Dog Puller is a dog sport, based on exercises with a dog fitness tool, which originated in Chernihiv, Ukraine in August 2012.^[1]

While Dog Puller shares various characteristics with dog sports like Agility and Disc Dog, its main principle is accessibility. Dog Puller’s exercises are deliberately created to allow any dog-human pair to start training, irrespective of disability, level of fitness, or dog breed. Today, Dog Puller is an international sport. It is relatively new in comparison to other dog sports, but its popularity is growing.^[2] The Second Dog Puller World Championship was held in 2019, gathering 91 participants from 11 different countries.^[3]

Dog Puller started as a set of exercises developed for the dog fitness tool PULLER in August 2012. It was created by the owner of COLLAR Company, which manufactures PULLER tools, Yuriy Sinitsa; dog trainer and PULLER inventor, Serhiy Shkot, and sportswoman and cynologist, Varvara Petrenko. The PULLER product consists of rings of different sizes that the dog and the human can grip.^[4] The main idea of the meeting was to create a sport accessible to all dogs and people. Varvara created the rules for such a sport from scratch— from the disciplines to score calculation — based on the exercises developed by Serhiy.^[1]

After several tests and initial corrections of the rules, the first Dog Puller Championship took place in September, 2012.^[5] The first participants didn’t have special training beforehand, and many of them learned the rules on the spot. That was the main point of the test championship: to see if people who had never heard of Dog Puller were able to quickly understand the rules and participate in the game with their dogs.^[5] In 2017 a quantity of clubs all over the world were allowed to hold the World Dog Puller Championship, not only local ones. Until the beginning of 2018, the local Dog Puller Federations were created, the rules were standardized for all of them, and, in October 2018, the First World Dog Puller Championship finally took place.

Dog Puller exercises can be practiced both for everyday training and for the competitions. According to the manufacturer’s research, 20 minutes of training equal to 5 miles of running.^[6] The basic exercises that are offered for hobby use are Running, Jumping, Pulling and Swimming. The local championships can include all four disciplines, but according to the rules of 2020 the dogs will compete in two of them – Running and Jumping – in the Dog Puller World Championship.^[7]

There are three competitive disciplines: Running, Jumping and Springpole. Springpole is obsolete but can still be used in local championships. In Running, the handler throws PULLER rings and the dog has to successfully catch them and bring them back. In Jumping, the handler raises the PULLER rings and the dog must jump and catch them. In Springpole, the dog pulls the PULLER while the rope is attached to the ring.^[8]

The techniques can be adjusted according to the needs of the competing dog-human pair. For example, the rules allow people to kneel or sit in the Jumping discipline. This accommodates both small dog breeds and people in wheelchairs. The rules also note that each person can have their own technique, based on their (and their dog’s) abilities and the referees should respect this.^[9]

Dogs are placed into competitive categories based on size, age, and breed.^[9]

The First Dog Puller World Championship took place in Prague, the Czech Republic on the 7th of October, 2018. 70 sportspeople from Ukraine, Portugal, South Korea, Russia, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic participated in it. The dogs were divided into four categories: Mini, Maxi, Drive and Bull (see Categories).

The participants from Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Korea became multi-champions. Ukrainian team became the ultimate champions^[10][11]

Margarita German and her Border Collie, Ivy, set the world record in Puller Jumping (Drive category). Jan Straka and his Border Collie, Axios, set the record in Puller Running (Drive category).^[12]

The Second Dog Puller World Championship took place on the 7th-8 September in the city of Sopron (Hungary). More than 90 participants from 11 countries registered. The teams of Ukraine, Portugal, South Korea, Russia, Hungary, Belarus, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Canada, Austria and Poland came to participate^[3] This Championship was named an inclusive event, featuring disabled dogs and handlers.^[13]

The Second Dog Puller World Championship became a public event: there were master classes for the spectators, canistherapy and physiotherapy zones, child and teen Dog Puller competitions and starter Dog Puller lessons.

The Russian team became the ultimate champions. Pairs from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Hungary became multichampions^[14][15]

The Third Dog Puller World Championship will take place in Poland^[16][9]

Dog Puller is an official dog sport in many countries of the world^[17] and Dog Puller training sessions and competitions are held as a part of animal training^[18] and canistherapy.^[19] The elements of Dog Puller (without competition) are also used for the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers in Ukrainian hospitals^[20]