Beginning Weight Pull

This page will lay out the basics of weight pull training.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
This information was strongly influenced by a wonderful article by Mark Landers.


Here you will not find how to torture a dog into pulling or how to make them so afraid of something that they pull. Here you will find good training tips to get you started and teach you dog to enjoy this activity.

Before we get started lets review a few of the mistakes newbies often make! Especially those that train in other registries and for other events.

MISTAKES TO AVOID:

DO NOT RUSH INTO IT!
There are several things to consider before beginning your dog in weight pull.

1) Make sure your dog is healthy. This means a trip to the Vet. Typically in a healthy looking dog there are 3 things you will STILL want to check out. A. Check the Hips for signs of dysplasia B. Check the elbows for problems C. Check the dogs heart for signs of arrythmias or murmers.

2) Do not start by throwing your dog into a harness and hooking them up to a cart. Typically this will result in your dog thinking of this activity as a form of torture rather than a fun playtime event which they want to really work at! take your time and follow this guide and your dog will learn to LOVE weight pull.

DO NOT USE any kind of bait to incite a dog to pull.

It may seem like a good idea to get Fido's attention using raw hides, toys, food, squeakers or anything else to stimulate the dogs prey drive in order to get them to pull. The first thing to note is that typically dogs will pull for such things but then if these items are not present the dog will not pull. According to the rules of all of the major pulling organizations, baiting is not allowed during competition. Thus, if Fido pulls for food and you go to competition and they do not allow you to use bait then Fido will not pull. Not only is baiting against the rules but relying on your dogs prey instincts could lead to problems down the road. One of the major problems that occurs is that the dog very soon realizes they would rather not pull a heavy weight just to get the bait. The other even more dangerous problem is that dogs trained for bait too often end up nipping (in frustration or excitement) in the chute when they cannot pull the weight and cannot get the bait.

"When the weight gets heavy, the bait no longer is that important to the dog and
gives him or her the opportunity to quit. It may also lead to nipping in the chute. I have
seen many dogs bite their owner in excitement of trying to get the bait
::
OUCH! I think he missed the bait on that last pull.::
INSTEAD: TEACH YOUR DOG TO PULL USING PRAISE AND REWARD.

What am I going to need to train my dog to weight pull?
1. A lot of time and patience (oops there goes half the competitors )
::
Pull muth'r f' er or die::

2. A sound and healthy dog of any age (oh no I have to get health tests and do OFA? )
::
Yes nurse they didn't know "Old Ben" here had dysplasic elbows::

3. A specially designed weight pull harness ( NOT the typical moron walking around the
block with their out of control pit bull type harness you buy at pTZmart).
::
I got the toughest dog around, why do all my neighbors hate me?::

4. Object of steadily increasing weight that the dog can safely pull: 1) milk jug
containing rocks; 2) tire; 3) drag sled; and 4) some type of wheeled cart (requires 2
people),
::
OK Fido I know this is your first day but we are gonna pull and pull hard::

Another peice of Advice: Do not EVER use grandma in her wheelchair or your little brother on his
skateboard as a weight without grandmas or your parents express written permission.
::
AHHHH NO!!!!! HELP!!!!!!::

A dog that won't even walk on a leash or come to you when call, or act civil in public
needs some basic Obedience work. There are scores of books and plenty of reputable
Obedience classes in your area. Check the yellow pages.
::
YOU pull...NO YOU pull....no YOU pull::

The series of pictures above show a handler hooking her dog up to the cart. Positioning
herself in front of the dog and calling the dog using her pull command "work, work,
work". The judge seen in the background times the pull and ensures the handler and dog
follow all the rules which are designed to make the competition fair and prevent injury to
the dog.

WHERE DO I GET THE EQUIPMENT?
At the end of this page we have a list of links that will take you to those who have the
equipment.

What are the basic rules of a weight pull?
The general overview of the rules for the weight pulling are simple. The dogs must pull the wheeled cart, rail cart, or snow sled, 16 feet in 60 seconds or less, no fouls. Handlers must stand either behind the carts front wheel or in front of the dog without touching the dog. THE HANDLER CAN ENCOURAGE (yell, scream, chant, sing mantras, speak incantations, pray, dance, act
insane etc) but cannot BAIT the dog. In other words nothing can be in the hands of the
handler, not even a leash!!!! The complete rules for competitors in UKC is provided on the weight pull Rules? page.


BLUBIDOO PULLEE WOOO HEYDIDIDOO PULLEE WHOOHOO

You can try singing and dancing or acting crazy to get your dog to pull, but the best
advice is to learn HERE how to train your dogs to pull weight on a command and let your
dogs have fun learning to pull. You as the teacher must be patient and reassuring to your pupil. The dog you are working with may be a natural. But...if you ask too much too soon, you may ruin your dog.

