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Engaging in sports is not only fun for humans, it is also well loved by dogs. Dog sports do not only make a dog’s life fun but they also make it healthy, as well. There are so many dog sports to choose from. When deciding which sport may be right for your dog, you should take into consideration your dog’s energy level, his personality and his breed.
Here is a list of dog sports that you may want your dog to get involved in depending on his breed, of course.
Popular Dog Sports To Try With Your Dog
Agility
This is when a dog moves through an obstacle course. An agility course consists of contact obstacles, tunnels, agility jumps, etc. He is guided by his or her handler through the course. What controls the dog is only his handler’s voice and body language. Without a leash, obedience training is the major requirement for a dog to enjoy this sport. Speed and accuracy are the names of this game.
Check out my favorite agility books on Amazon.
Drafting
Large breeds usually participate in this dog sport. It mainly involves the dog pulling a cart filled with supplies like firewood or other farm goods. It is also known as dry land mushing and sulky driving and is well known and practiced all over the world. Smaller dogs can give drafting a try too but they shouldn’t be expected to pull a cart with the same amount of weight as a larger breed of dog.
Check out this book on carting on Amazon.
Disc Dog
Commonly known as disc dog, frisbee dog competition is about a dog and a human disc thrower competing in events such as a choreographed freestyle catching and distance catching. The division of events on this kind of dog sport depends on the handler’s skill and experience. What makes this one of the most popular dog sports is that any kind of dog can participate if they have a love of retrieving frisbees.
Click below to check out disc dog books on Amazon.
Flyball
This dog sport is a relay wherein teams of dogs race against each other leaving their handlers. These teams need to jump four hurdles that are placed 3 meters apart from each other. Then, they have to reach a box that will release a tennis ball that needs to be caught when the dog presses the pad which is spring-loaded. Then, they have to go back to their respective handlers while carrying the ball. This is a game of speed so if your dog loves to run fast, he might enjoy flyball.
Scootering
It is a sport where one or more dogs pull an unmotorized scooter in which a human is riding. It is similar to another dog sport done in the winter known as mushing, only dog scooter involves fewer dogs and instead of a dogsled used in mushing, a scooter is used. Like sled dogs, dogs that are doing scootering wear harnesses and are hooked to the scooter using a gangline.
Sheepdog Trial
Sheepdog trials are also known as a “herding trial”. This is one of the competitive dog sports in which breeds that are into herding move sheep around a field, gates, fences or enclosures as directed by their handlers. Think of “babe” the movie about a pig. This is more popular in UK, Canada, Ireland, the USA, New Zealand, Australia and other farming nations.
Click on the photos to check out these herding books on Amazon.
The most important part of dog sports is having fun with your dog. So, choose a sport that you both will enjoy and have fun together!
