Lucien becomes a champion!
 

Yesterday we were in Leeds for the final Championship Weight Pull.

We are so proud of Lucien who keeps getting better and better with every event. He has one of the best temperaments, and for his size and strength, is a total mummy's boy. He loves his hugs and is a pleasure to take anywhere.

Lucien took maximum points in the championship, finishing on 116 points. His cousin Polar, finished in 2nd place on 99 points and Polar's litter sister Kiska, finished in 3rd place on 98 points. Mina missed two events this year due to being in season, but she still finished on 61 points, coming in 6th place.

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

Wow thats impressive and he looks fantastic in the picture. Well done Lucien x

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

Congrats, I just love the look of those dogs, they are what I would refer to as "proper" dogs, not those silly little carry it around in yer pink handbag types......................






(you don't carry a very small dog around in a pink designer label handbag do you??? :oops::oops:)

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

Cool

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

Congrats Sam, doesn't seem two minutes since he a little bundle of fluff!

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

LOL im sure if i did, it wouldn't last long with my 3 mally monsters!! Lucien is the safe one... he would be scared of it (he doesn't like being barked at!) He is also scared of cats after a bad experience with one at the vets as a pup, and he is also scared of hedgehogs and rats!! Selene would want to play with the small handbag dog and probably end up squashing it by accident and then wonder why it stopped playing with her! and Mina... well Mina is the hunter of the pack... the poor little dog wouldn't last long here!

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

Sounds like you've got your hands full there.

This is what I also call a "proper" dog, Zara was my 11 year old German Shepard until sadly had to have her put down at the end of January.....

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

I know, he has grown up so much, especially in the last few months since Selene arrived home.

I can't believe that he is nearly 2.5 years old, and in that 2.5 years he has achieved:

• 8 x best of breed
• 5 x reserve best of breed
• 7 x best puppy in breed
• Multi working group placings (where all the working group best of breeds go head to head)
• Weight pull champion 2010/2011
• Working Pack Dog Title (backpacking over 40 miles carrying 30% of his bodyweight on his back)
• Working Team Dog Title (covering over 40 miles pulling a sled/rig)
• Working Weight Pull Dog Title (Pulling 12 x his body weight in 4 separate competitions)
• Working Weight Pull Dog Excellent Title (Pulling 21 x his body weight in 5 separate competitions and has to finish in the top 1/3 of his weight class)

His fantastic temperament shone through yesterday, even with his sister in full season and with him being very unwilling to leave the truck, he still managed to do as i asked without arguing (anyone who knows malamutes will know the back chat you get when they don't want to do something!). There wasn't one bad word or grumble out of him, even when other boys were growling and grumbling at him, he ignored them all.

He has gone from this:
http://static.flickr.com/3534/324674...bafdebfb_d.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/3083/324151...149c4026_d.jpg

To this:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._6268584_n.jpghttp://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...2_357937_n.jpg

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

He looks great.

A question though, I know they're bred for pulling sleds and stuff, but do they ever suffer from back problems in relation to this type of pulling?

Not a dig, just curious as a fellow dog lover. I'm just wondering if they keep trying to pull something with the owners encouraging them do they know their limits or carry on regardless?

Re: Lucien becomes a champion!
 

If they are fit for function, bred from dogs with excellent hip scroes etc, then they are fine for pulling. Of course, an underlying willingness to compete should also be there too.

We do not do any heavy pulling until the dogs are over a year old, by this time their bones are fully formed and have gone hard. We train from a younger age so that they get their technique correct. The dog should learn to get low to the ground and pull through their shoulders and not through their spine and hips. Lucien has a natural technique so he was easier to teach. Mina however, used to bounce and try and pull though her back and hips, she has now learned that by getting her head and shoulders low, she can pull greater weights.

As tempting as it is to let Selene have a go at Weight pulling, as she is showing all the promise as Lucien did at her age, we know it will be worth the wait and we're holding off competing with her until October when she will be nearly 18 months old. By then she will also be hip scored.

We stand at the finish line 16 feet away and we ask them to pull. We do not use treats or bate them in any way. What Lucien does, he does off his own will to do it. He will not get praise of treats until he gets back to the truck and he has gone into his crate where he then waits until his next turn.

We always hip score (testing for hip dysplasia) our dogs before working them competitively, Lucien's scores are 5/6 = 11 in total, so 2 below the breed means score. The lower the score the better. Mina scored 6/7 = 13 so she is on the breed means score, so is also fine. Any sign of stiffness or injury and we pull them out of competition.

The good thing about Malamutes is that if they really can't do it, then they stop, shout at you and then park their bums and wont move! Lucien tried his heart out on the 2500lbs pull, but with just 10 seconds to go, he "wooed" at me and stood still. Such a shame as he nearly had it! We'll have to try again next time :)