Thoughts on dog i recently got... weight pull advice

I'm brand new to this forum so take it easy on me lol... I haven't owned a pit in 6 years since my first pit was hit by a car I lived where they were not allowed and did not want another dog other than a pit.. so I finally got one and his mom has ton's of creditably in weight pulling/shows and I really want to weight pull him and eventually breed him. He is White/Champagne and has tons of drive I really wanna learn and get down weight pulling any tips far as nutrition techniques etc i introduced him to harness last week and let him pull 1/2 gal of sand he loves it.. He's little over 3 months old

 

LOL That's a color code Bully/Staff breeder's use. Along with the other crazy cool colors silver, lavender, purple tri, LOL.

This is an example of what those type breeder's would call Champange not sure if this is what he is referring to.

 

You guys are killing me with the jokes lollollol!

 

Welcome 913, Google weightpull exc.. There r plenty of great write ups on the subject. There is to much to learn to sit here and explain it all. A few key things I can share with u. Make sure u have a proper fitting weightpull harness (not a working harness) he will grow so make sure u change his harness out as he gets bigger. You will probably go threw 3 harnesses if u r starting him as a pup. Another key thing is...... Take ur time with the weight he pulls. The most common mistake we all make is adding to much weight and breaking the dog mentally. Stay with that jug half fool for Atleast another month. Go up in weight every month but only in 1 lb increments. When he is around a year than u can start to push him a little more. If u follow theses simple guidelines, u will have a dog who is mentally stable, confident and he will be able to handle the stress of heavy weight. If u do not and u push him and he learns to quit, he will cur out on u and jump off the track when the weight gets heavy. Just remember its a mental thing with dogs,physically they r strong and can pull crazy weight but u need to build their mental stamina to be successful on weightpull. Also don't train him more than 3 times a week. When u pull him say "work" so he a command with the action. Then say "stop" when you r done the pull. Hope this helps u some.

 

Good Advice CHDyno... I was a bit concerned with the dog only being 3 months old normally I see the guys using a harness and letting the pup pull an empty milk jug just to get use to the feel of being in a harness but not pulling any weight under they are a bit older. You have to be careful with pups not only can they hurt themselves but like CHDyno said you can ruin them if you push them before they are ready.

 

Here is a good read written by a friend of mine who has CH several weight puller's. Credit goes to Old Fort Kennels for a wonderful write up.


Begining WP - By Old Fort Kennels
Ok I have a somewhat different approach. I NEVER BAIT a dog. I want the dog to pull because it wants to. Alot of baited dogs dont pull well. When it gets heavy they shut down. The NKC doesnt even allow baiting where the ADBA does but I dont like it. The dog should pull because of its drive not because of bait.

Key points
1. Make it fun!
2. Never get mad, frustrated yes just dont show it.
3. Have your dogs well being first, not winning.
4. Remeber it takes a long time to BUILD a good dog.
5. Pulling is 95% mental!. Dont break their spirit.
6. Start slow, know your dog!!!! Quit before it does!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. Training is just that, dont try to set records at home!!!!
8. Dont try to pull more everytime.
9. Use different routines, the same ol thing get boring even to dogs.
10. At a show dont be afraid to foul your dog. Refer to #5
11. Dont let your dog (in the begining) jump off the track
12. Dont let your dog just stand there. If it starts to pull but doesnt foul it. When it goes to pull have the cart pushed and lead it through the pull.

I cant stress #5 too much. Alot of people start with good dogs but they break them and you never see them again. I always pull my dogs up to a certain weight and then I pull them down too. Alot of times when it gets real heavy and you hook the dog back up it doesnt even try because it remembers the last weight was heavy so I mix it up. Ill take weight off and when they hit the weight again its like.....hey this isnt heavy and it keeps them trying.

ALSO WEIGHT IS NOT WHAT YOUR DOG IS PULLING AGAINST. Just because Bailey pulled 3126lbs at this last show I dont expect her to pull it at NC. There track is hard and not level. She will do good to pull 2000lbs. Your dog is pulling against resistance in the track. The weight creates the resistance. The better the track is the more weight needed to create great resistance. The track I have at home is so hard Bailey cant pull more than 600lbs. So weight is just a number, it doenst mean much. Learn to feel the resistance in the cart created by the weight.

There is alot to learn and remember such as tracks, where they tighten up, when to bring a dog in, when to pass but this should get you started.

Best thing is to know your dog, know when it will shut down and do it before he does. I can tell every time when Rebel is going to quit even before I get on the track, I know what weight is going to do it and where he is going to need help. Rebel is still in training and not yet the dog he will be, I have to constantly remind myself of this. I want to beat all the good dogs he is pulling against but I seem to forget that alot of them are 2,3 and even 4 years old!

