A drafting dog, pulling dog, or draft dog (also spelt draught dog) is a dog bred and traditionally used for pulling a dogcart, or in winter also for sled pulling. Dogs bred for this work have strong builds. Many draft dogs are either

mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short ( brachycephalic) and the ears dr ...

s or of livestock guardian descent, both of which are dogs that are solidly-built.

Working animals

These dogs are

working animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks instead of being slaughtered to harvest animal products. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for ...

s, traditionally used for pulling small carts called dogcarts. The size of the cart matched the size of the dog. In modern times, dog carting has become a leisure and competition activity. In the 20th century, headcollars were introduced to make control simpler, and they have become standard equipment in a variety of designs. Several popular breeds were once bred specifically to pull carts, including

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

Bernese Mountain Dog The Bernese Mountain Dog (german: Berner Sennenhund) is a large dog breed, one of the four breeds of Sennenhund- type dogs from Bern, Switzerland and the Swiss Alps. These dogs have roots in the Roman mastiffs. The name ''Sennenhund'' is derived ...

s, St. Bernards,

Bouvier des Flandres The Bouvier des Flandres is a herding dog breed originating in Flanders, Belgium. They were originally used for general farm work including cattle droving, sheep herding, and cart pulling, and nowadays as guard dogs and police dogs, as well a ...

, Newfoundlands and

Rottweiler The Rottweiler (, ) is a breed of domestic dog, regarded as medium-to-large or large. The dogs were known in German as , meaning Rottweil butchers' dogs, because their main use was to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat ...

s, though they often found other uses such as

guard dog A guard dog or watchdog (not to be confused with an attack dog) is a dog used to watch for and guard property against unwanted or unexpected human or animal intruders. The dog is discerning so that it does not annoy or attack the resident hum ...

s and sheepdogs. The

Greater Swiss Mountain Dog The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog (german: Grosser Schweizer Sennenhund or french: Grand Bouvier Suisse) is a dog breed which was developed in the Swiss Alps. The name ''Sennenhund'' refers to people called ''Senn'' or ''Senner'', dairymen and h ...

was a large working dog used by butchers, cattle dealers, manual workers and farmers, who used them as

guard dogs A guard dog or watchdog (not to be confused with an attack dog) is a dog used to watch for and guard property against unwanted or unexpected human or animal intruders. The dog is discerning so that it does not annoy or attack the resident hum ...

droving Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding. Droving stock to market—usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs—has a very long history in the Old World. An owner might entrust an agent to de ...

and draught dogs.Great Swiss Mountain Dog
(in English), Vertebrate Animals Department, Naturhistoriches Museum der Burgergemeinde Bern The Bernese Mountain Dog is a large working dog with a calm temperament ideal for pulling a cart, as they used to do in Switzerland. More recently they have been used to pull carts to give children rides, or to appear in parades.

In culture

The Dutch-Belgian artist Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (1821–1909) painted many pictures in the Romantic style of drafting dogs pulling dogcarts.

Sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transportation in Arctic areas ...

s were used to pull equipment and men efficiently over the snow and ice on

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen beg ...

's 1911 expedition to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

. File:Ronner Knip Henriette The Dog Cart.jpg, ''The Dog Cart'', oil on canvas, Henriëtte Ronner-Knip File:Henriette Ronner Kurze Rast.jpg, ''A Short Rest'', oil on wood Henriëtte Ronner-Knip File:Aan de Zuidpool - p1913-164-1.jpg, ''To the South Pole'': photograph of

sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness, most commonly a sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transportation in Arctic areas ...

s on

Amundsen's South Pole expedition The first ever expedition to reach the South Pole, geographic Southern Pole was led by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. He and four others arrived at the pole on 14 December 1911, five weeks ahead of a British party led by Robert Falcon ...

, 1911

References

External links

St. Bernard video

Rottweiler video
{{Authority control Dog roles Working dogs

Working animals

In culture

See also

References

External links