weight pull

I have been humming and harring over the sport weight pull with Romeo. He's only 10 months, so way too young to actually do it seriousally... but just asking what peoples opinion on it is.
I know a few people are all for it and there are many against it.... I was wondering what your thoughts where.

As a means of conditioning a dog I can see no problem.

I don't like competition weight pulling because I feel it's just too much & the only thing it proves is that the owners are so inadequate that they need their dog to perform for them!

I have noticed alot of people who do it are men in other countries, but in finland 40% of the owners of weight pullers are women.
I'm rather unsure, that why i thought to ask.
I want to do something with Romeo, he's such a great little chap.
Showing just doesnt feel like it working. Romeo has that underbite... even in little match shows, even if Romeo is far better then all the other dogs in everyother way, he always places last because of his teeth. I feel so angry at the shows because people always have something so bad to say about him.
These weight pulling people wheer so nice and friendly, it was kind of a welcome change.
I have also thought about agility, but again... i'm not so sure. Finland doesnt offer much for people who own staffs.... compitition wise, they only have 'working dog' comps

I'd love to give it a go, all these things interest me. Moo did flyball once and she picked it up straight away, but there aren't any classes near us, nor for weight pulling but Moo has such a strong bold personality I think she'd love it, not even for conditioning, she is fit enough, but defo for fun Xx

Romeo seemed to really enjoy it, he wasnt botheerd at the trail fun day that was held with all the other sports avalible for staffs... he didnt seem to intrested in anything else actually..... I should be open to looking at what i can be offered. i do live in the capital city, so... you'd think they would offer more, but they dont unless your walking around with a shepard of some type.
does anyone on thise site weightpull their dog?
just curious, is the negitive image of weight pulling linked the the type of people it may attract of for some reason that its bad for the dogs?
I'd like to know both sides of the coin before i flip it. what are the risks.... what are the pros?

It is something I have thought about doing with Buster when he is old enough but I don't think there are any groups for it anywhere near me. I am going to start him doing agility though because he will love that

I think Weight Pull is a great sport to do with your dog! I wish more people did it! Saxon really seems to enjoy himself when he pulls. I think it is a great way to bond, have fun and exercise with your dog. If Saxon continues to do as well as he is doing, I may even compete with him, just to see how he does compared to other dogs his size. My main goal, however, is for him to have fun and stay fit.

He always has a smile on his face when he pulls:

I think it's great exercise as well. As the dog is fully matured and it's done gradually I don't see any issues.

I like weight pulling and will be doing it with the boys, not competing just on our own.

I had a dream i put a little red cart behind lexi

Got to say, it's something I would never get my dogs involved in. I just don't see the point, other than boosting the owners' egos. Sorry to anyone that offends.

CatStina wrote:I think Weight Pull is a great sport to do with your dog! I wish more people did it! Saxon really seems to enjoy himself when he pulls. I think it is a great way to bond, have fun and exercise with your dog. If Saxon continues to do as well as he is doing, I may even compete with him, just to see how he does compared to other dogs his size. My main goal, however, is for him to have fun and stay fit.

He always has a smile on his face when he pulls:

those are some mighty nice pictures of saxon working there
maybe, i'll just train with him... see how it all goes.... i dont want to rush into anything that i might regret, like i said... Romeo is still a baby

I thought i'd really like showing Romeo... but then people...put him down so often... and it COSTS SO MUCH... that its really starting to put me off....

your not offending anyone Caryll, well not me anyway. I asked for everyones opinion.
i think that i maybe met with negitivity from his breeder on this matter actually

Caryll wrote:Got to say, it's something I would never get my dogs involved in. I just don't see the point, other than boosting the owners' egos. Sorry to anyone that offends.

Fun!

It certainly wouldn't be to boost my own ego!

Hayley wrote:I had a dream i put a little red cart behind lexi

Maybe I could set Tilly off on the Morrisons run , only 1 case of lager to start with

i would love if romeo carried my shopping for me but i doubt that will ever happen... he's such a mans man

at the moment... for my veiw... there dont seem to be any real serious health risks besides freak accidents that could effect romeo, that or poor training.... and i'm such a hitler about rules and such that i would go so by the book i would make the book feel reckless.
It seems to have a very negitive veiw though... likes its, as Caryll has pointed out, an ego boost.
I would honestly rather people do this then dog fighting really.
I'm sure many people who do this are meat heads.... but i have faith that CatStina isnt a small willied person

Caryll wrote:Got to say, it's something I would never get my dogs involved in. I just don't see the point, other than boosting the owners' egos. Sorry to anyone that offends.

