# Weight pulling for dogs



## vhale1975 (Nov 27, 2013)

I want to get my 11 month old Dogo Argentino into weight pulling! Does anyone have advice on getting started! Harnesses, food supplements, or anything you can think of! Thanks


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I'd wait another 6 months at least. I wouldn't weight pull with a dog until he's full grown. 

Then I'd look for a weight pulling club or organized class so that you can get hands-on direction for fitting a harness, starting with a safe amount of weight and such.


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## HollowHeaven (Feb 5, 2012)

I definitely wouldn't add any weight right now but you might be able to start looking for a nice harness and laying it on him to get used to it.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

I think Darkmoon does or has done weight pulling, she's not around that much these days but you could try PMing her.

At that age I think you're fine to introduce to the harness and start training with very small amounts of weight to introduce to the sensation. Like, the weight of a couple of pieces of firewood or something like that. 

I would probably try to find a couple of weight pulling events in your area to observe and get to know people. Depending on the specific sport, a lot of people are very friendly to newcomers and can really help you out. IWPA has an events calendar here: http://www.iwpa.net/Upcoming_Events.html


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## Greater Swiss (Jun 7, 2011)

I agree, wait until he is definitely grown, maybe even ask the vet about when he might be physically ready, but there is some foundation work you can do. Getting him used to the harness is a start, but you could have him pulling something light (3-4lbs) but noisy to get him used to the sensation of a little pressure, something "following" him and noise behind him.


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## Adjecyca1 (Jul 25, 2010)

As the others have said he is not ready to start pulling a lot of weight just yet, i WOULD be getting him use to the harness and getting him use to something dragging behind him (obviously something light).
I would put the harness on and get the dog use to wearing it first, feed him some treats, play a game of tug, anything to make it more interesting for the dog. AFTER you get him use to the harness and he is playing around without even noticing it is on him, after that i would attach something light to get him use to it, i like to use an empty plastic sled, but it's up to you  Keep a leash to your dog, introduce him to the word "Pull",and just walk him around with it, if he is scared of the noises dragging behind him you can encourage with treats, or increase the distance between what he is pulling and him until he gets more use to it.I would walk slowly around 30 yards at a time, and encourage my dog all along the walk "Good Boy! Work Boy" whatever floats your boat, do not allow your dog to stop until it is told to.Make sure you take things slow and make sure your dog is comfortable with everything before moving on to the next step, don't expect too much from him at this point.

Once your dog understands and is comfortable with it, i would start adding a * Little * bit of weight at a time especially since your dog is still maturing and by a little bit of weight i mean like add a log the first time, maybe two logs the second time.. But introduce the weight SLOWLY, and he should not be pulling a decent amount of weight for awhile now, add weight gradually as he grows but never enough where he strains or stresses to pull. Be sure your dog has a full understanding of your "Pull" command make sure your dog is comfortable with the harness and the sensation of something dragging behind it before adding any kind of weight. NEVER put more weight than you think your dog is ready for/can handle, you NEVER want to set your dog up to fail, he always needs to win and be able to easily move what he is pulling when he is learning.. 

Once he is fully mature, you can start working him up to pulling his body weight, add weight slowly, and at this point you are going to decrease the distance you make him pull to about 30 feet at a time, give him a rest between heavy pulls as well, have him pull give him a 15 min break and make him pull again. Switch it up one day have him pull a lot a shorter distance than 2 days later have him pull a smaller amount for a lot longer. Usually an hour long pulling work out is pretty good, i like to give dogs days off between work outs so i get them on an every other day schedule. 
Once your dog is use to pulling heavier weights, i would switch him over to dragging an empty cart at first, so he can get use to the wheels behind him (this should be easier since he already has experience with things dragging behind it) and than gradually add more weight to it...
I'm sure a lot of people get their dogs started differently and everyone probably has different ways of doing it but i hope this helped
i would also consider looking at these links
http://www.danika.com/library/weight.html
http://www.pulldoggies.com/weight_pull_training.htm


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## vhale1975 (Nov 27, 2013)

Thank you all for the great advice


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## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Here you go! www.dogforums.com/dog-sports-show-forum/86257-everything-you-wanted-know.html


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