{{short description|Dog bred for a specific type of work}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{For |the cart designed to carry hunting dogs |Dogcart}} thumb|A drafting dog, 1915 thumb|Dog pulling a carriage, Poland 2003 '''Drafting''' (also known as '''carting''') is an activity or dog sport in which a dog (usually a large breed) pulls a cart or wagon filled with supplies, such as farm goods, camping equipment, groceries or firewood, but sometimes pulling people.
== History == Drafting involves dogs pulling a cart or wagon, a task historically performed to assist farmers with transporting goods.<ref name="Mansourian">{{Cite web |last=Mansourian |first=Erika |title=Breeds Who Enjoy Drafting Just for the Haul of it |url=https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/breeds-who-enjoy-drafting-just-for-the-haul-of-it/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=www.akc.org}}</ref><ref name="Lavigne">{{Cite book |last=Lavigne |first=Guillaume de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2O45BgAAQBAJ&dq=drafting+vs+mushing&pg=PA147 |title=the Draft Dog, past and present |date=2014-01-01 |publisher=Lulu |isbn=978-1-291-67128-5 |pages= |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=8}}
===Ancient=== [[File:Two Klondikers with dogs packing supplies along the Chilkoot Trail near Dyea, Alaska, 1897 (LAROCHE 111).jpeg|thumb|Dogs pulling travois, Alaska 1897]] The use of the travois for drafting was practiced in North America,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Palika |first=Liz |date=2003-04-01 |title=A New Spin on an Old Tradition |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=9161381&site=eds-live&scope=site |journal=Dog World |volume=88 |issue=4 |pages=47}}</ref> particularly among the Plains Indians.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gadacz |first=Renee |date=2012-04-19 |title=Travois |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/travois |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419125642/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/travois |archive-date=2012-04-19 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia}}</ref> Significant historic routes, such as the Lewis and Clark Trail-Travois Road and Montana's Lewis and Clark Pass, were heavily traversed by travelers using travois. The repeated passage created deep, parallel grooves in the terrain—marks that remain visible today.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lewis & Clark Trail-Travois Road--Lewis and Clark Expedition: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/lewisandclark/lew.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119051515/http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/lewisandclark/lew.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 January 2008 |access-date=2013-10-24}}</ref> Additional remnants of travois tracks can be found at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. Archaeological evidence indicates that travois were utilized prior to the invention of the wheel,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bakels |first=Corrie |title=The Western European Loess Belt: Agrarian History, 5300 BC - AD 1000 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2009 |isbn=9781402098406}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Un Travois pour les dieux. Lac de Chalain 31ième siècle avant J.-C. |trans-title=A Travois for the Gods |url=http://musee-archeologienationale.fr/sites/musee-archeologienationale.fr/files/un_travois_pour_les_dieux.pdf |language=fr}} [https://www.canal-u.tv/chaines/cerimes/films-du-crava-archeologie-ethnologie/un-travois-pour-les-dieux-lac-de-chalain-31e The film]</ref> with some tracks in New Mexico dated as far back as 22,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Landymore |first=Frank |date=2025-03-02 |title=Scientists Find Evidence of Vehicles From Tens of Thousands of Years Ago |url=https://futurism.com/evidence-vehicles-tens-thousands-years-old |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=Futurism}}</ref>
thumb|Greek vase depicting drafting dogs Pottery depicting drafting in ancient Greece and Rome has been found dating back to the 2nd century BC.<ref name="Lavigne" />{{Rp|page=13}} Roman Emperor Elagabalus was known to use drafting dogs, as described by historian Lampridius: {{Blockquote|text=His four powerful dogs were not only fed from geese livers, but also attached to a carriage to drive inside his palace and on his lands.<ref name="Lavigne" />{{Rp|page=14}}}}
