What to do with a dog who likes to PULL...

[tx_cowgirl]

No, I don't mean pull on the leash. I mean pulling as an activity! My Rottie/Pit Bull/??? mix, seen in my gallery and my signature, loooooves pulling. Living in Texas, it's not like I can go buy a sled and use it every winter. Most of the time, my winters have little to NO snow at all whatsoever. In my part of the lone star state anyway.... I have considered purchasing or building some kind of small cart.

When I'm working around the house, sometimes I'll hook him up to a little wooden wagon that we have and let him haul around whatever tools I'm using. ^^ Haha! He just loves it. Cheesy, yeah I know, but he likes it and it sure is handy. Since he likes it so much I'd like to figure out some kind of activity for him to do that suits this climate. So far all I've thought of is just putting weight into some kind of little cart and going out for a walk. Sure would get some funny looks, but heck he'd love it! I don't do scooters or bike rides, also...so that eliminates that. Our Christmas card this past year was my 3 big dogs hooked up to a medium-sized wooden wagon(it's just a decoration with flowers in it) with Nick, the Chihuahua sitting in the wagon surrounded by a bunch of presents. All the big dogs had reindeer antlers on and Nick was wearing an elf suit. ^^ I'm not normally into dressing up my dogs, but it sure made a cute card.

Anywho...just wondering if anyone had any ideas to fuel Rusty's pulling passion. Thanks guys!

 

[Jean Cote]

Pull you on rollerblades? HeHeHe, although that could be dangerous.

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Lol, could be....he would be fine I'm sure, but me....haha. Would definitely take some practice. We'll see. Thanks Jean!
Lucky you with your snow in Canada. Lol.

 

[alee]

OH yeah and thanx to all the snow down here we get a few snow days now and then where school is cancelled.

 

[ruffmuttk9z]

Rollerblades would work as would a dog scooter. I know you said scootering never interested you, but it never interested me either until I found out that my dogs could participate! It's lots of fun for both dog and rider! And MUCH more of a workout for rider than I ever thought it would be!

 

[snooks]

scooterjoring

i agree scooterjoring or urban mushing os LOADS of fun. LOVE IT!!

 

[brenda taulbee]

I've seen several methods that can help a dog get its pulling fix in. The popular thing out here (if you have the space and the money) is to rent or buy an ATV, and hook the dog to that. You can put it in neutral and have your pooch pull, or drive it at a slow speed so he is still pulling, but not working as hard. A lot of people do this with their sled dogs when there isn't enough snow to run the sled.

Another thing I've seen (if you're interested in getting some run time in too) is a device that attaches a harness around your waist to a harness on the dog. You start jogging together, the dog starts pulling making your running easier and giving that feeling of pulling your weight and his own.

Hope this helps!

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Oh it's not so much that the scootering doesn't look fun, more that I simply have ridiculously HORRIBLE balance unless I'm on a horse. Haha! Course I suppose with scooters it doesn't take too much in comparison to a bike. Might have to give it a shot.

I do actually have a 4-wheeler, hmm...I'd probably drive slow; don't want him overexerting hisself. We do jog, but he's leash-trained and just stays in position off-leash as well at the jog...lol, so no go there.

Hmm...thanks for the ideas guys! Got the creative juices flowing now....we'll see what we decide on.

 

[snooks]

the running with harness is called canicross and there are extremists and a growing number of organized races. i have balance and spinal problems and am scared to ride a bike but the scooter is very easy to step off and a good one has killer brakes. you could walk with canicross equipment or get into organized weight pulling like lug nuts. http://blog.nola.com/animals/2008/08/lug_nuts_workshop_and_event_co.html

then there are carting clubs and dog sulkies similar to horse sulky racing.
http://hometown.aol.com/dogcarting/DogCarting.html
[media]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=F_YZLqkyuhg&feature=related[/media]

there is a scooter trike which requires no balance and the dog is in a fixed frame/position at ur side. this frame also fits to a 2 wheel scooter. this vid has both
[media]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nuOq94fCBYw[/media]

go to YouTube there are hundreds of ideas. have safe fun. :dogbiggrin:

 

[tx_cowgirl]

Wow, very neat. Thanks! I don't necessarily have "balance problems" due to any medical conditions, I'm just a natural born klutz who never pursued bikes, scooters, etc....just horses. I will definitely look into what you have suggested though!

I have looked into weight pulling, as I know Rusty would love it, but we're still working on his dog aggression, so as of yet we're avoiding competition of any kind of sport. He's not quite there yet. ^^ Thanks for the links and vids Snooks!

 

[snooks]

oh i'm an awful klutz too. :doglaugh: at least the dogs don't care. it is amazing what some people do to have fun with their pups. i love seeing/trying.