Helping Your Overweight Dog Lose Pounds and Have Fun Doing It

Is your dog starting to look a little pudgy and needing a diet? Many dog owners are unsure about finding the right diet. We have the best information for dog diets. All the information contained in this article will help your dog diet safely.

Common Reasons For Dog Obesity

One of the most important steps an owner needs to discover is the reason for their pet's obesity. You may be feeding your dog the right amount of food but just not enough exercise, in this case he will need added physical activity. Perhaps you enjoy sneaking your pal some scrapes under the table? In fact, that is one of the leading causes of canine obesity. The food humans consume is not meant for your four legged friend. Or maybe your dog is just eating way too much dog food per serving. If he is, all that is required is simply cutting back the amount in his bowl at each serving.

Cushing's Syndrome

There are issues other than overeating that can cause obesity in your dog, including Cushing's syndrome, hypothyroidism, as well as other hormonal issues. In addition to regulating your dog's diet, you will need to seek out vetrinary care for those conditions. Once you have been able to narrow down the cause of the problem, you will be able to treat it properly.

Proper Foods To Feed Your Dog

If you dog is packing on the pounds, eliminate all table scraps. Talk to your veterinarian about a low calorie diet for your dog. Generally, most veterinarians will recommend a high fiber, low fat diet. In addition there are many all natural diets available for your pet.

When you begin a diet for your dog feed him once a day, and remove the food after he walks away. Be certain to stick to the proper amount of food that is recommended by your vet. Most foods will have a recommended amount on the bag, it is suggested to still check with your veterinarian.

Consider reducing the number of treats and goodies you give your pet on a daily basis. Treats should only make up 10% of your dog's daily caloric intake. There are many low calorie treats that are perfect for dogs that needing to lose weight.

The Need For Daily Exercise

If your dog has occasional exercise but it still getting chunky more exercise will be needed. If your dog has not been on a steady exercise plan, it is time to start one. Dogs will burn more calories when they are active and having fun. If you are looking to get in better shape as well, a long walk will do you great! 

Other ways of exercising your dog that is fun include games of catch and dog agility courses Whatever activity you choose to do with your dog make sure it is done on a regular basis and have fun doing it.

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Get Involved In Dog Sports

If you have an active lifestyle or have a dog that needs to get rid of a bunch of energy you may consider getting involved in some type of dog sport. There are a bunch of dog sports to get involved in and in this article I will discuss just a few of them.

Let's start off with agility. I think almost every large town in the United States has an agility club or a trainer with a facility so that you can learn how to do agility with your dog. The easiest way to put it is that agility is a blast and loads of fun for you and your dog. The first time I attended an agility competition they had an announcer who was explaining agility and how it was done. He commented that you won't see many fat folks doing agility. They may have started out that way but they are thin now from all the running and bending and stooping. So as you can imagine agility is good for your health as well as the dogs.

Join a Frisbee club. You don't actually have to join a club to enjoy doing Frisbee with your dog however clubs are out there if you decide you'd like to compete. You've possibly seen Frisbee competitions on TV where people travel from all over the country to compete with their dogs. Teaching your dog to catch the disc and do all those fancy jumps and catches can be quite enjoyable for you and your dog. If this is something that you think you might be interested in simply do a Google search and you'll find a Frisbee club in your area.

Flyball is fast and fun for dogs of all sizes. Flyball is an exciting competition that involves jumping over hurdles and catching a ball that flies out of a box. It's actually done as a relay race with a team. The height of the hurdles is set based on the height of the smallest dog so every team seems to have a short dog to keep those hurdles low. If you go to a flyball competition be careful because it doesn't take much to get hooked on this fun sport.

Schutzhund is a German sport originally developed for German Shepherds. Schutzhund consists of three different areas of training including obedience, tracking and protection. Each dog that competes in this sport must do well and pass each area of the competition. Schutzhund trials are held each weekend all over the country. If this is something you and your dog may be interested in do a Google search for Schutzhund and see what you can find close to where you live.