The prime goal is to teach your dog to have fun and never EVER EVER let them know that they can fail. This means never put them in front of a weight that they may not be able to pull. You want to slowly build up your dogs strength and technique so that you end up with a dog that loves to pull and will pull HARD for you!


PUPPIES!!!!
Well first of all young pups should not be pulling weights!!! There are various opinions
but we do not have our dogs pulling anything but light weights until they are 18 months old.. Even then we build them up slowly over 6 months. At 2 yrs old we will start pulling heavier weight. By this time growth plates are fully formed, tendons are strong, muscles are well developed and
the dog should be mentally mature enough to give you their all. At this point the dog
should also be well trained and socialized around people, other dogs, and strange places.


How to work with puppies. A. puppies are obviously still growing and developing. For the first 12 months their bones are flexible, their tendons are stretchable, their muscles are developing, and their minds are immature.

First they get introduced to harnesses. B. They are taught recall (e.g. here boy come!!). C. They are given love and praise and taught that, if they do what we ask of them they get rewarded. D. We never use harsh punishment if the dog does wrong Positive Reinforcement?. Thus, later when they will do anything
for us ... and have fun doing it!!. and Finally, E. They are socialized around people and other dogs as
much as possible so that we can take them anywhere and be proud of our well-behaved
companion and their strength.

Should you buy a pulling harness for a puppy? NO, first just buy a regular walking harness
and get them used to putting it on and taking it off. When they are old enough to pull
then you should buy a decent good pulling harness specialy made for your dog. Because pulling harnesses are not
adjustable, they are crafted to the exact size of each dog, if you buy your puppy a harness
you will need to replace it every couple months as they grow and fill out. By 18 months
the dog should have most of their size and width and buying a harness will be a lasting
investment.


THE FIRST STEP: INTRODUCING DOG TO HARNESS

Dog meet harness. Harness meet dog

Actually the first step is to STOP!!!!

Did you get your dog to the vet for a check-up! Even a dog that acts healthy can have
hidden bone, joint, heart or lung problems. Before you spend $100 on a competition
weight pull harness, spend $100 to find out if your dog should be pulling. The primary
and most important health checks that would be important for most working events are
Heart function Hip, elbow, shoulder, patella x-rays looking for dysplasia (e.g. OFA, Penn-HIP)


MY DOG HAD A GREAT CHECK-UP... What's next?
You are going to gradually build your pup up over a many many months to pulling heavy
weights. Don't start heavy! DON'T EVEN START WITH WEIGHTS AT ALL!!!!!!

no weights at first ... at all!

Thus, the very first step is to introduce your dog to the harness. E.g. The first day let the
dog smell the harness let them see it as a play toy and something that when you get it out
it means one thing.... FUN FUN FUN.. Show the dog the harness, praise them for
smelling it, give them a treat and put the harness down. Pick it up and get them excited
using praise and playful words. SHow them how excited you are about everything they
do that is correct. If they smell the harness that is good praise them "good boy/girl".

THIS IS HOW TO INTRODUCE A DOG TO THINGS. LET THEM GO AT THEIR
OWN PACE.

DO NOT GRAB YOUR HARNESS OUT OF THE MAIL AND FORCE IT ONTO
YOUR DOGS neck, TERRIFYING THEM WITH THIS CRAZY LOOKING,
STRANGE SMELLING, THING.



COME HERE DOGGY DOGGY DOGGY! THIS WONT HURT A BIT!!

then the first day just let them smell it, then you
carry it around while you play with your dog and show them how exciting the harness is. The next day
pet them with it if they allow for it and then carry it around again while you play with
your dog always showing them how good and exciting harness time is. The next day you
may go ahead and TRY to put it on your dog, being very comforting and reassuring to your dog.

When they get it on show them how excited you are that they have the harness on.

... great... go ahead and put it on. BUT DO NOT
DO ANYTHING ELSE. just let them wear the harness and play with them and let them
know that when they see the harness it is FUN FUN FUN time.


Get em used to the harness!!!
DO NOT USE WEIGHTS YET: SLOW THE F DOWNOK the very first thing seems relatively simple but it the most important. Getting the dog used to the harness? Teaching them that the harness means play and fun and excitement? WHY!

