DogScooter.com || HOW TO TRAIN TO PULL A SULKY

HOW TO TRAIN TO PULL A SULKY

Harness

The photo below shows the harness, driving collar and reins. The adjustable belly band (drawn in green) goes around the dog's waist. It does not need to be tight. It buckles to the girth with straps on each side. The hasp is sewn on top of the girth and is heavily padded to protect the dog's back. The girth buckles on both sides to make putting it on and off easy. It adjusts in length on both sides also. It should fit rather tightly so that it does not slip to one side.

The driving collar also adjusts to fit snugly but not tightly around the neck. It is a good idea to remove the regular collar when putting on the driving collar.

Harness Training

Put the harness on the dog. Most dogs will accept the harness easily. If your dog is unsure about the harness, you can lure his head through the harness collar with a treat. Soon he will put his head through the collar on his own.

Adjust the harness until it fits comfortably.Adjust both sides of the bottom of the girth so that it centers on the dog's chest. Be sure that the hasp aligns with the spine and that the chest strap aligns with the sternum. The loop at the bottom of the girth allows the chest strap to slide. You don't want the chest strap to slide into the dog's arm pits.

Spend some days walking and playing with your dog with the harness on. You can then introduce pulling. Attach a line to the hasp and walk and play with your dog. Soon he should be running without paying attention to the line that trails on the ground behind him.

Next you can attach a "drag" to the line. Grace, the puppy, wears her puppy harness and checks out the "drag". It is a branch of a doug fir. It is not noisy and not heavy.

Cheryl Reehill of Liberty Dog Training lives and works in Tacoma, Washington. She trains and boards dogs. Her dogs scooter and pull sulkies. She prefers the two shaft sulky design.To reach Cheryl call 253.536.8288.

Now Grace pulls her drag with tail up and happy attitude alongside Cheryl. Grace grew up to be a hard driving, happy pulling dog.

In no time Grace learns to pull her drag while walking in front of Cheryl. She moves happily with tension on her harness and looseness on her collar.

Work with your dog and the dorsal harness until he performs like Grace. You can increase the weight of the drag. A bicycle tire would work. You can take a plastic bottle and put a few pebbles in it so the dog learns to pull something erratically noisy.

Pull

Working with the drag is called "pull training" and is a piece of "ground training". Teach the dog to pull on command. If you can get him to run while pulling like this enthusiastic husky, you will have a wonderful sulky dog. Some people say "Pull" to start the dog moving forward; others say "Let's go" or "Hike". You definitely need a "forward" command. "OK" can be dangerous because it will be said by mistake and the dog will take off when you don't expect it.

Once your dog will pull on command and walk steadily in front of you while pulling his drag, you can work on other commands. Of course you could have been working on them before the harness arrived. Take a walk with the dog in front of you pulling a comfortable (not too noisy and not too heavy) drag. When the dog starts to veer and sniff, say "On by" and walk on by the distraction. The dog will learn that when working and pulling, he "on bys" distractions. Also teach gee and haw (right and left) and "wait" (whoa). You can work on "Hike it up" and "Easy".

The poodles are wearing their weight pull harnesses. You can train without a drag if, like Jane, you yourself apply the drag to the harnesses.

Jane Burkey, shown here with Jasmine and Jessieges, ages 12 and 13, is a superb dog trainer in Port Angeles, WA. Jessie and Jasmine are shown warming up for weight pull.

Reins

Put on the driving collar, reins and harness. Run a line from the harness to your belt so that you can be the weight/resistance/drag to the harness. Tell the dog "Pull" and walk along with the dog pulling you. When you say "gee" pull gently on the right rein. Praise when the dog turns to the right. Some people work on gee until the dog has learned it; some work on both gee and haw at the same time. The reins give directions that are more subtle than the words alone. This allows you to position the wheels of the sulky a few inches to the left to keep it on the sidewalk for example or fit between the bollards. Precision steering makes sulky driving especially satisfying.

Some people teach gee and haw in the living room with clicker training or with treats alone.

Assemble Sulky

The photo shows a previous model. I will update to the new model in March, 2006. The sulky is shipped with these pieces.

Bodyframe
Rear shaft with adjustable foot rest and quick release collar
Forward shaft with snap pin
26 inch wheels with disk brakes, tires, and quick release hubs
2 mountain bike forks
Seat bottom
Seat back (lower than the one shown) Can be left off.
Brake handle, lever and cables
Assorted hardware

You may need professional help to adjust the brakes. However David Wilson assembles the sulky and adjusts the brakes before disassembling it and shipping it.

Photo by Luther Sturtevant, Portland, OR

Introduce Sulky

You may be thinking "The sulky is so big" and "My poor dog can never pull it". Put a friend in the sulky and pull him at a walk, trot and run around your neighborhood. Feel how easy it is to pull the sulky. It is after all a bicycle.

Warning: When someone sits in the seat, the shaft lifts up.Pressure on your hand will be up, not down. Do not let your friend go over backwards and bang his head on the pavement.

