Working Terrier conditioning

[Guest Fell & Moorland WTC SW area]

I have had many discussions with guys about this Dog and that Dog, and it always seems to go the same way, "look at how fit it is". What does fit mean in some guys eyes?

I have seen some Dogs that would win a Crufts body building competition. I have looked at several recent Pictures on here too, and read the replies. This isn't directed at ANY Dogs on here, but I often wonder how this type of Dog would get on in tight places over a long dig. I am not talking about whether it can get there, just the actual effect the conditions would have on some of these Muscle Beach candidates. Obviously Muscle would have a say in whether the Dog can get there or not, but lets assume it can.

I sort of keep mine on the edge of being a bit thinner than some might keep theirs, but they don't seem to stiffen up, and are more agile than a lot I have seen. It doesn't hurt to keep them lean and lithe, far less stress for Dog too. I have seen many Muscle thick Dogs get to a dig and breathing out of their arse, after only walking 2 Fields width!

ANYBODY ANY THOUGHTS?

[Kane 2]

If they are to unfit to cross a couple of fields how did they build the muscle in the 1st place?

[Stabs 3]

I wouldn't call this one particularly muscle bound, but she's fit (-ish) and can go all day when we are working.

 

 

I see many terriers which people comment on as being "solid" and then make comments like "look at the shoulders" etc and I know for a fact that if I owned the very same dog it would be unrecognisable to most.

 

I would be more concerned about my dog if it got to the quarry and had no muscle to back itself up with. I think a dog must be fit (-ish) most of the time, especially when working. There's a world of difference between thin and fit and muscley and fat. A dog can be lean, fit and well muscled and still get to the places you want them to.

 

Resistance training piles the muscle on and as we all know, muscle robs the oxygen. As ever, it's a fine line getting the balance, but I can't say I've seen too many real freakish terriers, even the ones from the bullier gear.

[Guest indy]

I wouldn't call this one particularly muscle bound, but she's fit (-ish) and can go all day when we are working.

 

 

I see many terriers which people comment on as being "solid" and then make comments like "look at the shoulders" etc and I know for a fact that if I owned the very same dog it would be unrecognisable to most.

 

I would be more concerned about my dog if it got to the quarry and had no muscle to back itself up with. I think a dog must be fit (-ish) most of the time, especially when working. There's a world of difference between thin and fit and muscley and fat. A dog can be lean, fit and well muscled and still get to the places you want them to.

 

Resistance training piles the muscle on and as we all know, muscle robs the oxygen. As ever, it's a fine line getting the balance, but I can't say I've seen too many real freakish terriers, even the ones from the bullier gear.

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[Guest Fell & Moorland WTC SW area]

If they are to unfit to cross a couple of fields how did they build the muscle in the 1st place?

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It's all to do with Muscle and Oxygen intake ratio, along with heat production Kane. A whole different topic, but just because something is full of Muscle doesn't mean it can breathe effortlessly.

[TimJ 0]

The infusion of bull blood is obvious in many of your dogs..........thats where the muscle mass comes from...not walking across a couple of fields

[Nipper 0]

I don't get this oxygen and muscle intake ratio pallaver. However I do think a fit working terrier or lurcher should be like a gymnast compared to a weight lifter.

[pickaxe 23]

Working Terrier conditioning, Solid and full of Muscle....?

 

 

good food lots of work

[Kane 2]

If they are to unfit to cross a couple of fields how did they build the muscle in the 1st place?

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It's all to do with Muscle and Oxygen intake ratio, along with heat production Kane. A whole different topic, but just because something is full of Muscle doesn't mean it can breathe effortlessly.

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Anychance of a pic Ive never seen a muscle bound terrier of an earth going type.

