We hear a lot about the risks in agility and what not to do but how about we take a look at the positives too?
Why is agility important?
I feel this is a great place to start as if agility is not important to you or your dog then the likely hood is it may be too much of a risk to take.
Agility is great for our dogs especially those with high drive or full of energy. Agility gives them an outlet for all their energy, keeps their brains occupied and also teaches them how to use their bodies making them less likely to get injured in everyday life.
Agility is great for us as dog handlers and owners too as not only does it help keep us meantally and physically healthy but it also helps to improve our bond with our dog/dogs and give us both emotional stability.
How does agility training help dogs?
So let's take a deeper look at how agility training can help our dogs physically as you know as a vet physio that is one of my favourite topics.
From the beginning when we start with foundation agility skills our dogs are learning how to move correctly, where their body is in space and how to keep themselves safe on unusual pieces of equipment and environments.
Not only this but almost all of the activities we are aiming for in agility will need full range of motion, good muscle mass and excellent core strength. SO all the foundation training we do should focus on improving these areas of our dogs fitness. This might mean that you need to do some additional training outside of your agility training to help keep your dogs safe. If you want to talk more about your dogs specific needs book a free call now.
Is agility bad for dogs?
But if we keep hearing about all the risks in agility on the whole is it good or bad?
Let's take a look at the pros and cons:
If you want to know all about how to get started with agility, whether your dog is good to go and how to prepare check out these blogs:
Agility training
Should i do agility with my dog? https://www.fitpetphysio.com/post/what-s-the-best-agility-dog
What age should we start agility training? https://www.fitpetphysio.com/post/how-do-i-start-training-my-puppy-or-dog-for-agility