Do you want to try a new activity with your Rottweiler ? I discovered a wonderful activity and I want to share it with you!

Go on dog scootering with your rottweiler! You are going to say to me: “what is this sport”? Well, that’s riding a scooter while being towed by your dog or vice versa. Unfortunately, my rottweiler is not a big fan of dog pulling sports. When we go dog scootering, I’m the one towing Sylvia more than the other way around (aha). To find out more about dog scootering, with help from Go2scooter, I preferred to interview an expert in the field: Emilie and her dream team of 20 dogs!

For a successful dog scootering session with your dog, I share Emilie’s 5 tips with you. Equipment for you and your dog, advice for a safe session, tips: here is what you need to know to go dog scootering

The “will to go”: A dog who loves outdoors

Before giving you Emilie’s first tip, let’s talk about dog scootering. It is a traction sport that is played with one or two dogs, or many more, towing a special scooter. The dog is equipped with a traction harness connected by an elastic lanyard to the apparatus. It is not enough to equip your dog and buy a scooter to get started in this dog sport …

Emilie spoke to me about an essential point during her interview: the “Will to go”… Sylvia, my dog, does not have it and that is what makes pulling sports absolutely interesting to her. not, much to my regret. When I put the harness on her, she looks at me like “if you think I’m going to pull your butt, you’re gutting! lol ”.

As Emilie told me, to go dog scootering or any other traction sport, you have to have a dog who wants to tow or the session quickly becomes catastrophic. This is the famous “will to go”. It is this desire to tow that the dog has at the start of sled dog races, for example, we see them barking, leaping, pulling like crazy … They are overexcited, almost possessed as soon as they put on the harness.

Does your dog have the energy to spare? Do you think she might like it? Before you get into a sport like dog scootering… make sure you have a dog listening to directions like left-right, stop, or ahead. It is absolutely essential, almost vital because the accident happens quickly. And on a scooter, it can hurt a lot! Emilie knows something about it… Unfortunately, she has already had some nasty falls. Before you start, she advises you to start by teaching your dog basic commands on a walk or in dog scootering.

The materials and equipment for you and your dog

Before any sports session with your dog, it is essential to check your material and your dog’s equipment.

Before leaving, Emilie must check her gear: carabiner, draft line, harness, scooter, and helmet. Always provides spare equipment in case of breakage. Finding yourself in the middle of nowhere with an ill-equipped or injured dog can quickly turn out to be very complicated. You have to be able to react quickly to start again. After 2 years of activity at the head of her company, Emilie knows something about it. You can never be too careful! And I will therefore advise you to always carry a first aid kit with you. In the event of a sore, you must be able to relieve your dog to take him to his vet. In all your activities with your dog, this is essential that you should never forget.

When she goes on dog scootering, Emilie provides small snacks for her dogs in case of hunger pangs and especially water. Like us, during intense physical activity, a dog can feel slack and need a little energy to restart the machine. She also provides for poop bags. For a big training session, Emilie recommends giving her dogs soup 1.5h to 2h before going on a run. Please note, it is strongly recommended not to feed your dog just before the physical activity so as not to run the risk of a stomach twist, which is extremely painful and very often fatal.

Dog scootering in complete safety

As always, when you go somewhere alone with your dog, always have the reflex to signal your exit. Emilie always takes her phone with her when she goes on a dog scootering outing with her dogs. In the event of a fall, an accident, an injured dog … she must be able to give the alert and prevent. She always takes care to warn someone, indicating her place of exit and the duration of the outing. If something happens to her and she isn’t able to give the alert, someone needs to be able to worry quickly to warn.

And it’s not Emilie who will tell you the opposite: “Warning someone may seem ridiculous, but anything can happen. In the same session: I was bitten on the arm by one of my dogs while trying to separate them because they had nabbed a nutria and a few minutes later I went under my quad. Following the general fight for the nutria, I wanted to reattach the quad and a rabbit passed in front of the dog team. They went after him and the quad passed me over and hoop Émilie under the quad! “

A dog scootering: The well-being of the dog above all

Whatever sport you share with your dog, you form a team with him: this activity must therefore be done in total respect with your canine teammate. You have to respect his abilities, his desires, and his pace.

Before any session, Emilie has established a routine and generally lets her dogs let off steam for 1 hour / 1:30 in the garden so that they can stretch their paws. She starts with the brakes on so that the dogs can channel themselves a bit and don’t get exhausted from the start. Emilie is the guarantor of the well-being of her dogs. She plays the role of coach, both in motivation and in managing the effort. Depending on the course (duration, difficulty), she plans breaks to rehydrate her dogs and make them breathe a little. Depending on whether it’s the restart or if it’s the end of the season, the dogs do not have the same form: she adapts her courses like a real sports trainer.

During the session, she has her eyes riveted on her teammates. On a scooter, you have to learn to be flexible, to use your feet safely but also to manage your brakes to avoid ending up in the sun. You have to observe your dog (s) know how to work in harmony with him, the right time to push, do it without generating a shock for the dog’s back, also respect the tension of the line so as not to run into it … the speed at which we go, the slightest mistake does not forgive. You have to guide and accompany your dogs to ensure their safety.

After each session, she is attentive to the needs of her dogs: food, hydration, care … She takes great care to pamper her team of top athletes.

Join a dog scootering group

Do you want to test the dog scootering? Don’t go it alone! Get in touch with a group or club near you and join their workouts. You will then be able to share your practice and benefit from their valuable advice. Training plan, equipment, dog equipment, food, competitions … they will be happy to guide you. You can find the names of the clubs affiliated with the Federation of Canine Sports and Leisure on their site. Emilie was the president of the canine sports club “Will to Go sports” affiliated to the FFST for 2.5 years.

This article is written not only for rottweilers but also for any bog dogs that want to enjoy the outdoors