Sporting dog: tips for preparing it well

Do you have a sporty dog? Here are some tips for preparing and recovering your pet

A sporting dog has developed its natural abilities for sports. This doesn't mean we can't help it by relieving stress on its joints and muscles.

The importance of exercise for your dog or cat!

Exercise is good for human health, but also for the health of our dogs and cats. It's essential for their well-being, both mentally and physically. Daily activity helps maintain their balance. Moving naturally helps release tension that can accumulate during the day, thus reducing stress. The benefits of daily activities and sports for your cat or dog are undeniable. Indeed, the advantages are numerous. In particular, physical activity helps to:

• weight loss or weight maintenance
• to increase the muscle mass necessary for a carnivore
• to achieve better pulmonary ventilation and therefore better resistance
• to reduce the risk of heart attack or hypertension
• to participate in the long-term maintenance of joints, muscles and bones
• reduces the risk of heart disease or diabetes
• reduces stress and helps to improve mood

Encouraging your cat or dog to exercise therefore improves their quality of life and life expectancy . This is significant because it promotes their physical and mental health.

What type of sporting activity is suitable for your pet?

There are many activities you can do with your sporting dog or cat. As long as your pet doesn't have any health problems that would contraindicate them, you can participate:

• Your cat : let him go outside so he can climb trees, hunt, and run. These are perfectly healthy and justified activities. If your cat can't go outside, you can provide him with something to exercise in yourself, such as a cat tree, a fenced outdoor playpen, or simply play with him. You can also teach him cat agility courses.
• Your dog : For dogs, there are many sporting activities such as canicross, bikejoring, agility , flyball, canirun, treibball, obedience training, ring sport, etc. The activities are truly diverse. You can easily set up some of these activities at home.

The main thing is to have fun with your pet or for them to be able to occupy themselves in a healthy and stress-free way.

Preparation before exertion

It's important to know the basics of preparing your pet for exercise. Since exercise often requires the animal to draw on its muscular and skeletal strength, you need to prepare it to prevent injury. Therefore, you must analyze:

• Consider your pet's physical capabilities . A brachycephalic breed (with a flattened face) isn't expected to run and pull a bicycle. Analyze your dog's/cat's weight. A dog or cat with severe obesity won't have the physical capacity to sustain intense activity. Cardiovascular and respiratory adaptations are necessary.
• Nutritional factors : Your dog's and cat's diet will be one of the primary factors in optimizing their physical and physiological capabilities. They need an energy-rich, highly digestible food that is specifically formulated for their needs. A suitable diet eliminates the risk of nutritional deficiencies. They also need to maintain the recommended water intake. Their diet must provide sufficient animal protein to support muscle development. Supplements, such as Biofood salmon oil , can be given to complement their regular food.
• Psychological factors such as motivation, a non-stressed animal, adaptation to new environments, or sociability with humans or other conspecifics, depending on the activity chosen.
• Warm-up : Relax your dog or cat by walking or trotting . Gently mobilize the joints. Focus on warming up the limbs through extension-flexion and abduction-adduction, the hindquarters, and the thoracolumbar region through hyperextension.
• Training is essential to avoid negatively impacting your pet's physical and mental health. Therefore, a well-planned physical training program is crucial. The goal is to increase your cat or dog's muscle mass and strength, and to develop the metabolic pathways involved in the activity your pet will need to perform. Physical training should improve their exercise tolerance.

Take your time, don't start too fast!

Begin training once your animal has finished growing. Expose the body to a workload of sufficient intensity, duration, and frequency to induce improvements in the trained functions and thus performance. This increase in intensity, duration, and frequency should be gradual.

Recovery after exertion

Even with a sporty dog, physical exertion requires recovery time to maintain your pet's health. This is often underestimated, yet it helps your dog or cat preserve their joints and muscles over time. First, you need to cool your pet down and help them calm down. To do this, take them for a 5- to 10-minute walk in a calm, stress-free environment. Their heart rate will naturally slow down. It's crucial not to leave your pet standing still. Holding a static position on a muscle adds to the strain, as it can weaken muscle fibers that are already subject to micro-tears during exercise. Massage your pet in the evening before bed, not immediately after exercise. You can stroke them lightly, but also deeply into their fur, if they enjoy it. Having your pet seen by a veterinarian specializing in sports activities is highly recommended. Once your pet is back home, let them enjoy some quiet time. Don't overexert him, as he needs rest. Let him sleep when necessary. Provide him with a good diet tailored to his daily activity. Again, you can help your dog or cat by giving him natural supplements, such as salmon oil for omega-3 fatty acids, or supplements that support joint flexibility thanks to glucosamine and chondroitin, which are important for cartilage and connective tissue. As you can see, daily activity is essential for both your cat and your sporting dog. Even if your pet expends energy naturally, there's nothing stopping you from supporting him with natural products like dietary supplements to aid in preparation for and recovery after exercise. This will only strengthen your pet's joints, muscles, and bones.