Dog athletes need special care in terms of nutrition, regeneration and exercise. What basic facts should you know and follow if you have a dog athlete at home?
Doing sports with a dog is a great way to spend time together and keep you both in shape. Even if you only do recreation sports with your dog and don't compete, you should always think about your dog's health first and then about results.
Let's start with nutrition. It's clear that a physically active dog needs high-quality food. Unlike regular kibble, its food should have a special ration of nutrients, as they need more energy and protein. You should therefore choose food with the labels sport, endurance, energy or maintenance. The ingredients in this food are put together especially for physically active dogs.
You also need to tailor your dog's exercise regime. Warm him up before intense exercise. Do not forget to take regular breaks during exercise, and finish with light running or walking. You also need to remember to rest between individual exercises either with a quiet walk or undisturbed sleep.
Training should also be regular; one-off exercise (just on the weekend) would be hard on your dog's body, and could even cause muscle fever. On the other hand, he shouldn't overexert himself; you should avoid doing the same exercise for too long. I have written more about this in the article When excessive exercise is harmful to a dog.
So if you don't have time for full training, keep your dog in shape by running together, he can accompany you during a bike ride, or you can do balance exercises or swim with dogs.
It is clear that not only a dog's joints but also his bones, ligaments and tendons are under strain. We need to remember this and give them extra nutrition in the form of balanced nutritional supplements. Vitamins, minerals and amino acids help slow down cartilage degeneration and strengthen ligaments and tendons. They also improve mobility and reduce joint pain.
In addition to nutritional supplements, salmon oil or brewer's yeast are also great for dogs. Salmon oil not only contributes to a healthy joint and musculoskeletal system, it also promotes a healthy heart and blood circulation and has an anti-inflammatory effect. Brewer's yeast promotes metabolism, has a beneficial effect on digestion, improves resistance to stress and disease and is also a source of energy under stress.
We can also help the musculoskeletal system through regeneration. Massages are very beneficial. In the event of problems, the Dorn method or physiotherapy can help.
How do you and your dog stay fit during the winter?
Cats are no longer the outside countryside homeless animals that come closer to a house just for a while when they are in the mood for it. Rather the opposite, they have started living in city flats and have adjusted to our lifestyle. However, it’s...
Rabbits are popular pets especially for city flats. It’s because they don’t require a lot of space and don’t need to go outside very often (no garden needed). However, it doesn’t mean taking care of them is easy and no time or efforts are needed. We...
It sounds lovely: a dog gets a command, it does it and gets a treat or a reward for that. It won’t end with one moment in the perfect case and it will become the basic idea of a whole training for a dog that will become an obedient pet using positive...
Every dog owner knows that feeling when (s)he has to leave house to work or (s)he can’t take his/her pet with him/her for any reason and (s)he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. Can a dog handle the situation or will it bark and go on the rampage?...
Fear is natural for people and everyone has their own fears. While someone is scared of spiders, heights or confined spaces, others are scared of dogs. This fear is common in children who haven’t explored the world so well yet and who don’t know the...
Guinea pigs are popular pets especially in families with kids. They are small animals that can bring a lot of joy. If you consider buying a guinea pig, there are some aspects you shouldn’t neglect before making the decision. We talked about what to...
Have you heard about sport called Disc Dog? It basically consists of throwing a disc to your dog that fetches it. Disc Dog can be done as a recreational or a professional sport. For professional competitors, there are several disciplines for which...
Siberian Cat is quite a new breed that was only recognized by the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe) in 1992. It emerged from crossbreeding domestic cats and breeds brought from the Near East and it found its home in Russia and Ukraine where it...
Most of us have this long thought-to-be-true idea that one dog year equals to seven human years. So, if you have a two-year-old puppy at home, it is already 14 years old when compared to humans. Therefore, if you have a ten-year-old dog at home, it is...
Breast milk is, in the beginning of life, the best thing a pup can get from its mother. It is full of the nutrients it needs to grow and develop properly. However, as the offsprings grow, milk needs to be supplemented with other food, so they are...
Cat lovers and breeders know very well that one cat is often not enough, and that there is sometimes a need to get another cat companion. However, this decision will affect the whole household and, above all, it is necessary to prepare the cat you...
Many of us are under the influence of the need to fulfill a dream of getting an unconventional pet, which the minipig certainly is. This trend has been present in the Czech Republic for about ten years. But don’t be fooled by those cute snouts, taking...