And what is the "point" of agility, or rally, or disc dogs, or dock dogs? In my opinion, the point of any dog sport should be to have fun with your dog and keep him in shape. What is the point of conformation other than to show that your dog looks better than others' dogs, I'd say that's an ego boost! Just because it isn't your cup of tea doesn't mean it's a pointless activity. My dog having fun and doing a job does nothing for my ego, it does, however, do something for my dog's waistline. He is in shape and he is happy, what more could a dog owner want?

i think we can agree to disagree on people prefrence of sport and competition. everyone has their own thing.
i'm still gearing to give it a try some day when i have more time, since for now i work so much.
Romeo has at least one more show to go to this month, its a specialty for Staffs and AMstaffs... so lets see how he goes (badly i believe)

Dave wrote:

Hayley wrote:I had a dream i put a little red cart behind lexi

Maybe I could set Tilly off on the Morrisons run , only 1 case of lager to start with

Only if its carlesburg!

I think that it can be fun for dogs. When it gets to the point of scoring points and winning then it isn't good anymore. However when its done in a fun manner then the dog picks up on that and that makes it enjoyable for the dog too.

i agree with Hayley. i think if its done for the right reasons it can be good

CatStina wrote:

Caryll wrote:Got to say, it's something I would never get my dogs involved in. I just don't see the point, other than boosting the owners' egos. Sorry to anyone that offends.

And what is the "point" of agility, or rally, or disc dogs, or dock dogs? In my opinion, the point of any dog sport should be to have fun with your dog and keep him in shape. What is the point of conformation other than to show that your dog looks better than others' dogs, I'd say that's an ego boost! Just because it isn't your cup of tea doesn't mean it's a pointless activity. My dog having fun and doing a job does nothing for my ego, it does, however, do something for my dog's waistline. He is in shape and he is happy, what more could a dog owner want?

I agree with Cat on this. Any activity which your staffie enjoys together with you is great in my book. It is all about bonding and fun. Even if you take your activity to the competitive level, as long as it is safe and your dog is still enjoying it I see no harm.

Sure, have fun. But the sort of weights that these dogs pull for competition goes beyond 'fun' and enters into the realms of ego.

You can't put things like agility etc in the same category - they are totally different.

Look, I'm not going to get into an argument. I apologised if I offended anyone, but opinions were asked for & I gave mine. My opinion is that the competitions go way too far & are totally unnatural.

P.S. I have no idea what 'dock dogs' are.

dock dogs is a sport where they see how far a dog can jump off a peir into the water

Taryn wrote:dock dogs is a sport where they see how far a dog can jump off a peir into the water

wow where can I enrol in that !! Winston would win for sure!!

im stuck in the middle on this subject what andy does with the barrel pulling to me is great looks fun for the dog and gives great shape .
the pics that cat has put up are great light weight, dog almost upright you can see saxon is enjoying it .
then you go to the next level real heavy weight dog strugling to move slipping allover twisting its back when slipping having to be shouted at to get it going into a frenzy dont look like there enjoying eyes bulging then almost getting run over at the end when they colapes and trollys still moving .
that not for me .

I've just stopped showing Kenny too, i can think of alot more fun things to do, so well done. Im not to sure about weight pull. Im just about to start Agility And i cant wait. Maybe you could do a bit of everthing. I really belive that Agility is all about the dog, where showing is about the owners. Just have fun

I must admit agility, flyball and that do nothing for me whereas caniX and weight pulling does. Each to their own i suppose

Taryn, people at shows only make negative comments because their jealous. Your boy is a real looker. I thought i'd like the shows too, but hay, we dont need some guy telling us our dogs are good or bad, we already know "they are the best"

Hi ella, i'd also love to try weight pull, along with agility and kickbike, Maybe we could all set up a team , I just dont know where to begin, how much weight etc

kenny d wrote:Hi ella, i'd also love to try weight pull, along with agility and kickbike, Maybe we could all set up a team , I just dont know where to begin, how much weight etc

Well i've started training with the boys for caniX at the moment to compete hopefully next year, and then going to add in weight pulling once i read up on it

what is caniX?
yeah well... i have a few shows that i still have to do since they are all paid for... but we will see.... so far... its not as fun as i had imagined it to be.
Oh no... i would only like to train romeo for pulling currently... i'd hate to see my baby boy suffering

caniX is running with your dog basically, they are attached to you on a walking belt and you compete over a 5km course

http://cani-cross.co.uk/

Blue would have to drag me the last 4km

Awww i'm sure you'd manage

If there was a pub at the end of the 5km then I'd probably drag him the full 5km

See theres some motivation

that sounds like something i could do but i dont know if they have such a sport here

BlueStaffBlue wrote:If there was a pub at the end of the 5km then I'd probably drag him the full 5km

Yes, but you'd also stop at each pub on the way!

ella wrote:caniX is running with your dog basically, they are attached to you on a walking belt and you compete over a 5km course

http://cani-cross.co.uk/

Oh my word....it would turn into weight pull for me as poor tyson would be dragging me along ...on my a@@@rse!