounds at a time every other day. Be Sure your dog totally understands its command to pull and is settled and comfortable with pulling before you start the process of adding weight. You want to slowly build the dog up to pulling its body weight or with a growing pup gradually add weight as the pup grows. Once your dog can handle dragging its own body weight for 20-30 yards at a time for an hour you can begin shorter heavier pulls. At this point you will start going shorter distances going 20-30 feet at a time. When doing the shorter drag pulls only do this a couple times a week. Make sure you make this fun for the dog. Keep going over the basic command and keep the dog working when you want it to. You should do repeated drags giving your dog breaks and allowing it to catch its breath. Do repeated drags taking an hour or so for each workout. Always be sure when finished with a training session that you always finish on a positive as with any training. Make sure to take things slow and do not push your dog to hard.

Working your dog every other day is a good way to keep a good training schedule for your dog. Every other time you will want to do long drags versus the short pulls. Switching back and fourth will help keep it fun for the dog. A big focus on keeping it fun is one of the most important things of all. If your dog enjoys training it will enjoy working hard for you. Also what you are doing is with the longer drag pulls you are building endurance and with the short pulls you are building muscle mass and strength. Once your dog is good at doing these short pulls with 1 1/2 times its body weight you should begin your dog on a weight pull cart.

Beginning your dog on a weight pull cart.

When starting on a cart you will need another person to be a brakeman to stop the cart to keep it from running into the back of your dog when it has finished its pull. You can buy a simple yard cart at your local supply store or build a competition style cart. There are also a few places where you can buy competition carts from. Have the dog pull the cart 18-25ft.

The first few times have the dog pull the cart empty and get a general idea. It is best with new dogs and during training session to leave a leash on your dog so it can easily be corrected if its begins to quit or get off track. Only take the leash off on dogs that are very well skilled in weight pulling, even at that be very cautious. Add a light amount of weight if you feel your dog is ready. If your dog is being spooked by the cart have the brakeman slow it a little so it is not as noisy. If you have done your basic steps in the beginning this should not bother your dog. Be sure you keep the increments light in the beginning and always let the dog win. Do not put high amounts of weight and make your dog work hard in the beginning. Once you see your dog is beginning to work to pull the weight have them do a couple rounds at that weight. After 2-3 rounds start to bring the weight back down and have the dog pull a couple rounds back down and then finish that session for the day.

Thanks for reading - Todd Tripp

PullDoggies.com 4660 Groves rd. - Columbus, Ohio - 43232 - DoggiePullin@yahoo.com