===Early modern and industrial Europe=== Humanist Justus Lipsius (1547–1606) described witnessing drafting, writing:
{{Blockquote|text=In my youth, there was in Brussels an English dog breed, large and strong, employed by a tanner to pull his chariot full of skins to the market.<ref name="Lavigne" />{{Rp|page=15}}}}
Among European nobility, these conveyances were frequently used recreationally. Ladies at court would race through the parks. In 1608, Louis XIII was seen guiding a small carriage pulled by two mastiffs, through the Grand Gallery of the Louvre.<ref name="Lavigne" />{{Rp|page=15}}
[[File:The conquest of nature (1911) (14763170511).jpg|thumb|Milk churns being transported in a dog-pulled cart, 1911]] thumb|A two-dog cart, Netherlands 1904 Dog carts were historically used in Belgium and the Netherlands for delivering milk, bread, and other goods.<ref name="messybeast2">[http://www.messybeast.com/history/dogcarts.htm Dogcarts & Lioncarts.] The Messybeast.</ref> In 1725, Martin Pegius noted in his book ''Fleischerbunde in Belgien'' (''The Butchers' Dogs in Belgium'') that dogs were commonly used to pull carts to and from markets, often without human accompaniment.<ref name="Lavigne" />{{Rp|page=15}}
Drafting continued through the early 19th century as a practical means of transportation, particularly in rural areas. They served various purposes, including transporting goods, assisting in farming tasks, and even carrying passengers. In early Victorian Britain, dogcarts were associated with bakers, and when they used the area reserved for pedestrians, were considered a nuisance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_gYNAAAAYAAJ&q=dog |title=The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Stoke Newington in the County of Middlesex: Containing an Account of the Prebendal Manor, the Church, Charities, Schools, Meeting Houses, &c., with Appendices . |date=1842 |page=18 |accessdate=29 March 2016}}</ref> In 1839, the Metropolitan Police Act introduced a ban on their use within a 15-mile radius of Charing Cross, citing both concerns for animal welfare and public health. Overworked dogs were believed to be more vulnerable to rabies, and a notable decline in reported cases followed by 1841 seemed to support this view. That same year, a nationwide ban on dog-drawn carts was enacted across the United Kingdom.<ref name="Koszary">{{Cite web |last=Koszary |first=Adam |date=2014-10-14 |title=Dog Carts: Travel in style |url=https://merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2014/10/dog-carts-travel-in-style/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=The Museum of English Rural Life |language=en-GB}}</ref> {{blockquote|LVI – Dog Carts, &c. prohibited after 1st January 1840.<br/> :And be it enacted, That after the First Day of January next every Person who within the Metropolitan Police District shall use any Dog for the Purpose of drawing or helping to draw any Cart, Carriage, Truck, or Barrow shall be liable to a Penalty not more than Forty Shillings for the First Offence, and not more than Five Pounds for the Second or any following Offence.|source=Metropolitan Police Act 1839, section 56; repealed by Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973]}} The legislation was not without opposition. Critics, particularly small traders who relied on dog carts as an affordable means of transporting goods, voiced concerns about the economic impact of the ban. Some even mocked the bill as trivial, suggesting that if dogs were prohibited from pulling carts, then Shetland ponies should also be banned under the same logic.<ref name="Koszary" />
===20th century=== thumb|Military dogs pulling guns During World War I, some military units utilized dog carts to transport supplies and equipment. The Belgian Army, for instance, employed large, strong dogs to pull carts carrying machine guns and ammunition, finding them more cost-effective and maneuverable than horses in certain terrains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dogs in WWI |url=https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/dogs-wwi#:~:text=Dogs%20played%20an%20important%20military,under%20a%20hail%20of%20fire. |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=National WWI Museum and Memorial |language=en}}</ref><ref name="messybeast4" /> The use of dog carts began to decline in the early 20th century due to advancements in motorized vehicles and concerns over animal welfare. In Britain, for example, the practice was prohibited in the early 1900s, leading to tragic outcomes for many working dogs who were abandoned or euthanized when they could no longer serve their purpose.