heather pluciennik
New member
Good point? Maybe I should just have her sized and buy a good one. Don't want to fail on handlers error.
Preparing to Draft
- Thread starter chumleysma
- Start date
pabusinesswoman
New member
Stacey... your not far from me.. Sadie carts.. Dog works has nice harnesses that are custom for you dog.. hubby made our cart... Dog works also has a book and video.. got both.. if you want.. contact me through PM or FB.. I can send you my # and you can see her hooked up.. take pics .. etc if you like . 
janices
New member
I have an old Dog Works cart that is no longer made and the plans are on the web to make it.
http://www.twilightbmd.com/Drafting.htm
Cascadians is right. Number one problem in failing is improperly sized harnesses and homemade carts that are improperly balanced. You can get nice harness thru Dog Works, Wilczek, or Nordkyn plus cart.
http://www.twilightbmd.com/Drafting.htm
Cascadians is right. Number one problem in failing is improperly sized harnesses and homemade carts that are improperly balanced. You can get nice harness thru Dog Works, Wilczek, or Nordkyn plus cart.
pabusinesswoman
New member
Sadie ...
plafleursr
New member
That is the plans we used to make our cart. Picture see my avitar
NewfieMama
New member
Potentially dumb question, but is it Gee = GEE or Gee = Jee? How do you pronounce it?
chumleysma
New member
It's pronounced like Jeep ...minus the "p".
Cascadians
New member
(photo credit Leah Nash)
chumleysma
New member
Awww. Merry Christmas! Orka has grown to be become a very majestic Newfoundland. When the holidays are over, I'd love to see a pic of him hauling the groceries too!
Cascadians
New member
He will most definitely be hauling groceries in the wagon. Also soon he will be hauling his and my kayaking gear 2 miles down to the marina moorage then switching harnesses and doing kayaking / swimming / water rescue with me.
I need a barn and stable for his gear, LOL. But all the training works together.
There is a professional photographer doing a lot of photo shoots of us for an article on autism. She was awarded a grant for it. It will run in print newspaper Dec 23 then go online then go national and perhaps international. So many ppl around the world will see pix of a Newf service dog in action!
He just got 2 water working harnesses. I have to learn how to use them and will be experimenting. I'm spatially challenged, totally mechanically retarded but can learn it then get good at it. Poor Orka has to sit thru a lot of fumbling That's why for me I go for the tried and true equipment that is mostly foolproof!
I need a barn and stable for his gear, LOL. But all the training works together.
There is a professional photographer doing a lot of photo shoots of us for an article on autism. She was awarded a grant for it. It will run in print newspaper Dec 23 then go online then go national and perhaps international. So many ppl around the world will see pix of a Newf service dog in action!
He just got 2 water working harnesses. I have to learn how to use them and will be experimenting. I'm spatially challenged, totally mechanically retarded but can learn it then get good at it. Poor Orka has to sit thru a lot of fumbling
That's why for me I go for the tried and true equipment that is mostly foolproof!
NewfieMama
New member
Orka! What a hunk of LOVE! Gorgeous pic of ALL of you!
Cascadians
New member
Thanks! All these years staring at everybody's pictures of Newfs drafting, parades, decorating, been itching to join, hard to wait until he was 2 but did, now so glad! Going to add the wagon this weekend just so we know what it's like, keep training with cart.
Yesterday we carted 2 miles with a neighbor dog Annie tagging along for distraction training and Orka did really well! He is a proud happy Newfy jauntily prancing with that cart. It stopped traffic! LOL Funniest comment was a big burly guy in a muddy truck stopping and calling out, "What are you selling?"
:roflmao: :!rolling: :lol: :devil:
Yesterday we carted 2 miles with a neighbor dog Annie tagging along for distraction training and Orka did really well! He is a proud happy Newfy jauntily prancing with that cart. It stopped traffic! LOL Funniest comment was a big burly guy in a muddy truck stopping and calling out, "What are you selling?"
:roflmao: :!rolling: :lol: :devil:
chumleysma
New member
Leska, please remind us again when the therapy dog photos come out. Could you post them for us to see? I hope you can find a way to do it.
My Chumley turns 2 on Christmas, but he's not as advanced in his basic obedience as Orka. I took your advice and purchased a harness from the website you gave, but the owner encouraged us to do more training. He'll still run away off lead, yet will give a perfect recall in prior classes. I hired a trainer to help me, so we'll spend the next 6 weeks on basic obedience. We'll get there someday.
My Chumley turns 2 on Christmas, but he's not as advanced in his basic obedience as Orka. I took your advice and purchased a harness from the website you gave, but the owner encouraged us to do more training. He'll still run away off lead, yet will give a perfect recall in prior classes. I hired a trainer to help me, so we'll spend the next 6 weeks on basic obedience. We'll get there someday.
Cascadians
New member
Stacy, Orka is not advanced in basic obedience! He certainly knows his commands but still has a willful bratty puppy / teenage streak and will give a sly mischievous look and deliberately do the opposite of what I'm asking at times. But with persistence those times are not as often.
With drafting you want your dog to know without a doubt some basic commands so he doesn't bolt attached to a cart / wagon / sled etc.
Also with a cart / wagon / etc the dog is not allowed to stop, veer off, pee, meander, and this is totally contrary to the dog's normal inclinations and practices, so there's an element of totally controlling the dog's movement until he catches on that this is all work.
