Weight pulling club

The First APA Weight Pull in England (Posted - 5/19/2005 7:23:15 AM)
by Mark Landers
The past weekend in Sheffield, UK, history was revisited. We were proud to be a part of what hopes to be European/British Isles insurgency of working dogs. Sheffield, located in the northwest section of the UK, is a hardworking blue collar community, a steel town that has a steeped and proud tradition of hardworking and hard playing people. If anyone has a copy of the movie "The Full Monty", this is the city where it was filmed at.
You can't go one city block and not see some "bloke" walking his "Staffy" tight at its end of its lead proud as a peathingy walking down these historic brownstone laden streets. Even though there is a breed specific ban against the American Pit Bull Terrier there is no doubt that the English Staffordshire Bull Terrier is still the counties canine of choice. Steve Lewis, Eli and myself were welcomed into Steve and Ellie Owens home like we were part of their family. Two more gracious and hardworking people would be hard to find. Putting on their show while tending to their four children. It is remarkable to see the dedication and the love for their dogs they exhibit. Their whole community of dog friends/some of which are also Stevens football mates were there to lend a hand. Mick, Richard, David, just to name a few, were all great lads with hearts of gold. The pull was Sunday the 15th of May. It was the first sanctioned all breed APA weightpull in the UK and you couldn't have asked for nicer weather. The pull itself followed an ABA sanctioned dog show which attracted well over 40 participants. Myself and Steve Lewis were treated to many fine examples of AB's in England. The whole event was staged on the cricket field, yes I did say cricket field, at Davy Sports and Social Club in Sheffield. Though only eight dogs entered, everyone's participation was wonderful as this sport is virtually unknown at this point in the UK. Two staffies, one weighing in at 39 and the other at 40, stole the show with their percentages. Chris Speakmans little red dog had highest percentage pulling 700 lbs on a rather tough grass cricket field. Chris's mate Allan, was not far behind with his brindle "Boomer" pulling a substantial 600 lbs. In the 80 lb class we were treated to two of the best looking muscular boys in the field, Player and Kojo, both great looking American Bulldogs. Skelley and Steve should both be proud, we are proud of both of them. The 100 lb class was full of great talent. Craig Limbs dog Reba had a great showing pulling a solid 600 lbs. Ian's Thor, a little bit in front of Reba with a strong 700 lb pull. Tony and Tilk took second in the class with a 900 lb showing. And with most weight pulled with an outstanding 1400 lbs Andrew and Yukon!
We can't, Eli and I, thank everyone enough for their warm and gracious hospitality. With the effort and I do mean work ethic that Steve and Ellie and the rest of their mates seem to be putting in to their dogs, it won't be long before they are coming over to the states and taking back some gold medals to this town that is know for hardworking people, staffie bulls and of course one of the best football teams on the face of the earth, SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

On April 8 th, 2006; Roy King organized the first canine weight pull in Scotland. The pull was sanctioned by the United Pulling Federation (UPF) and judged by Steve Owen of England. Steve is veteran judge who has served as a chief judge at seven weight pulls in England over the past two year. Steve and his wife Ellie played a major roll in bring canine weight pulling to Europe. Steve also serves as a board member for the United Pulling Federation.
Following the pull on Saturday, April 8 th, both Roy and Steve considered the pull to be a huge success. The response from competitors and spectators was so positive that Roy is already in the process of planning his next event, “It went that well, and we had so much positive interest. Some people have approached me to setup a training club like Steve and Ellie have up here in Scotland”, commented Roy.

Steve and Ellie’s reaction to the pull was very similar to that of Roy. “The reaction of the spectators has been great. They were all very interested in the event, asking various questions on how to start out with there dogs, and what training did it entail,” comment Ellie. Ellie estimated that about 50 spectators where in attendance at the event.

Reporter Michael Blackley covered the pull for the Edinburgh News. His article “Weight-pulling sport dogged by claims of animal cruelty,” appeared in the Edinburgh newspaper and on their website on Tuesday, April 1lth. An Editorial entitled “Dog Pulling should go the way of fighting and baiting,” appeared on the Scotsman.com website later that day.

Like any sensationalized true life stories both the article and editorial contained a number of misrepresentations and out right lies. We will now examine both the article by Michael Blackley and the editorial to see what really took place on April 8 th. As Paul Harvey would say, “The Rest of the Story.”

We will first examine Michael Brinkley’s article “Weight-pulling sport dogged by claims of animal cruelty”. You can view a copy of Michael’s article by visiting: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=554962006.

The article states, “A new sport in which dogs are made to haul huge bags of industrial sand weight up to 2,000lbs has been branded cruel by animal campaigners.”

