Babara Bush
Coping with the energy of an active, restless pet is sometimes not easy. And everyone knows that a bored dog is a chaos in an apartment and absolute disobedience. You can keep your pet busy with a walk and exercise. But, of course, the best thing, in this case, is the joint sport with the dog.
Sports activities with a dog are not only a healthier organism, but also an opportunity to get to know your pet better, establish closer contact and, in general, have fun. What are the most popular dog sports in the world today?
Agility
Perhaps one of the most famous is agility. This is an obstacle course with 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 regulated for each participant.
Dogs of any breed and mongrel are allowed to participate in the competition. There are also no restrictions on weight or size. However, experts do not recommend doing agility for puppies, so as not to additionally load their ligaments, and dogs with an elongated body, such as dachshunds and bassets.
Weight pulling
It is an athletic sport that involves carrying heavy loads. The name comes from the English phrase weight pulling, which means “pushing the 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
Frisbee with a dog is a very entertaining sport. Professional Frisbee Championships are real acrobatic performances! However, they always start small: the pet must adore the delivery 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 from a special mechanism and bring it to the owner.
This is a very exciting and dynamic sport. Both purebred animals and pets without a breed can participate.
Freestyle
Freestyle, that is, dancing, is rightfully considered the most creative sport with a dog. The more artistic the pet is, the better! Indeed, in this case, plastic, grace, and even the musical abilities of animals are especially appreciated. However, the owner should also be a worthy partner for his pet.
Lure Coursing
Coursing is a hunt for mechanical bait. This sport is predictably intended for hunting dogs, mainly Italian greyhounds, and greyhounds. But representatives of other breeds are also allowed to participate.
In such competitions, the speed, agility, ingenuity, and endurance of the pet are evaluated.
Winter sports
Winter sports traditionally include skijoring, skipulling, and sled racing. There are also no breed bans here. 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 show themselves as excellent sled dogs.
Summer racing
Summer sports are bikejoring, dog-karting, and dog-scootering. They are similar in principle to winter sports. So, bikejoring is a bicycle race with a dog, dog-go-karting is a cart race pulled by dogs, and scootering is a special scooter.
Canicross
Canicross also belongs to the summer types of racing. This is a cross-country run with a dog. It resembles skijoring, which is performed on skis. The athlete and his pet must cover a given distance of 3 to 5 km as quickly as possible.
There are many different kinds of dog sports today. You can choose activities for every taste because the breed usually does not play a special role. However, before starting to play sports, the pet must complete the General Training Course or the Controlled City Dog course. So he will become more attentive, which means that sports training will be easier and more fun for everyone.