<ref name="messybeast4">{{cite web |title=Dogcarts |url=http://messybeast.com/history/dogcarts.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313035239/http://messybeast.com/history/dogcarts.htm |archive-date=13 March 2019 |accessdate=11 May 2019 |website=Dogcarts and Lioncarts |df=dmy-all}} Website contains many paintings of drafting dogs pulling dogcarts.</ref> Dogs were used by the Soviet Army in World War II to pull carts containing a stretcher for wounded soldiers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sella |first=Amnon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KoYFx_FQ9rkC&q=soviet+dogs+pulling+wounded |title=The Value of Human Life in Soviet Warfare |date=2005-08-19 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-97464-1 |language=en}}</ref>
== Practice == Today, drafting is a recreational activity that allows dogs to engage in purposeful work, which can be both mentally and physically fulfilling.<ref name="Lavigne" />{{Rp|10}} Drafting may be done competitively and drafting as a sport is also known as dryland mushing and is practiced all around the world, often to keep winter sled dogs in competition form during the off-season.<ref>{{cite book |last=Waldbaum |first=Laura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9rhjU3aiKPMC |title=Carting with Your Dog |publisher=Dogwise Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-61781-032-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=More Sports for All Dogs: Drafting & Carting |url=https://www.akc.org/canine-partners/more-sports-for-all-dogs-drafting-carting-2/ |accessdate=7 February 2019 |website=American Kennel Club}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=4 September 2018 |title=Dog carting enthusiasts keen to pull in new fans - The Country - The Country News |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=12118981 |accessdate=7 February 2019 |website=The New Zealand Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Falson |first=Sarah |date=30 June 2017 |title=Drafting dogs in suburbia |url=https://www.hawkesburygazette.com.au/story/4762858/drafting-dogs-in-suburbia/ |accessdate=7 February 2019 |website=Hawkesbury Gazette}}</ref> Mushing, bikejoring and dog scootering are all forms of drafting.{{r|Lavigne|p=8}}
{{Anchor|Dogcart}} === Equipment === thumb|A modern two-wheeled dogcart with a dorsal hitch A cart pulled by one or more dogs is often called a ''dogcart''. The dog pulls the cart using a specially fitted harness designed to distribute the weight.<ref name="Miller">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Cynthia D. |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780964941304/mode/1up?q=cart |title=Canine adventures : fun things to do with your dog |date=1999 |publisher=Yuba City, CA : Animalia Pub. Co. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-9649413-0-4}}</ref>{{Rp|page=284}}
thumb|Dog cart pulling two boys in Murray Bay, Quebec, early 20th century
A variety of carting is ''sulky driving'', where a dog or dogs pull a person in a vehicle called a sulky. This sport offers both exercise and discipline opportunities for energetic breeds. Many working breeds are happier when given a job or task, and carting/sulky driving can be a rewarding hobby for both dog and owner.<ref name="Miller"/>{{Rp|page=283}}
The sulky is designed to have little to no weight on the dog's back. A widely used model is the dorsal hitch, which involves only one shaft from the sulky that has negative weight (the center of mass of the cart is slightly behind the wheels) on the dog's harness. The dorsal hitch also allows easier going for the dog, with free range of movement as opposed to confining shafts on either side. This often simplifies initial training to the sulky, as the single high shaft does not interfere with the dog's movement.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}
Similar harnesses can be used for dogs to pull a person in a wheelchair.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-18 |title=Wheelchair Mushing is More than a Free Ride |url=https://newmobility.com/wheelchair-mushing-is-more-than-a-free-ride/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=New Mobility |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wheelchair Musher Finds a Unique Way to Explore Northeast Ohio’s Trails |url=https://clevelandmagazine.com/articles/wheelchair-musher-finds-a-unique-way-to-explore-northeast-ohio-s-trails/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=clevelandmagazine.com |language=en-US}}</ref> This sport is sometimes called "wheelchair mushing".
