Dog Channel / All About Dogs / Dog Sports

Beyond Walks

pudelfan — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:03:34 GMT

I have a 4 year old poodle mix. While he is pretty healthy, I tend to worry about his weight, fitness, and mental stimulation. (Probably more than I should, but I figure that's better than ignoring it.) I know he could handle more excercise than he's getting, but our everyday walks are just getting old. They take up a lot of time without getting rid of much of his energy. I would love to sign him up for agility or lure coursing, but I don't have the resources for a class like that. I was wondering if anyone has ideas about how to freshen up our excercise routine, beyond an ordinary walk. I'd really appreciate it.

Dog Biking

Lukethedog — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:22:30 GMT

I wanted to start doing this, but I couldn't figure out from the article the magazine had on it whether there were safety concerns or any tips or anything (well, either that or I don't remember). So I was wondering if you guys had some.

Doggie Fitness/ Weight Loss

Lukethedog — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:31:44 GMT

I just don't have a lot of time to excericise my dog, or the money to hire someone to do it for me. Therefore, I try to do quick excersises such as practicing jumping with him, but these are getting boring to him. Anything I can do that isn't time consuming but will help him lose weight?

Speed Help?

Scout03 — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:49:29 GMT

Hey Guys,

Okay in 4H my instructor is telling me I need to slow down my dog... a few weeks ago she was saying how it would take most likey years to get him into it. He LOVES it though! He is one of the fastest dogs on the course now and he has only been to 8 practices while all the other dogs have been doing it since May (at least 2 a week). Quite frankly, I don't see the problem, he does everything I say on the course (its been tested lol, going from a spring to a sit) and knows all of my hand movements and words, gets the contact zones, rarley misses my cues or obstacles, and if i say come while he is doing it he will. She says i need to have more controll becuase he is running in front of me....I told him to becuase he is ready. She thinks I have no controll though, but really, how could I get a sprinting pit bull to stop and sit instantly if I didn't have controll. And no, I don't use treats. Is this actually bad? becuase I am planning on getting into real dog agility compitions soon and if it is good, then they can live with it lol. And a few questions, is it a foul to jump off the see saw before it touches the ground if he makes sure his back two paws touch? Thanks Guys!!!!!!!

Homeade DIY Agility Supplies?

Scout03 — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:58:12 GMT

Hey Guys,
Scout is doing great in agility! He will do the dog walk about half of the time and stay on the teeter untill it falls so me and my dad were gunna make those things. Eventually we want to be able to make the whole dog agility set so any DIY or homeade plans would be great!!! Feel free to put picturse of the equipment up if you dont want to have to say the entire process. Also, no chewing me out for making my own. My dad is a machienest and used to own his own shop so he knows what he is doing. Please if you have any! Even if you don't have pics, just post on here. THANKS!!! Meg & Scout

Sports time

Wanitahillmer4106 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:43:17 GMT

in summer time which sport it the best thing to play with my dogge. usually we carry it ever wher where we go but. This summer i wanna make a special sport for my dogge. How to make it and what to make it. Do any one have a good idea

Regards

wooden dog crates, wooden dog crates, pet furniture

Any sports for my mutt?

Texaspup — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:27:51 GMT

Luna is bored. She spends most of her day kind of lying there.

I take her for walks every night. there is 3-acre park in the middle of our neighborhood and we practice come there. I'm also home all day (yay!) so she's not alone. Buuuut she's still bored.

Luna is a lab mix, about 60 pounds, and not very smart (I'm sorry to say; we've done I.Q. tests) She's also pretty short, and strong for her size. She isn't a NORMAL dog. She doesn't even like to play FETCH. WHAT KIND OF LAB DOESNT PLAY FETCH!?!? She KNOWS how, and will do it on command, but she rarely enjoys it.

I need a sport/game/SOMETHING to keep her entertained and in shape. We can't do anything TOO strenuous, as it gets really hot in the summer and she has a thick black coat. I'm willing to take professional classes or whatever. Does anyone have any ideas on what she could do?

summer time

summer11 — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:35:21 GMT

thanks for sharing

i think schutzhund is what i'm needing...

threenorns — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 07:35:55 GMT

so, yet another scare involving my 3-1/2yr old and the river: my mother was out hanging laundry and didn't notice my kid had snuck out of the house behind her back - literally - she weaseled open the patio door, then walked across the deck behind my mother's back, then instead of crossing mom's sightline, saari went the other way and took the long way around the front of the house. mom only noticed something was wrong when she turned with the empty basket and saw the open door. she went into the house, saw loosey - the dough-brain - still sleeping in the livingroom and dandy doing his "something's really wrong!!!!!" (aka the "lemme out RIGHT NOW or i pee on your shoe!!!!!") dance. mom shut the door to stop him from running out and asked "what's wrong?"

