One of the most anticipated events at the Specialty in Frederick, Maryland was the carting demonstration put on by Beth Ostrander of Dog Works Inc..
Many of the attendees were swapping carting stories earlier in the week. Several others were looking at picking up equipment orders that Beth was bringing to the hotel. As you can see, some of the Pyrs were unimpressed.
The mixture of experience was interesting. Some people had never heard of carting, and were very eager to learn all about carting. Others had many years of experience with several different dogs, and possibly several different breeds.
A few others had done a bit of carting with their Pyrs, but relished the chance to talk to Beth and see her demo. I know Beth got swarmed by people with questions after her demo. Beth brought Buoy as her "demo dog". If you've seen Beth's video, then you've seen Buoy in action. I think he also models several of the items in the Dog Works catalog. More about Buoy later...
Beth began by showing what a trained carting dog can do, using Buoy pulling a Dog Works Competition Cart. After a brief explanation of what the various pieces were - harness, traces, cart, girth strap, shafts, etc. - she took Buoy up and down the road a couple of times.
Buoy takes a break while Beth talks... It was pretty cute. If Beth talked longer than Buoy thought was "acceptable", he'd sit down.
A demo of the hookup procedure was done in detail. Beth and Buoy make it look easier than it sometimes is - Buoy stood still. That helps a lot! Beth did mention several times that you want to have done some basic obedience training with your dog, and that carting requires teaching the dog extra commands for start, stop, left, right, and other "techniques" that you may wish to employ.
| Carting Demo (Pt. 2) | Go to Carting with Your Dog Page |
Copyright © 2000 Warrick Wilson
Portions copyright by original authors and photographers.
This page and content may not be reproduced without permission from Warrick Wilson.