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How to begin your Dog or Puppy in canine weight pulling. Weight pulling is a fun and enjoyable way to exercise
and compete with your Dog.
There are some very basic things you can do to develop your dog into a good puller. I like to begin harness
introduction at a very young age of 12-16 weeks. At this point we are not doing any more than putting the harness
on playing with a tug just playing around and letting them wear it and get used to it being on. You can get small
harnesses that go as small as a 12lb dog and will fit it up to about 30-33lbs. These are very inexpensive and are a
great way to get going but do not work for older dogs being started unless they are a toy or miniature breed. You
can also do this basic step if introducing a adult dog to his new weight pull harness.
Once the pup/dog is comfortable wearing a harness we like to have them start pulling a something small and
lightweight just to get used to a little tugging and begin to get the idea for what's going on.
After this you can have them pull a Plastic bottle (2 liter or a milk jug) half full of pebbles tied to a 15-20 ft close
line rope. Be sure to always have a leash on your dog. Just let them walk around and just keep the dog getting
used to the tugging of the bottle and the noises it makes behind them. If your pup/dog is attacking or getting
spooked by the bottle put it on a long line so the noises are quieter and further away.
Once you dog has worn the harness and you have had a little fun it is time to get serious. You will need a quality
PullDoggies Harness and a Slipless collar. We like the Slipless collar as it will keep your dog focused and will not
slip off but it also loosens and allows for free breathing while pulling. You must be sure to keep your dog leashed
even a well trained pull dog will still use a leash on drag walks and in cart/rail training.
Once a pup gets around 6 months or is an older dog that is being started pulling and is comfortable with wearing a
harness and pulling the bottle or very light weight have the dog walk 20-30 yards at a time pulling a light tow chain
or small sled. Keep telling it to pull/work, whatever you want the dog to know when you want it to pull. Keep them
walking if they go to stop correct them with a tug on the leash and have them walk a little more and then allow
them to stop. Be sure you keep a slower pace as it will help them feel comfortable when pulling heavy loads in
competition. This is when you really need to do what is called "learning your dog" during this time figure out what
your dogs strengths are. The most important thing is to never set your dog up to fail, never let your dog fail and
give it more weight than it can handle. You will also figure out what keeps your dog/pup most interested in pulling.
Keep doing long walks as stated above with light weight being sure to give the dog its pull command and not
allowing it to stop unless it has been told to do so. Give them lots of praise while stopped and while pulling, treat
them if you are comfortable with food praise or a toy. The down side to using food praise or a toy is they are always
looking for the food or the toy and if you are going to compete food treats and toys are not allowed while the dog is
competing. What we do is give them the food praise or toy when they are done with a 45 minute to 1 hour training
session. I do both we play a little, I give them a good rub down then give them one of their daily feedings. Do a
good week before moving on to the next phases. Make sure you take things slow and do not push the dog at this
point we want the dog to do best in the long run and not set it up to fail. Be sure you always use a leash training
and keep the dog focused.
Once your dog understands its job you can start to add weight, just a few pounds at a time every other day. Be
Sure your dog totally understands its command to pull and is settled and comfortable with pulling before you start
the process of adding weight. You want to slowly build the dog up to pulling its body weight or with a growing pup
gradually add weight as the pup grows. Once your dog can handle dragging its own body weight for 20-30 yards at a
time for an hour you can begin shorter heavier pulls. At this point you will start going shorter distances going
20-30 feet at a time. When doing the shorter drag pulls only do this a couple times a week. Make sure you make
this fun for the dog. Keep going over the basic command and keep the dog working when you want it to. You
should do repeated drags giving your dog breaks and allowing it to catch its breath. Do repeated drags taking an
hour or so for each workout. Always be sure when finished with a training session that you always finish on a
positive as with any training. Make sure to take things slow and do not push your dog to hard.
Working your dog every other day is a good way to keep a good training schedule for your dog. Every other time
you will want to do long drags versus the short pulls. Switching back and fourth will help keep it fun for the dog. A
big focus on keeping it fun is one of the most important things of all. If your dog enjoys training it will enjoy
working hard for you. Also what you are doing is with the longer drag pulls you are building endurance and with
the short pulls you are building muscle mass and strength. Once your dog is good at doing these short pulls with 1
1/2 times its body weight you should begin your dog on a weight pull cart.

Beginning your dog on a weight pull cart

When starting on a cart you will need another person to be a brakeman to stop the cart to keep it from running
into the back of your dog when it has finished its pull. You can buy a simple yard cart at your local supply store or
build a competition style cart. There are also a few places where you can buy competition carts from. Have the dog
pull the cart 18-25ft.
The first few times have the dog pull the cart empty and get a general idea. It is best with new dogs and during
training session to leave a leash on your dog so it can easily be corrected if its begins to quit or get off track. Only
take the leash off on dogs that are very well skilled in weight pulling, even at that be very cautious. Add a light
amount of weight if you feel your dog is ready. If your dog is being spooked by the cart have the brakeman slow it
a little so it is not as noisy. If you have done your basic steps in the beginning this should not bother your dog. Be
sure you keep the increments light in the beginning and always let the dog win. Do not put high amounts of weight
and make your dog work hard in the beginning. Once you see your dog is beginning to work to pull the weight have
them do a couple rounds at that weight. After 2-3 rounds start to bring the weight back down and have the dog pull
a couple rounds back down and then finish that session for the day.

Thanks for reading - Todd Tripp