RubyStar Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Woah look at Trim weave!!!!!!!!! Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 thanks guys I'm so proud of them! .he thinks Obedience is not as exciting me thinks he's right :D although I do have a newfound appreciation for the potential excitement in obed after attending some trials recently & watching Pax train Prix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caffy Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 thanks guys I'm so proud of them!.he thinks Obedience is not as exciting me thinks he's right :D although I do have a newfound appreciation for the potential excitement in obed after attending some trials recently & watching Pax train Prix. So we might see Sister strutting her stuff??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) So we might see Sister strutting her stuff??? Umm, no. I didn't say that! Although I am sure if Pax trialled her, her heelwork would be lovely since she is always glued to her side staring adoringly Edited May 2, 2011 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Question, how fit are your dogs really? Mine have always been pretty fit but Trim especially is superfit right now & I am really noticing it in her runs. I also have a dog here for training who in comparison to mine seems quite unfit. She has been here just on a week & I can already see that she is gradually getting fitter & training better for it, but is still taking a good 5-10 mins to recover after mine do with the same exercise I think most agility dogs are quite fit but we probably owe it to them to be REALLY fit thoughts? Edited May 3, 2011 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Agreed Vickie - absolutely! Ziggy has a one hour walk with a free run nearly every day (unless we are training or the day after a trial when he just wants to rest), which is about as much as I can fit in at the moment. We have 3/4 acre for him to gallop on but he prefers to snuggle inside. Once I purchase a bike that will help up his fitness - mine too He also has had a few sessions with my bowen therapist - finally someone who can see what I see I weighed him a few weeks ago and he was 27.5kg with not an ounce of fat on him - I am quite pleased with his condition at the moment. Em is only a baby still but she is very fit simply through her retrieving training. She runs herself ragged with no encouragement so I don't think fitness will ever be a problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Agreed Vickie - absolutely! I weighed him a few weeks ago and he was 27.5kg with not an ounce of fat on him - I am quite pleased with his condition at the moment. Em is only a baby still but she is very fit simply through her retrieving training. She runs herself ragged with no encouragement so I don't think fitness will ever be a problem! I can see that from Ems videos, she sure is a goer! Zig is.......magnificent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RallyValley Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Toby is quite fit (for him ) at the moment! He gets an hour walk every morning where the first 20 mins is offleash running around like a madman after rabbits,kangaroos and even foxes (well once... ). Then every evening he gets about 5-10 mins (has been going for longer as his fitness increases) of sprinting playing fetch. He is not an agility dog though He is training toward obedience competition however ;) Edited May 3, 2011 by RallyValley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) What kind of conditioning is needed to get a dog very fit for agility? We have only just started out so only doing agility training once a week, which obviously doesn't help much with fitness. She doesn't retrieve and if I let her off leash in a large open area she tends to just stick by my side. Please tell me my only option isn't getting fitter myself so that I can take her for runs ETA: She actually doesn't look too bad, she's lean and if she gets to play with other energetic dogs she will go and go and go. She is a bit bony in the hips and chest though. Edited May 3, 2011 by wuffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 What kind of conditioning is needed to get a dog very fit for agility? We have only just started out so only doing agility training once a week, which obviously doesn't help much with fitness.She doesn't retrieve and if I let her off leash in a large open area she tends to just stick by my side. Please tell me my only option isn't getting fitter myself so that I can take her for runs ETA: She actually doesn't look too bad, she's lean and if she gets to play with other energetic dogs she will go and go and go. She is a bit bony in the hips and chest though. I favour a combination of road work and offlead running on uneven ground. If she won't run, then maybe you could gait her off a bike? Then you can get your ET too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agility Dogs Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Question,how fit are your dogs really? Mine have always been pretty fit but Trim especially is superfit right now & I am really noticing it in her runs. I also have a dog here for training who in comparison to mine seems quite unfit. She has been here just on a week & I can already see that she is gradually getting fitter & training better for it, but is still taking a good 5-10 mins to recover after mine do with the same exercise I think most agility dogs are quite fit but we probably owe it to them to be REALLY fit thoughts? Completely agree Vickie. I see far too many dogs carrying weight and having to lug it around an agility course. I'm not talking about obese dogs, more dogs that are carrying a little weight, but are doing agility week in, week out. IMO our dogs should be SUPER lean - I've never seen an overweight Olympic runner, our dogs should be treated the same way. My two older dogs (still 'only' 5) are super fit - Xena weighs in at just over 13kg (475mm) and CK is just under 18kg (540mm), neither carry ANY fat at all - to the point of some people telling me they are emaciated........oh well, when they start paying the vet bills they have the right to comment. They get at least an hour walk, interspersed with some high energy training, every morning and then they do something at night - might be going to club training or might be another walk and play in the back yard. They also get stretching and core strength exercises a couple of times a week - I find the core strength stuff really helps with their control on obstacles. They play flyball (not as much these days, but still train as strongly as any of the dogs) and frisbee which I think helps their fitness and