# Umm.....Weight Pulling with GSDs, smart or Not??? Opinions!



## Courtney Guthrie (Oct 30, 2007)

So, there is a pet quality bitch out of the same litter as Judge that the owner wants to weight pull. She says that her vet said no problem. I just personally don't think they are built for it, that and my vet said that while they CAN, the ones he has seen have ended up a mess because of the increased pressure on their joints from the way the GSD's are built. 

I'm curious as to what you guys think of it. Is it smart or not? What about the breeders, would you guarantee a dog's hips that was being trained for weight pull before they had OFA done? Would you sell a dog to someone to compete in weight pull? 

My vet said, get a Malamute, Rottie, APBT/AST etc. as they are better built for weight pulling. 

Just curious! 

Courtney


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Problems in weight pull are handler error, not because of the sport, IMO. 

Any dog can be trained to pull. I've seen Italian Greyhounds, Papillions, Shiba Inus... just about everything in harness.

I would have no problem pulling a GSD.


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## Butch Cappel (Aug 12, 2007)

My last three GSD partners all pull. More for conditioning but they can still stack up some pretty good pounds. I have two others I have trained since
I opened my kennel here in Ft.Worth that I believe have both gone on to title in pulling. That was a few years back and they both seem sound today.

I use pulling for dogs as I would weight lifting for humans, for conditioning. I really think done correctly you will improve the health and joints of a GSD. 

As Anne said problems from weight pulling are handler errors. Besides it can be kinda handy if you have a flat tire and don't have a spare!


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## Kadi Thingvall (Jan 22, 2007)

If they want to be competitive they should get a breed built to pull. If they just want to have fun, I don't see the problem with it. I have pulled some of my Malinois, and saw lots of different breeds in the classes I went to. 

If the dog is so unstructurally sound that doing some proper weight pull (teaching good technique, increasing the weight slowly, etc) is going to cause damage then I think they have other problems besides weight pulling to consider.


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## Courtney Guthrie (Oct 30, 2007)

Kadi Thingvall said:


> If they want to be competitive they should get a breed built to pull. If they just want to have fun, I don't see the problem with it. I have pulled some of my Malinois, and saw lots of different breeds in the classes I went to.
> 
> If the dog is so unstructurally sound that doing some proper weight pull (teaching good technique, increasing the weight slowly, etc) is going to cause damage then I think they have other problems besides weight pulling to consider.



They want to be competitive. The dog is built really well and shouldn't have any problems BUT the main concern is that the owner is lacking knowledge about weight pulling and is too hard on the dog thus IME the dog is going to break down faster. 

Thanks for the insight. I might try it with Judge. I've just heard a lot of mixed reviews about doing it with an off breed. 

Courtney


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Courtney Guthrie said:


> They want to be competitive. The dog is built really well and shouldn't have any problems BUT the main concern is that the owner is lacking knowledge about weight pulling and is too hard on the dog thus IME the dog is going to break down faster.
> 
> Thanks for the insight. I might try it with Judge. I've just heard a lot of mixed reviews about doing it with an off breed.
> 
> Courtney


Hard on the dog? How exactly are they attempting to pull? That sounds completely wrong. (not many times I'll say that about another trainer.)


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## Courtney Guthrie (Oct 30, 2007)

Just upping weight to quick and stuff. The owner has never trained another weight pull dog and doesn't have the resources to actually get some guidance from a good weight pull trainer and there are none in the area they are in. 

Courtney


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## Gillian Schuler (Apr 12, 2008)

Years ago they used the Bernese Mountain Dogs, among other things, to pull the milk wagons up the mountains. Those that couldn't weren't bred from.

Today is another story, they reject too much white on the paws, head, etc. as breeding selections.](*,) ](*,) ](*,)


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Courtney Guthrie said:


> Just upping weight to quick and stuff. The owner has never trained another weight pull dog and doesn't have the resources to actually get some guidance from a good weight pull trainer and there are none in the area they are in.
> 
> Courtney


Where are they located? How old is the dog?


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Courtney Guthrie said:


> They want to be competitive.
> 
> Courtney


Then IMO, NO. All I know, I will say upfront, is from copyediting and proofreading two recent dog sports books. This also involves fact-checking, etc.

They do not have the right breed to compete with. 

JMO, and again, no personal experience, but it's pretty black-and-white in the books by people who do it which dogs should be used.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Courtney Guthrie said:


> Just upping weight to quick and stuff. The owner has never trained another weight pull dog and doesn't have the resources to actually get some guidance from a good weight pull trainer and there are none in the area they are in.
> 
> Courtney


Then how were they going to compete? Travel long ways with the completely wrong breed to compete in something that's potentially disastrous for the dog if done wrong -- and that's _with_ a proper breed?

Wow.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Courtney Guthrie said:


> ... My vet said, get a Malamute, Rottie, APBT/AST etc. as they are better built for weight pulling.
> 
> Just curious!
> 
> Courtney


Even on a site like this one http://www.pulldoggies.com/breeds.htm , not the IWPA, but an even more (shall we say) gung-ho site, you'll see a glaring lack of GSD under the "G" part of the appropriate-breed list.

Maybe you can influence them to get in touch with the IWPA about appropriate breeds, at [email protected] (Nathan Sellers)


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Then IMO, NO. All I know, I will say upfront, is from copyediting and proofreading two recent dog sports books. This also involves fact-checking, etc.
> 
> They do not have the right breed to compete with.
> 
> JMO, and again, no personal experience, but it's pretty black-and-white in the books by people who do it which dogs should be used.


It really depends on the weight class and the local competition - unless by competitive they mean on a national level.

The frequently recommended breeds put dogs in really tough weight classes where it takes an exceptional dog - pulling 45 - 50x body weight to win consistently.

If you're in the WI - MN area, there's no point in trying to be competitve in the 40 - 60 weight class or over 120 weight class. Want to win? Get into the 40 and under weight class. To be competitive means to know your competition.


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## Courtney Guthrie (Oct 30, 2007)

Connie Sutherland said:


> Even on a site like this one http://www.pulldoggies.com/breeds.htm , not the IWPA, but an even more (shall we say) gung-ho site, you'll see a glaring lack of GSD under the "G" part of the appropriate-breed list.
> 
> Maybe you can influence them to get in touch with the IWPA about appropriate breeds, at [email protected] (Nathan Sellers)



I actually am no longer on speaking terms with the person. They have an APBT but can't do it with her as she has too many health problems. 

from what I've seen of the person, they get all their knowledge out of books and off the internet. No real hands on stuff. I'm all for internet and books. BUT IMO you need the hands on stuff to really learn. 

Courtney


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