In this article I have talked about 4 different types of dog sports. Believe me there are many more out there that might just get you and your dog out of the house and active. Make an effort to get involved with a dog sport soon your dog will love you for it.

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5 Tips To Combat Canine Hyperactivity

Dogs make great pets because of their fantastic attitude toward life, always happy. However if your dog has too much energy there are a few things you can do to help calm him down.

1. Give it something to do to eliminate his energy. Even something as simple as going through his obedience exercises can help calm him down and sometimes actually has a way of wearing him out.

2. You can play games with your dog to work his muscles. Most dogs will always love a game of retrieve or even maybe a little Frisbee for some exercise. If your dog doesn't like to do either of those you might try a good game of hide and seek. Dogs love to go find something. It can be as simple as hide the toy or you can actually hide while somebody holds your dog and lets it go when you are ready.

3. Another way to combat the excess energy is by getting him involved in a dog sport. Agility, fly ball or even competitive Frisbee can be really great ways to get you dog a regular workout. Even training your dog to track can be very exciting for you and your dog and give him a great way to eliminate that extra energy.

4. If the dog park is a place you both enjoy then take a regular trip to the dog park for a great workout and a run with the dogs. Going to your favorite dog park a couple of times a week can make a huge difference in your dogs attitude and get rid of that hyperactive attitude.

5. Last but not least and a favorite for a lot of active people is going for a long walk or a good old run. If you are the type of person that goes for a daily run teach your dog to run beside you nicely and take him with you. A run is good for your overall health and it's good for your dogs as well.

Just like children, your pet needs several options to exercise their bodies daily. A hyperactive dog is likely just bored, so be sure to try these tips to tire your pooch out and enjoy some peace and quiet.

One of my favorite sayings is "a trained dog is a happy dog and an exhausted dog is even happier", so train your dog and wear him out. I promise that if you do he will love you for it.

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Basic Supplies For Teaching Dog Agility

Dog agility is the fastest growing dog sport in North America. There are already several national organizations which offer competitions for all dogs and the AKC has recently welcomed mixed breed dogs to their agility trials, too. With such a rapidly growing sport there are many people who are getting involved in agility for the first time with their dogs. Here's some information about what you need to get started if you're interested in teaching dog agility.

First of all, it helps if you are familiar with what will be asked of you on an agility course. Visit a kennel club or agility training club in order to see a proper agility course. Watch the participants and their dogs navigate the course. You won't need all of this equipment to get started but this will give you a good idea of what a full course will look like and what your students will be facing in an actual competition.

From watching the participants and their dogs you'll be able to identify the key pieces of equipment that you will need. You'll also be able to determine some pieces that you may be able to improvise on your own. You can build your own equipment but it's best to make sure that it meets the same requirements as the equipment that the dogs will be using when they compete.

There are a number of dog supply outlets online that sell agility equipment. Some of them sell packages of 3, 6 or more pieces of agility equipment so you can get started.

• Affordable Agility in the Bag

AffordableAgility.com offers sets of agility equipment including tunnels, chutes, and weave poles. Their "Agility-In-A-Bag" set is $219. It includes a set of 30" weave poles, an adjustable jump, an adjustable tire jump (22" in diameter), a pause box, a tunnel and chute, a carrying bag, colored vinyl tape to decorate the poles and an instruction manual. This would be a good starter kit for someone beginning to teach agility.

You could later add another jump and another weave pole set, as well as a seesaw and a A-frame, for example, to make up a more complete agility course.

You could also offer some training supplies for your students, such as agility DVDs, treats, treat pouches, clickers, collars and leashes, and other materials that they might need to get started with agility.

If you're relatively new to agility make sure that you spend some time reading up on the rules and regulations. You can visit the AKC website to find their rules: akc.org/events/agility/index.cfm. You can visit the United States Dog Agility Association website to find out more about their events: usdaa.com. And you can visit the North American Dog Agility Council site to find out more about their events: nadac.com. Dogs need to be registered with an organization and typically compete in different classes, depending on their height, so you will need to advise your students on entering the right classes when they compete. Some organizations also have age restrictions on dogs so you should familiarize yourself with the requirements.