he barked - the belly bark, the "something's really WRONG" bark - and started clawing at the patio door, got it open while mom was still staring with her jaw on the floor asking "what the hell has gotten INTO you!?", and he bolted out followed closely by loosey. mom saw them take off around the front of the house and thought crap, they're heading to the neighbour's but then heard them barking at the lower end of the property.

she went out to see what was going on and that's when she saw my daughter, about 20ft from the riverbank, lying on the ground howling at the top of her lungs while dandy was dancing frantically around her barking insanely keeping her on the ground and loosey away. to an onlooker it would've looked exactly like a frenzied pack attack on a child. mom grabbed the broom and ran over but thankfully her brain kicked in and she realized saari shouldn't even have been outside in the first place and then she could see clearly that saari wasn't hurt, just scared and outraged.

she told me what happened when i got back and after i finished ranting at her - it's not like i haven't WARNED her how sneaky saari is, that's why i have freakin' locks on every portal and in and out (yes, i can lock my patio door and windows from the outside, even, so she can't get out but i can get in).

we then decided that dandy already shows basic ability, so i want to train him to:

a) track and find saari on command (or, okay, really anybody, just makes sense since eventually saari will grow up - maybe....! IF i let her, grrrrrr)

b) sound a specific alert (ie, three short barks, or one long/one short kinda thing, not just a random bark)

c) stop her, especially if she's near the river or the road. if necessary, hold her - he'd have to hold her by the wrist because clothing isn't always an option with this kid (!) and if he just tries to block her, she's more than likely to consider it a game and make the situation worse. if he knocks her down, she will get scared and it could be misinterpreted by onlookers.

d) this is a bit of a stretch, esp since he HATES water, but if she has ended up in the water, i want him to help her to shore or act as a floatie until they can get somewhere he can help her out of the water or at least reduce the chance of her drowning.

he would need a cue, too, so that anybody approaching can "turn him off" - it'd be terrible if worse came to worst and she ended up downriver and he tries to protect her from emergency services! our local EMS is small enough that i can actually "register" him with them so if they encounter him in a situation, they'll know what commands to use (i already checked - it's just a matter of calling Pete and he puts it on file with dispatch).

i've spent days on the net - not kidding: i have dialup, sob, sob - and it looks to me like "personal protection: schutzhund" is what i'm needing.

does this sound right or is there another tack i can take?

Fun Tricks!

Zacks2cute — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:38:35 GMT

Zackery knows the following tricks:

Sit, Laydown, Stand,wait, Shake, Hi5, Wave, Other hand (for all three hand tricks), Turn around, Both hands Hi5, Come (sorta), Loose leash walking, Agility, Running on the tredmill, Choose (pawing an item in the air or choosing which cup a treat is underneath (as a game)), Take it, Drop it, Carry, leave it,

I would also love it if i could teach him

Crawl, Jump in the air, Come (always),

Please share your tricks!

how do I get my dog to do angility??

starry*boy — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 06:38:22 GMT

Star won't try angility ( spelling, I know ). I give him something to jump over and other obsitcles and he just walks around them. How can I get him to do them ?

Please don't say its cause he is mixed. ITs not that reason.

Cheap Sports?

pudelfan — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 14:50:33 GMT

Are there any sports we (my dog & I) could do that don't cost a lot of money? I'm talking about maybe training him myself. Something that doesn't take a lot of equipment or space either. However, I have a lot of time to train.

Any ideas?

Slug Therapy

pudelfan — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 14:38:52 GMT

My 2 year old poodle mix has been a certified therapy dog for a while now. We thought he'd be great at it because he really likes people & people can really connect with him. However, when we brought him to our local nursing home for the first time, he had absoloutly no interest in any of the people there. We had to drag him on his leash the whole time, & although we gave him treats & tried to keep it short & positive, he wouldn't interact at all with the residents. That was about a year ago, & although we went once a week for several months, things never got better. Does anyone have any ideas about what could be happening or how to fix it?

Four Agility Questions

Lukethedog — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:29:44 GMT

Okay, I've got four questions about agility-

1. Is there such thing as jumping classes at dog shows? Are they even called classes in the dog show world?

2. I'm trying to mix things up with my English Cocker. We're mainly working on height over jumps, and he's currently at about 2'9" to 3'5''. How can I work on this, but keep things interesting? By the way, I only have one adjustable jump availiable.

3. I'm trying to train my dog for agility, and he's doing great in everything but weave poles. He thinks they're super-skinny bounce jumps, and therefore tries to jump over them, or at least lunge at the treat I'm using to guide him through.

4. Finally, My dog is WAAAY to focused to the treat when I train him. He doesn't respond to clicker training, and he has zero respect for a leash. How do I fix this?

agility supplies

swiggle96 — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:28:35 GMT

Hello everyone.I am trying to get my dog into agility but I have no supplies.I was wondering if anyone knows any cheap supplies on websites or stores or if anyone knows anything u can use to make supplies.Please help.

Updated Schutzhund Photos

canecorso_breeder — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:22:07 GMT

Bogart

<-- Close one!

Elly Mae- Ready to Rumble.

*Note-This is her SECOND time on a sleve ever.

Thanks so much for taking your time to look,

Canecorso

Agility Junior Showmanship

agilityluver — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 13:34:26 GMT

Hey guys, I was just registered as a junior handler and i wanted some advise on compatitions.

please write back!!!!!!

Fun activity advice?

Wolfie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:43:21 GMT

I just found an old post I put on here about how to "toughen up" my German Shepherd Dog, and a lot of the replies suggested I do some sort of activity with him. However, I am very busy as I have two horses I'm constantly keeping in condition for competition and I just started college. I do play a sort of pseudo-fetch (he likes to play chase before he gives the ball back) with him when the weather is cooler (I live in a very hot region). I would like to do this more, but I thought it would be more fun for both of us if there was something we could work on together, rather than me just throwing a ball and waiting for him to catch it. I would like to do more teamwork stuff with him. Is there anything like that that's fairly easy to train for?

pet therapy

gsgirl19(: — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:06:08 GMT

my dog and i are going to our 1st session of pet therapy tomorrow!!!!!!!!im so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!

tracking training

rainsmom — Tue, 25 May 2010 11:00:11 GMT

I am thinking about training my sheltie Dusty to track. Does anyone on here track with their dog? How do you get started, any books you reccommend? At this time I cant afford a proffessional trainer so i am looking on getting started by myself, well with my kids help I dont know if I will go the competative route or if this is just going to be for fun, we will see how Dusty likes it. But I would really like to get started now while I am saving for a trainer.

backpacking - for ppl who know about doggy fitness?

threenorns — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:37:32 GMT

up to now, my usual routine is to walk dandy twice a day - in the morning (99% of the time) it's a brisk straight-ahead walk (no training or working with him, i mean) with two full 500ml water bottles (2-1/2lbs) in his backpack if my daughter's in the stroller (3 days a week). if she's not in the stroller, then it's 10min FAST with 4 bottles and two soup cans (5-1/2lb; happens *maybe* once or twice in a month) or it's a leisurely 90min or so with 4 bottles (4 days a week plus statutory holidadys and she's bringing up the rear communing with nature while dandy and i walk ahead and back, ahead and back).

in the evenings, it's a longer walk, generallly about 60min, including roughly 15min tearing up the tree plantation (lotsa little furries in the dense carpet of needles to be chased) and another 15min cavorting about in the river (he never goes even belly-deep - he hates it but he loves trying to catch minnows and turtles).

given recent developments, however, i've decided that maybe one very long evening walk would be the best way to go because at least i KNOW i can take him out - he doesn't react well to breaks in routine so staying home if my daughter doesn't wake up just isn't really an option.

last night was the first time - we walked about 4mi with my daughter in the stroller and took 2hrs to do it. he started with 4 bottles because i didn't think about taking out two of them. halfway there, i took out two bottles and halfway from that point (1mi from the house) i took out the other two - kind of a reverse pyramid training system, if we'd been in the gym. about 75% of the route is paved road and the rest is well-maintained dirt road - i have to keep the stroller on the pavement while dandy walks the shoulder (sand, for the most part, very occasional paved sections) or else keep her on the packed-smooth part of the dirt road or else teh stroller cuts down into the sand and i can't move it (daughter plus stroller weighs together about 75lbs). the terrain is very hilly - literally uphill both ways - but if i hadn't gotten lost and had found the skidoo trail, it would've been no hills/packed dirt all the way home.

when we got home, he was clearly tired but still had energy to play a bit before going to sleep. this morning, he was MUCH calmer than usual - he wasn't whining and pawing at the door to get out and when he saw we were leaving, he just lay down again.

is this a good system to follow?

i'm going to follow the same route tonight but i think i'll leave off the pack completely - give him time to recover, kinda thing.

i've been increasing the weight once a week by adding 1/2 to 1lb at a time. i've read he should be packing 10 to 20% of his body weight (so 7 to 14lbs) but should i keep it at the low end because his body's a bit on the long side (imo) or would his shorter legs give him more power to handle the higher end?

he weighs about 70lbs but i think he's gone up a bit, since his back legs and chest feel a bit thicker and chunkier.

the main goal is to keep him tired out - he's just got oodles of energy to spare.

secondary goal is to build up his fitness because a fit dog is a healthy dog and a healthy dog is a happy dog.

tertiary goal is preparation for dog carting.

Carting?

cavalieragility — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:22:22 GMT

Hi, i was wondering if anyone does carting. I saw it on animal planet and wanted to check to out. how do you train it and can little dogs do it aswell? Thanks :-)

FlyBall

CarleyDog — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:35:39 GMT

Hello Everybody,

I want to start FlyBall with my dog Carley. How do I find a team or club near me, and how do I start her training for FlyBall?

Thank you for your Help!

Beginning Agility

PonyAndPuppyCrazed — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:10:58 GMT

What to expect- and how you know if you really want to start:

*Some people see a beautiful display of handler and dog working in harmony and they think "that could be me and my dog...." but agility is much more complicated then flying around an agility course with no faults. Agility takes time, money, and commitment, you have to want it more than anything.

*The cost can be overwhelming: training classes start at $125 and can go up way past $500- plus you might want to buy an agility course which can run you up to $1000! Or you can rent a space which can be costly and may go up to $100!!! If you want to be successful you can even hire canine massage specialists and have specialty foods and these can cost hundreds of dollars (but speak with your veternarian before you take any of this advice.)! So how deep is your wallet?

*Time needs to be considered, if you have a fancy border collie it'll need long walks plus running time and possibly agility training a couple times a week! Yikes! You need to consider your work and if you'll have once or twice a week to train and if you can keep your dog in optimum form.

So you still want to continue- but where to start?! Here are some tips:

*Google and search dog agility clubs in your area, then you can go and volunteer to get a good reputation with the association and get knowlegeable about the sport before you decide to compete.

*Find dog trainers and sign up for an agility class- just ask around, someone in your area has to offer the class!

*Buy or make a backyard agility course to practice on!

*Read. Read. Read. I like Clean Run magazine and the book Introduction To Dog Agility.

Agility can be fun and great for the bond with your dog. But establish goals. Do you want to be competitive- or just have fun? Do you want to be the best or good enough to feel accomplished? Decide on a budget and weave your way through the local agility clubs to get discounts and have friends to share this journey with. But this one rule should always apply: Make sure you're having fun- that's why you started this crazy thing!

Winter Exercise

macypimm — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:46:02 GMT

Soon winter will be here and usually I don't take my Westie for walks then because it gets extremely icy and snowy where I live...so I need some indoor exercise ideas! Please!

An Introduction to Connors Buddy

My Dogs Bite — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:57:23 GMT

I thought I would post some pictures of my dogs and what they do best this is Connors Buddy he is a 3 year old Belgian Malinois he has his PDC in PSA and is in training for his 1 & 2. He also has his CGC. These are just some of him training

Titles

EleanorRigby09 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:46:17 GMT

Hi guys!

I was wondering if any one could give me a list of titles for sporting dogs. See I can't show my little dog in Confirmation...unless it is UKC. But any way in Eleanor's case with her being from the humane society I'm taking her into sports and I need some clairifacations because being in a group of dog people for friends on an everyday basis can get competitive and I figure although my little girl doesn't have the AKC registration (she's getting her ILP, APDT, and the UKC one just incase) that I can title her through events such as rally, obedience, and possibly one day Agility.

My goal right now is CDX I have heard it is higher then a CGC. As you can tell I'm going for the highest. If this is true she will get her CGC on the way.

If any one could give me a list or give me any information on the titles that would be great. (So I know which is the highest and what I can gain on the way)

The titles don't mean much of anything to me, but when you have some one rubbing it in your face in public that they are getting an AKC puppy and all of that Jazz you get that drive. I just figure Eleanor and I will have fun along the way...and show that girl and her Beauceron up. Just a little.

