Discover Carting & Drafting

Carting and drafting is a working sport in which a harnessed dog pulls a wheeled cart through a course of turns, narrow passages, and a longer freight haul over varied terrain. A draft test starts with a basic off-leash control section: heeling, recalls, and a group stay. Then the dog is harnessed and hitched, the equipment is checked, and the team moves through a maneuvering course of turns, backing, narrow passages, and small hazards with the cart attached. The day ends with a freight haul: a longer course over varied terrain, with a specified load in the cart. NCA's Open-level haul runs a one-mile course with a 40-pound load; BMDCA uses load formulas keyed to dog weight and class. The work is judged on willing pull, steady pace, responsive obedience, and safe management of the cart.

Drafting suits medium-to-giant dogs with sound structure, steady drive, and patience for methodical work under load. Bernese Mountain Dogs and Newfoundlands trace the modern lineage; Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs and Rottweilers have parallel programs in their own breed clubs. What drafting rewards is harness fit, cart balance, and calm read-the-room handling. What it does not reward is speed or flash — there is no clock pressure beyond the haul's distance, and judges score control and willingness, not athleticism. The sport is less workable for reactive dogs than most because tests run largely off-leash around other teams: the basic control section asks for a group stay near other dogs, and the freight route runs past distractions in a working environment. Severely reactive teams train at distance in club practice days rather than entering formal tests.

A draft test is a sequence of discrete exercises run as one test day. Each exercise is judged independently. In NCA-style tests, every exercise is pass/fail and a team must pass all six to earn the title — there is no point system. ARC-style carting tests use point scoring across a standardized scoresheet. BMDCA and GSMDCA use multi-section structures with their own qualifying rules. The equipment, conditioning, and handling skills transfer across orgs; the titling math does not.

The Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America (BMDCA) approved its Draft Test Regulations in January 1991 and has run draft tests through regional Bernese clubs ever since. Draft is a defining piece of BMDCA working-dog culture — tests appear at most national specialties and at regional events through the year, with a developed network of clinics, match tests, and mentoring. Handlers who own a Bernese and want to preserve the breed's farm-draft heritage almost always start here.

The Newfoundland Club of America (NCA) runs the most thoroughly documented draft program in North America. Draft sits inside NCA's broader Working Dog Program alongside water rescue and other working events, and tests are governed by a unified rulebook maintained by the NCA Working Dog Committee — most recently revised around June 2022. Handlers who own a Newfoundland and want a clear, well-published rule set find NCA's pass/fail clarity attractive.

Two more US breed clubs run formal draft or carting tests alongside BMDCA and NCA — GSMDCA (Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Club of America) and ARC (American Rottweiler Club). Both programs are restricted to their breed and operate independently. Titles do not transfer across organizations: a BMDCA Draft Dog title does not count toward an NCA, GSMDCA, or ARC title, and vice versa. The skills transfer cleanly; the titles themselves are organization-specific.

Titles do not transfer across organizations. Skills do — heeling under harness, backing, hill management, and load awareness all carry from one program's training into another's tests. The broader weight-pull world shares some equipment and conditioning practice with draft, even though the formats and goals differ. Junior-handler programs and veteran divisions exist informally at some events but are not consistently codified across the four orgs.

Drafting is a club-and-equipment sport with a sparse test calendar. The first step is a clinic or a regional breed-club practice day, where the dog is introduced to the harness, shafts, and basic maneuvering in a low-pressure setting before facing a full test course. Most beginners read the relevant breed-club rulebook early in the process and build a base of off-leash obedience and general conditioning before adding the cart.

Draft tests are quieter and more methodical than high-speed sports. Dogs work one at a time or in small numbers on course, and substantial stretches of waiting sit between exercises. First-time handlers report a measured atmosphere — the sport rewards calm, and the test day reflects that. A full test day can occupy most of a day, and at national specialties, draft stacks alongside other working events.

Drafting spending varies more by travel pattern than by entry fee. Casual participants attend occasional clinics and one local test per year and stay at the low end. Active competitors travel to multiple regional tests and specialties. The ranges below extrapolate from limited 2025–2026 public premiums, breed-club articles, and handler reports — handler verification will tighten them.