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Drafting dog

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A drafting dog, 1915
Dog pulling a carriage, Poland 2003

A drafting dog, pulling dog, or draft dog (also spelt draught dog) is a dog bred and traditionally used for pulling a dogcart, or in winter also for sled pulling.[1] Dogs bred for this work have strong builds. Many draft dogs are either mastiffs or of livestock guardian descent, both of which are dogs that are solidly-built.[2]

Breeds

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A Black Russian Terrier pulling a modern utility wagon, 2006

These dogs are working animals, traditionally used for pulling small carts called dogcarts.[3] The size of the cart matched the size of the dog. In modern times, dog carting has become a leisure and competition activity.[4] In the 20th century, headcollars were introduced to make control simpler, and they have become standard equipment in a variety of designs.[5]

Several breeds were once bred specifically to pull carts, including the Collie, Bernese Mountain Dog, St. Bernard, Bouvier des Flandres, Newfoundland and Rottweiler.[6][7]

The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog was a large working dog used by butchers, cattle dealers, manual workers and farmers, who used them as guard dogs, droving and draught dogs.[8][9]

The Bernese Mountain Dog is a large working dog with a calm temperament ideal for pulling a cart, as they used to do in Switzerland. More recently they have been used to pull carts to give children rides, or to appear in parades.[10]

Carting

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A modern two-wheeled dogcart with a dorsal hitch
A modern four-wheeled carting vehicle using shafts

Carting is a dog sport or activity in which a dog (usually a large breed) pulls a dogcart filled with supplies, such as farm goods, camping equipment, groceries or firewood, and sometimes people.[11] Carting as a sport is also known as dryland mushing and is practiced all around the world, often to keep winter sled dogs in competition form during the off-season.[12][13][14]

A variety of carting is sulky driving, where a dog or dogs pull a person in a two or four-wheeled vehicle called a sulky.[15] This sport offers both exercise and discipline opportunities for energetic breeds. Many working breeds are happier when given a job or task, and carting/sulky driving can be a rewarding hobby for both dog and owner.

The sulky is designed to have little to no weight on the dog's back. A widely used model is the dorsal hitch, which involves only one shaft from the sulky that has negative weight[further explanation needed] on the dog's harness. The dorsal hitch also allows easier going for the dog, with free range of movement as opposed to confining shafts on either side. This often simplifies initial training to the sulky, as the single high shaft does not interfere with the dog's movement.

Dogs from 15 kg body weight and upwards are able to pull an adult and a sulky comfortably. The general rule is that the total load (sulky and driver) should not exceed three times the weight of the dog doing the pulling. If, for example, the sulky and driver totaled 150 kg, then the weight of the dog pulling would need to be at least 50 kg. Smaller dogs may be used as long as the cart is of a type which can handle multiple dog draft, and the combined weight of the dogs pulling is at least one third of the load being pulled.

Dogcart

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Typical cart of a fisherman, Canada 1904
Peddlers selling milk from a dogcart in Belgium, c. 1890-1900

A cart pulled by one or more dogs is often called a dogcart, though not to be confused with a dogcart which is a specific type of horse-drawn vehicle that originally carried dogs to a hunt.

Dog carts pulled by two or more dogs were historically used in Belgium and the Netherlands for delivering milk, bread, and other goods.[16] In early Victorian Britain, dogcarts were associated with bakers, and when they used the area reserved for pedestrians, were considered a nuisance.[17] Dog-drawn carts were prohibited in London in 1840, but some still exist (mainly for reasons of novelty) in France and Belgium for delivering churns of milk from small farms to the dairy.

LVI – Dog Carts, &c. prohibited after 1st January 1840.

And be it enacted, That after the First Day of January next every Person who within the Metropolitan Police District shall use any Dog for the Purpose of drawing or helping to draw any Cart, Carriage, Truck, or Barrow shall be liable to a Penalty not more than Forty Shillings for the First Offence, and not more than Five Pounds for the Second or any following Offence.
— Metropolitan Police Act 1839, section 56; repealed by Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973]

Carts pulled by a single dog were sometimes used by peddlers. Dogs were used as draught animals during the World War I to pull small field guns. Dogs were used by the Soviet Army in World War II to pull carts containing a stretcher for wounded soldiers.

In culture

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The Dutch-Belgian artist Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (1821–1909) painted many pictures in the Romantic style of drafting dogs pulling dogcarts.[18] Sled dogs were used to pull equipment and men efficiently over the snow and ice on Roald Amundsen's 1911 expedition to the South Pole.[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Nadine Gerth; Steffen Sum; Sue Jackson; J. Matthias Starck. "Muscle plasticity of Inuit sled dogs in Greenland". Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  2. ^ Mansourian, Erika. "Breeds Who Enjoy Drafting Just for the Haul of it". www.akc.org. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Dogcarts". Dogcarts and Lioncarts. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019. Website contains many paintings of drafting dogs pulling dogcarts.
  4. ^ Waldbaum, Laura (2011). Carting with Your Dog. Dogwise Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61781-032-9.
  5. ^ Jensen, Per (2007). The Behavioural Biology of Dogs. CABI. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-84593-188-9.
  6. ^ Mehus-Roe, Kristin (21 January 2009). Canine Sports & Games: Great Ways to Get Your Dog Fit and Have Fun Together!. Storey Publishing, LLC. pp. 232–237. ISBN 978-1-60342-645-9. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  7. ^ Coren, Stanley; Hodgson, Sarah (15 February 2011). Understanding Your Dog For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-118-05276-1. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  8. ^ Great Swiss Mountain Dog Archived February 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (in English), Vertebrate Animals Department, Naturhistoriches Museum der Burgergemeinde Bern
  9. ^ Moustaki, Nikk i (2012). Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. CompanionHouse Books. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-59378-722-6.
  10. ^ Young-Knox, Sara (2 December 2012). "Conway celebrates with jolly holiday parade". The Union Leader. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  11. ^ "Carting Divisions, Rules and Titles" (PDF). Canineshumansunited.com. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  12. ^ "More Sports for All Dogs: Drafting & Carting". American Kennel Club. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Dog carting enthusiasts keen to pull in new fans - The Country - The Country News". The New Zealand Herald. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  14. ^ Falson, Sarah (30 June 2017). "Drafting dogs in suburbia". Hawkesbury Gazette. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  15. ^ "Beyond obedience and agility: 5 unusual dog-powered sports". Cesar's Way. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  16. ^ Dogcarts & Lioncarts. The Messybeast.
  17. ^ Robinson, William (1842). The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Stoke Newington in the County of Middlesex: Containing an Account of the Prebendal Manor, the Church, Charities, Schools, Meeting Houses, &c., with Appendices . p. 18. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Henriette Ronner-Knip - Artworks". The Athenaeum. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  19. ^ Huntford, Roland (1985). The Last Place on Earth. London and Sydney: Pan Books. pp. 90, 248. ISBN 0-330-28816-4.
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