Esky the husky Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Wondering if anyone can suggest any excercises or methods to help my dog become stronger \ more muscular? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 First question - why does he need to be more muscular?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkhe Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 What about swimming? Would that help with strength? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Walking up and down hills, walking through shallow water, running on soft sand, swimming would all be good starting points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 First question - why does he need to be more muscular?? Our sports all involve pulling loads. My girl is quite skinny and i think it would do her a world of good to become more muscular which would in turn make pulling easier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumtoshelley Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Swimming, walking through water,up hills,pulling. My golden retriever walks and runs through the water with some swimming in deep water, she also runs up and down a hill. I also do a bit of jumping with her too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 (edited) First question - why does he need to be more muscular?? Our sports all involve pulling loads. My girl is quite skinny and i think it would do her a world of good to become more muscular which would in turn make pulling easier If you want to develop weight pulling muscle, my advice would be to start her pulling lighter weights and work up. However, short of heavy duty weight pulling, she'll stay lighter framed. Aren't most sledding huskies built that way??? Remember that bulky muscle heats more and cools less. Most endurance animals are all muscle but not bulky muscle. Heavy draft breeds are built completely differently. The Iditarod dogs aren't bulky. Edited September 26, 2012 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Yes most racing huskies are quite lean and long. Our weight pull attempts haven't been great so far so I'm hoping that helping her to build her strength and muscle will help us out at events. Just looking at alternatives to simple pulling so that our training will help condition her as best I can. Good to read that we are doing most of what is being suggested here :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Building his core via fitness balls and peanuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Hmm, for humans it goes something like a few reps with heavy weight to build muscle size and strength eg two sets of 5 reps of the heaviest thing you can manage minus one unit. 30 second rest between sets. And for endurance and pretty muscles - many reps of light weights eg what brick layers do. so 20 reps of something quite light and easy. 30 seconds rest and then repeat the 20 lifts... For rehab, building muscle tone and strength - what Ness said. Walking in water knee to chest deep - supports the joints but the water provides lots of resistance. Walking up and down hills is like doing the lifting weights, with gravity helping up the resistance. Walking into the wind...up a hill, in water - flowing down the hill.... I don't know how you ask a dog if it feels "easy" now ie time to increase the weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 :laugh: well she certainly has a lot to say in competition when the weight gets too challenging. Im thinking about getting one of those fitness balls for her. Anyone got some links on exercises we can do with them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 (edited) double post Edited September 27, 2012 by Esky the husky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inevitablue Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Cheap treadmill, slowly build up the incline. Build up her driving muscles, just comfortably trotting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perfect partners Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 :laugh: well she certainly has a lot to say in competition when the weight gets too challenging. Im thinking about getting one of those fitness balls for her. Anyone got some links on exercises we can do with them? Fitpaws channel on You Tube. Start with a peanut rather than a ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megan_ Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 If you buy a peanut you get a DVD with it. K9pro have a 20% off sale, today only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perfect partners Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 If you buy a peanut you get a DVD with it. K9pro have a 20% off sale, today only It's only very basic though - The same info as on You Tube. You can also buy a DVD called 'On the Ball'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Genetics plays a huge role and some times no matter what you do, you are not going to build mucle on a dog, you can make it leaner and fitter. Some tips would be to do road work on different surfaces at least three times a week, mine do 1 hour three nights a week. They have a free run a few times a week and this involves running around the paddocks like lunatics. Swimming once a week is great. Use MusclePro after the dogs have exercised, you'll see a big difference in a couple of weeks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeamSnag Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Bigdog do a muscle up.. http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com.au/product-view/muscle-up-protein-amino-acid-20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now