Happy Holiday K9 Weight Pull

[maberi]

Anyone planning on attending the 1 day pull in Port Clinton, PA this Saturday?

Kayden and I are heading down to try to finish his working dog title off before the end of the year. I just looked at the weather forcast and it looks like we are looking at temperatures between 25-35 degrees which I'm not too thrilled about.

Anyone have any experience with pulls in the cold? Any suggestions for keeping your dog warm between rounds? Some of the pulls I have been to have been lengthy for the 60 lb weight class

[ellie@ny]

Matt,I'm planning to go to practice with Milo,before his first cart pull in UKC,and I know Missy's tracks are awesome,so it would be a great opportunity for him.
If miss M wont start her heat season until/fingers crossed/then she's coming too.
I never did IWPA before so it's something new again for us.

[maberi]

Matt,I'm planning to go to practice with Milo,before his first cart pull in UKC,and I know Missy's tracks are awesome,so it would be a great opportunity for him.
If miss M wont start her heat season until/fingers crossed/then she's coming too.
I never did IWPA before so it's something new again for us.

You guys are going to be there!? Sweet!!!

The group who I pull with in Syracuse can't make it so I will be attending solo so if you can make it that would be awesome. Kayden and I need some bully help against all those sled dogs

[maberi]

PS - Kayden and I are hitting the road tomorrow afternoon so if I don't speak to you until the pull we will be huddled up in a blue Honda Element with pit bull stickers on the back.

Hope to see you guys there

[ellie@ny]

Matt,I'm planning to go to practice with Milo,before his first cart pull in UKC,and I know Missy's tracks are awesome,so it would be a great opportunity for him.
If miss M wont start her heat season until/fingers crossed/then she's coming too.
I never did IWPA before so it's something new again for us.

You guys are going to be there!? Sweet!!!

The group who I pull with in Syracuse can't make it so I will be attending solo so if you can make it that would be awesome. Kayden and I need some bully help against all those sled dogs

What sled dogs?
Well Maya still good to go,so it looks like we're gonna make it.
I just checked the weather in Port Clinton,it will be nice and sunny,with 31 degrees...
See you there!

I know another person coming from NY with another APBT.

[ellie@ny]

Another question!
How are the weight classes in IWPA?I couldn't find info on that on the website.

[maberi]

That is fantastic!!

Weight classes are

1-20
21-40
41-60
61-80
81-100

Every pull I have been to has been swamped with sled dogs. Steve Jackson and his huskies always seem to show up. His dog Starbuck gives Kayden the most trouble. Dave Gallagher shows up quite a bit with his malamutes and ALL of his dogs are tough. After that there are usually a few people with Samoyeds that do pretty well but tend to drop out later as the weight gets really heavy. Although last time this woman and her 10 year old Samoyed showed up and that dog destroyed everyone in the field. They passed just about every weight until the end and then that dog walked through the final weight with ease (mind blowing to say the least).

[ellie@ny]

That is fantastic!!

Weight classes are

1-20
21-40
41-60
61-80
81-100

Every pull I have been to has been swamped with sled dogs. Steve Jackson and his huskies always seem to show up. His dog Starbuck gives Kayden the most trouble. Dave Gallagher shows up quite a bit with his malamutes and ALL of his dogs are tough. After that there are usually a few people with Samoyeds that do pretty well but tend to drop out later as the weight gets really heavy. Although last time this woman and her 10 year old Samoyed showed up and that dog destroyed everyone in the field. They passed just about every weight until the end and then that dog walked through the final weight with ease (mind blowing to say the least).

LOL I was just kidding with the sled dog comment... I know they're pretty good!
I'm so happy to see the weight classes are different then UKC,cause my two will be in different ones this time!YAY!It's not fun handling two in the same...
I know the 3 APBT's will be in one class.

[maberi]

Lol, I thought you were being sarcastic but honestly it is tough to pick up inflections in writing so I decided to err on the safe side The 60lb class is always the biggest and most competitive class and always has the most pits in it. We usually see a handful in the 80lb class but not too many. You guys will do awesome in IWPA. The only thing you need to remember is once you leave your dog, don't say anything or motion to them until you cross that line. I have Kayden focus on a target (my hand) during his pulls and got called out at the last pull for holding my hand too low while I walked away (they figured out I use that as his focus point). Kayden tends to stress out when I walk away and he can't pull right through the weight so I have been working with him on focusing on my hand as I walk away.

