Quote: debbie bruce

I would think the same sort of downward pressure on a dog's back would be very hard on it. Gentle pressure on the brakes *might* be all right for a dog.

With carriage driving the horse harness has a strap going across the butt of the horse and attached to the shafts on either side. When the horse slows the strap stops the vehicle from running into the horse. With a dog you would get the same effect with a tight girth strap attached to the shafts.

That is what it is. Did you see the picture? the dog does not have the harness that I made on but I did the same thing and the harness is made with it attached to the girth. I might get one of those DT harnesses,even though mine is close that looks a little more comfortable and easier to put on and off. The "brakes" as I called them are straps attached to the shafts.

 Quote: Debbie Bruce

Jamie, we must have pictures of your wagon!

but...my wagon is hideous (it's a 100 year old rustbucket radio flier wagon with homemade PVC shafts where a handle would be) XD it's embarassing...however it's great for corner store trips!!!

 Quote: Elizabeth Anderson

I took a look at all the harnesses that leerburg has and that is the only one they really have for pulling it seems. It is actually just like the one I made but a fancier style of coarse. How do you know what size? Zuki is 27 inch around the middle but she is only a year old hardly. Don't dogs get a little bigger around and more muscular as they mature?

I'd wait until she's a little more grown before getting a harness so you don't waste money....you have the homemade one until then....

Debbie- I'm a horse person as well, and used to use a mini cart that had brakes on it- worst idea ever!!!! Hated it, as did the horses! I'm not sure I like the idea of brakes on a dogs cart any better then horses. Horses are structurally more sound to bear some weight across the back/hips- not as much as a cart could potentially slam them with when brakes are applied, but still- I think that pressure on a canine back would be scary.

Elizabeth- They are adjustable. She's likely to fill out a little more, but I would be surprised to see her heart-girth grow much more. Someone else will comment that knows more, I'm sure, but thats my guess. My last Shep gained 10-15 additional pounds after he turned 1, but that was muscle mass across his chest and hips- I never had a problem fitting his hiking pack over the years other then small adjustments.

I am going to wait considering I did not realize all the different things that had to be trained to do this! I hooked a plastic 3 gallon jug behind her with maybe 5-10 lbs of wet sand and she did great pulling. How do you get the dog to get comfortable pulling/walking in front of you??? She just recently finished understanding heal so she is finding it confusing when I don't treat for heal pos. Also when is it good to use marker training and when is it good to not use it, (cause as understood you don't want the dog to turn around)? I find she is always expecting a treat even if I don't use the "yes" word. So when she would pull ahead of me (in harness) and I would say good girl and quietly encourage her she would quickly pull back and look up as for a heal...Not doing something right, again :P

When teaching to walk in front I taught the command "on" which means "move out in front of me". I taught this with a pointing cue and a modification of teaching "line out"

I started by teaching my pup to put tension on the line. I tied it to a stationary object (at tree worked great) then had my dog lean on the line by putting a treat in my hand and holding it juuuust out of reach. I marked him holding tension on the line. After a few lessons I moved to holding a short lead attached to the harness. I tol him to "line out" and he would hold the line tight as I held him in place. Then slowly I introduced the "on" command teaching him to move to keep tension on the line. Now my dog will keep tension on any line attached to his harness (on his collar we've only ever done things to keep the line loose). Even when we got to play with the single dorsal hitch dog sulky that's insanely light he got the idea pretty well.

This is the sulky we got to try out....I would LOVE to get one at some point if you know....I happened to win the lottery or something XD I keep hoping I'll see a used one (like this or even a cheap or damaged super light mini horse cart I can strip down and rebalance)
http://www.ChaloSulky.com./sulky_catalog.htm

 Quote: jamie craig

When teaching to walk in front I taught the command "on" which means "move out in front of me". I taught this with a pointing cue and a modification of teaching "line out"

I started by teaching my pup to put tension on the line. I tied it to a stationary object (at tree worked great) then had my dog lean on the line by putting a treat in my hand and holding it juuuust out of reach. I marked him holding tension on the line. After a few lessons I moved to holding a short lead attached to the harness. I tol him to "line out" and he would hold the line tight as I held him in place. Then slowly I introduced the "on" command teaching him to move to keep tension on the line. Now my dog will keep tension on any line attached to his harness (on his collar we've only ever done things to keep the line loose). Even when we got to play with the single dorsal hitch dog sulky that's insanely light he got the idea pretty well.

This is the sulky we got to try out....I would LOVE to get one at some point if you know....I happened to win the lottery or something XD I keep hoping I'll see a used one (like this or even a cheap or damaged super light mini horse cart I can strip down and rebalance)
http://www.ChaloSulky.com./sulky_catalog.htm

WOW!!!!! That looks SO cool! I am going to have to try making one of those in a few years! How much weight can the dog pull on flat ground with that? Thanks for the tips... However I tried putting her in harness and tied her to a tree and when I would just hold it out of reach she went crazy trying to escape the harness to reach instead of just leaning. Maybe I will try again and see if I can get her to settle down ...

Try this.....


put the treat in a fist and sloooowly walk her out from the tree, the moment she has pressure on the harness mark it! that way maybe she won't have time for a freak-out!

I did some training last night with her and instead of using a tree I used a chain link fence which gave a little when she pulled. I did as you said and she did ok. Than I hitched her to my brother and told him to give some when she pulled and she really started to get somewhere! I was saying pull but I changed to lets go cause it comes more natural to me, and I had be using that on walks when we would start out. She only tries to get out if nothing gives. Any comments? Is that a problem?

Great thread Elizabeth!!

I know it’s from a few months back but some great discussion and information in here. I think it’s really set us on the right track. I’ve been working mainly with Vincent and get this, he’s pulling a noisy, bouncy “little red wagon”. I had Bob jump in it at one point but the tires/wheels, whatever, are really sticky with no give (I know there’s a word for this but beyond my realm of wheel/axle dynamics).

I think Vince is a natural. Once he got the hang of it he really started to put his front legs to work, hunkering down and really gripping. My problem, of course, is the basic tracking harness I’ve been using. Looking around for something better but haven’t found an appropriate X-back around here.

What I’m wondering is, I plan on placing another order here (just gotta get some Christmas toys with shipping and handling paid for – I know Alan, we’ll start on the treatment plan after the holidays :crazy and I was wondering if the harness Jaimie got would work as well as the X-back. Or if I should go ahead and order the real thing from the site Willie mentioned?

I can actually see us getting into this. Vince loves it. I’ve just done some basic pressure work with Echo cause I don’t have a harness to fit him, however... through the incredible generosity of our Alaskan friend, Kiersten, she may have one that might fit him.

So do you think this Leerburg one for Vincent be a wise investment or no: http://leerburg.com/1293.htm

Jamie, I'd love to see one of your videos with you guys doing this and I don't care how crappy your wagon looks!! LOL! Come on girl!