Dogcart is also the name of a type of horse-drawn vehicle that originally carried dogs to a hunt.{{r|smith}}{{r|Lavigne|p=8}}
== Breeds ==
[[Image:Black Russian Terrier carting.jpg|thumb|A Black Russian Terrier pulling a modern utility wagon, 2006]] A dog being used for drafting might be called a drafting dog, draughting dog, carting dog, or pulling dog. Many dog breeds were bred for drafting and continue to excel and enjoy the activity due to their strength, work ethic, and temperament including Newfoundland dogs, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, Saint Bernards, and Leonbergers<ref name="Mansourian" /> as well as the Rottweiler, Bouvier des Flandres<ref name="Mehus-Roe2009">{{cite book |author=Mehus-Roe, Kristin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uLTsxZ0SKD0C&pg=PA237 |title=Canine Sports & Games: Great Ways to Get Your Dog Fit and Have Fun Together! |date=21 January 2009 |publisher=Storey Publishing, LLC |isbn=978-1-60342-645-9 |pages=232–237 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627193908/http://books.google.com/books?id=uLTsxZ0SKD0C&pg=PA237 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all |accessdate=7 September 2013}}</ref> and the Belgian Mastiff.<ref name="Lavigne" />{{Rp|9}}
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog was a large working dog used by butchers, cattle dealers, manual workers and farmers, who used them as guard dogs, droving and draught dogs.<ref name="Bern Museum">[http://www.nmbe.ch/deutsch/531_5_2.html Great Swiss Mountain Dog] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225051916/http://www.nmbe.ch/deutsch/531_5_2.html |date=February 25, 2009 }} (in English), Vertebrate Animals Department, Naturhistoriches Museum der Burgergemeinde Bern</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Moustaki |first=Nikk i|title=Greater Swiss Mountain Dog |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n7oJBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT5|year=2012 |publisher=CompanionHouse Books <!--for Kennel Club--> |isbn=978-1-59378-722-6 |page=5}}</ref>
The Bernese Mountain Dog is a large working dog with a calm temperament ideal for pulling a cart, as they used to do in Switzerland. More recently they have been used to pull carts to give children rides, or to appear in parades.<ref>{{cite web |last=Young-Knox |first=Sara |title=Conway celebrates with jolly holiday parade |url=http://www.unionleader.com/article/20121203/NEWHAMPSHIRE02/121209823/1015/news13 |publisher=The Union Leader |accessdate=10 December 2012|date=2 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226103516/http://www.unionleader.com/article/20121203/NEWHAMPSHIRE02/121209823/1015/news13 |archive-date=2013-12-26 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
While many dog breeds have a history of drafting, any healthy dog with a sound temperament can be used as long as the cart or wagon are within their abilities.<ref name="Miller" />{{Rp|page=285}}<ref name=":0" />
==In culture==
Dog-drawn carts were frequently depicted in literature and art.<ref name="messybeast2" /> The Dutch-Belgian artist Henriëtte Ronner-Knip (1821–1909) painted many pictures in the Romantic style of drafting dogs pulling dogcarts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Henriette Ronner-Knip - Artworks |url=https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=a&s=tu&aid=1871 |publisher=The Athenaeum |accessdate=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124110232/http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/list.php?m=a&s=tu&aid=1871 |archive-date=24 November 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Sled dogs were used to pull equipment and men efficiently over the snow and ice on Roald Amundsen's 1911 expedition to the South Pole.<ref>{{cite book | last = Huntford | first = Roland | year = 1985 | title = The Last Place on Earth | publisher = Pan Books | location = London and Sydney | isbn = 0-330-28816-4 | pages=90, 248}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160px" class=center> File:Ronner Knip Henriette The Dog Cart.jpg|''The Dog Cart'', oil on canvas, Henriëtte Ronner-Knip File:Henriette Ronner Kurze Rast.jpg|''A Short Rest'', oil on wood Henriëtte Ronner-Knip File:Aan de Zuidpool - p1913-164-1.jpg|''To the South Pole'': photograph of sled dogs on Amundsen's South Pole expedition, 1911 </gallery>
== See also == * Dog travois * Sled dog * Working dog *''{{Annotated link|A Dog of Flanders}}''
== References == {{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="smith">{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Horse Drawn Vehicles |first=D.J.M. |last=Smith |year=1988 |isbn=0851314686 |ol=11597864M |page=66}}</ref>
}}
== External links == {{commons category|Dog carts}} * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyzhJbFCc0k Video compilation] of various dogs pulling various carts, wagons and sulkies (2013)
{{Domestic dog}} {{Dog sports}} {{Working animals}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Dog roles Category:Working dogs