Sports with a dog

Sports activities with a dog are not only an improvement of the body, but also an opportunity to get to know your pet better, establish closer contact and, in general, have fun. What sports with dogs are the most popular in Russia today?

• Agility Perhaps one of the most famous is agility. This is an obstacle course consisting of 20 different projectiles. Several animals compete in overcoming it, as a result, the pet that turns out to be the fastest wins. The obstacle course is adjusted for each participant. Dogs of any breed and outbred are allowed to participate in competitions. There are also no weight or size restrictions. However, experts do not recommend doing agility for puppies, so as not to additionally burden their ligaments, and for dogs with an elongated body, such as dachshunds and bassets.

• Weight pulling This is an athletic sport, the essence of which is the dragging of heavy loads. The name comes from the English phrase weight pulling, which means “pushing a load.” Dogs of any breed and complexion participate in competitions, the load for each is selected individually. Traditionally, the best in this sport are large massive animals: pit bulls, bulldogs and Staffordshire terriers.

• dog frisbee A very entertaining sport is frisbee with a dog. Professional frisbee championships are real acrobatic performances! However, they always start small: the pet must love fetching and be just jumpy. Therefore, this sport is difficult for muscular heavy animals. But small active dogs get real pleasure from it.

• flyball Flyball can be either an individual or a team sport. The bottom line is that the dog, after passing the obstacle course, must get the ball out of a special mechanism and bring it to the owner. It is a very exciting and dynamic sport. Both purebred animals and non-breed pets can participate.

• Freestyle The most creative sport with a dog is considered to be freestyle, that is, dancing. The more artistic the pet, the better! Indeed, in this case, plasticity, grace and even the musical abilities of animals are especially valued. However, the owner must be a worthy partner for his pet.

• Course Coursing is the hunt for mechanical bait. This sport is predictably reserved for hunting dogs, mainly greyhounds and greyhounds. But representatives of other breeds are also allowed to participate. At such competitions, the speed, dexterity, intelligence and endurance of the pet are evaluated.

• Winter Sports Winter sports traditionally include skijoring, skipulling and sled racing. There are also no breed restrictions. The main thing is that the dog is obedient, strong and not afraid of extreme winter conditions. Although, of course, the most popular athletes are northern dogs. However, pets without a breed often prove to be excellent sled dogs.

• Summer racing Summer sports are bikejoring, dog karting and dog scootering. In their principle, they are similar to winter sports. So, bikejoring is a race on a bicycle with a dog, dog karting is a race on a cart pulled by dogs, and scootering is on a special scooter.

• Canicross Canicross also belongs to the summer types of racing. This is cross-country running with a dog. It resembles skijoring, which is performed on skis. The athlete and his pet must cover a predetermined distance of 3 to 5 km as quickly as possible.

Today there are many different sports with a dog. You can choose classes for every taste, because the breed usually does not play a special role. However, before starting to play sports, the pet must pass the “General Training Course” or the “Managed City Dog” course. So he will become more attentive, which means that sports training will be easier and more fun for everyone.

February 27 2018

Updated: 19 May 2022