Weighing In On Weight Pulling

I once saw someone comment online about how awful weigh pull is. They had it in their mind that the dogs are forced to pull, that it's torturous or painful, and thus cruel to participate in.

None of that is even remotely true, mind you.

I first learned about canine weight pulling while watching a documentary about dogs (though not about weight pulls specifically) where a dog owner was talking about how he had American Bulldogs, and he stated that the dogs were used in competitive weight pulling. They had a short video clip showing some of his dogs pulling weights in a competition, and the clip satisfied me that the dogs loved it...I saw a lot of eager, excited dogs who could hardly wait to put the harness on and get going! Plus, let's be perfectly honest, if you want a dog to pull, your best bet is to get a dog who wants to do it. In this way it's like any other canine competition, the winners shine because they wanted to win!

I've noticed a lot of pet owners who don't compete in dog sports have expressed concern over the well-being of the dogs who compete in any event, and weight pulling has drawn a lot of criticism from self-proclaimed animal rights activists. The general sentiment I've read from them is that they are concerned the dogs are forced to compete against their will. Their concern is that the dogs aren't enjoying themselves.

This worries me because some of those people want to ban all canine sports due to misplaced concern for their well being.

The truth is that if a dog doesn't want to compete, they often simply won't participate. It's the dogs who genuinely love what they do that tend to win! Because of this, most owners won't bother competing with a dog who isn't having fun.

I've had a dog in my own lifetime who was like this. He was our first, last, and only Retriever, a beautiful dark red Golden we named Copper (like a copper penny, owing to his dark colouration). The idea was that our pointing dogs would point, then flush the birds, and our retriever would bring the downed birds back to us.

There was one flaw in this plan: our Golden, Copper, hated the feel of feathers in his mouth.

He would playfully fetch any object, except for birds.

Clearly this meant he had no future as a hunting dog, either in field trials or on gentleman's hunts. Instead, he lived out his days as our pet, living well into his teens, playfully fetching only a thrown ball or Frisbee. We could have forced him to retrieve birds, and I'm sure if we had gone that route he would have become a very mediocre field retriever, but he'd have never excelled at it. He certainly wouldn't have enjoyed any of it. And to truly succeed at any canine sport, the dog must love what they are doing. Anything less isn't very likely to work out well.

We have had several pointing breed dogs, usually German Pointers, but right now we have a Brittany. Unlike our Golden who couldn't stand feathers in his mouth, our Brittany lives to hunt! He loves it. He doesn't just point and flush the birds with great zeal, he actually loves to retrieve, too. Clearly feathers taste fine in his opinion! We keep his hunting gear in a small blue duffel bag, and just the sight of his duffel sends him into fits of joy, whining eagerly, tail nub wagging at warp speed, and happy dancing! He loves to hunt. He has to be commanded to stop when the day is done...left to his own devices, he'd run and point and fetch birds until he dropped.

Now, he's a talented dog with good training and a keen nose, but what really makes him a success in the field is his passion for hunting. It's what he was bred to do and he is the best hunter we've ever had because of it.

Lately we can't even clean a shotgun or re-arrange our hunting gear without the dog going nuts with delight, because he thinks any time we touch hunting gear we are taking him hunting. I felt so bad when I last cleaned and oiled our shotguns because the dog looked so betrayed when I put them away when I was finished!

Dogs who love what they do are the very best competition dogs. I would almost say it would be cruel to keep them from doing what they love to do!

So, back to weight pulls.

Back when I saw that unrelated documentary (which may I remind you was several years ago now and I can't for the life of me remember it's name) I was made to understand that the dog's breed is a secondary choice for the average weight pull competitor, and it's the dog's desire to pull stuff that was the primary thing. Satisfied, I tucked it away in the back of my mind as a legitimate dog activity for dogs who like pulling. I was not shocked to find that Pit type dogs excel at it; they have a strong desire to do fun stuff with their people and they're usually pretty strong.

Recently I've seen an outcry against canine weight pulling, by people often claiming it's just a precursor to dog fighting.

