Dutch's first Weigh pull

[Marylou Mader]

Good afternoon everyone, I just wanted to let you all know I took Dutch to his first weight pull today. He is in NOVICE class, which allows me to work close with him and is limited to 1000 pounds. I'm proud to say he managed to pull all four times first starting at 400 then 600 then 800 then 1000.

I will keep him in this class until I can leave him the 16 feet and have him come to me within the 60 sec time limit.

It has been many years about 12 since I've had a weight puller, so this was fun to be with my Malamute friends and to have Dutch work. He is a cart dog, so the harness and the pulling is not a problem, he was not used to me leaving him or expecting him to pull so much. I look forward to sharing our future experiences...

[CanineCoach]

Congratulations to you and Dutch!! 1000 lbs -- WOW! I can't even imagine. I don't know much about this sport, but it seems to be an awesome feat to me to have a dog that very strong and that very willing to work. What a great ambassador for the breed your Dutch is! Thanks for giving him this opportunity to strut his stuff!! Keep us updated...

[Marylou Mader]

He will be going to yet another pull next week on Dec 8th, I plan on keeping him in the Novice class which allows me to work close to him and not just leave him alone, he was excited about the audience, I need to teach him to focus on me. He is such a sweetie, he is a TDI and has his CGC as well, so he tends to want to migrate toward people :0)

[NikkiDeland]

WTG Dutch! That's great!

We're hoping to be attending our first weight pull this Sat. (if I don't have to work). I haven't been able to do a lot of outside practice w/Willow (we live in the country, and it's been hunting season) but we've done a little bit and I had her pulling a tire around the basement. I still have to walk along with her also.

Have fun this weekend. Show them how it's done Dutch!

[Marylou Mader]

Nikki, is it by chance the pull in Pewaukee? I can't wait to hear how yours goes as well. From the looks of it, we might be able to use the sled instead of wheels since we had a nice snow fall :0)

[NikkiDeland]

No, not the one in Pewaukee, there's one in Rudolph which is only a little over an hour from our house. We've got two other dogs we'll be leaving behind so a long trip is just not feasible. I just ordered a coat for Willow which hopefully will arrive on Fri. because it looks like it's going to be cold on Sat.

She'll probably totally refuse to pull and tell me her feet are too cold
I can see it now, she'll have to sit on DH's lap under a blanket the whole time while we watch other dogs pulling
Either way she'll enjoy getting out of the house for the day.

I wish we lived closer to the Milwaukee area I'd love to meet you at a pull.

Can't wait to hear how Dutch does on Sat. I'm already impressed with his first pull, sounds like he's having a good time.

[Marylou Mader]

Nikki, maybe the Wisconsin Rapids shows will bring us to meeting, I'll let you know when the shows come up, I believe in early summer, or if you are ever in the Milwaukee area, feel free to let me know, we can hook up :0)

[NikkiDeland]

Marylou, for sure at Wisconsin Rapids! Even if Willow decides this is not the sport for her (the jury is still out, we'll know more after Sat.) I'd love to come and watch you and Dutch.

[Marylou Mader]

Well today is very cold and with all the snow we just had we will be pulling the sled, so this should be very interesting, as the sled is quite different from the cart with wheels.

We don't start until NOON so hopfully it warms up a bit, although the best temp for pulling on a sled is about 5 degrees ha ha ha, I'm just not as young and the cold bothers me more now than it did back in the day.

[NikkiDeland]

So, how did it go Marylou?
Ours was really, really cold too, and it was a sled pull. Poor Willow, her first pull ever and it had to be a sled. She pulled four times, the final one was 540 lbs. Her second pull was a no pull because her feet were too cold and she kept picking them up. They allow two no pulls in the novice class, so after sitting on Daddy's lap between pulls (which apparantly bothered one women) she pulled two more times then I said she had enough. Althought she did the 540 lb. in less than 30 seconds, I still thought that was good enough for the day and put her back in the warm car.
I was really proud of her, she was so well behaved. She got a chance to lick a few children after she was finished so that kind of made her day. I'm sure she would've had more fun if it wasn't so cold. Everyone kept saying that it wasn't that cold out, and of course their dogs weren't lifting up their feet after 5 minutes standing on snow, but Willow's used to laying by the fireplace.
Oh well, maybe we'll stick to the warmer pulls.
So....how did Dutch do with the sled? And how did you make out in the cold?

[Marylou Mader]

Well, BRAVO to you and Willow, I hate to say it, I didn't go, I'm getting old and my joints are arthritic so, Dutch and I will next go to the INDOOR pull in Cedarburg, please don't think I'm a mush, I had pulled years ago in the cold and it just doesn't work any more, I'm older now and I don't like to do things that hurt :0) So, I'll stick to the fair weather pulling.

Keep up the good work, if she managed to pull 4 times, that is great, next time you pull you may want to stop her at 4 or even 3 just to keep her up beat and positive.

Well, now that it is supposed to warm up a bit, I'll take him out and let him pull the tire.

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by NikkiDeland

...after sitting on Daddy's lap between pulls (which apparantly bothered one women)....

Likely because that woman wanted your cute girl sitting in her lap, keeping her warm

[NikkiDeland]

please don't think I'm a mush

Oh I don't think you're a mush, trust me. I froze my you know what off Sat. When Willow was on Barry's lap someone accused her of being spoiled, when we said her feet were cold we were informed that that's what her crate was for I said 'Thank you, I know what a crate is for'. AngelBunny's right...jealousy. Everyone knows you're suppose to smush together to stay warm.

If Cedarburg is an indoor pull, I want to go too! People kept saying 'this isn't cold, wait until it gets to -20'. I can guarantee you I will never, EVER, stand out in the cold for a dog pull when it's -20, and I think my indoor dogs would all agree with me.

[Marylou Mader]

Well, Nikki just google search the Alaskan Malamute Club of Wisconsin, you can check out all the pulls under the events calendar.

I'm glad you don't think I'm a mush, and I'm glad Willow is such a sweetheart, our breed needs all the sweetness it can get.

The people thinking she is spoiled are the hard core pullers, we used to see them years ago, I couldn't believe some of the dogs that pulled and their condition. The owners were not very nice. I'd rather have my dog give up when he wanted and either way, he comes home with me and lives in my home with me. But that is no different than any sport dog/human relationship. Really good hunting dogs don't live in the house with their owners, so I don't care if my dogs pull the most, I do it for fun, and friendships I have with my Malamute friends...

[NikkiDeland]

Yeah, there was a hard core puller parked next to us. I was sitting in the back seat of the car with Willow (Barry was helping work the sled) and I see this guy put one of his dogs back in it's crate, then I hear what sounds like an argument. I thought, that's strange, I thought he came alone. I quickly realized his was verbally chastizing his dog with 'what's wrong with you...you didn't even try...that was pathetic'.
What was really pathetic is this poor dog doesn't speak english and has no idea why his owner is so angry.
He looked a little surprised when he turned around and saw me in the back seat of my car with Willow. I took the opportunity to lean over and kiss her on the head.

We used to see some competitive people in OB and agility too.

Willow really is such a sweatheart, and with her mix of breeds I just love taking her out and showing her off.
I don't really care how she performs, I just want to spend the day doing something fun with my dog and hang out with dog people. I'm nice to her, and she works for me, that's what I want people to see.