Trade places. Have your friend pull you while you practice slowing and stopping. Be sure the brakes are correctly adjusted. Practice applying them gently to increase drag. This skill is necessary when going downhill and when you need to enforce the command to slow down. Practice stopping. When you are comfortable with driving the sulky with a human pulling, you can introduce it to the dog.

The sulky weighs 38 pounds, the same as a mountain bike built for a 200 plus rider. With its 26" wheels it rolls along easily. Daphne applies the brakes to slow Tess to a walk.

Photo by Luther Sturtevant, Portland, OR

Let the dog get used to the sulky. Will it fit in your living room? Can you set it there and from time to time place treats around it? This may or may not be necessary. It depends on the dog.

Take the dog for a walk with you pulling the sulky. Do this until you know that the dog is at ease with the sulky rolling beside or behind him. Go up and down curbs and across streets. This desensitizing process could take one outing or several. If treats help him accept the sulky rolling along beside him, use them. Will the dog as happily run beside the sulky as walk?

Rubro, too old and lame to sulky, pulls his laundry at a comfortable walk to the laundromat with his lilawasta cart in Seattle, Washington USA. Rubro is 11 years in this photo.

Ground work

Once the dog is fine with harness and sulky and knows what "Pull" means, you can hitch him to the sulky. Without you in the seat to counter balance its weight, the shaft will push down slightly on the dog's back. Have the girth tight enough that it stays in place and does not slide off the dog's backbone.

Put your hand on the shaft and hold the leash with the other hand. Tell the dog "Pull". Assist with the initial start it rolling pull and walk along. The dog may startle with the sulky trailing behind him. The utility cart is shown in the photo. Jolly him and keep walking. You may or may not need to hold the shaft. The dog should settle down quickly and walk along easily.

Once the dog pulls on command and is at ease with the sulky behind him, you can take the next step. It may be right away and it may be several outings later. Err on the side of caution and take your time.

Photo by Lourdes Laurente, Big Pixel Studio, Wauna, WA, USA

Riding

Have a friend sit in the sulky and hold the reins. Tell the dog "Pull" and pull on the shaft to start the sulky rolling. Walk along beside the dog with the leash. I need to leave the next many steps to your wisdom and knowledge of your dog.

Soon you will ride the sulky yourself with the dog trotting purposefully in front of you.

It takes time to train a sulky dog. Luckily driving a sulky is such fun that both you and the dog would look forward to more outings.

Photo by Lourdes Laurente, Big Pixel Studio, Wauna, WA, USA

Thoughts about Training Your Dog

Motivation Some dogs are motivated by "rabbits". The rabbit is the dog's favorite person riding a bicycle in front of you. Your dog gives chase trying to keep up with Dad or Mom.

Keep your initial outings short so the dog's impression is how fun sulky pulling is, not how much work it is.

Dogs usually enjoy the company of other dogs. You and the dog will have more fun if two dogs are pulling you. Only have one dog? Borrow a neighbor's dog or work out a volunteer job with the local humane society. Their dogs will find a home more easily if calmed down with daily exercise and time out of the cage.

Caution Some dogs are easily frightened. It is hard to rid them of their fear after it occurs. Be careful not to scare your dog by such things as wheels catching on bollards or bouncing over rocks. Unhitch your dog whenever leaving him for a moment. One lurch of fear and the dog can take off dragging the sulky at high speed. A crash is inevitable in this case.

Sulkies don't go down hill very well. They tend to push the dog faster than he wants to go. Use brakes going downhill and if the hill is steep, get off and walk.

Check the fit of the harness each time you use it. Your dog will change shape as he gets more fit.

Health Think of yourself as your dog's coach. His strength and endurance will increase. Get a bicycle computer from the bike store and mount it on the sulky. Enjoy knowing speed and distance.

Run on dirt roads and paths. Trot and walk on pavement.

You want the dog to like to travel fast. Get off and run beside the dog when going up hills rather than have him struggle up the hill. As his endurance increases he will be able to go up gentle hills without reducing speed.

Safety Always tighten the quick release collar so that the forward shaft is held rigidly in place. You don't want it to twist because it is loose. If you always set the forward shaft at the same height, drill a hole through the two shafts and lock the two together with a quick release pin.

Photo by Luther Sturtevant, Portland, OR

Horses are hardwired to run from danger. They learn to run and speed up from a tap of the whip or slap of the reins. Dogs are not wired that way. A frightened dog is more apt to cower than to run. A cowering dog learns to hate the sulky. To hurry a dog it is better to let the dog know that something great awaits him so he hurries to it: play with a ball, romp in the pond, eat fresh meat, whatever your dog loves. Most dogs learn that hitching to the sulky means a chance to travel and if they love to run, a chance to run. And special treats (vienna sausage, hot dogs, meat...) always reward the end of the run.

The autumn leaves. A day in the park with my dog!

Photo by Luther Sturtevant, Portland, OR

Enjoy!