First a very trivial point. The sand bags used during the competition where 50 pounds each (22.679 KG), not really what I would consider huge. In fact a 50lb weight increment is fairly standard.

But this first sentience did contain one huge lie, the dogs are not “MADE” to pull the weight. They chose to pull the weight. A handler can only encourage the dog by calling them once the have crossed the finish line. The handler can not touch the dog, or use any type of bait (be it a toy, food, or even a lead) to encourage the dog to pull. These rules where demonstrated for the handlers and spectators prior to the start of the competition.

“Branded cruel by animal campaigners”, who exactly are these animal campaigners that Mr. Blackley is referring too? He never does state in his article. The fact is there was not a single protester that attended the event, this was not only collaborated by Roy, Steve, and Elli, but also by Chris thingyerson the manage of the facility that hosted the event.

The article states, “More then 30 dogs took part…” Even though the host wishes that was true, the fact is only 12 regular class dogs participated and 5 novice dogs. A novice dog is one that is still in training to compete in the regular class. The rules for novices dogs are slightly different to help encourage the dog to make successful pulls.

The article states, “They were hooked up to two-wheel trailer…” This is completely untrue. The cart did indeed have four wheels and does comply with the UPF rules.

The article states, “…which they then attempted to drag for about 15 yards (or 45 feet), often causing huge strain in the animals.” This statement may be even more ridiculous then the previous statement. The distance from the start line to the finish line is in fact 16 feet, set by the UPF rules. How Mr. Blackley over stated the distance by nearly three times is anyone guess. After the statement about the dogs DRAGGING a two wheeled cart 45 feet, it makes you question if Mr. Blackley even attended the weight pull. But we do have confirmation that a report was in attendance at the event, we have not been able to verify that it was in fact Mr. Blackley. In preparation for this article, I attempted to contact Mr. Blackley, but I am yet to receive a response from him.

Mr. Blackley also states that the dogs where under a huge amount of stain. I can see why a dog that would be dragging 2,000lbs down a 45 foot track using only a two wheeled cart, would be under a lot of strain. But since that was not the case, I guess we will just have to take Mr. Blackley’s word for it.

The article states, “Some of the competing dogs refused to take part”. It is true that three dogs no pulled during the event. Two of the dogs that no pulled where novice and the other simply laid down. Remember for a number of these dogs this was their first competition, and probably the first time they ever pulled in front of more then just a couple family members. Is it unusual for a dog to no pull? Of coarse not, it happens. A good example would be Chunka, an Alaskan Malamute owned by Nathan Sellers. At the 2002 IWPA Nationals, Chunka no pulled on snow. This after winning the 2001 IWPA National title. After no pulling in 2002, Chunka went on win four IWPA National silver medals and is consider among the best weight pulling Alaskan Malamutes of all time. So yes it does happen.

The article states, “Dog pulling has been prominent in America for many years and often involves bull terriers which show no interest in fighting.” I do commend Mr. Blackley for not comparing weight pulling to dog fighting.

Now we will examine the editorial that was submitted to the Scotsman. Since this is an editorial we do not know the name of the author, and after reading his or her account of the pull it is highly unlikely they even attended the event. You can read the compete editorial at: http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=553842006.

The editorial states, “It is quite surprising that the dog remains mans’ best friend in light of the abuse some receive at the hands of their owners”. I really do not know what to say to this. By that statement, it makes me wonder if the author even feels that people should own pets? Or do they think they would be better off on their own? This person obviously has no idea what type of care is required to keep a sporting dog in condition to compete. Not just weight pulling but any physical activity.

The editorial states, “While not as grotesque or cruel as dog-fighting or badger baiting, the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is quite right to condemn the latest animal freak show to hit our shores.” I also contacted the Scottish SPCA to see what their position was on canine weight pulling, as of today have not received any response. So I asked Roy King to do the same, and he is also still waiting for a response. So at this point we have no idea what the Scottish SPCA’s position on weight pulling truly is.
The editorial states, “Competing in weight categories dog were expected to pull heavily laden sledges across the ground.” I assume that a sledge was the same thing as a sled, so I referred to wikipedia.org. Wikipeda describes a sledge as:

A sled, sledge or sleigh is a vehicle with runners for sliding instead of wheels for rolling. It is used for transport on surfaces with low friction, usually snow or ice but any grassy surface is good when it is not too dry.

It is true that weight pulling competitions are often held using a sled on snows, but this competition was indeed a wheel pull, using a regulation cart. A fact that was easily determinable by anyone attending the event.

