Miki's Peculiar Ability...

Miki (at right) is our youngest field spaniel, who's about four years old now.  He's a little short for a field spaniel, with a very sturdy appearance.  He has one ability that surprises everyone who takes his leash to walk him: he can pull with a force all out of proportion to his size.

I don't own a linear scale, so I can't measure it with precision – but I'm reasonably good at estimating weight.  My best guess is that he can pull with 75 to 80 pounds of force – not bad for a dog that weighs 40 pounds! 

But there's more to his ability than just his pulling force: he can sustain that force over a long period with remarkable steadiness.  Once he's decided he wants to head in some direction, it is for all the world like a small tractor is pulling you along, slowly and steadily, in low gear.

On this morning's walk, I had a demonstration of exactly this.  Our nocturnal visitor had returned, and all three field spaniels were heading in exactly the same direction.  I had Lea and Moi's leashes in my left hand, and together they pulled with perhaps 50 pounds of force, intermittently.  Miki's leash was in my right hand, and he was pulling steadily with about 75 pounds of force – no perceptible variation at all.  Between the three of them I had quite a job staying on my feet!