Carting is a

dog sport The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

or activity in which a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

(usually a large

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

) pulls a

dogcart A dogcart (or dog-cart) is a light horse-drawn vehicle, originally designed for sporting shooters, with a box behind the driver's seat to contain one or more retriever dogs. The dog box could be converted to a second seat. Later variants included ...

filled with supplies, such as farm goods, camping equipment, groceries or firewood, but sometimes pulling people. Carting as a sport is also known as

dryland Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

mushing Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most commonly ...

and is practiced all around the world, often to keep winter

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

s in competition form during the off-season. (Note that the term "

" is primarily used to mean a particular type of light

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

Sulky driving

A variety of carting is

sulky A sulky is a lightweight cart with two wheels and a seat for the driver, generally pulled by horses or dogs. With horses, a sulky is used for harness racing. The term is also used for an arch-mounted cart on wheels or crawler tracks, used in ...

driving, where a dog or dogs pulls a two-wheeled cart (sulky) with a person riding in the sulky. This sport offers both exercise and discipline opportunities for energetic breeds. Many working breeds are happier when given a job or task, and carting/sulky driving can be a rewarding hobby for both dog and owner. The sulky is designed to have little to no weight on the dog's back, given their sensitive spine. A widely used model is the dorsal hitch, which involves only one shaft from the sulky that has negative weight on the dog's harness. The dorsal hitch also allows easier going for the dog, with free range of movement as opposed to confining shafts on either side. This often simplifies initial training to the sulky, as the shafts do not interfere with the dog's movement. Dog carting by beach

Dogs from 15 kg body weight and upwards are able to pull an adult and a sulky comfortably. The general rule is that the total load (sulky and driver) should not exceed three times the weight of the dog doing the pulling. If, for example, the sulky and driver totaled 150 kg, then the weight of the dog pulling would need to be at least 50 kg. Smaller dogs may be used as long as the cart is of a type which can handle multiple dog draft, and the combined weight of the dogs pulling is at least one third of the load being pulled.

Dryland mushing

Dryland mushing is distinguished from sulky driving in that the cart, or dryland rig, is attached to the dog in the same manner as a team to a sled. The cart has three or four wheels, with the driver either sitting or standing, depending on the cart construction. The International Federation of Sled Dog Sports sponsors one of the largest dryland mushing events in the world, the IFSS Dryland World Championship.

References

External links

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UK Group Finder - find you local canicross, bikejor, scootering and dog-carting(rigging) club
{{Dog sports Dog sports

Sulky driving

Dryland mushing

See also

References

External links