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pulling or roading age

Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 1:03 pm
by ibbowhunting
at what age can a dog safely starting pulling or be roaded

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 4:29 pm
by AZ Brittany Guy
I think between 18-24 months old. I would probably guess closer to 24 months.

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 6:43 pm
by Fun dog
We start sleddogs between 6and 12 months. Easy workouts, no pressure, just fun. They can do more as yearlings, much more, just remember young dogs mature at different rates and may or may not be able to do what an older dog can. Always give a day off after a run, especially during those first runs. Allow the muscles to recover. Keep the speed at what the dog is comfortable with. Slower is better than faster.

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 7:00 am
by jimbo&rooster
Why do you want to start pulling or roading? Most dogs will enefit more from free running than they will from roading and weight work. But, to answer your question, I have always heard to hold off on roading and weight work until after hip certs are done which is after 2yo

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 7:45 am
by RayGubernat
I routinely road puppies(pointers) from about 6-7 moths of age.

I do it on foot using a harness and weightlifter's back belt.and quit the moment the pup stops pulling. I often do it in the summer to build physical strength, endurance and heat tolerance.

Never had a problem.

RayG

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 8:58 am
by SCT
RayGubernat wrote:I routinely road puppies(pointers) from about 6-7 moths of age.

I do it on foot using a harness and weightlifter's back belt.and quit the moment the pup stops pulling. I often do it in the summer to build physical strength, endurance and heat tolerance.

Never had a problem.

RayG
+1, I've got a 6 month old that I just started walking with a harness on, around the neighborhood and parks. The more I do it the stronger she gets and I quit long before she will (could take 20 miles for her to quit, don't know;-)). I like my dogs to pull and don't teach them "heal" until they are older, if at all.

Steve

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 2:47 pm
by GunDogAdventures
I've been looking at my options for rigging up a bikejoring setup for roading my dogs using a mountain bike.
2 dog harnesses = $20
2 retractable leashes = $20
1 bungee cord = $1
Fun while stopping for pee breaks, getting tangled up and trying to figure it all out = PRICELESS!

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2015 3:35 pm
by bonasa
I start between 6 and 7 months, light duty until they are a year old.

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:25 pm
by Grange
SCT wrote:
RayGubernat wrote:I routinely road puppies(pointers) from about 6-7 moths of age.

I do it on foot using a harness and weightlifter's back belt.and quit the moment the pup stops pulling. I often do it in the summer to build physical strength, endurance and heat tolerance.

Never had a problem.

RayG
+1, I've got a 6 month old that I just started walking with a harness on, around the neighborhood and parks. The more I do it the stronger she gets and I quit long before she will (could take 20 miles for her to quit, don't know;-)). I like my dogs to pull and don't teach them "heal" until they are older, if at all.

Steve
I trained whoa with my setter via the Perfect Start method (teach heal first) and found that I started teaching heel too soon. She became too conscious of me and waiting for the command that she didn't want to run or pull me on our walks. I realized my mistake and waited until she was about year old and it worked much better. Now I can allow her to pull, which is great for roading, or just give the heel command and she walks at my side.

Re: pulling or roading age

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 1:37 pm
by bonasa
I will say it is harder to teach a single dog to pull in a harness. With more than one dog available, once they are hooked up together they get the idea rather quickly and all the sticky heeling behavior goes out the window.