Dog Weight Pull Contests

Home

Şansal's Pages

Sharon's Pages

Dog-Related Pages:

Savvy (BC)

Piper (JRT)

Repo (BC)

Training Classes

Behavior Articles

Mounds Pet Food Warehouse (Madison, WI) Newsletter, January 1998

By Sharon Savage, M.S.

You want a 40 pound dog to pull HOW MUCH?!! The first time I saw a weight pulling contest, I couldn't believe the huge weights that even medium sized dogs were capable of hauling. Pit Bull Terriers, the Arnold Schwarzeneggers of dogdom can easily pull thirty times their own weight. St. Bernards can haul a whopping 2500 pounds. Dogs at a meet are so enthusiastic about their sport that they can hardly stop barking and leaping long enough to get their harnesses on!

You couldn't force a dog to pull. Even if you somehow managed to be successful at home, contest rules prohibit owners from using compulsion. And in post-Novice competition, owners must call their dogs from a distance.

How then, do trainers coach their pups to want to pull? Future power pullers start as puppies pulling empty milk jugs to their owner for treats. As puppies mature, sand or rocks are gradually added to the jug before moving on to tires, sleds and heavier weights.

Owners use a trick to psych their dogs into believing they can't fail at a pull. If a dog tries unsuccessfully to haul a certain weight during training or at a competition, hidden helpers assist by pushing the sled from behind. Even though the dog is eliminated from that round, the owner praises the dog and doles out treats as if it had pulled the entire weight alone. No wonder these dogs are smug about their muscle power!

Any adult purebred or mixed breed dog may enter most weight pull contests. Weight divisions start with the "60 lbs. And under" class. However, since the empty sled can weigh about 300 pounds, Yorkshire Terrier sized canines might have to team up if they want to earn any ribbons!