I'm holding a weight pull at the DuPage County Animal Care and Control Tri-Shelter Expo on 5/17/08. 120 N County Farm Rd, Wheaton, IL. We will run the pull under the rules for the Alaskan Malamute Club of America (www.alaskanmalamute.org) but any physically capable dog is welcome to come out and pull. Due to the size of the cart we use, it's recommended that the dog be at least 30lbs. We will have a Novice class for beginners as well as a regular class to compete for prizes and if a malamute, can earn legs toward their weight pull titles. Registration and weigh in are from 9:30-10:30am with the pull beginning at 11am. We will have a handler's meeting a few minutes prior to the pull.
Proceeds will go to the Illinois Alaskan Malamute Rescue Assoc. (www.iamra.org), an organization near and dear to my heart. The cost for the Novice class is $5 and for the regular class it's $10. A special type of harness is needed, we will have spares for borrowing. We really have fun at this weight pull, the dogs get a lot of good press, and rescue benefits!
A really brief tutorial about weight pulling:
The dogs have 60 seconds to pull the cart 16 feet. Dogs compete in weight classes (Under 60#, 61-80#, 81-100#, 101-120#, and 121+) to determine a winner in each class. We also award Top weight pulled and Top % to body weight pulled for which all dogs are competing against each other. The handler must use voice commands and hand signals only to get the dog to pull. A dog who does not want to pull cannot be made to pull, so it's really a lot of fun to see the relationship many of these dogs have with their owners. And sometimes the antics of the dogs who do not wish to pull are every bit as entertaining as those who pull well--I have a dog who will think about it for a while, talk to me, and then just turn around and leave, LOL!
We have a few rules to keep it safe and fun for everyone. In the novice class we will allow a leash on the dog but the leash may only be used for guidance, not pulling the dog along--that will not be allowed. We pride ourselves in that our club has been weight pulling actively since the 1960s and not a single dog has ever been hurt in a weight pull....we wish to keep it that way.
We do not allow food in the weight pull chute, any dog seeming unfit to pull will not be allowed (my decision is final), we will not tolerate any poor handling of the dogs, nor will we tolerate poor sportsmanship. Prong collars, pregnant or lactating or in heat females, and any dog posing a danger to others will not be allowed.