Start out by putting the dog in the harness for short periods of time, say 15-30 minutes.
Play with the dog while he is in the harness. (WATCH OUT THE WOODEN TRACER BAR IN THE BACK CAN HIT AGAINST THE DOGS hocks AN BRUISE OR FRACTURE THEM so tie the tracer up on top of the harness using a peice of nylon cord while you play!) Make him feel that harness time is fun time.
Walk him at your side, back and forth across your yard. At the end of certain distances,
20-30 feet, stop and praise your dog showing them how exciting it was for you that they
walked in the harness (YOU GET MY MEANING?). Do this 10 times a day for at least
week. I know this seems boring and a waste of time but what you are doing is building a pattern in your dogs mind. THIS IS YOUR FIRST DOWN AND BACKS

THE SECOND STEP: TEACHING THE DOG THE PULL COMMAND
THE PULL COMMAND:
Take the dog on a 1 or 2 mile walk in a safe friendly location. Let him wander a little on a
long lead, then call him back to you by patting your leg and introduce a word (eg "work",
"pull", or "peanut butter"). It doesn't matter what word you use. But once you pick a word STICK WITH IT NO MATTER WHAT!!!! This will be the word
that you want the dog to respond to. Whatever word you use, stick with it. Don't change
commands. It will only confuse the dog, and be less likely to imprint in the dogs head.
You are going to use this word hundreds of times, until it becomes second nature to the
dog. As your dog moves forward with you, pat your leg repeating the command. Then
without stopping your walk, praise the dog. Do this several times, stopping and starting. Letting them play ahead or away from you then calling them over "FIdo, WORK!... Good boy EXCELLENT".
If you are in an area where the leash must be on, that's fine. Just remember that each time
you stop, you start up again with THE command.
Remember, your dog is in a harness now, but still no weight is being used. We are just getting
him use to starting and stopping with the harness on. We are imprinting the PULL COMMAND! Do this for at least a week before progressing to the next step. If you dog is not responding to the pull command, be patient and do this longer and begin really getting excited if the dog responds to the pull command. The dog has to learn that it is fun and exciting when they work for you. The owner that is BLA! and BORING! and wont GET EXCITED OVER SMALL SUCCESSES! will never teach that dog to really work for praise!

For you boring non-alpha owners
REWARD WITH FOOD BUT DO NOT BAIT: Although I do not advise it you can use food to reward (only when
the dog does something worth rewarding) when training if the dog really doesnt want to work to please you but will work for food. DO NOT use food to entice the dog forward.
IN other words do not hold the food out in front of the dog and give the command to pull.
Give the command and if the dog responds with the appropriate behavior you pull out a
treat and give it to the dog. If done correctly this is a reward NOT BAIT!!! Eventually after your training is well underway and your dog enjoys pulling you will wean them off of treats as reward
and rely on their desire to please you and their desire to have fun pulling.



DOWN AND BACKS: This is the next step and picks up where the long walks and teaching the PULL COMMAND left off. With your dog in a harness stand with your dog by your side take
a step forward giving the command "work", walk 20-30 feet stop, praise him (good
work) then pull out and give him a piece of food (reward). Turn and go back in the
direction you came 20-30 feet stop, praise, and reward.

We do a modification of this down and back. Our dogs are tought Obedience commands such as stay and sit etc. Thus, when we do our down and backs we first ask the dog to stay. We walk foward 20 feet (using a flexi lead if we are in public) then use the pull command "WORK". When they get to use we WHOOP and act so excited that the dog practically bubbles with joy.

Don't do any more than about 10 or so
back and fourths across the yard. Remember, always use the SAME COMMAND word
(e.g. "WORK"). When you come to the stop (20-30 ft.), give the dog excited praise and
maybe a treat, REMEMBER: do not coax them with the treat by holding it in front of
them while they pull. It is something that they get *and see* only after they are done.
Always use bright cheerful happy verbal praise. The early training treats encourage the
behavior and imprint the command in the dog. Later, you must wean the pup or dog off
treats as rewards. Again to reemphasize the point: DO NOT use the food as bait by
holding it in front of the dog to get them to pull. USE FOOD ONLY as a reward after a
job well done.


Do these DOWN AND BACK excersizes for at least a week until your dog really understands what is going on. If your dog is not enjoying the down and backs and having fun you are doing something wrong. It is time to either teach Obedience to the dog or really learn to get excited when the dog does what you ask. The most common thing I see with owners is they do not really express their delight to the dog. The owner goes "good boy" in a monotone voice and pats the dog. We whoop in a high pitched voice "WOOHOO excellent GOOD BOY" WOOHOOO" on and on as excited as we possibly can. If you cannot let go and really express or pretend to express excitement then your dog will eventually get bored with EVERYTHING!

THE THIRD STEP: ADDING A VARIETY OF LIGHT WEIGHTS
INTRODUCING A LIGHT WEIGHT
After your dog responds with joy and enthusiasm to your command during your walks
and hopefully gets excited when its time to put on the harness. Then it's time to go back
to the yard and put some weight on. A good time to do this is right before feeding time.
Use food to help the pup understand he's done something good REWARD NOT BAIT.
This also insures solid imprinting. Simply act like you have all week. Put the harness on
and play for a little bit. Go out to your yard all the time being happy and positive.
Everything should be done in small steps, with the end goal being a dog that enjoys
pulling. The first thing you should use with any dog of any size is something that adds
just a little bit of weight in relation to the size of the dog.

