@dagodingo sad, but true
So what did you do with your Basenji today?
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Sounds like you all had a great time Jason!
Here is what we did today, before I had to go to work. We went over to a dog facility and got a work-out! Did some pulling practice with the kids. I didn't have a lot of time, so we only did a few rounds and then headed home. They pulled between 300 - 400 lbs I think, wasn't paying close attention.
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ComicDom- I understand with living in a rural area, I missed that the first time I will admit I'm super short so I actually only have a 24" bike. I think as long as you can get it so that Roo would be on the right side of the bike you wouldn't even need a different style of bike and can still have him run with you on the places that bike out to where you walk them.
I don't see why the Walky wouldn't safe to use with a trailer also since it is attached to a different part of the bike. Looking at the pics of the link you posted for the bike that yous looks like you could easily attach a Walky dog to the horizontal post right under (around) the seat (not the vertical post, that would/could get in the way of the chain).
For your Boston girl, she would be okay if you don't put her into a full sprint and when you start her exercising her it's not hot and you don't put her distance for more than 2 miles at first.
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Sounds like you all had a great time Jason!
Here is what we did today, before I had to go to work. We went over to a dog facility and got a work-out! Did some pulling practice with the kids. I didn't have a lot of time, so we only did a few rounds and then headed home. They pulled between 300 - 400 lbs I think, wasn't paying close attention.
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WOW Kelli that sure beats what we did today. Just so I understand you do this for strength training for your B's? Do you worry about them getting injured pulling all that weight? What has been the benefit of this type of training and has it paid off for you?
Jason
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ComicDom- I understand with living in a rural area, I missed that the first time I will admit I'm super short so I actually only have a 24" bike. I think as long as you can get it so that Roo would be on the right side of the bike you wouldn't even need a different style of bike and can still have him run with you on the places that bike out to where you walk them.
I don't see why the Walky wouldn't safe to use with a trailer also since it is attached to a different part of the bike. Looking at the pics of the link you posted for the bike that yous looks like you could easily attach a Walky dog to the horizontal post right under (around) the seat (not the vertical post, that would/could get in the way of the chain).
For your Boston girl, she would be okay if you don't put her into a full sprint and when you start her exercising her it's not hot and you don't put her distance for more than 2 miles at first.
I hear you. I do not think it would be a problem to attach the Walky but I do not think I could pedal slow enough for my Boston so if I do decide to go with it she will have to stay at home and miss out. I do like to go to the park twice a day in the summer and when it gets hot the Boston stays home anyway. My biggest concern of course is safety for my dog. While I think this is a much safer way for my Dog to get to run while I am biking, I want to make sure that the road he does this on is safe for him as well.
Jason
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WOW Kelli that sure beats what we did today. Just so I understand you do this for strength training for your B's? Do you worry about them getting injured pulling all that weight? What has been the benefit of this type of training and has it paid off for you?
Jason
Not Kelli, but we have tried this with Querk (who OF COURSE, is a puller!)
Everybody who weight pulls will tell you that a dog won't pull more than they are able. I think the main benefit is that the dogs enjoy it, and it makes them tired
There are dog weight pull competitions, mainly for sled dogs, but sometimes they allow all breeds to enter, so you can win ribbons and stuff too. -
We spent the day in our backyard reconfiguring it to better suit dog and human needs
We have a bay window in our family room that juts into the backyard. For the past couple of years, the dogs have been realizing they can torment each other through the window (some dogs inside, some out). So we needed to make it so the dogs that are outside can't get to the window. It just so happens that is where my herb garden is, and the dogs have been trashing my herbs for an equally long time. So we built a protective fence around the herb garden and window…yeah, a three foot tall, wood and wire mesh protective fence. Hopefully that will keep them out!!! I will post some pics when I have a chance.Just to make it clear, none of the dogs stay outside...they all live inside, but this occurs when they are enjoying their yard time.
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Just so I understand you do this for strength training for your B's? Do you worry about them getting injured pulling all that weight? What has been the benefit of this type of training and has it paid off for you?
Yes, we do it for strength training. Both for overall exercise, but also because we are working towards pulling competitions. I have enjoyed doing quite a bit of different kinds of events with my dog, and this was one more thing I learned about and thought would be nice. And a bit unique for our breed. lol
I am not very worried about injuries. Everyone was at least a year and a half old before they ever started trying to pull anything. It's a sport just like any other, where you start out slow and work your way up to competition level. And like Andrea said, this is not something you can force them to do. If they don't want to, or don't feel comfortable, then they won't do it. Especially Basenjis, we all know they are NOT the kind to want to please. lol The dogs only do the heavy weights once in a while and you build up the whole time. Just starting with a few pounds and adding after each successfull pull or two. Most of the "training" is actually conditioning at home with road work and a just a few pounds of weight once they work up to it over a period of weeks. I think I would be more concerned about an injury in lure coursing, where the dog is going off instinct and drive, and will run and run because it's brain is telling it to, and will run even if something happens or it's not feeling well. Now a Basenji is a little more likely to quit when things aren't right, but not always.
