Keeping Your Agility/performance Dog In Top Shape

[megan_]

I'm looking for ideas/discussion around what to do to keep an agility/performance dog in top condition. I keep both of my dogs fit and trim, but my boy is a cross breed and has long mini-poodle style legs and a solid torso, so he seems more prone to injury (he had hind leg stifness 6 months ago, and the vet said he had some minor back discomfort at his last check-up. I'm going to take him to Ray Ferguson for an assessment before we rejoin any classes).

Here's what I do at the moment:

* Both my dogs are fed a combination of raw/premium food and are kept nice and lean.

* They normally get a lot of free play exercise (a vet once said to me this is one of the best forms of exercise for a dog as they use so many muscles with twists and turns).

* We normally do "formal" agility training for 1 hour once a week, however this has stopped since K9 Agility is having their grounds resurfaced . We do short training exercises every day, but most of this isn't on equipment.

* I've recently purchased a fitPAWS peanut and I'm working the dogs on it for a minute or two every day. It is funny to watch my it but long-legged boy struggle to stand while my short-and-stocky girl finds it a breeze.

There are other things that I've been considering:

* Supplements. Does anyone use these on young dogs? They're both small dogs and are 4 and 5.

* I might book Fergus in for more regular Bowen checks, and this helped him with his hind-leg stiffness. Do other people take their dogs for regular physio/chiro, irrespective of whether they have an injury or not?

Any other ideas? I used to think that it was overkill but now I think I'm really asking my dogs to be athletes and I need to treat them accordingly.

[canine fun sports]

I'm looking for ideas/discussion around what to do to keep an agility/performance dog in top condition.

Swimming, or if your dog does not use his hindquarters well when swimming, wading through water that is about half-way up his chest. Sand walking.

Lots of free running. Some extra quick sprints. I used to put my dogs on a sit stay at one end of the foot ball field, walk to the other end and then call them. We would do it 3 to 5 times. They had already been for their run, so giving them these sprints when they were already a little tired really added to their fitness.

I do not do a lot of repetitive jumping with my dogs, and when I do longer training sessions, I might start at full height (after warm up) when their muscles are working well and protecting the joints well, but later in the session, I will lower the jump height.

If doing tight twisty stuff, and your dog is prone to a sore backm then make sure they warm up well.

Cheers,

[megan_]

Thanks. Yes I do the sit then sprint recall too. He hates the water with a passion though. I might try a water session with the physio and see how much he hates me afterwards!

[Inevitablue]

* I might book Fergus in for more regular Bowen checks, and this helped him with his hind-leg stiffness. Do other people take their dogs for regular physio/chiro, irrespective of whether they have an injury or not?

Ask the Bowen/chiro person to give you a set of stretches to do at home, a couple of times a week, plus prior and post competition.

One of the stretches I use is fun, holding a treat between their legs and getting them to drop their heads then curl under to get the treat. We would do it with the racehorses as well and they would really enjoy the stretch.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Inevitablue

[megan_]

Thanks inevitablue. Is the tray placed between their feint legs?

[Inevitablue]

Yes, and as they become more limber they can reach right around to where their ears are level with their forelegs. You hold the treat back near their sternum/stomach area to encourage the stretch and then release the treat when they are at a comfortable stretch and can hold it for a few seconds. No diving for the treat, it has to be gentle so no hyper extension occurs.

I have also been shown some great hind leg stretches, kindof lifting the hip joint up and outwards while the dog is on its side- designed to stretch the groin muscle. Certainly ask the Bowen person to run you through a few exercises.

[DeltaCharlie]

Ours see a chiro every 6-8 weeks to keep them in tip-top shape and make sure everything is where it should be :) It is usually only minor tweaks that need adjusting, if that, but I would rather go more often than needed and have things fixed before they create a problem, than to leave it too long and have them suffer a big injury because they were compensating for something little. I will forever regret not taking Delta in when she was younger and growing, as a lot of her issues now could have likely been prevented if she had been looked after during the growing stage of her life, instead of growing all out of whack. She was 2 and a half before I started taking her to the specialists and by then she was already in bad shape. Regular treatments have improved her immensely, in fact we didn't even know if she would still be trialling now when we first started them. She is now better than ever and fingers crossed not looking at retirement anytime soon.

Some of ours a better than others at looking after themselves :) The 2 retired terriers are only seen once a year, out of the trialling dogs Charlie doesn't need to be seen as often as he doesn't exert as much effort, has a better sense of self preservation, and is built pretty soundly. Whip probably needs to be seen more often as he is an idiot, he has no idea about looking after himself and possesses no brakes so is forever running smack into things...

Our older agility dogs (10 and 8), Delta (only 5 but has spondylosis) plus a retired terrier who had patella surgery are all on joint supplements.

We also have a great physio in Canberra that we occassionally take the dogs too, just for a once over and to detect any muscular issues that may be missed by a chiro. I also know of people who use acupuncture on their dogs for existing issues.

[Kavik]

I am doing lots of body awareness exercises. Some of these work on core strength, others rear end awareness and a range of other things. Besides building strength, I think knowing how to use their body better will help them be able to negotiate an agility course safer. Plus, they are fun to teach

[**Super_Dogs**]

I am doing lots of body awareness exercises. Some of these work on core strength, others rear end awareness and a range of other things. Besides building strength, I think knowing how to use their body better will help them be able to negotiate an agility course safer. Plus, they are fun to teach

I would like to do more of this.

What do you do?

[Kavik]

I am doing heaps at the moment, due to doing an online contact course. Including:

Back up

perch work

handstand

balance discs

beg

stand on hind legs

ladder work

4 paws in a box

and heaps more!