Dog Carts

Disambiguation: "Dog cart" is also a term used to refer to a light horse-drawn cart adapted to carry dogs. But this hub us about carts actually pulled by dogs.

Dog carts present a cheaper option for people unable to support the upkeep of horse or oxen. They were traditionally used in many countries to pull small loads such as milk, vegetables, or straw. Dog carts were particularly useful for vendors navigating narrow and congested city streets.

Examples:

• Dog cart with Swiss mountain dog (1904)
• French postman's cart (1905)
• Draught Dog (1915)
• Dog drawn milk carts (1930s)

Dog carts are often part of scenic depictions of Switzerland, Germany and Holland. Even after dog carts began to become obsolete they continued to appear in art, advertising and souvenir postcards as a distinctive part of the culture of the region.

Examples:

• Belgian milk cart (1900)

^{State Library of Victoria Collections / Foter / CC BY}

Other carts were sometimes very elaborate children's toys, functioning as scale models of the carts and carriages the children would drive when they grew up. As such they were a source of fun and also useful training.

Examples:

• Dog pulling toy wagon (1899)
• Berlin (1971)

Dog carts were also developed for sporting and hobby mushing, as a warm weather alternative to sleds. Sporting carts are still in use today.

Serious mushers use these carts to train out of season and keep their dogs in condition. Some who live in warmer climates use these carts recreational all year round.

Huskies and sled dogs are commonly used to pull these carts but some hobbyists will use other breeds.

Examples:

• Spanish mushing championships (2010)

^{montpelier / Foter / CC BY-SA}

Sometimes hand carts were converted to run on train rails in remote areas. Dogs were also sometimes used to pull miner's carts that ran on tracks.

Examples:

• Alaska (1906)

Other carts or "dog powered vehicles", "K9 Carts", or "dog scooters" are simply made for fun or for costumed parades.

Examples:

• Mardi Gras day (1999)

Dog carts appear only occasionally in art outside of scenic postcards such as French Dog Cart by Gladys Davidson (1919).