How to Design Your Own Dog Pull Cart

Dog pulling can be a great sport to do with your dogs. You will want to design a cart to fit your dog. If you have an American bulldog or bull mastiff, you will want to build the cart to hold more weight than if you have a smaller dog like a pit bull terrier or Dalmatian.

Things You'll Need

  • Pencil
  • Paper

Instructions

  1. How to Design Your Own Dog Pull Cart

    • 1

      Draw out your plan with paper and pencil.

    • 2

      Design the cart in a rectangular shape. It needs to be longer than it is wide to drag straight. A good width to length ratio is 2 feet long by 1 foot wide. A bigger dog can pull a cart measuring 3 feet long by 1½ feet wide.

    • 3

      Consider what you will be using for weight. You can use steel weights of the sort that you would add to a bar for weight lifting, bags of sand, bricks, or anything that adds weight and sits squarely on the cart. For bigger dogs you will want to design your cart to handle heavier objects.

    • 4

      Design the cart with a backstop and edges that will keep jugs or bricks from falling off the back or sides as your dog pulls. Add a 2-inch by 4-inch backstop and 2-inch by 2-inch or 4-inch edge on the sides.

    • 5

      Add runners under the sled. Runners should raise the platform of the cart about 4 inches and extend a few inches beyond the front of the platform of the cart. They should be cut at a 45-degree angle on the front to keep them from getting hung up on rough terrain.

    • 6

      Add something along the back of the cart to make noise to get the dog used to track and cart noise. Loosely fitted D-rings or lengths of chain work well. You can use anything that will make a loud jingling noise.

    • 7

      Fit your cart with some sort of straps to hook your dog to the cart. They will have to be long enough to accommodate your dog with plenty of room behind him to move freely without hitting the cart with his back legs. 1-inch-wide nylon straps work well. Two nylon leashes of equal length would be fine. Attach a leash on the top front of each runner. That will allow the cart to be pulled more evenly than if you design your cart with the harness hook-ups attached to the front center of the platform.