Canine Fitness

I recently entered my dog, Torch, in a dog show. He did pretty well but his breeder told me he needs more exercise to bulk up. Here's an article by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD about dogs and exercise. Yes, they need it too.

Torch @4 months, doing his early morning exercise

The new millennium is an exciting time for the sport of dogs. More dogs participate in athletic events now than at any other time in history. Dogs and owners alike enjoy preparing for and participating in a variety of new performance events.

In the past several years the AKC alone has more than doubled the number of sponsored events. Retrievers, pointers, setters and spaniels can now enter non-competitive hunting tests at a variety of levels of difficulty, sighthounds can try their paws at lure coursing, herding breeds can work sheep in herding tests, terriers can test their mettle by going to ground, and dogs of all breeds can participate in agility, an exciting sport that tests the timing, coordination, and athleticism of dog and handler alike. Additional organized canine performance events include flyball, sledding, draft dog tests, coonhound trials, free-style heeling, weight-pulling competitions, Schutzhund, water rescue and more.