The Fight in the Dog...

©David J. Arthur, June, 2011 Whoever coined the phrase, “It isn’t the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog that counts,” must have foreseen the little Toy Poodle Maddie. “To the best of my knowledge,” her owner Joe Buchanan pointed out, “there are other dogs down to 5 pounds who do weight pull; however I have not been able to find any at this size who have earned the UKC Weight Pull Champion title.” And that wasn’t her best pull for the weekend. Just the day before, Maddie tugged a mere 331 lbs – more than 26 times her body weight – on the way to her win. But how did this minuscule girl get involved in a sport more commonly expected of Pit Bulls, Newfies, Malamutes, or Rottweilers? “Maddie started weight pulling in February of 2010, in the snow, and has loved every minute of it,” Joe reminisced. And what do people say when they see this little Poodle decked out in her purple fur-lined and feathered harness? Joe smiled, “I've had everything from pointing and laughing, all of the way to flat out amazement when she weighed in at 5 lbs and pulled 331 lbs at the AABC's rail pull!” To watch Maddie thrust and strain is almost comical. That is, until you realize in astonishment that she’s connected to a cart loaded with hundreds of pounds of cement blocks! With the excited cheering of her human “dad”, and a lot of help from the crowd, she barks and lunges at the tether until bit-by-creeping-bit, she urges the mechanism to roll. Then, once she has it in motion, she sets her tiny body to keeping the cart moving, all the way to the finish line a few yards away. Some would wonder if it’s safe for such a minute dog take on such an overwhelmingly enormous task, and the sport of weight pull has had its detractors. But those who know Joe and Maddie are well aware that her training was not haphazard. “Maddie is not our first weight pull dog,” Joe pointed out, “But she is by far the smallest and may be the most determined!” To ensure she was both physically and mentally able, Maddie was conditioned over a number of months, pulling increasingly greater loads until building up to a competitive level. Joe also carefully consulted others within the sport to ensure she was making appropriate headway, never placing her in a position where she could be injured. With a broad smile, he continued, “It's always great to watch the dog learn and reach their potential!” And reach it she did, earning a title where larger dogs have yet to go in competition. When asked about her future in the sport, Joe was quite matter-of-fact. “Maddie will pull for as long as she would like. She loved it the minute she started, and once she tells me that love is gone; she will go back to a life on the couch.” You see, for Joe and Maddie, it’s not about the ribbons, the brags, or the glory. “We compete for fun, plain and simple. If either of us stops enjoying it, then we will do something else; we have nothing to prove.” But the truth is, Maddie has already proven herself! She’s truly a testament to the strength of will in a Toy Poodle’s heart. As to her future, “We are getting ready to take our CGC, and start in Rally O and Agility,” Joe mentioned. “We will also be trying for a NKC weight pull title this summer, and I believe she would be the absolute smallest dog in that venue.” Yup, Maddie is just a little kid in the overall world of dogs. But in the sport of weight pull, she’s a giant! And so, as her registered name changes to “Fulkvar's Lady Madaline, UWPCH”, her pet name will never differ. She’s always going to be Maddie ... her daddy Joe’s amazing little Poodle.