Wednesday, January 28, 2009

FEATURE STORY ...WC member AKWILDWOMAN and Carmello

When I saw this photo gallery our newest member AKWILDWOMAN posted of her chow Carmello doing weight pulls, I immediately wrote and asked if she would tell us her story. What a moving (pardon the pun) sight to see our breed doing what it does best...being loyal, active, agile and alert!! CLICK HERE to see her profile on Worldchow





In the Cold of Alaska there isn’t a whole lot to do in the winter a few of us crazy folks stand outside for hours accompanied by our best friends to do winter sports (sometimes in -20 F or colder).

When I first got my chow she was taken from her mom early (4 weeks) after her mom killed her litter mates. I have a Chesapeake Bay retriever who was a good mom to her and helped mold her into who she is today. At our first visit to the vet she was so timid with strangers she cried the whole time and snapped at everyone. However through hard work and dedication my family socialized her as best we could. I thought lets do something to get her working and relieve her stress and energy. A friend of mine does weight pulls with her Alaska Giant Malamutes and suggested a weight pull that was coming in the near future.




I took Carmello to the pull thinking I hope she doesn’t bite anyone I hope she doesn’t instigate a fight with another dog. When I finally got the harness on her and walked her through the crowds to get her hooked to the sled I was shocked at how calm she was, she was happy and let complete strangers pet her (with caution). When I first hooked her to the sled she looked at me blankly so I got on my hand and knees and called her to me.



She sprinted forwards with a 200 pound sled attatched and came 25 feet to me in 4.5 seconds. The shock on the crowds face was priceless. (I had heard several people mocking her small size/stature) she tried to move up to 320 pounds but I had to pull her through, which means I grabbed the harness and gave her a good tug to get her started. (This is so that they don’t leave the pull feeling defeated and it remains a happy experience)



As I watched all the other small dogs in her weight class I was on edge waiting for all the other competitors to finish. I was getting more excited as I saw people not advancing weight and carmello stood there mindlessly wagging her tail looking at me.



After everyone had finished I heard them call Carmello in third place and I was Ecstatic to say the least. I went home that night and my family sat down and decided this was something we wanted to pursue so the next day I ordered her freight harness and we have been training since then.



Please submit your stories about one or more of your chows and I will feature them here at the blog!!! Thank you AKWILDWOMAN for taking the time to write this wonderful story!!!!

3 comments:

  1. I love this story!!! Everyone you can comment on any of the posts...Sandra

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  2. Hi this is Carmello's Mom. I wanted to let everyone know that Carmello is only 36 pounds! SOmething to think about in comparison to the wieght she pulled

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  3. WOW...that's amazing...that little girl is a powerhouse!! I loved weight pulls from the first one I attended at the Canadian Invitational!!

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