Drag Sled Training

THE FORTH STEP: DRAG WEIGHTING
DRAG WEIGHTING

OK YOU IMPATIENT BULLY BREED OWNER: I bet you spent one day on the harness introduction and maybe 2 days on light weight introductions and down and backs. YOU FOOL! It takes time to convince your dog that this harness and dragging thing is FUN! It takes time to get the dog to associate the harness with FUN TIME!!! By skipping ahead in your systematic training ... your dog is now working instead of doing something they have learned to enjoy.

If your dog gets excited when you pull out that harness and even more excited when it is finally on then you are ready to start SLOWLY into step 4.. Drag weighting.

Drag weighting is a great way to get your dog into pulling competitive shape and keep them there. It has many benefits because, unlike cart pulling, you can do it with just you and your dog. You can use it as a building or conditioning exercise. For conditioning purposes drag weighting means you hook up a light weight (MORE LIGHT WEIGHTS???) and take your dog for a weight pull walk. Again and again let it be said:: especially the amount of weight for dragging. Start out in your yard and attach a weight (just like you did with the introduction to light weights). This time you stick with your drag sled or tire. Build your dog up to a moderate weight by doing down and backs in the back yard with your drag sled.


THE DRAGGING WEIGHT:

YOU CAN USE A TIRE WITH ROCKS IN IT, THE TOP OF A PLASTIC DOG CRATE, A PLASTIC SNOW SLED, A SPECIALLY DESIGNED DOG SLED, OR EVEN OLD TIME WINDOW WEIGHTS ATTACHED TO A TOW CHAIN.

Dog pulling a tire


Drag Sled sold by Winmor Kennels (see below for link)
After your dog is getting pretty good at dragging in the yard it is now time to begin the real drag conditioning and training. Now you will begin 0.5 to 1 mile walks with your dog drag pulling. This is the best conditioning a dog can get for weight pull training which increases strength but more importantly increases cardiovascular endurance. Aerobic conditioning means when the competition keeps going your dog will keep pulling and at the end of the day it is usually the best conditioned dog that still has enough wind left to pull that last poundage. A couple of warnings here. DO NOT OVER WORK YOUR DOG!! DO NOT OVER TRAIN!! DO NOT DRAG ON CEMENT OR PAVEMENT, FIND AN UNUSED FIELD OR LOT. DRAGGING TEARS UP GRASS AND OTHER SURFACES SO CHOOSE YOUR DRAG TRACKS CAREFULLY. IF you cannot find a place to drag weight where you are not destroying public or someone else's property then you should consider cart training with a training cart (see below). Note: the principles of cart training are the same but you MUST have 2 people at all times when cart training.

An old tire makes a good drag weight


ON YOUR WALKS, YOU SHOULD BE USING A VERY LIGHT WEIGHT NOT EVEN HALF OF WHAT YOU USED ON YOUR DOWN AND BACKS. IF YOU HAVE DOUBLED YOUR WEIGHT ON YOUR BACK AND FOURTHS, GO BACK DOWN TO YOUR BEGINNING WEIGHT FOR YOU WALKS. YOU WANT TO HAVE YOUR DOG KEEP UP WITH YOU. puppies should make the 1/2 mile mark pretty easy and certainly without digging. DON'T GO MORE THAN 1/2 MILE YOUR FIRST FEW WALKS, AND MAKE SURE IT'S NOT TOO HOT OUT. ALWAYS PROVIDE GOOD BOTTLED WATER FOR YOUR DOG. YOU CAN ALSO DO YOUR BACK AND FOURTHS ON YOUR WALK, ALWAYS USING YOUR COMMAND. YOU CAN ALSO PLAY A GAME OF SIT AND STAY. BACK AWAY 20 feet, GIVE THE COMMAND TO PULL TO YOU, AND GIVE HIM A TREAT WHEN HE COMES TO YOU.


another dog using a tire as a drag weight

A dog working out with a metal drag sled

Again as with all training of dogs, take it slow, keep it fun, don't be impatient or try too much too soon. The guy that takes his time and trains his dog the best WAY will be the one that GETS THE NATIONAL GOLD MEDAL. Dogs can drag every other day for inexperienced and when you graduate to carts and big weights (after slowly training and conditioning the dog) you can alternate drag distance with cart pulling.

Drag conditioning: The goal is to have a weight that your dog can pull continuously for 1/2 to 1 mile. Toward the end of this distance the advanced dog should be digging. However, dogs new to the walk should make it fairly easily, puppies should make it very easy. Watch for the point of fatigue and stop the dog before this point is reached. IF your dog stops during this period lower the weight and continue on for about 20-30 feet then stop. You should be using your command word consistently during the drag weight session and have water for your worker at the end of his workout. Supply water in a modest amount do not let your tired dog over indulge.
From drag conditioning you can progress to drag building or to cart pulling.

Drag Building: Here you do 20 feet down and backs with your drag weight. This building program is similar to the principle described below for cart pulling. You want to do set reps of set weight percentages off your dogs max drag weight (the maximum weight your dog can pull successfully e.g. start with 70% of the max for 4 reps etc. SEE BELOW). Unlike conditioning here you are going to continue adding weights. Again see below for the example weight pulling workout for carts and adapt it to your drag weights


A BIG ISSUE: socialization

SOCIALIZATION
GOOD SOCIALIZATION MEANS TWO THINGS IN THIS CASE..