Orka was doing great until he came to Elsa's yard. Elsa is a husky who he adores and they play hard, wrestling and racing and rolling. He usually does a balk fit there if not let into the yard to play. This time he tried his usual balk back buck rear routine but lo and behold he is imprisoned between shafts -- he quickly learned that he simply has to obey while hitched.
It would be better to not have to learn this way ... which means I might not ever be able to progress with him. He has a stubborn wild streak. But he absolutely knows what every command means and usually performs promptly.
You can never go wrong reinforcing basic obedience!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Big 2 to Chumley on Christmas! WhoooHoooo! Soon!
With drafting you want your dog to know without a doubt some basic commands so he doesn't bolt attached to a cart / wagon / sled etc.
Also with a cart / wagon / etc the dog is not allowed to stop, veer off, pee, meander, and this is totally contrary to the dog's normal inclinations and practices, so there's an element of totally controlling the dog's movement until he catches on that this is all work.
Orka was doing great until he came to Elsa's yard. Elsa is a husky who he adores and they play hard, wrestling and racing and rolling. He usually does a balk fit there if not let into the yard to play. This time he tried his usual balk back buck rear routine but lo and behold he is imprisoned between shafts -- he quickly learned that he simply has to obey while hitched.
It would be better to not have to learn this way ... which means I might not ever be able to progress with him. He has a stubborn wild streak. But he absolutely knows what every command means and usually performs promptly.
You can never go wrong reinforcing basic obedience!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Big 2 to Chumley on Christmas! WhoooHoooo! Soon!
Cascadians
New member
Stacy, Orka learned his directional commands by simply walking around the neighborhood and hearing them whenever we came to an intersection or turn. He already knew "Back" from the car when it's time to close the doors / hatch, so it was easy to reinforce it by using long hallways. He knows Up and Load Up so I do not use Back Up but only Back. The hand signal I use for Back is both arms hands extended all the way down below his chest with palms facing me and a gentle shooing motion back. For some reason he barks as he backs. He does it but likes to protest.
Use Head when putting harness over head and Leg when lifting legs into harness. Now when I say Head or Leg Orka patiently makes the moves himself into his harness. He also ever so daintily steps over and between the shafts to position himself for hitching. I say Shaft and tap the Shafts. Soon I won't have to tap.
You'll want to teach Stand and Wait.
Orka's episodes of disobedience are almost always centered around his intense desire to play with other dogs. So I do a lot of distraction training around other dogs and use his desires to help him learn. For instance, he learned to swim across rivers because of his desire to go check out dogs on the far shore. He refused to swim until last summer when I forced him, but I heaped on praise and reassurance and actively used dog park friends to entice him day by day until the light bulb went off and he realized he could use swimming to get what he wants. He loves to swim now!
He watches other dogs and imitates them. So I look for opportunities to train him with other dogs who already know the command or action we're working on.
But I'm pretty much a fumbling newbie and Orka is far from bombproof. But he also does a lot of things most dogs are not called upon to do, and does them very well, and he certainly earns his keep.
I think what's helped most with Orka's training is taking him for walks off leash every day in different places, and taking him to every dog park within 200 miles. He has learned to keep checking in with me, have excellent trail manners, and satisfy his inner wild wolf enough to be trustworthy off leash in almost any situation. This is very helpful when teaching your dog commands from behind.
The service dog article is going to run in print first, black and white, and the photographer said the photos chosen by the editor aren't our 1st choices. Later it will go online in color. She will be giving me a DVD with 100s of photos on it. I am putting together my own service dog photo essay which I'll post here. Just really busy these days to meet the deadline so have not had time to post.
Use Head when putting harness over head and Leg when lifting legs into harness. Now when I say Head or Leg Orka patiently makes the moves himself into his harness. He also ever so daintily steps over and between the shafts to position himself for hitching. I say Shaft and tap the Shafts. Soon I won't have to tap.
You'll want to teach Stand and Wait.
Orka's episodes of disobedience are almost always centered around his intense desire to play with other dogs. So I do a lot of distraction training around other dogs and use his desires to help him learn. For instance, he learned to swim across rivers because of his desire to go check out dogs on the far shore. He refused to swim until last summer when I forced him, but I heaped on praise and reassurance and actively used dog park friends to entice him day by day until the light bulb went off and he realized he could use swimming to get what he wants. He loves to swim now!
He watches other dogs and imitates them. So I look for opportunities to train him with other dogs who already know the command or action we're working on.
But I'm pretty much a fumbling newbie and Orka is far from bombproof. But he also does a lot of things most dogs are not called upon to do, and does them very well, and he certainly earns his keep.
I think what's helped most with Orka's training is taking him for walks off leash every day in different places, and taking him to every dog park within 200 miles. He has learned to keep checking in with me, have excellent trail manners, and satisfy his inner wild wolf enough to be trustworthy off leash in almost any situation. This is very helpful when teaching your dog commands from behind.
The service dog article is going to run in print first, black and white, and the photographer said the photos chosen by the editor aren't our 1st choices. Later it will go online in color. She will be giving me a DVD with 100s of photos on it. I am putting together my own service dog photo essay which I'll post here. Just really busy these days to meet the deadline so have not had time to post.
chumleysma
New member
Just had to show you that Orka is not the only one who feels the need to bark while backing. Sorry for the positioning of video. Couldn't figure how to straighten it, but you get the picture. I too wondered why he feels the need to bark while backing, but I don't think he's upset when he does it.
heather pluciennik
New member
I'll have to say it's like a beeping alert when trucks go in reverse! Very smart group you both have. Morgan does nothing I had to check.