©1992 Georgia Edwards, MD
Although I have always owned a dog, I've never considered myself to be a "dog-y person" or someone that was "into dogs." But then my husband presented me with Madrone Ledge Othello of Fogbank (aka Gandolph the Grey Prince of Flandres) for Christmas in 1990.
We had met a Bouvier (Max) years before when we lived in Texas. Neither of us knew much about the breed other than that Max seemed to possess the qualities we were looking for in a pet: he was bright, energetic, even-tempered, level-headed and clean, with a formidable presence to protect us and our home and most especially, a sense of humor—a true Boy Scout of a dog. He made such an impression that 20 years later, when I wanted a canine companion to travel with me when I lectured and to accompany me on walks in the hills above Santa Barbara, our first consideration was a Bouvier.
After attending the Southern California Bouvier des Flandres Club Specialty Show in June 1990, I spoke with a number of breeders and was eventually put in touch with Steve Durand and Marion Hubbard, whose Ch Madrone Ledge Korbelle was about to be bred to Ch Centauri's Hanter. Both Steve and Marion were very gracious and patient in educating me about Bouviers in general, evaluating what it was our family wanted in a companion dog, and eventually pairing us up with a male puppy from that litter: Gandolph.
In an attempt to learn more about him, I joined the Southern California Bouvier des Flandres Club and NAWBA. I read the various articles and letters to the editors regarding the need to preserve the dogs' working heritage through training, the debate regarding the breeding for conformational excellence if at the expense of working instinct, and the opinions of some that no dog should be used for breeding purposes until or unless it had achieved working titles. Initially I viewed this as a frivolous debate that really had little impact on those of us who owned a pet dog. But then two things happened simultaneously: my puppy grew into his natural instincts, and Jim Engel's book Bouvier des Flandres: The Dogs of Flandres Fields was published.
Since Gandolph was sired by a product of Engel's breeding program, I was able to interpret his developing behavior patterns in terms of Engel's description of the dog's working instincts. What I might have thought to be just cute tricks took on greater significance in view of the dog's genetic background—and I began to realize that what the dog enjoyed doing in playing with the family was directly related to the work he had been bred to do. And thus it became apparent to me that working trial titles were a way to try to objectively quantify the ideal personality traits—the heart and soul—that makes a Bouvier a Bouvier. It also made me realize that my dog would be happiest if he could do the things that were ingrained in him to do. Thus began my search for the appropriate jobs for a contemporary urban working Bouvier.
I'm not a farmer or a police officer. We have not stock, no lost children to find, no criminals to apprehend or crowds to control. My husband and I are both doctors. We live in densely-populated urban southern California. We're not zoned for cows or sheep—the nearest stock and herding instructors are an hour's drive away. Schutzhund liability insurance for two MDs in litigation-prone California is astronomical, and again, there's no trainer close by. So after much reading and dog-observings, we decided that the near-traditional work we could do practically was that of tracking—the dog-agility part of Schutzhund training—and carting; all of which we are attempting.
With a good book on scent work to help me and a tremendous genetic predisposition to help him, Gandolph is learning to track well. From the practical standpoint, he is able to find and retrieve my teen-aged son when I need him; and of particular importance, Gandolph is able to get him out of bed on school mornings—first by uncovering him, then pulling the pillow out from under his head, and finally by dragging him off the bed, onto the floor and however far he can towards the kitchen before the kid gets up. This is analogous to the job of the "Belgian War Dogs" who were trained to sniff out the wounded from the dead on the battlefield and pull them to safety in World War I. (Historical Note: the French trained their dogs to identify all the wounded; the Belgians trained their dogs to avoid anyone in a German uniform even if still alive.)
Dog agility is a new sport here in Santa Barbara, with a recently-started club of about fifteen members and enthusiastic instructors who are aware of the potential for joint injury in a large dog and are very careful in training. Gandolph has taken to agility quickly and is able to utilize the skills that he learned on the A-frame, tunnels, dog-walk and hurdles when we encounter obstacles as we hike through the foothills or along the beach. I also discovered that the less-rigid obedience required in agility (as opposed to formal obedience training) was a great confidence-builder for our newly acquired adult rescue Bouvie, Oscy, who was quite timid. On a recent trip to San Francisco, the dog had no problems negotiating the glass elevators, escalators, and revolving doors of the Hyatt Regency Embarcadaro—truly challenging contemporary urban Bouvier agility!
Although I am aware that there is controversy about carting as traditional work for the Bouvier, there is certainly evidence that during World War I, the Bouvier or "Belgian War Dog" was also used as a draft animal to pull small artillery onto the battlefield and pull ambulance litters (while wearing a gas mask in a New York Times photo in 1918). Since Gandolph had shown endurance (he ran down/brought down a five-point buck one day while on a walk), and pulling drive (I made the mistake of tying him to my mountain bike for a little 'trot' only to find that he pulled me at 14 mph while headed uphill), I decided to try carting with him. It's a simple way to ensure that he has ample exercise in a household of non-joggers; and our vet advised that it was a good means of exercising larger dogs, since if the cart is well-balanced it places little weight on the dog's shoulders and one is not likely to do any damage to hip and elbow joints. It also improves their reach and drive, and helps to develop the proper distribution of body musculature.
