Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - DS150: The Power of Pulling - Introduction to Dog Powered Sports

Course Details

Got a dog with “big dog energy” (whether or not they’re a big dog)? Looking for an outlet?

Or, maybe your dog needs more exercise but cannot be off-leash. Dog-powered sports allow your dog to expel more energy over a shorter distance, while challenging both their bodies and their brains!

If you already hit the trails for walks and now are looking for a way to increase the challenge, to improve your dog’s fitness, or prepare for competition, these sports provide a natural outlet for the average dog’s desire to walk, trot, run and pull!

You’ll be busy too — don’t just plan on going along for the ride!

We humans are hardworking team-members too. If you’ve been looking to enjoy nature, to explore your local area, or if you’ve been looking for a new and interesting type of sport to compete in it — you’ve found it!

There is a special connection, a trust, and a thrill in letting your dog take the lead and knowing they have the skills and abilities to keep you moving.

As a bonus, dog powered sports help build confidence and perseverance for dogs who grow to love the teamwork of pulling.

Under the umbrella of “Dog Powered Sports,” we’ll include:

Cani-hike/canicross
Bikejorring
Skijorring
Scootering
Dog sledding

The foundation for each of these starts with groundwork skills, which this class introduces via cani-hike/canicross. Over the six weeks of class, your dog will learn:

Startline behaviors
Pulling
Directional cues
Speed changes
Passing distractions
Stopping

We cover the training, handling, and timing considerations for these skills.

Throughout class, we’ll also discuss equipment, harness fitting, best practices for training in public, competition options, and safety concerns such as trail conditions, conditioning, temperature, and hydration.

Whether your long-term goal is to run one dog or several, the teamwork is unlike any other sport out there. Join us this October to discover the Power of Pulling!

Note: This class will not cover the sports of weight pull, draftwork/carting, or sulkies, which each have their own specialized skill and equipment requirements.

Teaching Approach

Lessons will be released at the beginning of each week and will contain several subtopics with written lectures, demonstration videos, and specific homework to work on. Most videos are short- 30 seconds to 2 minutes, with the occasional longer video as required. Some videos have voice-over explanations. Some lessons include video examples of both a dog in the learning stages, as well as a more advanced dog in order that students can see how skills progress. Some lectures are more conceptual in nature but most will contain short homework assignments. Homework for each week is progressive, and so teams should expect to complete lessons in order, though the time that it takes to do so will vary greatly for each team. Feedback for gold students is a mix of written encouragement, photos/screen shots, and occasionally extra video instruction.

This class is heaviest with reading in the first two weeks; this class is intended as an introduction to dog powered sports, so a lot of background is provided early on. Reading tapers to a lighter load as the class progresses, so expect to spend more time training and away from the computer in later weeks!

This class has a TA! Teaching Assistant Shelby Anderton will be available in the class facebook study group to help bronze and silver students!

Instructor: Erin Lynes

Erin (she/her) is a lifelong dog enthusiast from Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. Erin is certified as a Karen Pryor Academy Training Partner, a Certified Profesional Canine Fitness Trainer, a Licenced Family Dog Mediator, and as a Cani-Fit Leader, ...(Click here for full bio and to view Erin's upcoming courses)

Syllabus

View Full Syllabus

Pre-Class Lectures (available as soon as you register)

Harness Selection and Fitting
Other Gear Requirements
Gear Suppliers

Week 1

Trail Etiquette
Training Areas
Common Cues
Warm up and Pre-Run Routines
Skills:
- 3 -Step Release
- Line Out
- Introduction to Pulling

Week 2

Movement is Motivation
Safety & Success Considerations
- Age
- Trail Conditions
- Temperature
- Speed/Skill
- Distance
Skills:
- Distraction Groundwork
- Hit the Trails
- Speed Changes

Week 3

Communication
Preparing Your Rig
Skills:
- Introducing Your Rig
- Directional Cues - Left and Right Turns
  - Groundwork
  - Captured in action

Week 4

Increased Challenges
Skills:
- Straight Ahead
- Trail Stops & Duration Stops

Week 5 -Beyond Groundwork

Multi- Dog Teams
Switching Vehicles
Skills: Left and Right Overs

Week 6

Competition Overview
Progressing Beyond Class
Skills:
- Passing
- Heel or Follow

Prerequisites & Supplies

View all Prerequisites & Supplies

No training pre-requisites, but these sports are most suitable for a dog who like to move- foundation exercises in this class can be done by dogs of any age. This training is fairly demanding on the human. Speed is negotiable but handlers will need to be comfortable walking at a brisk pace, or jogging with their dog- with the dog pulling.

