Okay folks, I have a question. I was at a seminar this weekend for canine structure and the question came up as to whether a dog uses their front or rear to pull with. My initial reaction was their front, but after thinking about it further, I think it's much more complicated than this. I think terrain, weight load, not to mention the type of harness the dog wears all affect how they pull and drive. My therory is that they use both front and rear, sometimes equally and sometimes one is used more than the other.
After watching a video of a Swissy at a weight pull, it seemed to me the dog was using its rear much more than its front. I don't have any proof that this is the case, but I can tell you the dog squatted its rear down, kept his rear feet planted, and pushed with the rear. The front end of the dog lifted up and the front legs seemed to claw at the ground in an effort to keep the dog going straight (instead of arcing around on the end of rope) more than pull the dog forward.
Now maybe with a carting harness that has stays the dog wouldn't feel like it could swing around and thus would be able to use more of its front for pulling. I just don't know the answer to that.
John Engstrom Plano, TX
_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail
