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The Canine Athlete
by Pat Saito and Tasha BH,CD,TT,FDCh
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Working Dogs of any breed are subjected to more stress and strain on their limbs and muscles than a dog that is less active. Just like a human athlete, dogs must be conditioned before participating in various forms of activity. These include the various sports that Tasha does: agility, flyball, schutzhund.
All of these involve jumping in some form. In agility, for example, Tasha jumps either 24" or 26" depending on which form of agility she is competing in. In flyball, she jumps between 8 and 16" and in schutzhund, she would be required to jump once over a 39 inch (metre) jump. The amount of jumping also varies. In agility, she may be required to move quickly around a field, jumping up to 15 consecutive jumps at a time, while in flyball she will jump no more than 8 in a straight lane..4 away and 4 back.
Her sports also involve climbing certain obstacles: the a-frame and dogwalk in agility and the wall in schutzhund.
There are also requirements for quick turns, running through tunnels which require her to move close to the ground and making a turn off a flyball box which involves both front impact and a quick turn.
Need less to say, all of these activities can take their toll on a dog who is not conditioned properly prior to the exercises as well as the dog that has not been taught to jump correctly. You may say that dogs are natural jumpers.
While many dogs love to jump and Tasha is one of them, they may have to be taught to jump correctly..that is in the way that maximizes their speed and distance over the jump as well as causes the least impact on their front or rear limbs
There are some excellent source of information on how to train the canine athlete and how to deal with injuries. The following is the initial compilation of resources of books and websites. I suggest you read the following for more information. I a\will continue to compile links and information related to the impacts of sports on our German Shepherd Dogs. I am especially interested in data on the impact of athletic activities on the hips of GSDs. Any link information would be welcomed. Pleasesend it to me directly and I will try to
include on this page..
WEBSITES:
Working Dogs and Canine Athletes This is an excellent resource and has lots of valuable information.
Carpal Injuries
Canine Sports: Medicine Tidbits
Articles and Book Exerpts on Canine Athletesby Chris Zink and others
Canine Sports Disordersby Janet Lalonde,DVM
BOOKS:
Jumping from A to Z Teaching your Dog to Soar by Christine Zink
Peak Performance: Coaching the Canine Athlete by Christine Zink
Canine Sports Medicine and Surgery
SEMINARS ON THE CANINE ATHLETE:
Christine Zink seminars for 2000
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