What weight classes will your crew be in? I'd love to see an APBT beat Starbuck. I've only seen it happen once

That is fantastic!!

Weight classes are

1-20
21-40
41-60
61-80
81-100

Every pull I have been to has been swamped with sled dogs. Steve Jackson and his huskies always seem to show up. His dog Starbuck gives Kayden the most trouble. Dave Gallagher shows up quite a bit with his malamutes and ALL of his dogs are tough. After that there are usually a few people with Samoyeds that do pretty well but tend to drop out later as the weight gets really heavy. Although last time this woman and her 10 year old Samoyed showed up and that dog destroyed everyone in the field. They passed just about every weight until the end and then that dog walked through the final weight with ease (mind blowing to say the least).

LOL I was just kidding with the sled dog comment... I know they're pretty good!
I'm so happy to see the weight classes are different then UKC,cause my two will be in different ones this time!YAY!It's not fun handling two in the same...
I know the 3 APBT's will be in one class.

[Leslie H]

Starbuck is a good dog, but I think Maya will give him for the money. I can't remember what he weighs, but Maya's probably about 47#. The heavier dog definitely has the advantage in IWPA, but Maya has taken on the big guys before. She does have the disadvantage of having pulled last weekend. I wish I could be there, but I am happy to not be out in the cold. Good luck to both of you guys.

[ellie@ny]

Starbuck is a good dog, but I think Maya will give him for the money. I can't remember what he weighs, but Maya's probably about 47#. The heavier dog definitely has the advantage in IWPA, but Maya has taken on the big guys before. She does have the disadvantage of having pulled last weekend. I wish I could be there, but I am happy to not be out in the cold. Good luck to both of you guys.

LOL Miss M is 46# since August,don't make her look chubby!!!
Honestly I didn't even want to bring Maya,she's only coming,cause I don't want to leave her home all day long.Bill has to work.
So whatever she'll do I'll be happy with,but frankly I'm looking forward to practice with the Monkey dog...

Matt, Milo's in the 20-40,Maya in the 40-60# category.
A question though..when you leave your dog,do you have to turn your back,or you can walk backwards till the line?And it's ok if my dog start pulling right away before I pass the line ,right?
I know,I know I can ask these tomorrow...

[maberi]

Once you leave your dog you cannot look at or motion to them so you basically just have to walk away. A lot of people set their dog up and then bolt and jump over the line as fast as they can. Kayden tends to panic when I leave him really fast so I take my time setting him up (you can talk to them, hug them, etc... while you are getting them set). I tend to walk away rather slowly but yes, the split second you leave your dog, they can begin pulling, you just can't encourage them until you get over the line. When the weight is light i have to walk a little quicker because Kayden has almost run up on me before.

I imagine your guys will be just fine as they have been pulling for a while but you will see a LOT of dogs tomorrow just stand there and stare at their owners. The first time it happened with Kayden I didn't know what the hell to do so I flopped down on the ground and gave him a target and that got him moving. You guys will have fun.

Good luck on the drive down, I hit a lot of snow in the Corning NY area but you are coming from a different way so hopefully you won't hit any snow. Kayden and I are staying at the lovely Red Roof Inn tonight

I'll be interested to see what weight everyone starts at tomorrow. I may start Kayden a little heavier because of the cold but a lot of it will depend on how much the increase by each round.

[maberi]

PS - I brought my camera down with me so I will get a bunch of pics of Milo pulling. I would do the same with Maya but my hands are usually full with Kayden when he is pulling and my nerves are shot

[Leslie H]

Crossposted

per MIssy


Just a reminder for this weekend...Dave and I will be going down to the feild to check the track this afternoon. We got alot of rain this week. If the track is too wet, we will move it to the fire lane by the Pavillion. So don't panic if you don't see anyone at the ball feild. Continue around the bend, and you will see the playground, then the pavillion (and us).

