[Sca-cooks] OT-Snowball progress

[Stefan li Rous]

niccolo difrancesco replied to me with:

<<< -----Original Message-----
< < < SNIP > > >  He is quite willing to let me hitch him to the wagon
between the wooden tongues and with the traces. Then he'll just stand
there or sit down. I can get him to pull it for a few inches by
tempting him with half a mini-sausage link, which he seems to adore.
But it takes a lot of coaxing and if the sausage link is more than a
few inches from his nose, he decides it's not worth it. If I grasp
his collar and tug it, he is quite willing to walk and pull the
wagon. So, we'll just have to see how it goes. < < < < <

You'll find some breeds will take to the harness more readly than
others . .
. as some are more prone to fetch than others.  The Greater Swiss
Mountain
Dog, for example, is reported (on the TV shows I've watched) to take
to the
harness and load pulling like a duck to water, or a cat to a litter  
pan.>>>

I'm not sure if they initially leap to it or not, but I have a friend  
and his wife, Jason and Pegasus, who have been raising Bernnese (sp?)  
Mountain Dogs for competition. Both the senior one, and now the  
junior one, would often be at SCA events, either with or without  
their carts. These are large, husky, stocky dogs weighing around 100  
pounds and Jason said he has had them pulling 500 pounds in competition.

I've been talking to him about training Snowball and about the  
modifications I've been making to the wagon. Pegasus has loaned me  
several of her books on dog harnesses and pulling. Part of the  
complication, is that Snowball is an toy American Eskimo. He looks  
like a small Husky but quite a lot smaller at 14 pounds. I had the  
weight as 12 pounds but he just went to the vet earlier this week.  
Also, I am wanting to use Snowball at SCA events, so the wagon I am  
working on is a wooden four wheeled wagon with wooden rail sides  
rather than the two wheeled aluminum tubing carts used in  
competition. Also, I am trying to stay with a period style belly-band  
harness rather than the more efficient style, but well post-period,  
which make a V across the chest of the dog and are usually made out  
of nylon webbing.

<<< They aren't so much for fetching, though.  Terriers take to the
ground and
hounds to tracking.  I guess like a knife, if you match your dog to your
task, the task is easier.  Any dog can work, but the right dog would be
easier. >>>

Yes. However, as I mentioned, Snowball would fetch almost  
continuously if I would keep throwing something and especially likes  
to chase the toy into the water. Folks at the park I go to, which is  
one that allows dogs off-leash, have said it is unusual for such a  
small dog to fetch so enthusiastically. So I'm not sure how much  
weight to put on breed characteristics.

One of the reasons that I considered the wagon pulling for Snowball  
is that I've had trouble convincing him *not* to pull when he is on a  
leash.  My wife won't walk Snowball because she doesn't like getting  
pulled. I think part of it is that he only gets to go for a walk  
every day or two, so is just very enthusiastic and wants to get going  
when he gets out for a walk. He usually settles down and walks  
without pulling after a couple of hundred feet or so. Pulling the  
wagon though, I'm going to have to be more strict and keep him by my  
side and not just not pulling against a taut leash.

An hour or two ago, we had a real breakthrough. He was slightly  
better pulling the wagon inside and I coaxed him outside. Last night  
he got from the door to the driveway, but no further. This time that  
went easier and then I got him down the driveway between the cars and  
to the street. and then he started really walking and pulling the  
wagon. We ended up going across the street and straight along the  
other street. We're at a 'T' intersection with the base of the 'T'  
pointing into our driveway. I didn't want to try to turn Snowball and  
the wagon at right angles to go along our street. Anyway, we  
proceeded fairly smoothly down the street for about a block and  
turned up that street, turned around, went back to the first street,  
made a right turn and then back to our house. He really started to  
really move once we rounded the curve on the street and he could see  
the house and porch lights. :-) For a reward i unhitched the wagon at  
the porch and we went for a longer walk around the neighborhood.

So, I have no idea why the sudden change in attitude about pulling  
the wagon, but hopefully it will keep up. Although I did finish the  
second leather trace tonight and I wasn't using a piece of rope for  
one of them. If he keeps improving at this rate, then there should be  
no problem having him pull the wagon at our next SCA event at the end  
of October.

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****