Building up your dog's back end...

[gspman]

Here's some info on roading your dog.

Roading is very good way to build the muscle in your dog overall and especially in it's back end. Done correctly and over time, your dog will have more power and drive from it's back end and will have more endurance too.

It's quite simple. All you need to start with is a roading harness. You can get a cheap one like I have pictured below to an extra fancy leather one. Most sporting dog web retailers have roading harnesses and some of the local big box pet stores have them too. It may take a session or 2 to for your pooch to get used to the harness and the fact that it needs to pull. You may need to encourage your dog to pull by getting it excited and throwing a ball or stick out in front of it. My now deceased Sammy would pull my arms out of my sockets. Dixie is definitely not yet in that league but she'll get it figured out.

In the first pic I have Dixie in the harness. I'll walk her a mile or 2 having her pull me. Do this for 2-3 weeks and then you can add more distance and/or weight in the form of chains.

After she gets used to this I add more weight in the form of chains that I can hang off the D-rings on the side of the roading harness. Start with 5-10 pounds of chain and work your way up. You'd be amazed at how much weight the pro's will have their dogs pull while building up their dogs power and endurance for field trials.

Another pic angle with Dixie in the harness with the chains on. We're ready to rock-n-roll baby!

Important: Always give your dog at least a day or 2 off between roading sessions and you really shouldn't do more than 3 sessions a week. Do this when it's cooler out (early am or late pm) and watch your dog closely for signs that you are over doing it. Do not do this with a pup. Your pup's bones and joints need to be fully developed before doing this.

If you have a big dog that pulls hard you may have to add weight right away and go for shorter distances otherwise you may have a hard time controlling things.

If you have a good life insurance policy you can do this from a bike or better yet and more safely from an ATV.

Good luck

gspman

[jbdragon17]

You say not to do this work with a pup. At what age is it safe?

[gspman]

I'd wait until the dog is 1.5-2 years old and maybe longer with a larger breed.

[ATM]

gsp you are correct about needing a life insurance policy when doing this by bike. I hook my pointer up to a harness and bike around the neighborhood. He has so much energy i dont ussually have to pedal for the first 1/2 mile. I have had some pretty close calls, its hard for him just to ignore the squirrels and rabbits as were going down the road. It definately has seemed to help his endurance.

Adam

[Johnnie15]

I used to have a 70+lb shorthair that I would have pull me on my rollerblades. He could get going pretty fast. I stopped after one day when he saw a squirrel at the edge of the road turned on a 90 degree angle and pulled me over the curb at about 25 MPH. I must have been 6-7 feet in the air and stuck my shoulder about 6 inches into the ground when I landed. Luckily the both of us were fine, but I decided to jog with him from then on.

[gspman]

Getting the whip cracked while you are on roller blades sounds scary. Did you make a sonic boom before you hit the curb??? Plowing a furrow with your shoulder doesn't sound too fun either.

I used to run my older dog from a bike but my younger one doesn't yet realize that we are doing a job here and that distractions are not allowed. Maybe in a couple years I'll try the bike.

[Snag]

I take my golden rollerblading around the local park. The squirrels can make things interesting, but if I see them in advance and tell him no, he is good. I've only taken one digger so far. I can't seem to give him much of a workout walking and I'm not much of a jogger.