Equipment (specifics can be found in the Pre-Class lectures which are available as soon as you register)

Proper fitting harness for your dog, specifically designed for harness sports. A typical walking harness or no-pull harness is not what we are after here. For most mid or large sized dogs, the best type of harness is a typical x-back sledding harness. There are many size and maker options. Smaller dogs doing canicross or bikejorring may be better suited to a half harness. Check out this blog post for fitting instructions: https://labtesteddogtraining.com/harness-fitting-for-dog-powered-sports/

Canicross Belt (strongly suggest one with leg loops). I like the Non-Stop DogWear and Nahak brands, but there are many good options!

Bungee line - connects canicross belt to the dog's harness, 4-6 feet long.

Access to space- backyard or park for initial training, natural surface trails for progressing

Gold students will need access to a video camera (cell phone, go pro, etc) that they can use for filming sessions. It can be helpful for video of your training runs to have some sort of hands-free option whether that is a tripod or an attachment that attaches to your chest, hat, or vehicle in order to let you film a stretch of running hands-free. Some assignments can be filmed by a stationary helper or with a tripod, but many will require ‘in motion’ video to get the best feedback (or your camera pre-placed on the trail in a strategic location with the ability to let it run or turn it on remotely).

Sample Lecture

The 3 Step Release

The 3 Step Release is a startline strategy that you can use on foot, or on skis, until your dog knows a line-out skill well, or in situations where you are not able to use a line-out... such as at the startline of a group run or canicross race where you want to keep your dog in closer proximity or if you've pulled off the side of a trail to let other users go by.

Before you can do a 3 Step Release, you need to be able to gather your dog and line in such a way that you can both hold them safely, and release them safely, without a risk of getting your hands caught up. I definitely recommend practicing first without a dog, then with a stationary dog, and then add in movement after that.

Your start position will be with your dog at your side, or between your legs facing forward. One hand is on the dog's collar or harness. That hand will control the dog. Your other hand holds the folded line and will regulate the release so that there is minimal slack as your dog moves ahead and into their pulling position.

In the hand that gathers the line, you'll want to fold it such that your securing hand is not caught up in any line- in other words, don't wrap it around your hand. Simply fold the line at about the length that you can reach with your extended arm, but hold it 8-10 inches closer to your body. The folded part of the line will form a small loop beyond your hand and you don't want to have too much length there. Grab this folded line such that you'll be able to let go of each portion of the line one at a time.

It is probably easier to see this, than read about it:

For the actual 3 Step Release, your goal is to allow the dog to have gradually more room away from you to ease into pulling. Releasing the dog/line in 3 stages helps minimize the amount of slack in the line which in turn minimizes the jerky feeling as your dog gets into position AND minimizes the likelihood of a tangle.

**** Note**** - do not let the line slide through your hands as your dog pulls. That will burn! Instead release each stage distinctly. For the 3rd release stage, you can hold the line close to your body and gradually extend your arm out before letting to go make it a little more gradual- do not let the line itself slide. Wear gloves while you are learning to be safe if you like.

Practice first by hooking your harness up without your dog, and then with your dog stationary. The 3 steps, in order:

1. Release the dog (first hand)

2. Release the line closest to the dog (2nd hand)

3.Release the rest of the line. (2nd hand)

When that feels smooth, start adding in motion. You can do this when you take your dog out on the trails in the coming weeks, or you can practice using the target plates in your out of context practice scenario. When your dog is just learning, you may find that it takes some time to get enough tension so that you can release step 2 and 3. Don't keep releasing line if your not able to get line tension. Troubleshoot if your dog needs some sort of added motivation to pull (go back to lesson 1.4 to look for ideas in the Pulling section).

When you are working in motion, the idea is that both you and the dog start moving together. Tension on the line is the criteria you need to be able to get to the next release stage.

1. Release dog as you give forward cue and start moving.

2. Once the dog has started pulling, release the line closest to the dog.

3. Once the dog has added tension to that section of line, release the final portion.

3 Step Release In Motion:

Testimonials & Reviews

Read All Testimonials

A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...

