A few weeks back I decided to make the trip to the National Working Dog Association National Weight Pull as Ranger had qualified to attend when he pulled in Michigan at the beginning of November.
We loaded up and traveled from Indiana to Pennsylvania to compete, where Ranger earned two 2nd place finishes in his weight class and two first place finishes, including first place in his class (60 pounds) in the National Finals pull. The pulling surface was difficult due to weather conditions, so his final weight pulled was 1107 pounds–just over 19 times his weigh-in body weight of 58 pounds. He did a phenomenal job considering the conditions, and I’m very proud of him.
Here is a shot of Ranger pulling the second-to-last pull of the weekend.
Ranger is off getting some special training this winter, so I hope he’ll get back in the swing of things when he comes home in the spring.
I’m very happy about the turnaround Ranger took this year–he went from standing in the chute wagging his tail without even trying to pull back in May to getting a new personal best weight, getting new titles, and winning on the national level. It goes to show what can happen with some time and dedication.