I started teaching the pull some time ago but am having a hard time getting Zuki excited about it. She will "plod" along but unless she is tied to something and knows I have a treat for her she will not put ANY energy into pulling. I feel like I messed up her pulling by teaching her to heal... Those of you that have your dog pulling you when biking or other such sports... How do they get to the point that they love it? I know I must be doing something wrong but am not sure what to redo/retrain or go back to.
I take a jumping energetic dog and put her with the cart and she turns into the most calm dog. She shows no signs of dislike that I can tell... She will not experiment like the collie I once had though. If I turn her lose with it she stands still and is unwilling to lead very much even with a good amount of encouragement.

Please let me know if you have any ideas... I think she would really enjoy this if I could just get it right.

Hi Elizabeth,

Good to hear from you! I always enjoy reading about your travels.

For encouraging pulling behavior. A few thoughts. Keep in mind that I have a very eager puller, Alaskan husky who is focused and listens to my directional commands. I also have a very non-eager puller, a german shepherd, who will pull if I hook her up behind my husky, but is not real excited about it. So, some dogs take to it more than others.

Harness fit: this can be a big one. If the harness is uncomfortable, rubbing somewhere, pressing on the joints, or riding up on the wind pipe this will squelch some dogs eagerness to pull.

Duration: Keep sessions really short at first. Like a minute or two. Don't ask too much too soon. Better to leave her wanting more.

Heat: My dogs are already less energetic and it's hovering around freezing here. Most dogs perform best in colder temperatures. Mine runs best at below 10 F. Pulling makes a dog much hotter than free runnning. Not much you can do about this except run her in the mornings or when it is cooler, and/or wet her down before running her. Or if possible let her swim prior to running.

Pack Mentality: Run her with another dog if possible. Or have her chasing another dog that is free running. Keep it short and fun.

If I train another skijor dog I will emphasize keeping sessions short and always making sure the dogs wants more. Just like with many types of dog training you want to build up to duration.

One thing I wanted to add is that I don't and didn't use treats as rewards during pulling training. I will stop and give my dogs treats during runs, but will not stop after a successful 'gee' or 'on-by' because I want the dog to keep going. Some commands, like 'line-out' can be taught using treats at home, but I don't use treat rewards when I'm running my dog. I'll say 'good dog' to let him know he's doing well, but refrain from saying a marker word like 'yes' as much as possible.

Good luck!

are you starting dry work(empty cart) or is she already conditioned to the cart? Like in the post above I have one who loves pulling(full run if I let her up hill me in the sled) and one who will do it.
Again dito on the harness, it has to fit good (got mine made as mastiffs dont have lots of off the rack items)
I use a sled harnes when pulling light items like tires and a siwash cart harnes for any amount of weight.
The comment about healing, well my dog loves to lead walks when I let her, so she is very comforatable out ahead, so mabey less ob befor carting and encourage her to walk ahead sometimes when just walking casually(no cart but have harness on)
After a good pull I let my dogs have off leash time, so it sets them up to think, have fun pulling, then more fun after