training a husky to pull a cart/wagon

chaoticpeace <chaoticpeace.2dhgxi.RemoveThis@dogbanter.com> writes:

>we have recently added a siberian husky puppy to our family and would
>like to teach her to pull a cart or wagon (as we live in a warm climate
>and sledding is not really an option) but i'm having some difficulty
>finding information on how to train her or what equipment we need
>(other than the cart obviously) as well as how to determine how much
>weight she can pull safely without being injured.

There's plenty of info on the Web so I'll just address a few specifics
from my experience.

A puppy should not pull much weight at all. I was just moaning about
that this morning because we have a big 6 month old puppy right now
who I'd love to put in harness. I'll wait another year though in order
to feel better about not introducing problems in his development.

Until she's ready to pull a load there's plenty you can do to invest in
her eventual success. I recommend harnessing her for walks so she
associates the harness with fun outings. You can also let her drag some
light objects on your walks. Start with something quiet like a piece of
carpet. You can work up to louder objects like empty plastic milk jugs.

Keep it fun! Don't let her get spooked.

Once she's old enough to pull a load, think about heavier drags. I
started one of our recent dogs with a thick piece of rubber kennel
flooring rolled into a sled (or "sledge").
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0033/mvi_2973.avi
He did great with this and I've even recommended it for people who adopt
northern breed dogs who want to pull on walks. It's much better than
pulling the person's arm!

Shortly after he was good with the slege, I needed him to pull a banner
so I made a simple cart.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0033/img_2980.jpg/image_viewer
We used that cart with some weights and a long line for walks.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0033/img_2990.jpg/image_viewer
He took to this immediately. The cart was easy to pull and didn't
restrict his movement much at all.

Eventually he was ready for a wagon.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0034/img_3004.jpg/image_viewer

Incidentally, I started this dog pulling faster vehicles with another
dog always guiding.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0032/img_2824.jpg/image_viewer
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0032/img_2854.jpg/image_viewer
I find it *vastly* easier to use my old dogs to train the new dogs.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0035/img_3080.jpg/image_viewer
They do a much better job than I can. Perhaps you can find a dog to
work with you?

And if you just can't wait to get started with pulling real loads let
me know and I'll put you in touch with a rescue group. There are plenty
of wonderful young/adult dogs out there who are just itching to be
trained for this. If you don't want long-term ownership of a dog then
consider foster.
http://lairds.org/Kyler/photos/disk0031/img_2708.jpg/image_viewer
(The foster Huskies there, Bobby and Colton, found great homes.)

Enjoy!

--kyler
 >> Stay informed about: training a husky to pull a cart/wagon 

In article <tr3rs3-u9d.ln1.DeleteThis@snout.lairds.com>,
Kyler Laird <Kyler.DeleteThis@news.Lairds.org> wrote:
Hi, Kyler - that's all basically really good advice, but I
would disagree with this:

>I recommend harnessing her for walks so she
>associates the harness with fun outings.

Huskies can (and should) learn not to pull when walking, and
one of the mechanisms that I use to show my dogs when it's
okay to pull and when it's not okay is that harness == pull
and collar != pull. Also, if you've got a dog that's a
puller and you add some weight to slow him/her down, what
you're doing is creating a stronger puller, both in the
sense that you're building muscle and in the sense that
you're reinforcing the pull instinct. Otherwise, I think
you gave really good advice.

It's starting to look like fall, which means that a bunch of
different dogsledding clubs are having their fall seminars
and pull clinics. Even ones without the opportunity to do
hands-on pull training will ofen have "Dogsledding 101"
classes. There are even some clubs in areas that don't get
a lot of snow, where they focus on things like scootering,
carting, and bikejoring. The best place to find an area club
is probably http://www.sleddogcentral.com/clubsorg.htm.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - shore.DeleteThis@panix.com

Bad policies lead to bad results.
 >> Stay informed about: training a husky to pull a cart/wagon 

In article <chaoticpeace.2dhgxi.RemoveThis@dogbanter.com>,
chaoticpeace.2dhgxi.RemoveThis@dogbanter.com says...
>
> we have recently added a siberian husky puppy to our family and would
> like to teach her to pull a cart or wagon (as we live in a warm climate
> and sledding is not really an option) but i'm having some difficulty
> finding information on how to train her or what equipment we need
> (other than the cart obviously) as well as how to determine how much
> weight she can pull safely without being injured....if anyone can help
> me out with this type of information it would really be great, thanks

This site is about dog scootering, but it has a lot of great info on
teaching dogs to pull in general, plus sells harnesses and other types
of pulling gear.
http://www.dogscooter.com/index.html
--
Debbie the Dogged das at spamcop dot net
http://web.newsguy.com/debbiethedogged/
"Poodles are space aliens who think they've disguised
themselves as dogs." - Paghat the Ratgirl
 >> Stay informed about: training a husky to pull a cart/wagon 

shore.RemoveThis@panix.com (Melinda Shore) writes:

>Huskies can (and should) learn not to pull when walking, and
>one of the mechanisms that I use to show my dogs when it's
>okay to pull and when it's not okay is that harness == pull
>and collar != pull.

Oh! I did confuse that point. I'm usually the one who is surprised
when others do that. I'm always amazed when I see people get harnesses
for their dogs because they *don't* want them to pull!?

I put the harness on because I *do* want the dog to pull - even if it's
something trivial.

--kyler
 >> Stay informed about: training a husky to pull a cart/wagon 

In article <Tasha.2ebly3 RemoveThis @no-mx.forums.orquideologia-no-mx.com>,
Tasha <users RemoveThis @mombu.com> wrote:
>I own 2 huskies...And I was told that you cant teach them to pull until
>they are 1 year old, or you may hurt them...

No, you can teach them to pull light objects, like small
logs.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis - shore RemoveThis @panix.com

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community
 >> Stay informed about: training a husky to pull a cart/wagon 

I own 2 huskies...And I was told that you cant teach them to pull until
they are 1 year old, or you may hurt them...What you will need to teach
them to pull is the commants that you will need to teach them. You will
also need to buy a pulling harness. and of course your cart...I started
traing them with a wagon, and sand bags for the weight.


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