[socks 32,253]

this dog is 25 lbs of muscle and is the hardest working terrier that i have ever owned ... he can get anywhere and will work for hours .... what you have to remeber is that there is different types of muscle ... now without getting into the science of training i will explain it in laymans terms .... if you feed your dog well and work him hard whether it be to ground or regular natural exercise then the dog will mass on NATURAL muscle .... this muscle will not suffer from lactic acid build up nor will it cramp ... in addition the dog will be a lot more flexible and be able to turn and twist his body into tight and awkward places because as the muscle grows NATURARLY then so do the tendons and and sinues .... in simple terms build your dog up slowly and naturarly and the muscle can only grow to its natural maximum limit which the dog will be able to cope with ...........

 

 

[Stabs 3]

That's what I was trying to say :11:

 

Nice one Socks

[Guest HAWKEYE]

bang on socks lad, Ive spent god knows how many hours pouring through sports and nutrition books and that is as good an explaination already.

 

Oh and for the lad who said they prefer a lurchers phisique to be like a gymnast????No gymnast can live with a boxer

[Stabs 3]

I can't put this into words properly cos' I'm not right clever but to use a slightly related analogy, if you look at pit dogs, the ones that train for muscle mass with resistance training ie heavy reps such as weight pull and even to a certain extent pulling hard on a lead, build more mass, same as in humans. Heavy weight, short reps and your mass increases as you are pushing more volume of blood through the capillaries. For endurance and stamina you'd do the exact opposite ie lighter weights for a longer time.

To get back to the pit dog analogy, the muscle bound dog needs more oxygen to feed the muscle mass and the more oxygen he needs, the quicker he is going to tire compared to the dog that was trained with stamina in mind. That's not to say stamina training, such as treadmill or free running doesn't build muscle. As Socks says, it builds "natural" muscle rather than packing it on.

 

Hope this makes some sort of sense as I know what I'm trying to say but it's just not coming out

[Guest Fell & Moorland WTC SW area]

A Dog would need a LOT of work to get it into fit condition Socks, without doing some other form of exercise to supplement the work it is actually doing. Most of us work for a living, in some form. Weekends are usually the only time we have to put any groundwork into our Dogs, which is where the Dog earns it's keep.

One Day a Week or even two would not be enough to keep a dog fit, so as I said we must supplement their work with other types of exercise. This could be where the 'solid' Dogs come from. There are differnet Muscle groups, and too much of one form of exercise can develop only one type of Muscle. Resistance type work will develop big Muscles and running around will develop long lithe Muscles. All this combined with the AMOUNT of Food can send your Dog one way or another. Two or three Days a Week out walking the Fields and digging to your Dog is not always possible. The "plenty of work and plenty of Food" scenario isn't possible for most of us, due to othet comitments. I am talking digging, not bushing or Rabbiting.

 

"Natural Muscle"....I am confused about that bit? Muscle is Muscle and they do suffer with Lactic Acid build up, and they also suffer from Cramp. It is what you put into them that helps prevent these things, not that it is natural Muscle. Electrolytes, Salts, Fluid and adequate Food for the work being undertaken all contribute to how well a Muscle performs.

 

More or less work and more or less Food can make a Dog unrecognisable to even it's owner put into different Hands of a guy with a differing opinion on fitness.

 

Far better guys than me have writtem thousands of Pages on conditioning Dogs, but I just wanted to get an idea of how we all like to keep our Dogs during the Season, well 'covered' or 'lean'. There are far too many ways to get Dogs what we call fit, so didn't want to go down that Road.

[socks 32,253]

ok let me explain if you are confused about NATURAL muscle :11: ... this comes from exercising your dog naturarly ie walks letting the dogs run together swimming etc etc .... as opposed to BUILT muscle where a flypole has been used or tyre dragging etc etc .... in other words if you feed well and convert the amount of food into muscle steadily and progressively then you will have a dog with NATURAL muscle .... as for lactic acid build up and cramps then yes of course this may occcure ... but it will happen far far sooner to a dog with built up muscle rather than one that is natural .... as for work i said in my first post either to ground or REGULAR NATURAL EXERCISE .... i have been conditioning dogs of all breeds for a long time now and even if you work 12 hour shifts for 7 days a week you can still condition your dogs to a very good level .......

 

another one of my well conditioned dogs