I would say it like this. If you have little knowledge how to condition handwalking is a foolproof system. If you got the weight right.
You wont have a dog with that edge, but you wont have a dog in poor shape either. I use some handwalking in my keeps. But i use other methods a majority of the time.
Well said Skipper.
However, I will also state that I know an old man who's beaten some of the best dogs and dogmen in the history of the game, who has neve4 done anything but handwalk ... as well as place the dog on a heavy 15-ft chain on a hillside ... but he knew what a good dog looked like as well as how to call a lowest best weight.
Handwalking is only as effective as the handler. If your lazy then the result of the handwalk will be as such too. A dog will only pull for so long or in brief spurts if your walking far enough out. As the handler, keeping pace and encouraging when tired and only stopping to empty are very important. When I say keeping pace, it should be a brisk walk, not a stroll down the sidewalk. If he pulls you, good, you just steer at this point until you have to take over and bring him along with encouragement. As long as the dog is at the front of the lead I don't mind, but I don't want any major slack or limpness to my lead while walking. I always talk to my dog while walking, not conversation's, but just to let them know I can see that they are trying and it makes me happy. It works for me and I see a stronger loin in a dog with handwalking.
Bad lighting on the pic 3 weeks out
The two times I used hand walking I got very good results. You cannot hurt one with walking. It is very time consuming and as already mentioned. The dog needs to be a active type that will get out front and hunt. I used a pulling harness and a 30 foot rope leash. With knots every so often to prevent getting a rope burn if dog saw something and tried to run forward.
At that time I lived in the country. There was a long back woods dirt road next to my home that I had access to. No longer available today, due too the house building in my area. John Q public is every where now, with their new fangled Smart phones. Yikes!!!!!
Myself and wife did the walking in intervals, since I had to work a 8 hour or longer job. My wife who was a good strong country gal. She began in the AM, walked the dog 2 1/2 miles out and back in. In the early PM would repeat the process. When I got home at a specific starting time. Used what ever mill the dog liked the best. Worked in intervals on the mill and short cooling walks.
About the fat guy walking the dog ten miles, I think not. Myself and wife would be much leaner at the end of the keep. Hand walking is not for the lazy types. Braddock's MR Clean was only hand walked and road worked with a Bicycle. The last bitch dog I pulled was hand walked and worked on a round table. Was all she would do. Both dogs were in great shape. Was no real danger of over working them.
V. Jackson when living in S.C. had excess to nice big soft track roads to road work his dogs in the P.M. In the AM he had plenty of young marines that would rather do a dog trotting, hand walk with his dog. Than Barracks and Latrine duty. He was a Supply Staff Sargent and rotated those young marines on a work and watch billet. Jog trotting and walking with a Bulldog was a Marine blast of fun to them. Sure many of them today remember walking and running with Gunny Jackson's bulldogs. HU RAAA.
P.S. when hand walking or out in the back roads and woods. Kept a good pellet gun and break stick with me. When my wife walked the dog she also tied the end of the rope around her. Murphy's Law is always in effect 24/7. Cheers
I only walk my dogs realistically on their days off. I do agree that if you're not up on conditioning animals, then walking is a good place to start, but I would never take a dog to a show that would only walk. I know there are folks that have been successful with that, but by and large those are few and far between that win with that on a regular basis.
I only leashed walked this bitch right here. She did a 8 week keep of leash walking only.
She looks good.
Like most topics/threads there are variables. If we are talking about a dog walking at the heel position one would have to be a Kenyan marathoner to get a dog into shape. Take the same dog and he pulls his companion down the path, to the point the walker can lean back, those are two totally different dogs doing basically the same thing. Hand walking while pulling/dragging a weight that is 20-25-30 percent of his body weight and that is an entirely different ball game as well.
One of the benefits of hand walking is one can get a real feel for the development and progress of the dog. Paying attention to the rate and length the dog pulls at one weight and feeling that same rate and length as the weight decreases, and then recognizing the fall off is a really good way to call a weight. Granted other equipment is being used all the while, but personally feeling the power of the dog is a great learning tool. I am a big fan myself.
Again, hand walking is just like a slat mill. They are both tools. The very best slat mill on the planet used incorrectly is not worth a squirt of piss. If a person wanted to dig a hole he could use a claw hammer, a shovel, or a set of post hole diggers. All three can dig a hole but each are suited to dig a certain type/size hole. Dog equipment is no different.
The risk/reward factor is a biggie as well. It is really, really hard to over walk a dog. A well fed, lean and fit bulldog would need some variables to be hurt by walking. Hot asphalt/concrete, other surfaces that would damage a pad. A hard pulling dog pulling against a collar on his throat for lengths of time. Un tethered dogs/animals one could happen upon. Just like anything there are drawbacks.
Great posts. EWO
Good post EWO.
Originally Posted by CYJ
Nice post.
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