5 Dog Sports
Dog sports are one of the great dog shows that can be witnessed. Although world competitions seem to be dominated by the same breeds, all dogs can play sports. Find out which one your pet is most interested in to start having fun.
What are dog sports?
There are very varied canine sports: some exercise only the body and others only the dog’s mind. However, almost all of them require a combination of the two, along with the skill of the human guide.
In a sport of this type, the training of the dog is necessary, of course, but the ability of the people is also decisive: both to train the dog in its new skills and to go out to compete. Although there are clubs and teams that help with training, when push comes to shove, the dog and his handler are alone.
Any breed and almost any dog can play dog sports. In the world rankings , the same breeds are always repeated, such as border collies or Belgian Malinois, but to have fun you don’t need to have the physique of those athlete dogs.
If you want to start practicing a sport with your four-legged friend, find a local team so they can guide you through the first steps of training. In addition, they will be able to lend you their track and the necessary elements of each sport.
1. Agility
The agility is probably one of the best known of all dog sports. It is an obstacle course with which the dog must interact: high jumps, tunnels, seesaws … The objective is to complete the track as quickly as possible without committing errors with the obstacles.
The competitions of this sport are divided by the size of the dogs, and each one has obstacles adapted to its height and speed. The arrangement of the elements and the route are different each time; there are also levels of difficulty, similar to leagues in other sports, by which competitors progress through their sports careers.
The great challenge of this sport is in the humans: you have to train the dog with precision and be able to guide it on the track correctly without sending confusing signals.
2. DiscDog
The DiscDog is one of the most spectacular sports that exist: the pairing between the human and the dog creates a choreography to the rhythm of the music thanks to the launching and collection of records with pirouettes.
For this, special large and flexible silicone discs are used. There are many stunts that dogs can do, and they even memorize the choreography! The size of the dog does not matter either, although it is advisable that it be large enough to catch and return the disc after jumping.
There are also different levels of competition, and the possibility of creating choreography makes it easy to adapt the difficulty to each dog and each human. In this case, training is more important than the human’s ability to get to the track.
3. Canicross
This canine sport is very easy to practice, although it requires great physical preparation from both participants. It is a race in which dog and human run side by side: the dog wears a harness that is attached to a human’s waist by means of a leash.
The physical preparation of both is essential and the competitions are open to any dog older than one year and healthy. Due to the physical demands of this sport, it is essential to regularly consult a veterinarian who certifies his state of health.
4. Mantrailing
The Mantrailing is a sport that relies on the sense of smell of a dog to find a hidden person. In other words, this canine sport simulates the usual search conditions for missing persons. Although the speed is appreciated, in this case the precision of the dog is needed in finding the hidden fugitive.
Not only rescue dogs can play this sport, as it is open to everyone. However, in the event of a catastrophe, they will only be allowed to act in very special cases. The Mantrailing is a sport and fun: not prepare dogs or humans for actual work.
5. French Ring
This may be the most demanding sport for dogs in the world. The French ring combines the physical strength of dogs with obedience exercises, so training is very important.
In the course of the competitions, different tests have to be passed: jumping of obstacles, climbing the palisade, control in the absence of the guide, bringing objects to the order and protection of the owner or search for criminals. It is a very demanding sport in training and it takes years of competitions to be able to reach a good level.
Dog sports are fun times we can spend with our pets. There are many different ones to choose from to fit our dog’s size, age, and interests well. But above all, remember that they should be a game and not an obligation for both of you.