A 1-5 pound metal barbell plate tied to a nylon cable is a good first light resistance that
doesn't make to much noise. Note: after you have gotten your dog to pull a plain metal
weight use different (very light objects) to introduce your dog to various sounds arising
from the things being dragged behind them. One good noisy drag weight is a milk jug
partially filled with rocks. The milk jug makes quite a bit of noisy distraction, weighs
about 5 lbs when filled partially with rocks and is a bright white color all of which add
diversity and potential distraction to the learning experience.

There is a good chance that if your dog has had fun during your last week of work, he'll
run to you like there is nothing on it. You do not want to scare him at this point. It is
critical that you go very easy the next month or so. Attach the light weight to the harness,
keeping your dog at your side. Give your command and move forward slowly. At the
same time patting your leg. Just the way you did the week prior. It is normal for your pup
to look behind him, or to speed up a little. When you reach the end of your down and
back pull out a reward and immediately give it to the dog saying "GOOD WORK
....GOOD WORK".


dog getting used to pulling by dragging a milk jug with rocks
Reassure your dog at all times when training whether novice or pro and use your
command consistently. Do not use your command like you are mad but more like it is a
happy command and a reward is in store. As your dog matures so will your voice
inflexions. You want your voice to convince the dog that "work" is a good thing to do
and makes you very happy!

DOWN AND BACKS AGAIN: Walk 20-30 feet with your dog stop, praise him then pull
out and give him a piece of food. Turn and go back in the direction you came 20-30 feet
stop, praise, and reward. If the pup does not move with the light weight on he may not be
ready and you might need to go back to command training for another week. You can
attempt to use a leash on the collar and give him a light tug with a bright cheerful
command. "work, good boy work." in a happy voice, don't get upset if the dog acts scared
or tries to pull away. Just take it slow and reassure him that everything is ok. Take a step
back and begin Down and Backs again without a weight. Do a couple then put a lighter weight on again and try again. IF the weight will worries the dog you might have a freind tie a leash to the harness and just walk along behind the dog to get them used to having something following them during the down and backs.


Never get mad at the dog!
I must reemphasize, this is a key time in your pull dog training. You must do everything
in a systematic, step by step slow process. Always keeping patient. If you force your dog
now, you might end up with a dog that will pull, but totally out of fear. What you want is
a dog that is eager and happy to get in that harness and pull.


IF YOUR FIRST WEEK OF LIGHT WEIGHT HARNESS WALKING HAS GONE WELL,
YOUR DOG WILL PROBABLY PULL THE LIGHT DRAG WEIGHT EASILY.

RED FLAG: BIG NO NO: A TYPICAL BIG HUMAN MISTAKE WILL BE TO ADD
MORE WEIGHT. I CAN HERE YOU NOW SAYING:

"COME ON!!! DUDE, HE DID THAT EASY....LET'S SEE WHAT HE REALLY CAN
DO!!!"



Don't be dumb. Do not add weight especially with a young pup.
puppies are still growing and maturing and heavy weight pulling can alter the way their
bones and joints mature in a negative way.


This image shows a PRETTY PRETTY dog that also has bowed front legs, loose elbows,
flat pasterns, and turned out feet.


This image shows a dog that pulled weight since it was a pup so that now the pasterns are flat.

The whole idea here is that... if you slowly build your dog up in weight he will never
learn to quit with a weight he can physically pull.



Again, do this PULLING SOMETHING LIGHT INTRODUCTORY PHASE for a week
or so at feeding time. Never more than doubling the weight you started with. Go slow. Be
patient. Make it fun play time. Do not use a weight that is at all heavy.

At the end of your training sessions wait 15 minutes and feed the dog his normal meal.
Feeding too soon after a workout can cause problems. Waiting too long after a workout
can result in muscles going into catabolic (eating themselves) states. You will be
astounded how quick the progress is. After the first week of back and fourths, the light
drag weights should not be that noticeable to your dog or your pup. But do not let this
rush you too fast to continue onward ESPECIALLY WITH A PUPPY!!!!! Take time to
build your dog up.


Conformation PEOPLE
and general advice
NOTE: There is considerable controversy over the effects of weight pulling on the
Conformation of young puppies. If you are starting with a young pup (< 10 months)
extremely light weights such that the dog is not at all struggling hard nose to the ground
(digging) to pull should have no effect on conformational development. Our advice is
that if you plan to show your dog in Conformation NEVER "go heavy" with a puppy (<
12 months). Here is an example schedule for a puppy that will be shown in Conformation
and later as an adult (>16 months) will compete successfully in weight pulling



THE FORTH STEP: Drag Sled Training
Drag Sled Pulling