Weight carrying for a 7 month old pit mix

[intrigued20030]

Our Pitbull terrier mix puppy is 7 months old and 50 pounds. I am convinced he's as strong as an OX. He's been able to pull me over on a buckle leash and with the Easy Walk harness since he was 5 months old. We have a Gentle Leader now which is really helpful with the dog/person/squirrel down the street is far more interesting than the treats I have are. He still pulls in all directions even though we have been following Kikopup's sage advice for the past few months.

Someone suggested we walk him with a little weight. That should tire him out a bit more and hopefully help to prevent him from pulling so hard. We were thinking about getting a backpack for him and slowing building him up to carry a nalgene full of water in each pocket. We were planning to do this when he is older anyway because we'd like to take him camping/backpacking. We just hadn't considered walking him with the weight while he's still a puppy.

My questions are

• (1) how much time would should take to build up the weight and
• (2) how often should we walk him with weight.

I'm (perhaps obviously?) concerned about his joints since he's still growing.

Finally, do you have recommendations for what backpack to purchase? We haven't done this yet.

 

[ladykay]

@intrigued20030 I used weight for that reason with my gsd, and pit breeds make good draft animals, but wait until he is at least a year old.

 

[graybiker]

@intrigued20030 Hello! This is a great question, and while I feel I am less qualified (have never used a backpack on my dogs) to answer this question, I feel I can give additional tips! Train the pup! Mental stimulation is SO important. It will tire your dog out just as much as walking your dog will. If you do a 15 minute, fun, positive training session where you're teahcing the pup new tricks and behaviors right before your walks, he will be much more mentally tired. This may help with his behavior during walks!

 

[intrigued20030]

@graybiker Training right before walks is a good idea. We definitely already invest quite a bit of training time though. We just started an intermediate class and work with him on various other fun things. We're thinking he might enjoy tracking to burn some energy too, but we haven't looked into that very seriously yet.

He just has way way way more energy than I can ever hope to in my life.

 

[graybiker]

@intrigued20030 Haha, I love an energetic dog because it's easier to channel that energy into something constructive like tricks, agility coursing, tracking, nosework, etc. Tracking would be fantastic! If you're even slightly interested in doggy sports, check out nosework courses. My girl and I do Competition Obedience, and Nosework, and I can tell she enjoys Nosework way more. It's a very handler-off sport, and very confidence building for the dogs. There's a lot of mental and physical exercise involved.

Anyway, it'd be awesome to do some training before your walks to get the pup a little more mentally tired so he doesn't seem so amped up by the thought of hunting a squirrel, or what have you.

 

[intrigued20030]

@graybiker Do you have recommendations on where to get started learning about where to find nosework courses? Is there a trusted organization you go through? In case it helps, we are in the Chicago, IL area.

 

[graybiker]

@intrigued20030 You'll need to find a training facility near you (not petco/petsmart) that offers Nosework classes that are instructed by a certified Nosework instructor. The training facility where I work has a certified Nosework instructor who works there is she is absolutely fantastic. It's a somewhat new sport, so I believe the instructors are rare, however, it's great that you live in IL because the more northern states are the ones that lack an interest in Canine Nosework.

 

[angelanguyen]

@intrigued20030 I just ordered some of those Outward Hound backpacks for my guys. A lot of backpacks just have a strap in front, and I thought that configuration would interfere with a dog's shoulder movement. Each dog matures differently, so I would ask my vet how much he can safely carry at that age.

 

[vont83rice]

@intrigued20030 I have the backpack you posted and it works great! the backpack is removable from the harness which is great when we are taking a break. Both sides of the pack have to be even however or it slides off.

 

[cursedbeast]

@intrigued20030 I would NOT be putting weight on a dog, regardless of that dog's strength, before at least a year. Their joints aren't fully developed yet.

 

[kbupdike]

@intrigued20030 Generally it isn't recommended to start these guys with any weight until a year and a half. If you check out r/dogtraining there is a ton of good info on teaching leash manners. The leash training takes lots of patience and repitition/reinforcement but a couple short sessions a day paired with focus exercises and gradual distractions will help.
Frankly, just walking even with weight isn't great for tiring a dog out. (But it will help make them stronger and better able to pull you around) Just in general you need a pace of 4 mph to be decent exercise for dogs like this and walk at least 4 miles or so. They need full out cardio type of exercise, preferably Before the walk for best results. Also take along his favorite toy or squeaky instead of just treats. With my pup we sometimes stop and play tug as a reinforcement or to distract him from something/redirect his focus back on me. Try different types of food treats, my dog goes for novelty, others crave cheese over hot dog or kibble. Use the higher value treats when there are more distractions. I usually have 2 or 3 different types of treats and a toy for walks. We do a ton of click and treats for good loose lead manners.

 

[intrigued20030]

@kbupdike We're already doing everything you have recommended, except bringing toys on walks. I simply do not have enough pockets and/or coordination for that, and our pup is so highly motivated by treats I don't expect that to help much anyway. How do you carry all that?

This is why our trainer suggested having him carry weight. If you have additional suggestions I would really love to hear them. Our pup truly truly has endless energy when it comes to greeting other dogs/people. That is his highest motivator by far and no amount of steak, cheese, sausage, etc. will distract him from it even if he's spent the last five hours continuously running around at daycare. This is how he's pulled me over a few times. This is really a safety issue for me at this point.

 

[kbupdike]

@intrigued20030 I understand, i feel like I lack coordinations sometimes with all our stuff. Lots of pockets! I usually have a treat bag clipped to my belt and a couple zip locks of different food in my pockets. I try to keep a squeaky toy or rope in my jacket pocket Sometimes I carry a small backpack with different toys. Sometimes we just do one big bag of treats and one toy (much easier).
My pup is the same way, 10 months old pit and loves to throw himself at new people. Until your dog is better leash trained try to walk during off hours when there are fewer distractions. I work nights so we go walking at 2 am and do a lot of practice. We do the click and treat method with penalty yards. Be vigilant watching for distractions, as soon as you spot one, turn and go a different direction. Your pup isn't ready to deal with distractions yet. My dog is more than strong enough to pull me down but he's only managed to pull me once when we were at the park, it was way too distracting. Also do lots of focus work - http://animalsense.com/2012/01/hey-rex-im-importance-attention-exercises/ I just finished a class called Fantastic Focus where we did nothing but focus exercises first in the classroom then on field trips to local parks. It was the best thing I could do, I saw major improvement in my pup after the second class and we are continuing the practice daily. I would suggest 10 -15 min of focus work and 15 min of leash practice (not walks just practice) at least once a day and not twice.
These super social dogs can be hard to work with around distractions because meeting a new dog/person is just SO Exciting. Work on being more exciting with your pup, change the pitch of your voice talk silly get excited, squeak the toy. Until he's more reliable on the leash avoid distractions.

 

[intrigued20030]

@kbupdike Ah thank you so much for the focus work class suggestion. I didn't realize that existed. I will have to find a class like that. We do it at home a good bit but upping the distraction level with a class will definitely help.

These super social dogs can be hard to work with around distractions

Ha, that is the understatement of the century! I know we can get there someday, but it feels so far away right now.

Thank you so much for the recommendations. Particularly about avoiding distractions all together. We've been trying to do this, but we hadn't yet gone so far as to walking him in the middle of the night. You are right that it is too much distraction for him right now. Perhaps we can find some quieter neighborhoods.

 

[streetpreachergirl]

@intrigued20030 I have no suggestions, sorry but will tell you to cross post over in r/pitbulls and r/dogtraining, a lot of cross section of owners.