Thanks,

EleanorRigy09

help FRISBEE

mybudda112 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:27:21 GMT

im teaching my pit bull Frisbee i need help ive been using zak george you tube videos i could use some pointers on frisbee in general ive only done basic frisbee and i dont have money to buy a book the library has none

Agility Distractions

cavalieragility — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:32:13 GMT

Hi everyone, I do agility with my cavalier king charles spaniel and lately she has been getting distracted. Any advice on how I can keep her focused on me would be greatly appreciated.

GREAT new sport!

Sudden_Impact — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:00:26 GMT

Hi everyone,
As some of you might remember, I ws training my Lab, Leah, in Tracking. We had fun, but they don't give tracking classes at my kennel club. Well, we tried Rally this week at the kennel club and loved it! She was great, it's really helped her heel and sit, and she's also much better on walks.
Does anyone else do Rally? I'm aiming to compete Leah someday, because we hae so much fun doing it.

Agility

Iluvmyshihtzu444 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:08:09 GMT

I've always wanted to try agility with my dog Bandit, you know just for fun time hanging with him, but I don't know how to start. I don't really think there are any agility clubs or groups that are buy us. Do you have to join a group to get started. Please Help!!!!

Canine Good Citizen Test

LoverOfDogs — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:09:04 GMT

Ok, I've noticed several people whose dogs have CGC in their name. I was wondering what is it? How can you get it? Can mutts participate? Is there any formal training or classes you can take? Sorry about all the questions. I'm just really curious because my stepmom has a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and she is an incredibly sweet dog and from what I've heard about CGC, I think she could pass. Also my friend has a mutt and would like to get a CGC as well. Any info is appreciated.

Getting Shih Tzu to Take and Hold?

Shih Tzu — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:29:28 GMT

I have a shih tzu that is doing great in obedience. She loves it, very happy, thinks it's all a game... but I can't get her to take and hold things. As soon as I try, she gets all 'slinky' and doesn't want to do anything.

Otherwise, she's very good at tons of things! She heels great, very reliable on sits/downs and stays, I have target trained her, and she thinks that's fantastic, I've taught her how to push open and push closed doors.... but she won't take anything and hold it?

Any tips? It's very frusturating -I always start training off as a game, but once she realizes what I'm trying to do, she gets upset and refuses to do it.

What to do with a Brittany pup?

Irishgirl — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:53:39 GMT

My pup is going to be 15 weeks old Sunday. He's really cute and he loves playing fetch with anything. He likes to hunt birds already and has pointed twice. He stands really good and has great markings (pics below) So what should I be thinking about for doing with him? No matter what I decide to do, I would have to drive at least an hour to show him. My dad is planning on hunting with him in September, and we are going to see a field trial in late September/early October. I am just curious as to what people think I should train him in and their opinions on the different things.

Thanks.

Dallas Search and Rescue Dog -Help Needed!-

pitbullsrock28 — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 13:43:13 GMT

I wanted to post, because I wanted to know if there were any search and rescue dogs in the Dallas area. A 15 year old boy was abducted in Dallas close to Coit. He was taking his violin lessons and stepped out to get something out of a car and didn't come back. The van was still there, so obviously didn't take it. The neighbors reported hearing a scream at the same time Luke walked out of the volin teachers place. Please any help would be great. E-mail me for more info at takingthestage@gmail.com for more info and keep this family in your prayers!

Doggie Surfing?

Zolairty — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:23:52 GMT

I live right next to a beach, and I've been hearing alot about this lately. How do I teach my dog to surf?

Freestyle

pitbullsrock28 — Sun, 31 May 2009 20:26:20 GMT

I wanna start doin freestyle with my dogs, what songs do you guys like?

Hunting

dogsRme — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:14:15 GMT

Has anyone gone out hunting with their dogs yet? If you have did you guys catch anything?

My brother caught a 6 point buck and my dad caught a 5 point. I got to go out on the first day of hunting. Didn't catch anything. Signed up Sandy for some hunting lessons and entered a hunting competition. We made it to the final round...but then during the final test, lost control of Sandy and she ran for the duck when it wasn't her turn. I was disqualified from the competition.

Schutzhund Stars

canecorso_breeder — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:47:44 GMT

I would like to post pics of some of my dogs in schutzhund training and trials. Feel free to post to see the dog with the most intensity! Obiedience, tracking and bitework pics!

Xander

Amadeus and new owner. (He was placed in a new home for space)

Sotis

Bogie

My beautiful boy, protecting his home.

Dogsled Racing

Malamuterox — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:56:03 GMT

I LUV huskies and am thinking about getting into dogsled racing.I own a Alaskan Malamute puppy.Does anyone know some things about Dogsled racing?If so,I would love to hear all about it.