Part 2: Dog Carts and Working Dogs

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History of Dog Carts, Part 2:

Dog Carts and Working Dogs

Part 1: Dog Carts For Children

Part 3: Dog Carts and The Middle Ages

Antique Sicilian Cart and Vixen

Dog carts were work vehicles used by farmers and humble tradesmen. These work carts used the same vehicle technology as horse carts, but typically were not scaled down equine vehicles. One noticeable feature on the work dog wagon/cart is the wheel size. In proportion to the dog and horse, after 1750 wheels are larger on working dog carts/wagons. Although some carts were almost small-scale horse carts, most were slightly wider than a dog sized horse cart should be. In Europe, one to 5 dogs would be hitched abreast. In Canada, one or two dogs would be hitched abreast and extra dogs would then be hitched in tandem in front of the wheel dogs. A human would help push the cart if the load was heavy or the grade was steep. Generally, the work dog carts were simple vehicles used as an alternative to equine transportation for people or cargo. The use of dog carts for personal transportation declined rapidly after the invention of the safety bicycle in the early 1890s. As late as the 1920s in some area’s of Europe and Canada, dog carts were almost identical to horse carts and wagons used in the Middle Ages.

The French Canadians have over two hundred years of working dogs pulling dog carts. Dog carts were noted in the travel diaries and journal entries of travelers to Canada. The Swedish naturalist Peter Kalm wrote an appendix for a book by John Bartram published in 1751, Observations on the Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions, Animals, and Other Matters. In the appendix Peter Kalms writes about the use of dog carts in French Canada and records the oral history of Canadian dog carts. Henry D.Thoreau, in September 1850, noted Canadian dog carts and the “extensive use made of these animals (dogs) for drawing, not only milk, but groceries, wood, &ce.” (An Excursion to Canada)

In 1840 wheeled vehicles pulled by dogs are banned in London, England.

In 1853, Mr. H. B. West exhibited his two cart dogs at the New York Crystal Palace Exhibition. For his dog cart he used a miniature 4 wheeled sulky of the type frequently seen in Currier and Ives prints of harness races. (Souvenir of NY Crystal Palace)

In 1855, all vehicles pulled by dogs are outlawed in Great Britain.

In 1878, the American carriage magazine, The Hub, describes canine carts used by rag pickers in New York City.

In 1894, The Hub, reports on Belgium canine carts.

On July 14, 1910, Newfoundlander William Brown won a $10,000 bet for traveling 25,000 miles in a dog wagon over seven years. He used a 5 dog tandem hitch to pull his wagon. Four dogs were St John's Dogs and one was an English Setter.

From the 1890s to 1960s many Canadian dog cart postcards were published. The dog carts depicted were either for cargo or to transport people. For people transportation, simple dog sulkies are depicted up until 1940 and after that a fancier dog cart or “Caleche” is shown. I was surprised how infrequently 'Newfoundland' dogs appear in these tourist postcards. Typically, the draft dog is a yellow or black Lab type of dog. These dogs are the local dog once called the Saint John's dog, out of which the Yellow Lab, the Black Lab, and the Newfoundland were bred in the mid to late 19th century. See the pictures below of typical St. John's Dogs.