Dog-powered carts helped Victorian micro-businesses thrive. Larger breeds with even tempers and a strong work ethic carried most of the precious cargos to town. These hard-working dogs were an important part of family life in small farms and villages across England, the Netherlands, Belgium and other parts of Europe including France and Germany. Milk, produce and baked goods were common products piled into these carts.
The dog-powered carts depicted here were fairly common sights through the 19th and early 20th centuries. While they lasted longer in some areas, eventually, cars and other automated vehicles drove them off the road.
Following are 6 Tail-Wagging Details about Dog-powered carts.
#1-Some Breeds Make Better Employees Than Others
Among the better-known breeds chosen for dog-powered carts were Bernese Mountain Dogs, Leonbergers, Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs, Newfoundlands and Saint Bernards. Their able bodies and stable minds made them highly suitable for public service. Many were featured on post cards dating from the Victorian Era.
According to the American Kennel Club, What once was a canine job essential to a family’s income has transitioned to a hobby for dogs and the people who love to watch them pull.
“That said, there are still rural or remote parts of the world where dogs are still engaged in draft work.” (AKC)
Known as carting or drafting, harnessing your dog to a cart might seem simple. But doing it safely requires special equipment and training from an experienced trainer.
“Nowadays, many breeds, and mixed-breeds, participate in drafting and carting sports. As any dog owner can tell you, a dog with a job—even one that’s just for fun—is a happy dog, and having an outlet allows him to display his work ethic and the traits that are hard-wired from generations of careful breeding.” (AKC)
#2-Two Paws Up For Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria (1819 –1901) ushered in the Victorian Era, a time generally equated with stiff social oppression. Fortunately, Queen Victoria was also known for her great love of pets in general, and dogs in particular.
A Royal Influencer even by today’s standards, Queen Victoria started many trends — from holiday celebrations to white wedding dresses and scrapbooking. Thankfully, she also popularized the idea of caring for pets as a part of the family. During her reign, dogs became beloved companions — even valued family members who were brought into the home.
Yes, pets also became status symbols. Like today, people purchased expensive collars and other accessories for them, sat for portraits with their expensive breeds and carried them to social events.
It’s fair to say that Queen Victoria created a culture of animal lovers.
At her Golden Jubilee in 1887, she said that the ‘growth of more humane feelings towards the lower animals’ over her lifetime brought her real pleasure.
It is likely that she cared for thousands of animals over her lifetime, including horses, farm animals, exotic birds and an estimated 640 dogs. (English Heritage)
#3-Queen Victoria Supported the Soceity For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
From childhood, Victoria supported animal charities. English Heritage writes that as a young princess, she was “notably supportive of animal charities, lending her patronage to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1835 at the age of 16, and granting them the prefix ‘Royal’ three years later.
(English Heritage)
She promoted multiple legislations against animal abuse, and she was one of the most vehement opponents of the practice of vivi- section.1 She strongly believed that “Nothing brutalises people more than cruelty to dumb animals, and to dogs, who are the
companions of man, it is especially revolting.” (Digital Repository of Scientific Institutes)
Read more about Queen Victoria’s influence here.
#4- Feline Popularity Also Soared Under The Queen
While cat-powered carts were not a thing, the feline “Q Score” was off the charts in the Victorian Era.
Cats were not Queen Victoria’s favorite, but they were part of her royal menagerie. Among them was Snowdrop, Prince Leopold’s favored pet. When she adopted two Blue Persians, which she treated as members of the court, newspapers published stories about the royal cats. The Queen’s royal subjects followed her lead.
Queen Victoria also influenced the inclusion of a cat’s image on the RSPCA medal.
Read about Victorian Cat Ladies here.
#5–Developments In Photography Fueled The Pet Craze
Thanks to improvements in photography, images of dog-powered carts along with pets at leisure became a new genre.
Read more about Jump Photography and Victorian Cardomania.
#6-Carts Were Banned In England
By the 1840s, Dog-powered Carts were largely banned in England. The brouhaha started in 1839 with the Metropolitan Police Act, which forbade the use of dogcarts within fifteen miles of Charing Cross. Some people believed that the practice was cruel in that it overworked man’s best friend. Some mistakenly reasoned that work loads weakened dogs, thus making them more susceptible to rabies.
Others found the dog-powered carts a general nuisance because they clogged pedestrian spaces.
Dog-powered carts were officially prohibited in London in 1840, although the practice continued in other European regions.
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