Some Mighty Dogs
Some Mighty Dogs: Pooches of all persuasions flex their muscles in two-day competition to pull the most weight
By Blair Goldstein
JOURNAL REPORTER
Spanky, a 3-year-old American Bulldog, is hoisted onto a pulley to record his weight, which Judge Jim Dodds checks. Dogs competed according to weight class.
(Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll)
A 160-pound cart. Mounds of 50-pound dog-food bags. A 16-foot course.
It’s the ultimate strength test for dogs.
People from as far as Florida drove to Rural Hall yesterday to enter their dogs in the International Weight Pull Association’s Dog Weight Pull.
The dogs’ goal: Pull as many bags of dog food as they could for 16 feet.
Dogs ranged from a 16-pound Jack Russell Terrier that pulled 360 pounds to a 155-pound St. Bernard that pulled 2,160 pounds.
“The dogs, they love it,” said Glynn Stiles, who drove from Lake Mary, Fla., to enter his Alaskan Malamute, Ely. “This is what they are bred to do. They need a job to do.”
Becky Blevin of Winston-Salem organized the two-day program.
She said she has driven all over the southeast to enter her dogs in dog weight pulls. She said she thought that it would be nice to have a weight pull closer to home.
She arranged to set up a carpeted run in the parking lot in front of the Tractor Supply Company store on Bethania-Rural Hall Road.
Her 18-month-old American bulldog, Pearl, won a medal yesterday for pulling 1,510 pounds.
Blevins said that all of the owners in the weight pull are dog lovers.
If dogs cannot pull the weight on the cart, for example, humans will help push it so that the dogs can complete the weight pull on a positive note.
And care is taken to make sure that the dogs aren’t injured or mistreated.
“If the judge here feels like you are abusing the dog, they will tell you to leave,” she said.
The weight pull started with a weigh-in. All 22 participating dogs were hoisted up with a pulley to record their weights.
The dogs were then divided by weight class, and they competed against dogs only in a similar size category.
Dogs were harnessed to a four-wheeled carts, which were then loaded with dog food. If a dog successfully pulled a weighted cart for 16 feet, it advanced to the next round.
The dog that pulled the most weight in its class won.
Owners stood behind the finish line cheering on their pets. The most common command: “Work!”
Rob Herndon of Claremont stood behind the line to cheer on his 2-year-old American pit bull terrier, Tar-Baby.
“It’s a good way to show the public that pit bull terriers are not just for illegal purposes,” Herndon said. “He loves it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t pull dogs.”
Tar-Baby, who weighed in at 31 pounds, hauled more than 900 pounds in the weight pull, which will continue today. Weigh-in will start at 9 a.m., and the competition will begin at 10 a.m. The registration cost for the first dog is $15, and it is $10 for each additional dog.
People who are not members of the International Weight Pull Association must pay an additional $6 a dog.
? Blair Goldstein can be reached at 727-7284 or at bgoldstein@wsjournal.com.
