There are more and more people who cannot do without the company of their 4-legged friend even during training.
The phenomenon that is becoming internationally popular is called "
Dog Sport", a trend that allows you to keep fit in a fun and effective way together with your dog
: just think that only on Instagram the hashtags #dogsport and #agilitydog are protagonists respectively 197 thousand and 506 thousand posts.
Witness the growth of this trend is the American Kennel Club association which annually registers over one million memberships in the
dog agility
program.
, a team sport and affinity that includes an obstacle course with jumps, slalom, tunnels, walkways, tilting platforms: a perfect exercise for both, as it strengthens the relationship of trust and develops good communication.
A growing trend also for us: in Italy, in fact, in 2019 there were about 800 participants in the agility championships according to an internal survey by the FISC (Italian Federation of Dog Sports).
Trend in vogue even among celebrities
who very often come surprises in jogging gear with their four-legged friends on a leash: actress
Jessica Biel with her boxers and pitbulls
, actor
Matthew McConaughey
who in her spare time indulges in running sessions on the beaches of Malibu with her dog, supermodels and influencers
Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid with their respective Dobermans
and finally the actress
Amanda Seyfried, often immortalized while training with her australian shepherd
.
But what are the precautions that owners must use to protect the health of their dogs?
Prevention starts with the choice of a healthy and correct diet and continues outdoors with a muscle warm-up session and targeted training that avoids overload and guarantees rest periods.
Finally, to reduce the recovery time from injuries, valuable help comes from the latest technologies such as tecar therapy for animals (Doctor Tecar Plus Vet), laser with ad hoc wavelengths (iLux Plus Vet), and wave waves shock (Pulswave Vet).
“More and more people practice sports with their dogs, both professionally and as an amateur, and at the same time the risk of injury increases.
To safeguard the health of our four-legged friends, it is essential to start training with a muscle warm-up activity - explained Dr. Francesca Bussi, veterinarian and physiatrist of the Italian National Agility Dog of FISC - Just think that a good Warming up can improve the physical performance of dogs by 2 to 7% in agility, the most practiced sport.
My experience shows that the most common injuries include rupture of the cruciate and the development of tendon and muscle pathologies in the shoulder and back.
To prevent them, as happens for athletes, it is also necessary for dogs to follow a period of rest during the training program, avoiding the overload between the various sports activities, a decrease in enthusiasm and motivation, and vice versa.
Furthermore, long periods of sedentary lifestyle should not be alternated with excessive concentrated physical effort.
Other recommendations include those to have the dog carry out an athletic preparation preparatory to the activity it will have to carry out, with toning, proprioception and hydrotherapy exercises, preferably with underwater treadmil.
Nutrition also plays an important role in managing the performance of an athlete dog and in preventing trauma.
To reduce recovery times both after training and in case of trauma, a valuable help comes from the most recent hi-tech methodologies by Mectronic which stimulate the transfer of energy into biological tissues and activate natural physiological recovery ".
Among the other most popular dog sports emerges
the disc dog, a discipline in which the handler throws a fresbee and the dog grabs it
with his mouth on the fly, jumping and without letting the disc touch the ground.
At a competitive level the dogs perform jumps and tricks to which a jury of experts assigns a score.
Another dog sport that improves communication in an even more fun way is
dog dance
, a discipline in which the dog performs exercises and figures in time to music following the movements of the master.
Canicross is a cross-country race in which you compete together with your four-legged friend, who is attached to a belt at the driver's waist.
Less competitive, but definitely more adventurous, is
dog trekking
, a sport that creates a strong connection with your dog and nature
through trails
of varying difficulty and length.
The physical preparation of sled dogs, which require specific training and constant effort, is carried out through the activity of
bikerjoring and scootering with
special harnesses and harnesses worn by dogs and tied to the front of the bicycle or scooter.