 

Heres some info for you
http://www.pulldoggies.com/101.htm

 

the dogs name is carlo rossi and he is burgundy colored

 

On paper work he is actually beige and as far as color who cares.. He is not a bully breed he is a Larum. I" notice most people on these forums wanna be jack ass's was a legit question all these tough guy smart ass replies say to me not intelligent enough to handle a dog properly and are the reason a lot these dogs get bad rap's stupid ass owners!!! Thanks to those with serious replies I have two harness's on way and I don't use bait he currently just drags a 1/2 gal of water and loves it starts and stops on command at three months I feel like me and the dog are doing pretty good.. He as well can already sit on finger command and is fully house broken. Chdynomite and Sadieblues thanks a ton! I'm new at this just wanna do it right!

 

Laurums is a UKC show line I personally would consider dogs bred from
These dogs am staffs just my personal opinion. Good luck with your puppy!

 

mom is sogi out of bluevalleykennels.. I think people get to tied up in lineage truth is i owned a pure colby when I was younger spent a ton on him and doesn't have half the drive or IQ this one has.. Every dog has it's strengths and gameness is a term a little loosely thrown around most pits are game some more than others their all heart why i love the breed.. The Am staff and Apbt convo people have is stupid in my opinion they come from the same lineage: In any event, it was the cross between the Bulldog and the Terrier that resulted in the Staffordshire Terrier, which was originally called the Bull-and-Terrier Dog, Half and Half, and at times Pit Dog or Pit Builterrier. Later, it assumed the name in England as Staffordshire Bull Terrier. These dogs began to find their way into America as early as 1870, where they became known as Pit Dog, Pit Bull Terrier, later American Bull Terrier, and still later as Yankee Terrier. All American Staffordshire Terrier’s can trace their pedigrees back to English and Irish imports, especially those imported by John P. Colby (which my dogs pedigree goes back all the way to this!)

 

913 I am going to have to disagree with you there The staff is a show dog the apbt is a working dog while they were originally the same dog purpose and function is what set's them apart today. I would say that most dog's are not game in fact most of them are curs. Gameness is not an easy trait to acquire in the dogs and it can easily be lost if not maintained since most people have no use for a game dog I would say that most of the dogs running around today are far from game without illegally breaking the law to test for it you really have no idea what a dog is all about in that sense so really you are throwing game around very loosely in your statement. There are good and bad in working and show dogs this is true but still both "Types" have a very different purpose/function and comparing the two is like night and day.

 

agree.. apbt is smaller and have better endurance but a lot of game/hard bitters come from those older lines.. I look at gameness as also the absolute drive to impress one's owner most pits do have that quality if owner knows what there doing fair enough? Gameness as far as old school is to keep going and going and I understand that but truth is i just love pits except the belly dragging off the ground kind their not legit at all.. I personally like the pits that are bigger but still have that old school drive and performance.. I have been around a lot of breeders and know the difference my grandpa would only used redboy / tombstone variations. i was to young that much I remember and he was really good with the handling and breeding of his dogs. He was retired when i got my Colby / Gator when i was younger and he loved my dog a ton unfortunately that dog was hit by car it has been 6 years since I got to own one do to where I lived and am just happy I can own one again!! So far so good with the pup thou i just want to do legit things with my dog and like any owner I want him to excel at it why I asked this -thanks any tips on nutrition?

 

i have nothing with bullies but i like the looks of this one

 

I personally recommend a high quality kibble with high quality ingredients. I stay away from grains as I have had nothing but allergy related issues with grain in my dogs diets. So I prefer a grain free kibble I personally feed Wilderness which is rated 6 star premium feed. I have also feed Evo Red Meats and I have used Innova. Another good one is Orijen. Problem with some of these feeds is they can be hard to find and are pretty expensive so I say go with whatever works for your dogs and your budget without compromising their nutrition. Raw would be the best thing if you can do it but I personally don't have the time to feed Raw so it's not an option for us at the moment. People have different opinions on canine nutrition and what works for them and what doesn't. I personally don't recommend going below a five star feed if you can help it here is a decent website that is not up to date but it does help some and has a bunch of reviews of several different kibbles out on the market.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

And another thread on here with other's experiences with different feeds.

http://www.game-dog.com/showthread.php?t=920&highlight=dog+feed

 

Thank you!!!!

 

This is his mom... He is a really good looking dog and time what he can do with show and weight pull. Its a fun hooby for sure!