Introduction to Carting: Book Review (CD)

Embarking on a new Adventure: Get started in Carting, the Beth Ostrander way.

Beth Ostrander of Dog Works has produced a very useful one hour cart training CD. Her focus is on the human/canine team new to carting and she does a fine job telling the beginner what s/he needs to know. I'm a fan of the approach to training which breaks down the entire process into small self-contained activities which can be described, learned, and mastered one at a time. I really like her approach.

Major Author's Message: One small step at a time. Never ask the dog to do more than s/he is ready to do.

The video vignettes are clear, clean, easy to understand and the right length. Ostrander doesn't really lay out the names of the individual training modules and, sadly, the chapter titles on my CD don't really match the content. But as I outlined my notes, I found myself grouping them into the following training modules.

• Harnesses and how to put them on the dog
  
• Advantages of Carts and Wagons
  
• Introducing the dog to the equipment
  
• "Installing" the dog into the harness and the cart (she breaks this section down into a handful of steps in a way that makes sense and that worked for my dogs).
  
• Maneuvering, especially the turn
  
• The drag (pulling light weights before the dog is ready for the cart).
  

Minor Author's Message: Carting is fun for us humans, but is uniquely fun for the dog.

"How will I know whether it's fun or not before I start?" Good question. Ostrander observes that "Nothing draws a crowd like a wagging tail in front of a cart." I agree, the children we've given rides to at fund raisers agree, and members of my carting group agree. Will you agree? The best way to find out is to attend a group working session

http://midmassnewfers.blogspot.com/

or test and see for yourself. The final section of Ostrander's video is a video collage from here, there, and everywhere reminiscent of Funniest Home Videos. From where I stand, however, and I do think my dog has a sense of humor; the real joy of carting comes from the meeting of minds between my dog and me.

Dogs like to pull, Ostrander argues. "Don't we all have to train our puppies to stop them from pulling on the leash?" Pulling is fun and natural to them. But the main reason dogs love carting is that it offers a very unique challenge. Unlike obedience, where I say … you do, in carting my dog's intellect is engaged. She has to use her head to make decisions. These decisions have real and immediate impacts on the carting experience. The human/canine team has to cooperate to make tight turns through a forest of tall trees, to get sufficient momentum to pull a loaded cart up a small hill or to keep that same loaded cart from getting away from us on a downhill.

After successfully negotiating one of these challenges, I look at my dog and get a rush. I can only imagine that my dog gets a similar feeling.

This is a thorough beginner's training video if a bit dry (except for the slap-stick final chapter). I'm sure Ostrander has a sense of humor but it's not a side she uses in this video. Even when she closes with "embarking on a new adventure" … well, it's a pun, right?

Nice job Beth.

Epilog:

www.dogworks.com seems to have been purchased by Martin and Sandy Gabel a few years ago. I don't have sufficient information to evaluate the change of reins, but my credit card was promptly charged and the CD came within a few days. I can't argue with that kind of speed and the value of the CD hasn't diminished with time. I wish them well.