Got the pics/vids from the Fun Pull last weekend! Check it out-
Milo Making it look easy! (ok it was a warm up run, but still):
A few Shots of Mabel in Action-
Here is Mandy handling-
And here we pull out the “Big Guns” and bring in Grandma to handle!!!!
She LOVES her granddaughter!
And yes Mabel’s weights are super light, but……..
A. It’s about the experience, not “winning”.
B. She had double TPLO surgery about a year ago, so we think this is DAMN impressive!
Last but not least…. Bella:
Yesterday was a BLAST at Finish Forward! They had both a Competition Pull, AND a “Fun” Pull, for dogs ad handlers with no experience. We pulled 3 of our 4 Bullies (jax is out with an injury), and they all did GREAT!!!
As we’ve said before…. Weight pull is pretty much amazing for both the dogs, and the relationship with the handler.
We will have a full report up ASAP with pics/vids.
Stay tuned!!!
In the mean time Check out Finish Forward’s Tuesday nights Weight Pull Class. Mandy is there for pretty much every one! Introduce yourself.
Oh, and…… Want you dog to pull, and don’t have the time? Give us a call…… We’ll work them out for you!
Oh yeah! Down East Sled Dog Club and the City of Westbrook are hosting a sledding/skijoring event. Its part of their Winter West Festival downtown.
I think it’s too late to enter, but the races are scheduled to loop a golf course, so it should be super spectator friendly.
This is my second season sledding recreationaly, and I’ve only skijored twice, and I’ve never even seen one of these events, so…… I’m watching this one to get a feel for it. I plan on taking our dogs to the next one at the end of Jan!!!
I’ll keep you posted.
Here’s a collection of photos and a short video of an outing we just did during the first big snowfall of the season.
Amanda ran with Milo (65lb APBT) and Mabel (45lb APBT) on the kicksled. And I used Bella (75lb Alapaha), and Jax (50lb APBT) on my new Ski/Sliding snowshoe things.
What a blast.
(Jay going down!)
Oh, man…. I’m excited to get the Sled, and Skis out!!!!!
I’ll try and post pics/vids of the first snow pull of the season.
Oh yeah! I got me some sliding snowshoes!!!!!
These bad boys are a cross between Backcountry skis, and Snowshoes.
In my zeal for bad ass dog activities under ANY circumstances, I’ve run into some snags with the tapering period before and after the snow season. My kicksled, is awesome for when it’s been snowing regular. But, if you hit patches of thin cover you’re carrying that rig. Not fun.
Oddly enough, the kicksled sucks in fresh deep snow too. The runners are are only about two inches wide, and so they just sink into fresh deep powder. Come to think of it, the kicksled is really only awesome on packed trails. Now, that said, on a packed trail, it’s about the coolest thing in the world!
But, I’ve run into problems on un-groomed trails. If it’s real deep, the sled sinks. Snowshoes don’t help, at least not for a pulling scenario!
The obvious answer is for big, backcountry skis!
Sure. But, here’s my issue with that. I wind up getting out of the skis, a ton during an excursion. To walk to the trailhead. To walk through a dry, or rocky patch. Or, even ditch, or ravine crossing.
The trail by my house is a perfect example. There’s two ways to access it. A 3/4 mile walk on the road, that even when the trail is beautiful, the road can be dry, and no good for sliding. Or, through a deep un-groomed field about 2 blocks long, and a ravine crossing.
Both options suck bad with a sled. And aren’t much better in ski boots.
Enter the “Sliding” snowshoes!
They are fat, and short like backcountry skis, so they’re great for breaking trail in deep snow. Plus, they’ll SLIDE like skis….. Which is good if there’s dogs pulling you! But the reason they’re way cooler than regular skis, is that they work with my regular boots! Which means, I can throw them on my back, and hike it, if there’s not enough snow! That means, there’s no risk in picking the wrong equipment. If there’s enough snow, we “skijor”. If there’s not, we are Canicrossing!
Bring on the snow! Or not, doesn’t matter.
BTW, if all that sounds like too much hassle for you, but you’d still like your dogs out on the trail…..
Give us a call. We’ll pull em for you.
Snow, or not.
Yes!!!!
3 Bad Bullies just got our hands on a brand new Kickbike Cross Max!
These things scream to be pulled by dogs. They are stable, and have shocks like a mountain bike. So, they can totally handle off road rough housing. But, they’re super easy to step off of if things get squirrely….. Which, with dogs pulling you off road, can sometimes happen. That’s the main difference for the dog sports. Bikes are hard to get off of at speed. But these are a little less sketchy feeling.
Anyway, We just added one to our arsenal of Canine Exercise Therapy equipment.
If you want to get your dog in on the action….. Give us a call. We’ll run ’em for you!
Tell you the truth, I’ve had mixed feelings about weight pull for a long time. Until recently.
When I was a kid, weight pulls were basically just legal venues for all the guys that fought dogs to gather publicly and check out everyone’s competition. Kind of a meathead gathering of guys living vicariously through their dogs. I was turned off by weight pull around the same time I began railing against dog fighting. So for about the 25 years I kind of disregarded it.
Until recently. I was re-exposed to weight pull in the spring of 2012. And you know what….. It was cool. The tough guy wannabe’s were noticeably absent. People were very friendly. Not a dog fighting supporter in the bunch.
That was when I was able to look at the sport with an open mind.
And what I found was, one of the most awesome training modalities ever!
Weight pull takes a dog/handler team that is in perfect sync. It totally appeals to the coach in me! You have to know your dogs mindset perfectly. You have to be able to tell when they’re into it and when they’re flagging. You have to push them, without it ever becoming a bad experience. You have to spend time in training, developing in them the DESIRE to pull FOR YOU.
That’s the cool part, I think. In competitions (and for most in training), you can’t use anything except praise to motivate your dog. Think about that. Not a toy. Not a hot dog. Not cause you’re yelling and they are scared not to pull. They have to pull this absurd weight…… Just to get to you for a hug.
Wow. The first time I saw it, I almost cried. You can really see the true nature of the love, and determination in a handler/dog relationship when that cart gets heavy. It really is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen done with a dog.
Aside from the relationship building aspects of weight pulling, there are a ton of reasons to do it. It’s a tremendous workout. It’s like Powerlifting for your dog. VERY TIRING! It’s also very environmentally challenging for some dogs. Huge harnesses. Sleds, carts, and drag weight clanging around behind you. Not to mention spectators and so forth if you compete.
As I say with most of these sports, if you want to do them with your dog…… Find a trainer and jump in.
If you don’t have the ability to do it with them, call us! We’ll be your dogs very own weightlifting coach.
Let us come give your dog an amazing workout!
3 Bad Bullies 