| Weight pulling | |
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 An American Staffordshire terrier pulls a cart loaded with concrete weights. |
Weight pulling is a dog sport involving a dog pulling a cart or sled loaded with weight a short distance across dirt/gravel, grass, carpet, or snow. [1] It is a modern adaptation of freighting, in which dogs were used as freight animals to move cargo. [2] [3]
Canine weight pull has a long history dating to at least the Klondike Gold Rush, where it was used as means of entertainment while trialing sled dogs used for freighting gear and passengers through Arctic and sub-Arctic terrain in North America. [2] [3] [4] Mail delivery was also conducted by dog sled in these remote settlements until the 1930s with the last postal dog sled team being retired in 1963. [5] [6] For both freighting and mail delivery, dogs were expected to meet minimum standards of strength and speed, ranging from 75–100 pounds (34–45 kg) per dog on the faster mail team to 200 lb (91 kg) per dog on the slow freighting team. [7] [8] Jack London's 1903 book The Call of the Wild makes one of the first literary references to the sport where the fictional dog Buck pulls a heavily loaded sled while spectators place bets on his ability. [9] London spent almost a year in the Yukon, and his observations form much of the material for the book. [10]
Weight pull matches start with either an empty cart or sled or at low weights. Carts may be placed on dirt, carpet or even rails. [4] Dogs are sorted into classes by weight and then fitted with a specially constructed freighting harness designed to distribute the weight and minimize the chance of injury. [11] At the start of a round, dogs are asked to pull the car or 16 feet within a set time frame. Dogs who successfully complete the round are eligible to go on to the next round. At the completion of each round, additional weight is added to the vehicle. The winner of each class is the dog who pulls the most weight. [2]
While historically associated with freighting and carting dog breeds, today's weight pull competitions are open to any dog regardless of breed, size or gender. [2] [1]
Canine weight pulling competitions are sanctioned by various organizations, each with their own rules. [2]
Proponents of weight pull cite the improved fitness and wellbeing of the dogs, especially working breeds. [1] Handlers often cite improved bond with their dog and that no force or baiting with food is used to convince the dogs to pull. [25] [26] The activity has been criticized for cruel or harmful by animal rights activists who cite that dogs are at risk of physical injury including muscle strains and tears, [26] allegations of doping the dogs or abusing them during training and that the sport may be used by some to prepare dogs for dog fighting. [16]
The Siberian Husky is a medium-sized working sled dog breed. The breed belongs to the Spitz genetic family. It is recognizable by its thickly furred double coat, erect triangular ears, and distinctive markings, and is smaller than the similar-looking Alaskan Malamute.
A dog breed is a particular type of dog that was purposefully bred by humans to perform specific tasks, such as herding, hunting, and guarding. Dogs are the most variable mammal on Earth, with artificial selection producing upward of 360 globally recognized breeds. These breeds possess distinct traits related to morphology, which include body size and shape, tail phenotype, fur type, etc, but are only one species of dog. Their behavioral traits include guarding, herding, and hunting, and personality traits such as hyper-social behavior, boldness, and aggression. Most breeds were derived from small numbers of founders within the last 200 years. As a result of their adaptability to many environments and breedability for human needs, today dogs are the most abundant carnivore species and are dispersed around the world.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official forming of the AKC, the National Dog Show and the AKC National Championship. The AKC is a non-member partner with the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. The AKC recognizes 200 dog breeds, as of 2022.
The Samoyed is a breed of medium-sized herding dogs with thick, white, double-layer coats. They are spitz-type dogs which take their name from the Samoyedic peoples of Siberia. Descending from the Nenets Herding Laika, they are domesticated animals that assist in herding, hunting, protection and sled-pulling.
A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow.
The Alaskan Malamute is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance, to haul heavy freight as a sled dog. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Canadian Eskimo Dog, the Siberian Husky, and the Samoyed.
The Bernese Mountain Dog is a large dog breed from Bern, Switzerland and the Swiss Alps, being one of the four breeds of Sennenhund-type dogs, with roots in the Roman mastiffs. The name Berner refers to the breed's area of origin in the canton of Bern, and Sennenhund is derived from the German Senne and Hund ("hound/dog"), as they accompanied the alpine herders and dairymen called Senn. This breed was originally kept as a general farm dog and large Sennenhunde in the past were also used as draft animals pulling carts. The breed was officially established in 1912.
Mackenzie River husky describes several overlapping historical populations of Arctic and sub-Arctic sled dog originally bred to support fur traders for Hudson's Bay Company and later prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush. A mixture of native sled dogs and European freighting dogs, Mackenzie River huskies were prized for their ability to haul heavy loads long distances in the snow with minimal care. Since the advent of modern mechanized travel in the Arctic, moving cargo by dogsled has become nearly obsolete and only small populations of these dogs still exist.
A working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to pet or companion dogs.
The United Kennel Club (UKC) is a kennel club founded in 1898 in the United States. In contrast with the American Kennel Club, which is non-profit and which only clubs can join, the United Kennel Club is a profit-making corporation, open to individuals.
Dog crossbreeds are dogs which have been intentionally bred from two or more recognized dog breeds. They are not dogs with no purebred ancestors, but are not otherwise recognised as breeds in their own right, and do not necessarily breed true.
Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most commonly a specialized type of dog sled on snow, or a rig on dry land.
Carting is a dog sport or activity in which a dog pulls a dogcart filled with supplies, such as farm goods, camping equipment, groceries or firewood, but sometimes pulling people. Carting as a sport is also known as dryland mushing and is practiced all around the world, often to keep winter sled dogs in competition form during the off-season.
The Canadian Eskimo Dog or Canadian Inuit Dog is a breed of working dog from the Arctic. Other names include qimmiq or qimmit. The Greenland Dog is considered the same breed as the Canadian Eskimo Dog since they have not yet diverged enough genetically to be considered separate breeds, despite their geographic isolation.
Canicross is the sport of cross country running with dogs. Originating in Europe as off-season training for the mushing (sledding) community, it has become popular as a stand-alone sport all over Europe, especially in the UK, and the United States.
A dog harness is a piece of equipment consisting in part of straps that surround the dog’s torso. It is used to guide, hold, and lift the dog or to utilise its pulling power. It reduces tension on the neck when they pull, and provides free breathing during daily walks. In sports such as mushing and skijoring, where the dog's pulling power is utilized, the harness provides effective use of force while maintaining freedom of movement. These aforementioned kinds of harnesses differ from pet harnesses in that they are specifically designed in order to allow or support a dog in the completion of a working task.
The Alaskan husky is a breed of medium-sized working sled dog, developed specifically for its performance as such.
The Chukotka Sled Dog is the aboriginal spitz breed of dog indigenous to the Chukchi people of Russia.