Weightpull & Bitework with Retriever

First of all, get him used to the harness. Then, starting on command with just the traces dragging.Then move up to a drag bar, which is usually a piece of wood with 2 plastic milk jugs attached. Then the tire. Once you get to the tire, you can do some distance pulling to build up confidence and stamina. I used to put a board inside the bottom of the tire so I could add weights. Slowly increase the weight while decreasing the distance pulled. You can bait him at first, but I suggest not, because it is not allowed in competition. Some dogs will do well, others don't have the heart for it. Above all, this should be a fun task for both of you, keep everything positive. If he stops pulling, help him pull it the rest of the way. Here's some information and links for supplies on the subject... Good luck. http://www.iwpa.net/

as far as this topic goes, can anyone provide a good source for the proper type of harness? I am considering traing my mastiff in this area in a while, but would like to educate myself better on the subject first and part of that is researching the proper equipment.

Go to this site for good weight pull infor, www.mountaingatorkennels.com hope this helps.

I havent orderd anything from this company but I have friends who have and they say the equipment is realy good. It is important to get a proper harness for pulling as other harnesses not intended for pulling put pressure on all the wrong spots which could cause you to have a lame dog due to injury. www.blackicedogsledding.com Another great one is www.alaskandream.org Charlotte, the harness you suggested is not designed for any serious weights. For serious weights I recommend a harness with a Y chest, not a band like that one has.

ren...thanks again for the links and your willingness to share what you know. As i said, I need to make sure Clyde's obedience is rock solid before I begin this, but will definitly be educating myself in the meantime. I'm thinking that if all goes as planned with the therapy work and the pulling, I'm gonna torture him at Christmas. I'll put reindeer ears on him and make him pull a sleigh(wagon in costume) filled with presents. :D :D :D . Only problem is, I'm gonna have to find a Santa suit for me.

No 9month old pup should not be pulling much weight ESPECIALLY not a 9 month old mastiff puppy ;) At the kennel, we dont start training pupsuntil they are about 8 months old BUT they are put in large teams so they really arnt pulling much weight at all. By the time time they start figuring themselves out in a large team and really know what is expected of them and how to do it properly so they "graduate" to smaller teams, they are a year old if not more. Mastiffs shouldnt be expected to pull weight until at least a year since they are so slow to mature. Too much weight too early is hard on the developing joints and could lead to problems later on that may not have otherwise occured...

nice :wink:

ren...would you recommend any type of training to a least see how he might handle pulling? I am stiil working on the obedience to get that locked in, but am wondering if it would be ok/wise to have him pull anything at all(even just light weight stuff) to see if this is even likely with him? I am just wondering if there's a good way to "mock" the pulling so I can see if he's gonna tolerate it or not. I have no intention of really working this until obedience is solid and he's a bit more mature/grown cause I really don't want to deal with the negative possiblities. Just looking for advise. Thanks.

Deb, yes very much so!!! It is very easy to "ruin" pulling for a dog especially when working with pups. IF you make a mistake that freaks them out bad enough they may never take to it. We had a problem like that with a pup at the kennel. We were running her with an experienced team (the only dogs fast enough for her) but halfway downt he trail there was a mix up (dunno what happened as I was not running them) and a fight broke out between the older dogs. By the time I got there with the snowmobile (not long which goes to show how fast something can go wrong) she had slipped her harness and was balking and straining and screaming trying to get away from the feuding dogs. We got everyone sorted out but when we went to hook her back up (I had tied her to the snowmobile) she flipped out and started shaking she was so scared. I took her back sperately and the rest fo the dogs and thier musher finished the run. She remained spooked for the longest time and was almost placed in a pet home as we didnt think she would come around from her traumatic experience. But luckily she would run with her brothers at least and we slowly introduced running with the older dogs again and now she's doing just fine!

Deb....I don't currently have a harness as, at the moment, I am tryig to gather the info before I figure out what to do next. Currently, Clyde is 5.5 months, 25 in at the shoulder and right at 100lbs. He's got the right temperment to just shrug things off as they are encountered, so I really don't think that I have too much to worry about with him keeping his calm, but one never knows. Thanks to you and ren for the advise so far. Please keep it coming as I am new to this whole "working" dog thing.

While I'm not into competitive weight pull (yet) or sledding, I do have my CO bitch do some pulling just for extra stimuli and exercise. I'd say that with starting out, the biggest thing to remember is not to push the dogs too hard. As Deb and Ren said, baby steps!!! This is not only applicable because of the possible mental problems that might occur, but the physical. Also, keep in mind that it should be FUN for not only you, but your dog. If you've done everything right and started them off slowly, but they still aren't showing signs of not wanting anything to do with it, then it might be best to find another form of work for them to do. Forcing them to do something will only end up undermining your relationship. My CO bitch will pull for me even though she is not too keen about it. So I only do it for short periods of time with her. I do not try to push her too far or long - only as much as I know she will do it. Every time we go out we go slightly further, but I never try to push her more than she's obviously not willing to do. Good luck. :)