What is important in building up your performance dog?

Thoughts from these days

What to train? How much to train? When to start? How balance training? These are few questions that have been on my mind these days. I have been constructing a base line to a puppy class. Since Freya have had some issues in everyday life I have changed my thoughts what is important to learn during puppies first year. Last few dogs I have built pretty fast to competition form and I haven’t done so much everyday skill training. Freya made me really change my mind. With her I have had to train a lot of everyday skills like passing other dogs relaxed and control her re-activity. This has given her more tools to cope with scary and unexpected situations. Of course there are dogs that can cope with lots of things without any problems but shouldn’t we make “the good headed” dog ever better?

Many of buy a puppy to a certain sport in mind like agility or obedience. Most of thing about starting to train the task that will come in these sports. But how much we train the social and environmental aspects of the sport? Do train relaxation by the training field? Do we train relaxations after high drive play? Do trained to dog to be ok walking in the crowds and noisy places? These are scenarios that the dog need to cope to even do sport without extra stress. Many of train the dog to do agility and hope it will just fine in competition situations and don’t burn itself down the situation where there is lots of new dogs and people. Training for competition situation can take a lot time and effort when you have for example a sensitive or reactive dog. It can be done but how many are ready to do the work for the dog to get used to more to competition environment?

What about starting to compete? As soon as the rules lets you? Or do you wait your dog to be more mature and ready to handle all the distraction and your excitement in competitions? I started competing agility with Freya as soon as I could but later on I realized should have waited to let her grow to her role better and work more on her skills on the competition site. In obedience I have kept my mind and made her pretty ready to each level. I have really given more thought about letting your dog to grow up and enjoy teaching it new things and building up strong resistance towards different distractions. It is our benefit build a dog with strong confidence when it enter its first competition.

Bodywork out for performance dog and nutrition

More have done dogs ports more I have learned how important is to keep your dog in super condition. As wrote before we do a lot of balance work with my dogs. I usually use our evening or morning meals to train these exercises so that the dogs don't get too much extra energy. This time we got another delivery from SLN Imports. Freya and Pixie got Wild Boar Treats, which are freeze dried meat treats. These are so good that my girl get little wild. These are easy keep in you pocket because they are dry. Other bag was from Acana single series, where you can have on option with only one meat. This is good choice is your dog have any sensitivities.  We got to taste Pork and Butternut Squash. This food has 50 % of pork and 50 % fruits and vegetables. I like to use grain free food for my dogs to keep them in shape. Grains can make muscles to build up fluid and make more easy stiff. I have been super happy with Acanas and Orijens grain free products.

Here are some balancing work from our girls we try to do about 2-3 times a week depending on our other training session. I also your different object in the forest walks to do similar exercises. So I can do this training during our walks. Now less words and let the videos do the talking:

I hope these little works outs will give some tips how to built up your to more stronger and balanced.

That's all for now!!!

MPF

Planning the training year

Training year

I have read a lot about how to build up your training season. You need to have training, competition and rest period during your year program. In sports training people spend lots of time to build up their training year so that they could be at their best in the most important competitions. This is also something we need think with dogs. Especially in agility dog to high performance work that ask a lot from their whole body. As dog trainers we should also build up training and rest routine for our dogs. Did you know that you could roughly say that 1 year old dog needs at least one day to recover and 5 year old dog 5 days to recover from hard competition day? To me this was a little surprise how fast the recovery time rises. This would actually mean I could safely push Pixies limits only once a week and other times keep the training and competition work to minimal. With her it is pretty easy because she knows her stuff.

For whole year I make rough plan how I keep my training and rest periods. My plans evolve with how my dogs are doing and how I my own training is going. I usually keep a longer brake during Christmas time. At least 3 weeks without training. This is a recovery time for all of us. Other bigger brake is kept after tryout season. Then we usually keep at least 2-3 week brake enjoy the summer. I think, it’s important watch your dogs’ behavior and condition to make fast changes to your plan if needed. I have only seen improvement after our brakes. Learning goes forward and movement also becomes better.

During training season we work with three different areas. Body balance, muscle work and of course specific sport training. I think it is important to build up your dogs’ body as good as possible. Going to walks and run is part of it but one important piece is core work. More stable the body less injuries you get. We do core work three times a week with balance pillow, different platform and trick. At the same practice I also do stretching exercises. This helps to keep the body working smoothly. Usually training session last about 5-10 min. I have also thought my dogs to stretch with cue and I always praise long stretching. Muscle work includes hill work and also lactic acid training during walks just build up my dogs’ durance. I do lactic acid training only if I’m not doing hard agility training because agility is always anaerobic training because its high speed. Little things can sometimes make difference. Listen to your dog. Help it become balanced in body and in mind.

For everyday work

In everyday training it important to remember warm up work and cooling walks. Warm up are as important to us as it is to dog. You can try to run full speed 100 m run or do 20-40 tendon jumps without warming up. Next day you can feel how the dog feels if you do agility training without warming up. Cooling down is as important because it help body recover from anaerobic training with causes lactic acid to build up in muscles. Lactic acid is one the reasons our muscles get stiff and painful. I do usually warming up walks that last about 30 minutes and rise speed and stamina all the way of the warming up routine. Cooling down routine I do in two steps. 20-30 minute walk right after agility run /competition and second round two hours after when I do trot run about 45-60 minutes. With these routines I hope give my dogs the best treatment to keep them in good shape. Of course these routines make my body recover too.