1) SOCIAL IZ ATION OK WE PUT THE CART BEFORE THE DOG HERE!!! THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN AND IS STEP #1 !!! THIS is actually something that starts even before weight pull training and is the single most important thing you can do for your dog and the entire breed. Your dog cannot be seen as a vicious monster that wants to kill other dogs or other humans. You dog should be seen as a happy, healthy, safe member of society (THIS IS HOW YOU CAN SAVE THE BREED). This goes back to Obedience training, socializing your dog around other people and other dogs in many different environments all the time. Even a "gamebred dog" can be socialized. Many of the greatest "game dogs" in the history of our breed were perfectly acceptable, social, and safe members of society (e.g. CH Virgil ROM).
REMEMBER!!!

YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR BIG BULL DOG- FUTURE MEDAL HOLDING- GOD OF WEIGHT PULLING

LOOKING STUPID IN PUBLIC WHILE TRYING TO bite THE HEADS OFF OF CHIHUAHUAS
 
Please note: there are Chihuahuas, Beagles, Poodles, and every other type and breed of dog out there competing in weight pull and WE MUST represent our breed as good honest, safe, hard working companion dogs not as the monsters that people hear about in the papers. If your dog is NOT under control at all times and NOT socialized and Obedience trained, it IS a nail in the coffin of our breed and on top of THAT you will also be excused from the weight pull competition and forfeit your entry fees.


A group of well socialized APBTs

2) SOCIALIZATION as it relates to your pull dog training: The dog that has spent several months pulling in his yard or his own turf, with no distractions, looks great. But!!! Take him in front of a hundred people and a bunch of strange dogs and you may think all your hours of training have been a waste of time! Thus it is important to have your dog pulling in different environments.

The key here is again, small steps. Try going to your neighborhood park. Somewhere that has a natural surface (grass, dirt). Practice your back and fourths (do not do drag weights in a park and tear up the grass or turf). Make sure there is not too muck excitement at first. A park is good on a weekday, when there is not much going on. At this time you should be able to correct any major problems that your dog might be having. Again, take it slow and easy. Use a cart with lighter loads than you would in your yard. This will help build your dog's confidence in the new environment.

WARNING: Keep your leash on the dog in public especially if laws indicate you must!
WARNING!! Do not drag in areas where you are damaging public property, destroying landscaping, or making a nuisance.
WARNING!! Always represent yourself as a good citizen with a canine good citizen.
WARNING: IF people do not understand what you are doing with your dog then try explaining calmly and civilly what you are doing and why. Let them know this is your buddy and he is doing what he enjoys ... just like a body builder like Arnold Sshuartzhisname does.

"I'll be back!"
WORDS OF WISDOM: WATCH OUT FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND
AGAIN>>>>PEOPLE ESPECIALLY IN PUBLIC TEND TO BE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THINGS, ESPECIALLY ANIMALS. IF THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN A DOG weight pull, THEY MAY THINK YOU ARE "KILLING" YOUR POOR DOG OR TRAINING FOR fighting OR SOMETHING WORSE. YES!!! THESE ARE PROBABLY THE SAME PEOPLE WHO KEEP THEIR DOGS CHAINED IN THE BACKYARD. EXCEPT TO FEED THEM AND KICK THEM OUT OF THE LAWNMOWER'S PATH, THEY DO NOTHING WITH THEM. DO NOT CHALLENGE THEM. PATIENCE AND COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY HERE. JUST EXPLAIN WHAT YOU AND YOUR DOG ARE TRAINING FOR. YOU WILL PROBABLY STILL GET SOME NEGATIVE REACTIONS. BUT, AS LONG AS YOU ARE NOT DRAGGING YOUR DOG AROUND BY HIS neck, AND YOU HAVE TRAINED YOUR DOG TO LIKE PULLING. THE PERSON WITH AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE WILL SEE THAT THE DOG IS 'DOING SOMETHING OF IT'S OWN FREE WILL, AND HAVING FUN!
 

in example
STORY BY THE OWNERS OF THE #2 SHOW DOG FOR 2002 AKC CH UKC NTL GRCH GRCH SHADYTOWN GEMINI NEO D SHARK TT CGC
Ok Today (sat) Eddie and I took Neo for his 1st walk pulling a milk jug with some rocks in it (photo above). We walked to the end of our street (about 6 houses) and to the school at the end of the street. We where there about 5 minutes just walking Neo and a cop pulls up. He asked what we are doing and we told him training for weight pulls.

He asks where do they do this?? I told him that UKC, UNITED KENNEL CLUB just started doing this and we are training for it. And ADBA has been doing weight pulls for yrs. We also told him we were trying go get the dog used to the noise of the weight cart which is why he had the milk jug attached.
He tells us that he got SOME calls saying we are being inhumane and making our dog pull stuff.

He didn't seem to think we had done anything wrong and let us go. Didn't say we can't do it anymore either.

I can image what will happen when we start to pull tires ... I think we will go to another location for that training.

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