Simple and Effective Keeps

Good Evening Gents. Im New to this forum and still a green horn in this breed. I would like some of Your opinions on What would be the most effective yet simple keep including Feeding plan. Would like Your advice on this. Thanks

Power House Keep

It is best to learn the various recent keeps used and published by various past dog men. I doubt there is a one keep fits all type situations. There are so many variables that will play into what you may can do or not do. The first two important factors are how much land you have and what is the general type weather you have to deal with. Examples would be living in the mountains or down south with year round high humidity or in a more desert type weather like Texas that is dry with low humidity.

Someone that lives out in the boonies with plenty of land mass or a large farm to walk/road work the dog and the time to do it. Will have a great advantage over someone in a city environment with limited space.

Another advantage is a dog man that has up to forty or more dogs and another dog man that can keep only eight to ten dogs. With both yards having good bred dogs. The larger yard has more dogs to pick from.

In the end one has to plan out a keep suited for their lifestyle etc. and just go and do it. Trying to keep it simple as possible. If something does go wrong. Will hopefully know how to fix.

One thing I noted over time was the dog men/chicken men that kept nasty unclean run down yards. Did not do well at any other part of the game. Your animals have to be kept healthy to compete.

I always felt the dog man that could really condition well. That just went around and picked up good dogs here and there had the best of it. No Hassall of taking care of dogs every day. Just deal with one dog have all the fun of the dog pull event. When event is over go home to peace and quite. LOL

Well said. For first timers hand walking should be the staple. It is simple, effective and it is kind of hard to hurt a healthy dog with walking. As the keeps get more complicated the equipment used incorrectly can leave a dog flat and/or overworked. Hand walking and dragging weight can get a dog into really top notch shape. The risk/reward factor is pretty good.
The hardest part of a keep is reading the dog. The ability to see when enough is enough for today is an art in itself. There is no keep that gives instructions/directions that will fit every dog for every day. A dog may give you 30 minutes of this today but only need 20 minutes tomorrow. The key is to recognize this and not give him thirty minutes when he does not need it or is not ready for it.
I would look to the walking and dragging weight keeps to start with and move to equipment as the experience develops. EWO

if i remember correctly i believe the vietnam keep was mostly roadwork?

A. Howle was a tough local competitor in the game many years ago. We grew up together and shared some dogs together. He quit after he lost his teenage son to a bad car accident. A.H. kept a low profile and never cared for reporting anything.

His family had a large farm with a surrounding outer dirt road that ran around the whole farm. A.H. set up a walking/pulling a chain stations around that road. Dog walked for so long from one station then pulled a chain to next station and so on. The chain pulling stations were of a shorter distance than the walking/jogging stations. On alternate days or when he deemed it was time to back off the chain pulling. Had a hook up system to a large golf cart and just dog trotted and loped the dog between those same spaced out stations. For a back up for bad weather days he used a large low running to the ground round table.

Never told or let anyone see how he fed or exactly how he worked each dog. Was his business anyway. All his dogs were in great shape and were strong. Beat two good dog men with the Face bitch,whom I later owned. His work keep was about as simple as it gets.

Still takes a lot of time and a will to get out there and work the dog. There are no short cuts in Pro boxing and none in a dog pulling event. It is time consuming and hard work. If you do it right you will be in pretty good shape yourself.

Myself and wife worked the Mr. Clean dog for R. Braddock. I would get up early before work and walk the dog 2 1/2 miles out and back in. Later in early evening my wife would do the same. When I got in from work would do another walk broken up with fast trotting and loping on my round table. My round table at that time was a 16 footer. When we had finished the keep. Both had lost a bunch of weight and felt pretty darn good our selves. LOL

Thanks Gents. Very helpful Information. I put out weight, Waiting for a response. This is my first time going out in the field. Got my vitamins, Feed and acquiring all the correct meds. Nervous as i spoke to many old timer back home and all there keeps seem so complex that its left me baffled rather then motivated. I live in a dry hot place but its winter and the weather resembles some what Orlando Florida in the United states but much dryer even in the winter months. I think im gonna take your guy's advice and do a road keep as like you wise gents stated i could hurt a dog if i worked it with out understanding the complex keeps. If there is any more advice and one of you can assist a greenhorn with it will be highly appreciated. Thank you all

Good post CJY. Many a well conditioned dog has been the result of hand walking and chain pulling. Personally, I believe the more work a dog will do with all four feet on the ground the better. If one can figure out a system or a game for the dog that causes him to sprint all out on his own over short distances, over and over again, the dog will only benefit. I have always tried to go pretty much... long walks/chain pulling/long walks....long walks/sprints/long walks....long walks....long walks/sprints/long walks....long walks/chains/ long walks...rest...rest...that is a basic five on two off approach. Figuring out what works for each individual dog is something all the great conditioners had in common and that is regardless of type of work being used. EWO

If you spend enough time evaluating the dog you want to work that dog will in a sense develop its own keep. Taking all the things the dog likes to exert energy towards and putting them in reps and time frames that will allow the dog to get in maximum lean physical condition, along with a diet that fits that particular dog. You can put a simple keep together just like that.
Now if you're trying to race in the fast lane then you better do some homework!:idea:

B.H.W. While you are waiting for the next dog show and dog pulling events. Your dog should be in a easy pre keep to help toughen up the foot pads. To gently work out the inner fat and learn more what the dog likes to do. Your dog should be isolated and up off the ground in a well made pen that is adequate for the weather it will be in.

