Anne - I am not being stupid and apologise if it seems that way. I just do not understand why the dog needs to pull weights.
With all due respect Anne ... not all of us live in the UK or the USA! I have no idea what weight pulling entails, nor do I know how popular a sport it is in either of the aforementioned countries. If however you mentioned schutzhund then I could tell you all about it as its very popular over here and I watch dogs and their owners practicing the sport every week!
It’s a dog sport open to all breeds,here in UK some of the Malamute organisations run weight pull competitions . http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/13_8/features/Canine-Weight-Pull_20041-1.html
I am sorry but I do not like that or think it is a sport. MY opinion only. If humans want to do weight-lifting/weight-pulling then that is their choice and up to them. I just cannot see the point in making dogs do it because it is not natural to them and they have no choice in the matter. OK. I have stated my views, politely I hope, and again I apologise if I have offended anyone my MY views. Please accept my apoligies and forgive me if they go against your own views.
I do not MAKE my dog weight pull i do not use treats or toys to make him pull nor do i drag him to force him to pull.. i ONLY encourage him with my happy voice, if he didn't want to pull he wouldn't when he sees his harness he jumps around all excited wagging his tail a mile a min, you can tell if a dog likes it or if he doesn't, they have a choice I suppose one could argue that no sports are 'natural' and living in a house and sleeping on a couch all day isn't 'natural' either, and they do not have a choice in that do they?
Just want to say you are entitled to your opinion but you can't really FORCE a dog to pull an there are judges on site if someone ignorant tries to train the sport with force (which would end up making a crappy weight pull dog) there are dumb people in all sports i a curious if you also dislike huskies who are sled dogs?? they pull weight for VERY long distances.
I do not dislike Huskies - in fact I have never seen one. I do not dislike your dog either, apart from his ears. I fully understand why sled dogs do what they do, and why, but what I do not understand though is why you, or anyone, wants their dogs to pull weights just for sport. I mean your dog did not come up to you and say Mommy, I fancy doing this weight-pulling sport - I am sure he thoroughly enjoys it from what you say but it was not his choice in the first place, was it. If you think that I do not like bully breeds, perhaps you have never seen me post where I have said I would love to have a Staffie it was possible. And perhaps you have never read any of my posts on the APBT forum. For my dog, who is a mutt of no known origin, living in a house is a million times better than her poor dam had it, being a street dog who was lucky enough to be rescued when heavily pregnant. And if she wants to sleep on the couch, or on my recliner, or on my bed, then why should I not let her? This is as much her home as it is mine. She is not a sporty dog, she is a companion dog and although she is not a service dog, ie trained to do things for me, she helps me by being my ears and also by letting me know if someone is coming down the path and whether they are safe or not. Her decisions, not mine. She was not trained to do so, she just decided that that was her job. She cannot be taken out every day for many reasons, but she is happy and to me that is all that matters. Because I love her.
i wasn't asking if you liked huskies, or if you like bull breeds, just wondering how you felt about huskies pulling sleds... Dogs can't ASK for anything really, the dog can't ASK to do agility, he cannot ASK to do obedience,he cannot ASK to do flyball, he cannot ASK to sit on a couch all day either we make ALL of the choices for our dogs, so why is the fact that my dog cannot ask to do weight pull so much different from all the other things my dog cannot ask to do.. I hope you do not take it as me being rude or anything i am just trying to have a friendly discussion