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3 Surprising Qualities of Dog Agility Equipment You Need to Look For

Dog agility is a fun sport to get into for you and your dog. It gets your dog's energy out in a fun and creative way. You get to teach your dog new tricks all the while creating a deeper bond. You can take your dog to a dedicated dog agility facility, but that can get expensive. Or you can purchase your own equipment to use at home. When you purchase your own dog agility equipment though, make sure you take these three qualities into consideration. These qualities may not be factors you think of, but they are important.

Portability

You may not think of portability as an issue when choosing your equipment, but it can be. Portable equipment allows you to practice agility anywhere you want. Such equipment is also easier to transport. And some are also indoor friendly so you can practice inside when the weather outside isn't too friendly.

Also, portable equipment makes it easy to set up and then tear down when you are done. This is especially useful if you take your dog to parks to practice or if you are practicing in a part of your home indoors. Portable equipment is easy to set up and easy to break apart. And you can easily take it with you wherever you go.

Sturdiness

A second quality that you need to look for is how sturdy the equipment is. Your dog agility equipment needs to be sturdy enough so that when your dog jumps on it, uses it, or runs through it, it will stay in place and won't fall apart. Jumps need to be sturdy so it stays up while your dog is jumping over it. Tunnels need to be sturdy enough so they don't collapse on your dog as he or she is running through it. See-saws need to be able to support your dog's weight.

At the same time, you don't want them to be too sturdy. You want your bars on your jumps to fall if your dog isn't able to jump too high. If the bar doesn't move, it could potentially hurt your dog.

Available Space

This third quality isn't directly related to the dog agility equipment itself. It relates to how much will fit in the space you have. If you have a large yard, then you'll be able to set up a complete course for your dog. But, if you only have half of your living room available, you'll only be able to get one or two pieces such as a jump or some weave poles.

You don't have to spend a fortune on your dog agility equipment either. If you are just starting out, it's worth it to buy just one item at a time so your dog can get comfortable with each activity before adding more.

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Boosting Your Canine Companion's Confidence Through Agility

Start your training with something simple like a small jump, maybe a few inches off the ground and as your canine companion goes over the jump several times without hesitation, gradually adjust the jump higher. As your companion achieves the goal, reward him/her with either a treat, a toy, lots of praise, or any combination. The tunnel is another good obstacle to start with. Start with the tunnel as short as possible and gradually lengthen it, a little at a time. I started out with the collapsible kid's tunnel that you can purchase at Toys "R" Us. Eventually, you can add some weave poles, a teeter (see-saw), or even the catwalk. These are just a few ideas to start with; you can add any obstacle.

The more challenging the obstacles gets, the strong the confidence builds.

My canine companion, Buster, needed some help with his confidence, so I started agility training with him. By the time we finished the agility class, Buster definitely had more confidence. I then took all the knowledge that I learned in agility training and I applied it to every walk we took. While walking in the park, fallen limbs were jumps, down trees were a beam to walk across, tree stumps were obstacles to jump on and sit, if there was enough room. I used anything and everything I could as a training point. I even used a kids jungle gym. A tire ramp up the side was the way to get to the top of the jungle gym and the slide was the way down. One jungle gym had a rope bridge. This was actually a really challenging obstacle for Buster. The bridge had little metal connectors in the cross sections of the ropes, this is what Buster placed his paws on to cross the bridge. Sometimes he would slip and lose his footing, but he learned that he could recollect his paws under him and continue.

The more I did, the more I challenged, the more Buster achieved and the more confidence he gained. As time went on and training continued, my relationship with Buster grew stronger. The more Buster trusted in me, the more I could challenge him and the more he looked to me for direction.

Agility training like any training takes time. By incorporating the training in my everyday routine, it became my routine and not another responsibility to fit into my busy schedule. In the end the outcome is well worth all the time and effort.

So whether it is for fun, for confidence or for competition, agility is a fun way to spend quality training time with your companion. It will build confidence, enhance your relationship with your canine companion and strengthen the bond between the two of you. 

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