Finally, back in the chute!

Ahhh... Nothing is better then being back in the chute and being around good friends. This weekend was GREAT! It was a smaller weight pull which means it's done very quickly (3 or 4 hours) and the dogs seem to do better with less hustle and bustle.

This weekends track was a cart pull on a carpet on top of rubber mats. Ever put a cart on a rubber mat and watch as the cart sinks into the rubber because of the weight? Yeah, When you are watching the Grand Champion class (These dogs know how to pull and pull BIG weights) start struggling at just over 2,500lbs of weight, You know your in trouble (for Nubs to get full points he would have had to pull just over 2,300lbs or 35x his body weight).

-Saturday-
Ever try getting a dog out of bed at 6am? Yeah, Nubs is NOT a morning dog and it took me 15min just to get his behind off the couch and out the door. We are out the door by 7am, and on the highway by 7:25am to be at the weight pull at 9am.

Pull up to the event and already the parking lot is packed. There is a dog show and weight pull going on, and the weight pull starts later then the dog show. I get Nubs weighed in (67 Pounds! Biggest he has been ever!), get everything set up and then just wait to see how things go. I find out that today, there is only one other dog in the 70lb weight class, another APBT named Bull. Knowing Bull's past pulls, I know it's going to be an easy day.

Grand Class is up first. These are the BIG dogs that pull huge amounts of weight. The best of the best, and I do mean best of the best. These dogs are in the top dogs in the country for the year in weight pulling. I'm lucky enough to be around these trainers, and to sponge up the knowledge which they are more then willing to hand out (rather you want it or not). We get up to about 2,500 pounds when the grand class starts dropping out like flies. At that point I lean over to my mentor and say "Well, doesn't look like anyone is going to get their 20 points on this track!"

Now we are up. Nubs is 45 points shy of his UWPCH, so I was hoping to get 40 of those points at least this weekend. After watching the best of the best foul out at such a low weight, I kiss that thought good bye. I even kissed the thought of 30points since Nubs was green after 3 months of rest.

There are 3 dogs that are still pulling at 1520lbs, Nubs, Bull and Ryker, all 3 APBTs. All three complete the pull and now we are up to 1680. Not one of them could do the pull. Nubs tried his hardest, he was not going to give up but just couldn't get the cart to unstick. We ended up taking 1st place out of the two dogs, because Nubs weighs 1lb less then Bull did. It either goes by who pulled the fastest or by who weights less, so either way Nubs would have won.

Bull Pulling

After the pull, Nubs and I take off with a good friend and her APBT Ryker and head out to do some shopping at her local pet store. I had warned her of Nubs's ability to attract everyone in the store, and sure enough, Nubs was swarmed not long after we get into the store. I almost ended up bringing home another rescue. She wouldn't let go of Nubs's neck! She was about 8 years old, and had fallen hard for Nubs (and Nubs for her). She just wrapped her arms around Nubs's neck and kisses him all over and Nubs was more then happy to return the favor. *sighs* one day I'll make it out of a store in under an hour, and spending less then $100...

-Sunday-
More people show up today so now there are 4 dogs in the 70lb weight class. Nubs is in the ZONE. Nubs stresses out pretty badly, but finally he is completely relaxed and just enjoying laying in his crate.

It's the same as the day before with the grand class fouling out starting around 2,500lbs. We start pulling and Nubs is doing GREAT! 1360lbs pulled and it was still really easy for Nubs (Before this day, his last Cart pull was 1,920lbs and he was in good shape at the time, but newer to pulling) so I decided to skip the next weight and let him relax for a bit. Normally a GREAT choice because that would have been his 15 point pull, but on Saturday that was the weight all the dogs fouled out on. I wasn't thinking about that until after I had told the judge about the pass. All well, lets see how he does.

Nubs is completely relaxed and excited to pull. We walk up there, put him on the cart, and he starts pulling and does it with EASE! I'm stoked, Nubs is having fun, and pulling with ease then BAM! someone slams a door. Nubs looks back at the noise while I stand up to back up. Nubs turns his head back toward where I was, doesn't see me and STOPS PULLING! I grab his attention again but it's too late, the cart had stopped moving... 1 FOOT FROM THE FINISH LINE!

Nubs is mad at me for "leaving him" and is done. No more for him. I take the foul, relax for 5 minuets then try the pull again, and while he tries to pull, you can tell his heart isn't into it anymore and we are done.

Officially he took second place with 1,360lbs. I say he pulled 1,680lbs since he really did. It wouldn't have changed the outcome of placement, only points, so Nubs pulled 1,520lbs and 1,680lbs for a 1st and 2nd place finish! Not bad for a dog that has been pulling for less then a year!