Question:earlier, i was coming out of a store and saw a man on rollerskates with his two dogs in front of him running .they were medium sized dogs, looked like australian dog mixed. basically what he was doing was having both dogs on a lead and making them pull him across the road while he stood there on roller skates doing nothing.
people were laughing at this but i found it rather mean towards the dogs
Answers:
He is conditioning his dogs...
Guess some people might think we are nuts too. We have to get our dogs conditioned to run 12.5 miles in the AD - part of a breed qualification program for the German Shepherds to make sure they are worthy of breeding. We condition them while we ride our bicycles and the dogs that want to be ahead of everyone will actually pull their biker at a faster speed than necessary... we call this heart - but the dog is putting the biker at risk of falling.
NOW those dogs want to pull that skater as they LIKE the feel of it... or they would NOT. = there is more risk to the skater being hurt than the dogs. Hahahahhaa
All dogs need a job = it makes them happy. Would you prefer the two dogs be in a back yard chained up? Then their lives would be ok with you??
H.O.T. Dog
Handler Owner Trainer of GSD's
Member U.S.A & A.W.D.F
Not so.a good job for the dogs to feel some worth....relax
He is probably exercising his dogs and they may be enjoying the run as much as the owner is. It doesn't sound mean to me.
Poor pups... call animal control!
If its not a real strain on the dogs then go for it. What do the dogs in Alaska do they pull a sled in snow.
Mean how?? Dogs love that sort of thing.. It's a job.. Makes them feel needed, gives them something to do.. Keeps them in shape, well balanced and tired!
i dont think it's thats mean :) they are medium sized, not toy dogs. they are strong enough, and there are two of them too. they probably enjoyed it, exercising and all.
dont worry
I am a dog lover and I don't think he was being mean to them as long as he wasn't hitting the dogs in any kind of way. An Austrailian Huskey(?) is a strong dog so if the man wasn't a very large frame person I think the dogs were probably enjoying the exercise.
Maybe the dogs were out of control and he was just along for the ride.
It does seem mean to the dogs, but it's similar to riding horses and making dogs pull sleds. And it's pretty hard to force dogs to run (unless you're pulling them), so maybe they were running for the fun of it.
I think it's a great exercise for the dogs. I do the same thing with my competition dog while getting ready for trial, except he pulls me on a bicycle for 5 miles after which he plays ball really hard for about 10 minutes and then is required to bark for a few minutes as well. While he is pulling me he is also holding a bite sleeve in his mouth so he can learn to breath through his nose while biting the "helper" at the competition. Dogs, just like human athletes, require training in order to reach a level of endurance that is not required for mere pets.
But, to make you feel better, think of it this way. No dog, mine or anyone else's would do it if they did not want to or have the heart and drive to push themselves beyond what the average dog does.
I think it's awesome. Good way to burn off pent up energy! Caesar does it! :)
The dogs were enjoying every minute of it. If there were more responsible and well intentioned dog owners like him, we'd have a lot less to read and respond to on this forum.
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