If your dog likes to pull, you NEED to take this class. Running with my dog has become so much more enjoyable for both of us now that we have learned how to do canicross. He gets to pull, I get to let him pull without constantly keeping on my toes to maintain criteria for loose-leash walking, and running behind a dog that is pulling well feels like flying! We went from zero experience with dog powered sports, to confidently canicrossing and canihiking for miles by the end of the class. All of the lectures were very well written and easy to understand, with plenty of example videos. The instructor provided prompt and very detailed feedback on all my videos. When my dog was struggling with one of the exercises because big arm movements scare him, within an hour Ms. Lynes had provided us with a whole alternate training plan, complete with a demo video that she had filmed right on the spot! She is a very caring and skilled teacher, for both canine and human students. 10/10 would recommend.

Being brand new to this sport I was a bit uncertain if I was in over my head but that was not the case. Learning foundation skills is incredibly important to me when tackling any new sport. I appreciated the thorough feedback I received from Erin, along with her video demos, and detailed information she provided in each of the lectures. I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in dog powered sports.

I have done pulling sports for a long time but currently have a dog not from a traditional pulling breed so I decided to take this course. It was FABULOUS. Erin covered literally everything from harness fit to directionals to passing distractions to running in a team with other dogs. She even included a summary of racing and how to get started in that venue. I learned so many new ways to teach things that in the past I would simply have thrown the dog in the team and let them figure it out. But now without a team, I am starting from scratch with my current dog and this course was perfect for "explaining" to her how this strange pulling thing works! The transformation in my dog over the course of the 6 weeks was quite dramatic ... I can't recommend this course enough!!

The course was very well laid out and provided a clear and progressive plan for learning about dog powered sports. I found Erin to provide thoughtful and generous with her feedback for the Gold students. Highly recommend her course!

Wow! My dachshund and I have benefited so much from dog pulling sports class. Erin Lynes is a knowledgeable, supportive, and insightful teacher. Based on the pre-class lectures, I upgraded from bronze to gold. I am glad I did. Over the past year, I worked on my dog’s reactivity and her poor recall from more engaging things. These problems magically improved in 2 or 3 weeks. Erin wrote that dogs’ focus and teamwork improve with pulling sports. She wasn’t kidding! As for the class, it was easy to keep pace with the class. I enjoyed the well-written lectures so much that I reread many of them. Dachshund Lily found the foundation exercises fun to do, challenging but never overwhelming. These exercises translated from inside the house, to the (highly distracting for Lily) yard and onto the trail so well. I have always enjoyed hiking with my dogs. Canicross hiking changes just hiking with a dog to a whole new, pleasurable level for many reasons. This class and Erin’s guidance has given Lily and I a fun hobby, better teamwork and more time in the woods.

We have a nine month old husky puppy. She has a lot of energy and clearly needs a lot of exercise. I’ve been searching all over for a good class on how to get started with dog powered sports, because I didn’t just want to wing it. With COVID, the normal in person clinics in our area weren’t going to happen. We have a busy schedule, so it can be hard to make specific times anyway. This has allowed us to go at our own pace, but have a systematic approach. I highly recommend it as a great place to get started!

This course is amazing! There is a lot of information and practice. The classes are well organized and detailed, text and videos are very well combined. All the topics were interesting and very useful. Instructions are clear and easy to apply with different dogs, in different levels of training. Taking this course helped me to build a solid foundation for my Canicross and Scooterjoring training. Now I know what to look for in each training session and how to evolve our training.

Registration

Next session starts: October 1, 2025
Registration starts: September 22, 2025
Registration ends: October 15, 2025

Registration opens at 9:30am Pacific Time.

DS150 Subscriptions

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Tuition	$ 260.00	$ 130.00	$ 65.00
Enrollment Limits	10	25	Unlimited
Access all course lectures and materials	✔	✔	✔
Access to discussion and homework forums	✔	✔	✔
Read all posted questions and answers	✔	✔	✔
Watch all posted videos	✔	✔	✔
Post general questions to Discussion forum	✔	✔	✖
Submit written assignments	✔	✖	✖
Post dog specific questions	✔	With video only	✖
Post videos	✔	Up to 2	✖
Receive instructor feedback on	Questions All videos	Questions All videos	✖

Find more details, refund policies and answers to common questions in the Help center.

DS150: The Power of Pulling - Introduction to Dog Powered Sports

DS150: The Power of Pulling - Introduction to Dog Powered Sports

Course Details

Teaching Approach

Gold

Silver

Bronze