Dog Sulky!! - Page 3

That set-up certainly would work better for parades etc!  Gotta love the corgi in the wagon!

It is funny how they know they are being oooohhh'd and aahhh'd at.  My guy used to strut when he was the centre of attention!

Justk9s- Nice set up!  Your dog is very beautiful!!  Love the rich color! 

Oceoy- thanks for the photos, the pictures do not "sicken" me at all, the dog just looks uncomfortable, the set up is not bad, I think everyone is reading the dog more so, you know a "picture is worth a thousand words" kind of thing!  ;-)

I think if I have went threw all the trouble of researching and building a cart/sulky for a "dog",  that my full intentions are that my dog is first in this.  I would never put any of my guys/girls in harms way.  I completely understand that balance is extremely important.  I am no light weight, and I do intend on riding this sulky occasionally, mostly for my my kids, but you I'm gonna have to try it out!!  LOL  And I definately intend on this being built for the dogs safety. 

Having owned Malamutes since 1970, worked them a little in weight pulling and short sprints, and having friends who are well-known and accomplished mushers, I have some cautions for you about working a GSD in harness.

First and foremost, make sure you have the right equipment. There are many different kinds of harnesses and you don't want, for example, to use a racing harness on a carting dog. The style of the wheeled gig matters too.  The wheels are ultra imporant, the larger the wheel, the easier for the dog to move the gig. I recommend that anyone looking to do this log on to www.nordkyn.com and take a look at what they offer. Nordkyn Outfitters is owned by a family who has been sledding and freighting dogs for around 50 years. They know what they are doing and they love to help people get a start. First do no harm, know what you're doing and buy the right harness and gig.

Secondly, if you are going to cart a GSD for a short distance, a mile or less, for a few days a week, then you will probably be OK. However, if the intent is to work a GSD for longer periods at a more intense level or to ride on that gig yourself adding more weight, then  you should consider the following and apply it to your dog's structure.  The first place a carting animal breaks down is the front end. GSD's shoulders, pasterns and feet are not designed to take the impact of pushing into a harness. Dogs don't pull the load per se, they push against the harness and that requires a lot of traction. The less angulation the less energy and effort needed to move the weight.  Successful freighting dogs are very efficient in the way they are built, GSD's do not have an  body shape that lends to that sort of work. They are trotting dogs, not freighting dogs. Northern breeds have very short  pasterns with just a slight slope. GSD's do not. They also have very big elongated feet  and very thick pads with a high arch. Most GSD's do not. Also freighting dogs have moderate angulation and are much shorter in body.  Freighting dogs have rear angulation that is far less acute than that of a GSD. Their movement is called a  power walk or power stride and most GSD breeders would consider them short gaited.

Other than moderate angulation, rear structure doesn't seem to be nearly as important as the front end of a freighting dog. Short hocks are preferred, but cowhocks or bantyhocks don't seem to have much effect on the way a freighting dog works.

Not saying you shouldn't have fun  doing things like carting or skijoring, or that GSD's can't do stuff like that, they can. Just saying to be careful, use the right harness and gig and watch your dogs for any signs of fatigue or lameness.  You may think your GSD's are full of energy and in great shape, but carting can be very strenuous if any amount of weight is added to the gig or if the gig itself is a heavy piece of equipment. If you live near the beach, carting in sand is a great way to exercise a dog, much better than running him on a paved road that could do some serious injury to his pasterns and feet.  BTW, if you have to run on a hard surface, you might want to buy booties and pastern wraps.

Now that was an informative post Blitzen, THANK YOU!

 GSD4FUN I think you have it right!

Um...does the cart say, "Viagra"???jh

Hmmmm, that would make for an interesting ride anyway

Blitzen,

Thanks for the great post!  Very informative, thanks, I have already checked that link out too!  Yeah I am definately not going to do some cross country carting!!  LOL  Just for fun around the property!!  Thanks again!

I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with your dog, gsds4fun. Nordkyn sells some very good instruction books on training a dog to harness and training with weights like truck tires. No better way to get a dog in shape IMO. 

The most amazing weight puller I've ever seen was a 90 lb male malamute that  pulled a small U-Haul van 20 feet on a level asphalt surface and he wanted to keep going. The record malamute pull based on the weight of the dog was established by an 80 pound female by pulling 3200 lbs 20 feet. Sadly their desire to pull a lot of weight has hurt that breed since we now have a ton of breeders breeding giant Mals for competition in weight pulls.