In our small community, I could find no books and no one who was carting with their dog. So with the help of Steve Durand, an old issue of NAWBA and the California Rottweiler Club, I called all the makers of carts I could find in the U.S. for information on their carts, and hopefully some assistance in how one teaches a dog and driver to cart. Most builders were no longer in business, made only show sulkies or wagons for parades (not vehicles for rugged day-to-day road use), or had only experience and equipment for sledding.
After looking at several sulkies and talking to Rottweiler carters at various dog shows, I became concerned about the stability of a sulky and the potential for injuring or frightening the dog if the sulky should tip; and found that the four-wheeled carts were too bulky and heavy for me to manage alone. Finally, at a dog show in Eugene, Oregon, I found a two-wheeled cart made by Robert Graham of Graham Carriage Works in Portland, Oregon which suited my purposes. Bob had originally designed and built a cart to exercise his dysplastic German Shepherd and ended up making carts for others as a second business. It is safe; custom-made to the weight of the driver for proper balance with a low center of gravity to prevent tipping and a Cordura nylon passenger enclosure both to prevent falls and shield the driver from tire spokes, road dirt and water. It has brakes and mountain-bike tires to help control the cart and dog on hills and rough roads. Most importantly, it has arched traces which ride over the back of the dog when the cart is in motion. The arched trace allows the dog to turn under the trace rather than side-stepping through a turn, making training much easier and safer for all concerned. The harness is infinitely adjustable and well-padded across the chest with a removable synthetic sheepskin pad. Traces for carting one or two dogs (side by side) are available and interchangeable on the cart body.
Training has been quite easy. The cart came with
an instruction manual, but Gandolph took to pulling naturally and enthusiastically,
thus bypassing the need to slowly introduce him to the harness and something bumping
along behind him. Because he resists having his face touched, I elected to attach
the reigns to the harness, rather than use the "Halti" muzzle suggested
by Bob and other carters as the easiest way to direct the dog, and started training
by sitting in the cart and giving both verbal and rein signals while my husband walked
along with the dog and reinforced my commands through a leash and collar command.
Two people are necessary for this type of training since the cart is balanced properly
only with someone sitting in the driver's seat. Without the weight of the driver,
the front end of the cart rests on the ground, which means that the dog must be harnessed
in the 'down' position between the traces, rather than while sitting or standing,
and that the dog must halt and 'down' for the driver to exit the cart.
Initially we trained on a level cement bike path with gentle turns, then gradually worked our way into slopes, rough and soft roadbeds, sharp turns, negotiating obstacles and weaving around pylons (experience with weave-poles and the command to 'weave' from agility was a big help!).
At the outset, Gandolf would occasionally start to chase
or jump on a passing jogger, so having the second person up front for rigid control
and correction was imperative at first. After four months of weekly carting, both
dogs could be driven reasonably reliably without the assistance of a second person
at the dog's head, but on busy areas along the beach bike path (where the photo was
taken), the second person was necessary to prevent problems. I was amazed at how
often people on foot, on bikes, or on roller skates would bump into the cart and/or
the dog, deliberately step into our path to watch or surprise him with a pat from
behind on his rump or on his head. I became more concerned about the dog's safety
at the hand of a curious and interested public. Although we purchased both the single
and double-dog traces, we still worked our two dogs separately, until their strength
and abilities were equal before attempting tandem work.
Both dogs love the cart—Gandolf will go to sleep in it in the garage, and sits in it while riding in the van or when we are harnessing Oscy. One dog must be confined while we harness the other since both will try to jump into the traces to be first to pull. And both will trot without an end-point destination for miles; we find that three to five miles is easily covered in thirty minutes with little fatigue and that stamina is built quickly. We also noted a gradual change in the body habitus of our rescue dog who is now much straighter-backed and has built muscle in his rump, giving him a more correct topline and an overall healthier appearance.
Carting has become the most social and family-oriented urban working activity for our dogs. As our skills improved, we began to enter parades and are were involved in organizing a separate class for dog carting at a local fund-raising "Jog With-Your-Dog" event. We were even invited recently to participate in the prestigious Santa Inez "Carriage Classic" driving competition in the "Other Animal" category, but then found that those "other animals" did not include dogs.
Whenever and wherever we cart, we are stopped by folks interested in the cart or the dogs or both, and are aware of the purchase of one puppy and several calls to the cart maker and to the Southern California Bouvier des Flandres Club Rescue Committee as a result of contact with us and our dogs. In that regard, carting has been a highly visible and successful public relations and promotional tool for the breed. Demonstrating the adaptability of a large, vigorous and strong dog to the modern urban environment while preserving those inbred working instincts that form the foundation of the dog's personality is perhaps yet another function of the contemporary urban working Bouvier. It's s certainly a training challenge for those of us who love and live with them in the city.
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With all of Georgia Edwards' professional commitments, we don't know where she finds the time to do all that she does. |
Contents |
Herding | Carting
| Intelligence
| Mosby | Compendium
| Doggie Training
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