strength tremendously. Proof in the pudding - at the end of a two or even 3 day competition (regardless of the discipline) they are running harder than they were at the beginning of day 1. Typically CK's best flyball times (and I think flyball is probably the most demanding out of the 3 sports we play) will be in the second last race of a full weekend. At the beach they will run for 2 to 3 hours without slowing down at all - good thing they have an off switch at home! The puppy isn't as fit or as strong as they are (of course - she hasn't had nearly the work that the other two have), but she is coming along nicely as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Thanks PF. What exactly do you mean by road work? I have taken her beside the bike a few times but am having some trouble finding suitable places for riding. I'll have to do some scouting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) Thanks PF. What exactly do you mean by road work?I have taken her beside the bike a few times but am having some trouble finding suitable places for riding. I'll have to do some scouting. Lots of kms at a reasonable pace with the dog onlead. What greyhound folk did before treadmills basically ( about 5km a day) The quieter paths around the lakes and between the suburban areas are good. With a longish lead the dog can be beside the path rather than on it. Jumping fitness IMO is only built by jumping. That's why I favour lots of bush walks .. they run and jump a lot. Edited May 3, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 I think their is a tendancy for Agility people to assume that lean and/or well muscled = fit. Fitness to me is about being capable of prolonged exercise and about speed of recovery after exercise. Our dogs are never in the ring for more than 40 odd secs, but should be capable of exerting themselves for much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) I think their is a tendancy for Agility people to assume that lean and/or well muscled = fit.Fitness to me is about being capable of prolonged exercise and about speed of recovery after exercise. Our dogs are never in the ring for more than 40 odd secs, but should be capable of exerting themselves for much longer. I agree. Fitness to me also relates to soundness. I think all agility dogs should receive regular chiropractic treatment - the sport can be hard on dogs. Sports dog husbandry lags well behind sports horse husbandry. We can learn from the greyhound folk and from the horse folk in that regard. No show jumping stable would compete their horses as often and as hard as some agility competitors do. Personally I'd like to see random drug testing for pain killers and anti-inflammatories - you can compete a horse on them and IMO nor should you compete with dogs on such medications. Edited May 3, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) ] I think all agility dogs should receive regular chiropractic treatment - the sport can be hard on dogs. I'm going to disagree with that. I see an alarming trend of unsound dogs receiving regular " adjustments" in NSW & ACT. No one can tell me that some of these "adjustments" are not creating many of the problems. Agility dogs should not have their back & neck "out" every other week! If my dogs backs & necks were out with any kind of regularity, I would never do agility again. Now if we could guarantee the competancy of the "adjustors" I might agree with you. Edited May 3, 2011 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuffles Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 My girl has never really had problems with prolonged exercise or recovery. Would breed have something to do with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 ] I think all agility dogs should receive regular chiropractic treatment - the sport can be hard on dogs. I'm going to disagree with that. I see an alarming trend of unsound dogs receiving regular " adjustments" in NSW & ACT. No one can tell me that some of these "adjustments" are not creating many of the problems. Agility dogs should not have their back & neck "out" every other week! If my dogs backs & necks were out as often as some dogs I would never do agility again. Now if we could guarantee the competancy of the "adjustors" I might agree with you. I agree there is quackery around but I have heard from a number of chiropractic qualified vets (not quacks IMO) that a monthly adjustment is the "gold standard" of treatment for dogs. That's what mine get and if you want to see the difference it makes to older dogs in particular I think I could provide a few interesting comparisons. A monthly visit shouldn't mean mean there's something "out" with a dog every month but that monthly checks that allow small adjustments sure beat only seeing a dog when there's something "wrong" with it. Ligaments and muscles can start to change to adust for misalignments long before some folk identify a problem. There are people adjusting dogs around here that I'd NEVER allow near mine. I think that more agility folk would benefit from learning about gait analysis and spotting unsoundness. It's clear some folk simply can't see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) My girl has never really had problems with prolonged exercise or recovery. Would breed have something to do with this? Yes. I'd expect breeds without exaggerated skeletal features to cope better with prolonged exercise. Edited May 3, 2011 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 (edited) Agreed Vickie - absolutely! I weighed him a few weeks ago and he was 27.5kg with not an ounce of fat on him - I am quite pleased with his condition at the moment. Em is only a baby still but she is very fit simply through her retrieving training. She runs herself ragged with no encouragement so I don't think fitness will ever be a problem! I can see that from Ems videos, she sure is a goer! Zig is.......magnificent! He certainly thinks so Vickie I concentrate on mental fitness and resilience with Ziggy as that is much tougher for him - however, physical fitness really helps with this. I trial him quite lightly compared to other dogs - I never enter him in 2 days of trialling back to back with 6 runs being his upper limit for one day. I know how good I feel after bowen and I could really see the difference in Ziggy afterwards. I agree that choice of practitioner is paramount!!! He has seen a chiro and another bowen therapist but the results simply did not 'stick' like this treatment did. I travel over an hour to see my practitioner because she is so good. Edited May 4, 2011 by The Spotted Devil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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