Also, we will have our trailer with us, but we will not be setting up our tables. If you need something, just ask.

And on a final note, we will be having a raffle to raise money for Toys for Tots. We will have 2 gift boxes to raffle off...one for Bullie breeds, and one for Northern breeds. Bring a little extra cash, and know that your money is going to help make a child's christmas bright! We will also accept toys for Toys for Tots!

[maberi]

Awesome, thanks Leslie!!

[maberi]

Well it was a COLD COLD day at the pull. So cold that they couldn't use the baseball field they usually run on and the backup pavilion that they use had ice patches on the concrete so they decided to pull on a gravel run The temperature was in the teens in the morning and the bully breeds were miserable as you can imagine.

I did get a chance to meet Ellie and spend some time with her and her crew (Maya and Milo are beautiful in person). I know that Ellie was a bit disappointed with the pull chute to say the least but Maya did an awesome job for her even in the horrible conditions. Kayden only pulled 750 which was a huge disappointment for me but he did earn his final leg for his working dog title which was our goal before the end of the year so that was a positive. Kayden was really stressed out at the pull (not sure if it was the weather or just one of those days) and even gave me a HUGE FU when it was his turn to pull when he decided to grab his leash and not let go. It took a good 5 minutes before I was able to get the leash from him (damned crappy out). Luckily they were nice enough to give me enough time to get the leash and compose ourselves for our pull and Kayden pulled what he needed for his final leg.

I snapped a few pictures along the way


Poor Ellie freezing but still nice enough to act as a cart attendant




Maya doing what she does best












Action Jackon who I believe is Soliel's (spelling?) brother (correct if I'm wrong Ellie). He took best weight percentage!!





And then some of the big boys. The Presa in the first picture barreled over me after his pull with kisses






















And the ONLY picture I have of Kayden and I from the weekend. We were all packed and ready to leave the house and I had Heidi snap a pic of us. Of course the pic came out crappy




And last but not least we won a raffle for toys for tots that was filled with dog food, toys, etc.. and even a giant purple blocky collar (not sure what I'm going to do with that ). We don't have much need for anything in it so we are going to donate it to the shelter but Kayden did get a tug from the basket that he tore up on the ride home. (note Karma checking out the collar which she could wear as a belt)

[maberi]

PS - Ellie, I will send you a link to the high res. pics tomorrow. I have a bunch

[dogged]

Super pics! Looks like a miserable day, weather-wise, but the dogs and folks sure are troopers.

And I LOVE that pic of you and Kayden. Very cool.

[Leslie H]

Yeah, I've pulled on equally crappy pull surfaces, though I don't think I'd pull on gravel now. As you can imagine, it probably isn't comfortable on the dog's feet, especially when the weight gets heavy. Also, like most wheeled carts, the hook up is too high for smaller dogs. See how the tracer pulls straight back for the larger presa, but actually lifts up on Maya's harness, making it tougher for her. She looks pretty miserable in those pictures, though it could just be the cold weather. Action Jackson is Soleil's brother, I'm glad he did so well. It's great that Kayden earned his title. It sounds like Kayden needs some more training time. Soleil's taking Dec and Jan off. She needs a mental and physical break. Those difficult tracks are more mentally draining on our silly, high drive, easily wound up and frustrated dogs.

[ellie@ny]

Matt it was nice to meet you guys this weekend. IMO Kayden did well for you in those conditions,but you should compete in better conditions,where he can show you he can really pull.He does have a nice form and not hesitating at the start which is a plus.And congrats on your first title!!!
Action Jackson looked really good!
The surface was horrible IMO for our breed,those frozen little rocks sure hurts their paws...
Poor Milo was just standing front of the cart,I saw how miserable was he,and pulled him out right away...we don't need bad experiences.
Maya did ok,but she wasn't herself either,and I don't blame her.
I don't think I'll ever pull on a surface like that.
Leslie I thought you're giving Soleil a year off or two??? I think you should stick to agility ...

Matt thank you for the pictures,I'm sorry I didn't take any this weekend,but most of the time I couldn't feel my fingers...