Dog obedience is one sport that most pet owners will have a passing familiarity to as many are first introduced to the sport when their dogs are young by attending a local training class for obedience. There is, however, a large community of avid dog trainers who compete in the sport of obedience and a closer examination of the sport can show us just how physically demanding the sport of obedience can be for our dogs!  
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In this week blog, I breakdown the sport of obedience, explain what it is, the physical demands it places on our dogs, and how conditioning can play a role in the obedience dog’s performance.  ​

If I asked you to list all the dog sports you could think of would you include conformation in your list? If you didn't ask yourself why? It may come as a surprise but conformation dogs are athletes in their own right and have unique physical and mental demands placed on them to do their sport well.  

In my next edition of sport breakdown I take a look at the sport of conformation and review the physical demands asked of our conformation dogs and how conditioning can have a part in helping your canine athlete succeed in the ring. 

​There's a saying that the most affectionate creature in the world is a wet dog and I'm sure dock diving competitors would agree! Dock diving is a fast-growing sport that has become even more popular in this year of required social distancing. As trainers and dog owners we may find ourselves at a bit of a loss on how we can best prepare our dogs for the sports they do. One way we can help our dogs perform their best and reduce their risks of injury is to understand the physical demands of the sport our dogs participate in.

For many dock diving competitors, one of the biggest challenges of the sport is its short training and competition season. In Canada, a dock diving season may only have 12 weeks of good weather. This means that competitors in dock diving will need to keep up a consistent conditioning routine during their off-season so their dogs are prepared to return to the sport. In this week's blog, we'll take a deep dive (pun, fully intended!) into the sport of dock diving!