I went to Sue Sternberg's seminar at the MSPCA yesterday to see her "Lug Nuts" program. For those of you who don't know, Sue put together a program that teaches people how to teach their dogs to compete in weight pulling. They use inexpensive snow sleds, bungee leashes, dog food bags as the weights (given out at the end of the day to the participants), and the harnesses are provided (not given, just to use). There were dogs of all sizes, including a couple of tiny terriers, three Pits, and an Aussie (not mine). Dogs pull a percentage of their own body weight, so the odds are evened up and little dogs can win, too. The idea is to provide a way for inner city youth to be macho, or to bet, or to have an outlet, but NOT to fight their dogs or breed for aggression. It was very cool to see the fun the dogs had, not to mention the people - one of my fellow trainers is an Aussie owner, too, and we got quite a kick out of seeing an Aussie in an X harness pulling a sled (versatility is their hallmark!).
The seminar was very inexpensive, and fun, so if you are in shelter work, and it comes to your part of the country, I highly recommend it as a way to learn to get your shelter into the community and reach the folks who won't necessarily come to you.