The benefit is it's one more thing the kids and I can do together and more accomplishments for them to achieve. Also a big benefit is that it gets them in shape for any other thing they do. They're muscled up and look fabulous for a show, and they're fit and ready to run for a lure trial, agility trial, etc. I can't really tell for sure if it's paid off yet, as we have only done the pulling this winter other than a couple times sporatically a couple years ago. And we really haven't done much running yet, nor are they really conditioned up yet either. It's still really early in the game. However they have something nice to show for it already on paper. A new title for each, and two are already a third towards the pulling championship. There are 6 possible pulling titles you can earn, and this is for UKC. They are open to all breeds, and even mixed breeds, and are similar to AKC. There are several other pulling organizations, some are all breed and some are only for pit bulls and the like.
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I can really see how this would muscle a B up for the show ring! Who would have thought that they would create a pulling event like this that Basenji's could participate in.
Jason
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kiroja, can you link us up to a web site for additional info on the weight pulling? It looks quite intriguing.
Do they class by height, weight, breed, ?
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Sure! I have only worked with UKC at this point, but there are others out there.
http://www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/WebPages/DogWeightPull
The dogs are divided into classes by weight. Placements are given out in each class, although they really don't matter much. The weight classes are 15 lbs apart for smaller dogs and 20 lb increments for big dogs. For example, the Basenjis bascially fall into the 30 lb class. (anything from 16 to 30.9 lbs) There are two ways to calculate placements, and it is decided ahead of time by the clubs holding the event. Format A is by most weight pulled. Format B is by most weight pulled per pound of body weight. It is calculated as a percentage. Most clubs do format A one day and format B the next. Also each day there is an overall winner for both the most weight pulled and most weight pulled per pound for all classes combined. I have seen everything from an American Bulldog to an Italian Greyhound win the most weight pulled per pound.
All titles in UKC are earned by each dog's individual pulls compared to their own body weight. So classes and placements really don't matter, except for fun. There are 3 types of carts/surfaces to pull with, and each has their own point scale. Snow pulls are the hardest, so it doesn't take as much weight pulled in those events to earn the same amount of points as say a pull with a rail system. Wheeled cart pulls are inbetween, and the rail carts are the easiest to pull. Therefore it takes more weight to earn points. For example, a qualifying score for the first title takes only 3 times the body weight on snow to earn. It takes 7x the weight if its a wheel cart, and then 10x the weight on a rail track. Then to earn championship points after your first title, you only need to pull 5x body weight on snow, but you must pull 10x weight for wheels and 20x weight on rails! The more you pull the more points you earn, up to a max of 20 pts per event. Some titles can be earned by pulling on any of the surfaces. Other titles are for showing off versatility and the dog must earn so many points in two or all 3 of the surfaces to get them. There are 6 titles total you can earn.
IWPA is another organization just for pulling, and they accept all breeds. I have never pulled with them however because the closest pulls in my region are over 3 hours away, up North. We have enough to do with everything else in the dog world that I don't need to make those kind of drives for this. lol
APA is another one I just found this winter doing some googling. They have some pulls very close to home this summer so I am looking forward to going. I don't think they're a very big or influential organization to bother pulling with, at least for Basenjis, but will be nice to check it out.
I think these are all the ones that will accept all breeds. Both IWPA and APA I think give points based on class placements, so I know they have some different formats than UKC.
The only thing you really need is a custom fitted harness. It's an investment of about $50 -100 depending on who you go with and what you make of it. There are 3 harness makers that I've either used or know others personally who have, and they all do nice work and come highly recommended.
Missy Kehler - The Working Canine (she's in the middle of redoing her site)
http://www.theworkingcanine.com/Harnesses By Carol
http://harnessesbycarol.com/CD Pits
http://www.itsmysite.com/cdpits/Most of these sites also have links to training articles, so search thoroughly.
Our club got to host the "national" snow pull this year for UKC, organized by UNWPA. Here's a link to my little Roxie placing 4th in her class of 8, beating out 4 other Basenjis. This was only two weeks after her very first pulls. (And yes, there's more than one of us crazy Basenji people out here!) And two of those placing Staffies flew out from CA for this! lol Our lovely frigid below freezing MI temps were so welcoming.
And check out our little racing friend BJ, the IG!http://www.unitednationalweightpullassociation.com/2009%20shows/UNWPAsnowpull2009.htm
