[performanceknls]

I started pulling siren tonight and she is doing good. I just have her on milk jugs with a little dirt in them. I am trying to get her ready for the WPBTCA nationals so we will see where that goes.

Barca is doing great! I have him on the sled with 20lb free weights on the sled. My problem is he is pulling me on the leash and I do not want the weight on his neck I want it on the harness. By the last lap he is going slow enough to walk nicely but the first part I do not know what to do. I mean we are walking really fast so it is not my pace, I do not want to use a prong to discourage pulling so what do it do? He is also pulling into me and I am having to hold him away but my arms are getting tired. I finally started kicking him off my side. Not a real kick but nudging him off my side and it does help any pointers on that too? Thanks guys!

Oh one more! lol When do I add weight?

 

[bahamutt99]

Sounds similar to the issues I have with some of the dogs here. Pulling into the legs, pulling against the leash, etc. With the pulling into the legs, I correct it a lot like you'd correct a forging heeler, by turning into them so they end up having to back off me. It is usually paired with a hard knee bump to the shoulder if they're already well into my personal space. Its a lot easier working with the grown dogs because I can take them off leash and and not have to worry about it. What if you put a tab or traffic leash on him? Would he take off?

Do you have someone to work with you, or is it just you? Hubby can clip a leash to the back of his harness and add resistance to slow him down a bit. When I have my training partner here, we do a lot of that with the cart. (Not so much the sled.) We don't use a lot of weight, but the cart person holds on the brake line and the handler instructs how much tension they want the dog given, and then the cart person can quickly let off the tension, too, if the dog is starting to contemplate quitting.

How much does your sled weigh? If he is taking off and running with it like its nothing, you might put a little more weight on it right now. Or what if you took him out and did some intense cardio with him before you did weight, just to take the edge off his energy?

Just tossing out suggestions here. I know you understand that a lot of dog training is being there and improvising.

 

[performanceknls]

He is a meat head and I do not want to have him off leash, his booty would run off after the bulls down the street! All the neighborhood dogs get him excited too he does not want to go after them but they get him amped. The sled is about 8lbs and I use 20lbs in free weight. It's just me when I WP the dogs someone has to watch the baby I could try adding more weight but when do I know he is ready? His conditioning is getting better so he can go a longer distance.

 

[bahamutt99]

I mean you'd want to have enough weight to slow him down a bit, but not to the point where he's going to get frustrated. I've been working a little bit with Superman, and if I don't give him enough weight he will run me over! But I don't want him to be pushed so hard that he thinks he needs to stop, and since he's a puppy (a month or two younger than yours?) I don't want to physically work him that hard. Its kind of a balancing act. If he is plowing ahead with that weight, its a great confidence builder, but for him to build proper style, he needs to move steadily and with his head down. Were it me and my dog, I would probably add 10 lbs and see how he reacts to it. If he's still charging ahead, I might add 10 more.

I don't know how the real pro pullers feel about this, but I alternate between the walking-beside-me training and wait-call-wait-call training. Sit/wait or stand/wait, back up 5-10 feet and call. Lather, rinse, repeat. That more closely mirrors what you do in competition, so it has its benefit. The downside is that you have no physical control over the dog as its heading your way.

 

[performanceknls]

umm good point I could do that with a long line to keep him straight and way from the bulls! lol

 

[Black Rabbit]

Great advice Lindsay. I was having the same problems with Dosia. He would do the same trying to pull right into my leg I kinda do the knee bump too, just to keep him out of my space. Also he was dragging the tire like it was nothing and wanting to run with it. You don't want him to be able to run, but keep him at a nice walking pace. If he is allowed to run with it he might get frustrated later on when more weight is added. Lindsay had great advice and I did the same thing with Dosia. We added dumbbells to his tire. At first I added 5 and that was nothing so I added another 5. We got up to 15lbs extra, it's not too much but enough that he has to pull at a steady pace.