The editorial states, “One unfortunate animal was tasked with trying to pull a sled loaded up with 2100lb…” The reality is the most weight pulled that day was 1,800lbs by Thor a 112lb American Bulldog owned by Ian Patterson. Thur has a career best pull of 2,100lbs.

The editorial states, “…the event could only go ahead because it was staged indoors, as it is illegal to make a dog pull a loads on a public highway…” Surprisingly it is true that a weight pull can not be held on any public property in Scotland, including public highways. It is not true that the event need to be held indoors. In fact the event can be held anywhere on private property. They could have held the event anywhere on the sporting complex.

The editorial states “The SSPCA is now seeking to have this loophole closed, calling for stricter guidelines to prevent further competitions being staged at any venue and is calling for venues themselves to refuse to take bookings.” As mentioned above, I contacted the Scottish SPCA to see if this was indeed true and still have yet received a response. I also asked Chris thingyson if the SSPCA had contacted them about no longer hosting canine weight pulls, they have not.

The editorial states, “They say it is not only cruel but fear dogs that have not been properly trained in pulling excessive loads could easily be injured.” Who is they? The editorial leads you to believe that the SSPCA said this, but did they really? No dogs where injured during the completion in Scotland. In fact neither the TSAMC nor the IWPA have ever reported a dog being injured during a competition. Both the TSAMC and the IWPA have been hosting canine weight pulls for more then 20 years each in the United States.

Ellie Owen commented, “We haven’t spoken with any officials from the SSPCA. However we have spoken with their English counterparts the RSPCA, who we have talked with at great length’s both prior and since May 15 th, 2005 when we hosted the UK’s first ever sanctioned weight pull. Their obvious concerns have been the sam as ours and that is that all dogs taking part are not put under any pressure. That they pull in suitable equipment and not from collars and that the dogs are not baited with any form of treat either food or toys.” She also stated that they have invited people form the SPCA to attend their events on unmoors occasions and are proud to say they have never received a complaint. Ellie also mentioned they currently have police officers, social workers, and even a dog warden who compete with them in their club back in England.

The editorial states, “From the evidence they have seen they say that some dogs are clearly unaccustomed to such tasks and simply incapable of dealing with the loads their owners were trying to encourage the to pull.” Again who is they? It is hard to take much credibility from an unknown source.

The editorial states: “It is sad to see that some dog owners seem unable to derive pleasure from owning and caring for a dog in return for love and affection and only seem to be able to gain some degree of perverse satisfaction from pushing an animal to beyond it limits of strength and endurances.” The person who wrote this editorial as obviously never seen enjoyment that both dog and handler receive from successfully completing at task. Obviously some one as passionate as this person would have confronted the organizer, judge, and handlers about how they where abusing these poor animals? Well the fact is they did not. Of all the people I contacted for this article, none of them report any such altercation accorded.

The event was by no means without problems, unlike the article and editorial above I will report the whole story. The host facility did receive some complaints from other users about so many dogs being at the sports complex, as their where other events being held on that day. But these where simply complaints about the number of dogs at the complex and no reference to why the dogs where there. The West Lothian Leisure could have easily received the same complaints if the had been hosting a dog show or any other canine sporting event. Keep in mind that only 17 dogs competed in the weight pulling event. If other dogs where present, that was something the event organizer had no control over.

Chris also mentioned that things may have run a little smother for his staff, if handlers had used the proper doors to enter the building. Chris commented, “In term of the problems we experienced, some of the participants failed to grasp the instructions regarding bringing dogs into the Sports Centre. Access was controlled through a fire door directly to the pulling area but some of the dog owners kept using the main public entrance. The noise was also a factor that we had not anticipated.”

Chris did report some complaints from spectators, “Yes, mainly over not allowing there dogs into the Sports Centre.” Roy and Chris agreed a head of time that the only dogs allowed on the premises where those to be competing in the event. Even though it is not uncommon to see spectators at a pull with their dogs, it is not an unreasonable request by Chris that only those dogs competing in the competition be allowed on the premises.

When asked if the facility would allow another canine weight pulled be beheld on their property, Chris responded, “Yes, on our property but not with in the building. We have an outdoor area that I feel would have been better served for this purpose although weather obviously plays an enormous part in planning of these events.”

Once you start looking at the actual events that took place at this dog pull, you quickly realize all you have is an eager report and an animal activist trying to sensationalize a non-story into something more. The one thing these two reports both do show is that of abuse, fortunately the only abuse that took place was that of the truth!

A copy of this article has been sent to both the Scotsman and the Edinburgh News, I guess we will have to wait and see if they have time to report the real story.

Mike Swenson