For many years it has been stressed that sport means health. We all seem to know it, but sometimes we lack motivation. A dog can provide us with such motivation. What are the activities in which we can engage our pet?
There is a reason why people sometimes say that if we want to start moving more, we should get ourselves a dog. Apart from the issue of responsibility for the pet and a well-considered decision, there is a lot of truth in it. If we previously led a purely sedentary lifestyle, a dog forces us to increase our physical activity, even if only by taking a few walks every day. However, we can go a bit further, and we won't even notice how dog sports will completely absorb us!
For the sake of your own and your pet's health
Every form of physical activity increases our immunity, improves circulation or releases endorphins. Thanks to it, we can reduce the risk of obesity and other diseases of civilization. However, we should also look at how sport affects our four-legged friend. Not many people know it, but to stay in good shape and healthy, one of the walks should be at least 40 minutes long. Besides, sometimes it's worth to serve the dog a little more effort. It will influence flexibility of muscles and joints, its condition and level of dog's happiness. So dog sports are beneficial for everyone.
The most popular dog sports
Despite appearances, there are quite a few sports that dogs can participate in, and here are a few examples:
- Canicross - this sport can be likened to dog sledding. With the help of a rope, the dog is attached to our belt and runs together with us. If we are not experienced sportsmen, we can consider other, but similar kind of activity, that is dogtrekking. In this case, instead of running, we do a very long walk with him.
- Bikejoring - here also there is a great similarity to the previous disciplines. The difference is that one or two dogs pull the bike.
- Agility - in this case our involvement will be small. Basically, it is a specially prepared obstacle course, and the competition is scored if the pet will overcome it flawlessly. Although physically struggling our dog and not us, flawless communication between dog and handler is needed. Despite appearances, it will take a lot of effort to work out all the gestures before we can participate.
- Coursing - is one of the most classic dog sports. It involves dogs racing to catch a dummy victim.
- Dogfrisbee - both you and your dog will love this sport. The game consists in throwing a disc to the dog. Dog must catch it in flight and bring. In this discipline there are several different competitions. These are minidistance, long-distance, time-trial and Freestyle.
- Flyball - is a dog relay race, which usually involves several dogs. Dogs run through obstacles to the ball launcher, launching it with their paw. At the end, they bring the ball to their handler.
