There are actually a variety of organizations that have canine weight pulling contests, though this is the first I’ve heard of a multi-event contest like this. That 1000lb figure isn’t theoretical either. Apollo was training for IWPA pulling, and managed 600lbs at the age of 9months and doing so like it was nothing, I was ready to pull the plug cause I was worried it was to much weight on his growing frame, but he didn’t even flinch. And he wasn’t even GOOD at it. Dogs who’d been training for a while were pulling 1000lbs plus in competitions in almost all of the weight groups. Sound insane? Go here and look at the contest results. Dogs weighing as little as 30lbs pulled over 1000lbs.
I’m not sure if it’ll replace dog fighting in the culture, but I like the concept. More power too them.
In some countries, working dogs pulling carts was made illegal. You can imagine some cheapskate going, why buy a horse to pull this when I already have a dog…. Strange to hear that it has returned as a sport. Hate to think how much Chloe could pull if she were properly harnessed, although the motivation would not be food. There would have to be a cat, rabbit, or squirrel waiting for her at the finish line.
Theres actual dog carting compitions too, like horse carting shows, which are a whole seperate event from weight pulling (just to keep things interesting).
I will say that its amazing how much a determined dog can pull, and quite interesting to watch. In training treats and toys are allowed as motivation, so its possible! The breeds tend to lean heavily towards the draft and mastiff breeds, like pitbulls (of various types), huskys, malamutes, rottis, etc, but the local club here has Italian Greyhounds, boxers, MinPins, terriors, all sorts.
And its used as a socialization opportunity by a couple trainers who work with dog aggressive dogs. See, handlers are required to keep close controll, infact dogs not pulling are generally crated, and dog-dog interaction is frowned on, so it actually becomes a good opportunity for exposure.
Pulling carts by working dogs was made illegal? How strange. Used to be that dogs, in some areas, were the only drarft aniimals (think North America before the Spaniards came). Also, Mastiffs and St. Bernards were used as draft animals centuries ago. Don’t know what the difference between using a horse and using a dog are (besides the obvious things) – and cheapskate? Grass is pretty much free, while protein for dogs is not.
Ah well, to each country their own I guess.