Being in a dry area you will need to pull up the dog's skin two or three times a day to make sure it is not getting dry and getting enough water. Without enough water in the feed and drinking it. Dog can not burn the fat for energy or maintain endurance. When you pull up the skin it should snap back in place. If it slowly goes back in place best set up a rest day or two and get plenty of water into the dog.

Put a good foot pad coat product on dog's feet and let dry. Then put a small amount of the petroleum jelly that comes in the brown jar. Forget the name of that petroleum product. Put on the pads and between the toes. Do not gob it on. Just a light coating after the pad coat while dog is off the ground. Check feet before working and during work to make sure no sand etc. gets between the toes and pads. Dog's feet get sore and goes lame the party is over till feet or foot heals. Other than over working the dog are letting dog go off it's water. The foot pads is one main factor that has to be looked at everyday.

A pre keep runs anywhere from two weeks to four weeks and the keep runs from 6 weeks to 8 weeks. Depending on the beginning condition dog was in before you started.

So start preparing for your Dog show or weight pulling event now. Be ready to get ready. Some smart competitors might put you off hoping your dog is sitting idle while they are well into the pre keep. Will show up on a odd day and want to do a dog pull say in 6 weeks. They then have the first home advantage if you fall for it. Go slow and do not rush things. Do not let people come over and look and handle your dog. Your competitor does not need to see your dog at anytime till weigh in time.

Take time to read Barney Fife's keep. Lot of good common sense stuff in it that one should know about beside just working a dog. Good luck you are about to enter the Twilight Zone. So many little things you have to learn. LOL

P.S. never put up a entry fee for a dog pulling event that you can not afford to lose. I saw a man one time that had one hell of a pulling dog. Going for it's second dog pulling event or maybe a championship pull. This fellow without consulting with his family put up a second mortgage on his home. Put up a big entry fee. His dog for no reason known just up and quit pulling. Blew everybody's mind.

Other than this dog man, never seen a man get sick and turn green. Except when I was in the Navy seeing sailors and marines get sea sick. Was the end of his dog ventures may have had to work two jobs to save his home. Nothing was funny about any of what happen that day. Take Care

Ditto EWO. The more natural you work a dog with all feet on the ground. The better and less chance of injury. Even my round table was set low to the ground around knee high while sitting. Seen dogs run on small round tables built up waist high. Most dogs would work in a tense mode and keep looking over that edge. Never knew when the dog would panic and slam on brakes. Resulting in a pulled shoulder or burned foot pads

I liked hand walking and had a loose long over head type cable run. Liked to run dog back and forth and pull against the play of the Cable and the Two high trees the Cable was attached to. Used a good quality pulling harness. Ground was kept soft with saw dust and soft mulch tilled in. Sort of a flirt pole/sprinting type combo work out. With walking in between sets.

I would like to say again. When most are talking about walking a dog. It means a dog with a strong prey type or Terrier type mentality. Gets out front and moves and hunts. Some jogging may be include. A dog that stays at your feet the whole time will need another type keep. My walking lease was around 30 or 35 feet long with knots every so many feet to help reel the leash in and let out. The knots helped also if the dog took off running for something and rope runs through your hand causing a bad rope burn. I used a pulling harness on the walks. When doing a walk or jogging type road work. Best keep a high powered pellet gun to run off any stray dogs etc. that might show up.

PS when working a dog always keep a break stick with you. Never know what might show up. Keeping your dog up off the ground and isolated helps prevent any kennel accidents and allows dog to properly rest. Good Luck

True CYJ. A dog is just physically built and anatomically designed to walk at a leisurely pace. A dog walking by your knee would have to walk for miles, maybe not even measured in hours but in days. It was way things were intended. Like most things there are tons of different methods to the same end goal. I use a six foot lead with a lightweight pulling harness. I leave the collar on and I made a small double snapped lead to connect the two. (there is no tension on this, just ties the collar to the harness. We were walking two dogs in a field once and one was pulling to get at the other dog, spun around and backed out of the pulling harness. It nearly cost two forfeits. So I use the small double snap as an insurance item). I like the dog to drag me where we are going. I want the lead tight and my arm extended. Same when he is pulling chains. I use the long lead in a field on the warm up and cool down periods.


I too have a long cable between a tree and the bumper of my truck. It is about 300 or so feet but has stops around 275-290 ft. I hook him up and zing by on the four wheeler. They chase me back and forth for sprints. I think they get as much from this as anything. It is an exercise that they are pouring in all their effort with no prompting or equipment, just natural all out effort. I do not think a person can dictate that amount of effort into a dog.


On the equipment side I am a carpet mill fan. I try to use it two-three-four times a week depending on the dog and the weather. I too like mine low to the ground as it is un-natural for the dog to stand on something that is moving under him. They learn to do it and make it look like a breeze but it just was not meant to be. And some actually enjoy it and that is always a plus. But I agree a dog up off the ground is in a tense state and that has to be factored in the work load. A dog that is comfortable running on the ground can do it for so long but a dog that is tensed and 'just doing it' can't go as long. That is where reading a dog is so important. Using another persons written keep is nothing more than a guide. Forcing ten minutes on a dog today because that is what the keep schedule says is where a lot of keeps turn south. The dogs are not machines. No one can turn them on and off like a light switch 100% of the time. Learning to read a dog and in turn resting a dog is about the finest art there is in these dogs. Any dingaling can force hours of work upon a dog but on show night that dingaling will have his ass handed to him more times than not, with good dogs being piled up along the way. EWO