I thought, maybe the sport has changed. Maybe things are different now. So I've done some research into it and watched a lot of recent videos of recent weight pulls.

To be honest I'm just not seeing it. A lot of the Pit mixes in the weight pulls I've watched? Are not the little "game bred" fighting dog type. The reality is that most fighting dogs aren't big, they aren't super-broad-chested or big-headed, they are a lot leaner and shorter than you'd believe. I don't know a lot about weight pulls, but the videos I've watched are showing the Pit mix type (aka Bully Breed Mix) that I know and love: people's pets, not fighters.

No, I am not an expert on Pit mixes, but as a dog groomer, and before that a bather, I have handled well over a thousand Pit mixes over the years. I have also looked at many different styles and trends within bully-type dogs...in my area they are plentiful, and they tend to be bigger than the fighting lines. Also they tend to have nicely chunky heads with charming smiles. However, I have also groomed fighting-bloodlines dogs. How did I know? Well, some dogs I've taken on as groom clients were seized from a fighting ring and rehabilitated. One in particular, gosh I liked that plucky little terrier bitch. She was short and squat and, ugly home-cropped ears and plentiful scars aside, pretty dang cute. She couldn't be trusted around other dogs, but was friendly and sweet-natured with humans.

I'm rambling, sorry. Back on track.

In this day and age, when so many people are literally loving their dogs to death by grossly overfeeding them, it's actually refreshing to see a group of people who enjoy a sport that basically turns their dogs into lean, muscular, fit canines. Oh my stars, these dogs in these videos of weight pull competition? It's lovely! There isn't a fat dog anywhere. Also, the dogs can't lie. A good piece of advice is to let the dog speak for itself, because a dog will never tell you a lie. If a dog is grossly obese and gasping for air, I will know that the owners are not feeding the dog appropriately or taking five-mile-hikes daily. The people, they can lie all they want, the dog will tell me the truth. Likewise, if a Poodle owner says "I brush my dog every night," and the dog has six months worth of matting complete with plants growing out of it's disgusting pelted coat, I know the owner is lying. The dog cannot lie. A neglected or abused dog cannot lie and pretend they are okay.

These weight pulling dogs are telling me a story. I know it to be true because a dog is the most honest creature on this wonderful earth. Their bodies tell me the first part of the story: These dogs are sleek and shiny, with bulging muscles. That tells me that they are being fed appropriate food and that they are also fed an appropriate amount. It tells me they are clean and meticulously cared for. It shows me that these dogs are beloved and valued companions and competitors. Their attitudes and actions tell me the second part of the story: I'm seeing wagging tails, eager expressions, an obvious desire to get into the harness and start pulling. They want to do this. It tells me they love what they are doing, they enjoy it, and they aren't being abused or hurt or forced. The way they gaze lovingly at their human partners is more than enough to tell me these people are letting these dogs do what they want to do. What they love to do.

To be perfectly honest, I suspect the reason so many Pits/BBMs excel at weight pulling is because it's fun. They get to do something physical, which is a good thing for terriers (for that is what a Pit is: a terrier) who really love a physical activity or challenge. And because they get to do this with their loving owners. Moreover, while a lot of the dogs in the videos I saw are Pit type dogs, there's a smattering of American Bulldogs, a number of straight up mutts, some Dalmatians, a number of Malamutes, and a few Alaskan Huskies as well.. I'm pretty sure I saw a Rhodesian Ridgeback too! Probably my favorite was a little Chihuahua; he was so focused and so good, it was a genuine pleasure to watch him compete. It isn't just for bully-type dogs!

I'm starting to think that the outcry is more than just concerned pet owners who don't understand. I suspect the animal rights activists, who's agenda is to eradicate all domesticated animals, are pushing the rhetoric against weight pulling. It's really sad, too, because this sport seems to have gained a lot more traction and legitimacy of late. We in the dog community really need to come together and stand firm in our support of all legitimate dog sports, because they won't end at weight pull bans. They'd love to see canine agility, flyball, bench showing, and all the rest die out as well. We cannot in good conscience let that happen.

This blog entry was originally posted on May 17, 2015. It has been re-written and re-posted here for posterity.