I have never known anyone to sell their lead dog

Its not really the done thing..

Not sure which site i saw it on, there was at least three lead dogs i recall seeing but alot of them were pups...thinking about it, maybe the site was american

I have seen an adult on a certain site up for sale , with lead dog in its advertisement. Made me wander why if she was so good why are they moving her on then!!!!!!!!!!

Well really pups can't be established lead dogs..they can show potential..and people will blag that to sell them..

serious American kennels may sell on their lead dogs to make way for more..

BUT in the UK most lead dogs are their mushers prize dog..

Ah right, yeah that makes sense. I shall bear that in mind!

I would be very wary of any kennel in the UK offering to sell their "lead dog" ! Most UK people will keep their dogs well after they stop running and normally until they leave us and wait for us to cross the bridge with them.
As already pointed out, a pup can show potential but can not be relied upon to "lead".
If your dog does not want to pull then why not try a "spinger" that hooks onto the side of a bike. That way they get exercise but don't have to pull???

My advice starting letting a dog pull for the first time is not to have her/him chasing anything in the beginning! This will often result in a dog who later will not work up to it's full potential working abilities!
I've seen that when giving the dog something to chase, one amputates the phsycholigical urge to go forward by motivating itself, and then one get a dog who doesn't want to go forward over time unless it has something to chase.

In my experience 80 % of the working dog lays between the dogs ears;=). And the dog must learn to go forward of it's own desire, not because it's chasing something.

What I do when debuting with a fresh young dog, is either have them learn by working next to a calm good worker with good rutines, who knows it's job (best way).
If there is only one dog to train, I use a belt around my waist (like skijorning) and x-back on the dog. I start with placing the dog between my feet with short line/rope. Then as the dog pulls the rope, I give more rope as I praise the dog giving the command "forward". This just for the dog to understand what's expected of him/her.
Then give the dog longer and longer line as it pulls forward. After a short while we stop and repeat - then begin to stop standing still, until the dog get bored and start pulling in the line, while standing forward. Immeditately prais and commands forward. This we do regularly with several restarts on the way:=)!

Then after a while going, the dog discovers the fun in pulling, and get even more eager - THIS IS GREAT AND IT ENJOYES ITSELF VERY VERY MUCH! When dog is on top and enjoys it big time, we immediately stop and return to dogyard (3-4km total at most) . Dog of course get frustrated at first, but what he last remember is the urge to GO GO GO, and how fun it was! So next day we repeat. Longer and longer, and then in the end you have a dog who have all reason to go forward, because it learned that this is really fun!

Until this age most dogs has been taught to walk nicely in line and not pulling, so it has to understand that pulling now is expected and allowed;=).
By the way, as a rule, I don't ever teach my dogs to heel until they have worked their first trainingseason .

As mentioned above this tecnic I do just for a couple of times in the beginning to make sure the dog understand whats expected. And also to encourage the dog.

When talking about leading dogs, this is very difficult. But - I clearly mean - it is possible to buy a leader when puppy.
But this takes a lot of work and insight in bloodlines and in studying the right choice when picking puppy from a litter.
There are of course no guaranties, but the odds are very much higher if you know what you are looking for in movement and behavior of puppies in a litter.

People thought me crazy when I bought Netah, my young female leading dog!
She was result of a not planned litter of 3 pups. When studying her she seemed very shy and soft. But she also was curious when she thought we didnt see her. She ran ahead and walked her own ways. So inspite of her shyness and insecurity towards people, I fell in love!
This pup was 3 months old at the time, she was not for sale because the breeder thought it wrong to sell a so unsocial and shy pup.
Stabburn as I am, I was determined that this was my girl - had to have her, I "terrorised" the breeder for a month with telephones, sms'es, e-mails U name it, until she was so sick of me that she said yes and sold her to me ! I payed 8000 NOK for her, and picked her up at 4 mths of age. It took me 3 moths of hard determined work to make her trust me and of quite intense socialisation.
When she was 9 months old I let her try sledding for the first time - in front - with her half sister (who I owned from before). Netah istantly knew her job and has been a superb leader ever since. Easy learner, and very easy to connect with for me when driving her.
She feared nothing when in lines, and cares about nothing - she only goes forward no matter what!

Netah's half sister, Kilak, is also a well over average leader, and alway is the first to signalise forward, when we stop. She is mother of 2 litters of total 15 offsprings.
11 of them works as excellent leaders!

Here Netah with her faboulus leading sister Kilak:



Netah:



Video (Netah in front with Kilak):

(By the way, dogs do normally make no sound at all when in the dog yard, but here they've been given "soup" and have noticed "mum" prepare to go training )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTBzQ3NkzKM

Netah turned 2 years old 18th of september, and as it is now she is the rawest worker I ever had (and I have had a few greenlands over the years) - I just call her my little monster lol:=)!

Lovely dogs. Netah is beautiful!

thanks for the excellent advice on how to start your dog. I really want to do scootering with my 2 and one of mine has had a go at it and seemed to get the pull idea straight away. However I was in front of her encouraging her, so I am now going to have a go the way you have described. Your dogs are lovely.

Thank you so much Loki's mum !

If you only knew and had seen Netah when I picked her up to take her home, you would also be amazed over the total change and progress!
To set the perspektive:
When I went to fetch her, we needed 3 grown people litterarly hunting her down and cornering her to get her , Acted like a wild wolf! When we came home, and I took her in to let her get to know us, she sat in a corner in the kitchen, just stiff, and when anyone if us walked by in a meters distance, she just pee'd all over the floor in fear . For the first time in my "doglife" I had my doubts wether I was in over my head this time .
So I soon decided to have her in the dogyard with the other dogs. And it took me about 3 months to play my way under her skin, to get her to come to me willingly.

What made me put the effort into her, was the one thing. Her reaction-pattern when pressed to her limits in fear. Did she react with aggression or with total submition? She reacted with total submition, and this made it all worth while !
So Netah has been of the ones who has become quite special to me, as you understand. 'Cause she showed me that it was all worth while in the end !

And tawneywolf: I find this a very interesting thread, and appreciate the different opinions each and everyone has experienced!
I call myself a happy amateur even though I worked with these dogs for so many years! I still learn, and the most facinating of all is to learn from others experiences aswell ! Every day I learn something new - and have learned that being humble in ones everyday with our animals - gets us farther .

What works for me and my dogs, doesn't have to work on other dogs. But if one does not share, we'd never no what to try, would we !?