draft dog work

We're going to practice pulling a dog cart with Baxter.
although we didn't actually need to practice at all.
Baxter made it easy. Otherwise Baxter wouldn't be a "real" Swiss either.

After all, they are born draft dogs.

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History (Source Wikipedia)

The oldest document of a dog as a draft animal comes from a Greek vase, dated around 500 BC. The Roman historian Lampridius (AD 218 to 222) writes: "The dogs were not only fed with foie gras, but four were harnessed to a chariot and driven about his palace and estates."

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The use of dogs as draft animals  of the poor man” was at least dated  middle Ages  quite widespread up until the 20th century. Around 1900 there are said to have been 150,000 such "cart dogs". Dog teams were also often used by peddlers to transport the range of goods, because large dogs were not only cheaper to buy than horses, but they are said to be anatomically better suited for pulling carts and dog sleds. Draft dogs can pull up to three to five times their own body weight. In addition, the mostly large and powerful dog offered a certain protection to its owner (peasant women often drove to the market alone) and the wagon load.

Ancestors of dog breeds such as Rottweilers or Mountain Dogs mainly transported food and goods:
French dog team around 1905