Conditioning A Terrier

[perthshire keeper 1,239]

 

when i want then fit...ile just clip a chain to their collar and let them drag it ive got 4 diffrent chains hanging in the shed and a sash weight...just step them up as and when their doing well

Up til now mate youve always made a lot of sense but this post is several steps back .

 

they like most my dogs get run on the beach or behind the quad when at work..depending on the dogs...chain weights are a tool in the box

[Keepbordersworking 103]

when i want then fit...ile just clip a chain to their collar and let them drag it ive got 4 diffrent chains hanging in the shed and a sash weight...just step them up as and when their doing well

 

I agree with Perthshire keeper we are asking a dog to do a job of work and a very hard job it is therefore they must be fit to do so anybody that likes to keep fix eather by going running lifting weight swimming whatever will tell you how good they feel after there training session. Working Dogs are the same the fitter they get the better they'll feel the more they'll be up for the job.

[THE GENERAL 1,982]

Work is the only conditioner, whatever works for others I can't knock it but seriously I wouldn't contemplate that way. It's a lazy way out no matter what angle you look at it.

[THE GENERAL 1,982]

when i want then fit...ile just clip a chain to their collar and let them drag it ive got 4 diffrent chains hanging in the shed and a sash weight...just step them up as and when their doing well

 

I agree with Perthshire keeper we are asking a dog to do a job of work and a very hard job it is therefore they must be fit to do so anybody that likes to keep fix eather by going running lifting weight swimming whatever will tell you how good they feel after there training session. Working Dogs are the same the fitter they get the better they'll feel the more they'll be up for the job.

All the 5 min wonders that are in clay town are saying, we got a bum deal we should have been on chains with weights. Then we would have made the grade? Doesnt matter how fit some are or not, if they ain't up for the job at hand fitness is irrelevant. Edited August 8, 2015 by THE GENERAL

[Zilverhaze 1,627]

I think cardio is a must before work starts to give them the wind the need to see the job threw after that working regular coupled with good food builds up all the muscles in the relevant places needed

[Accip74 7,112]

Some folk only have limited work for their dogs (if their honest) or due to a dogs working style, seriously limiting time below ground.......then the old adage of "work gets them fit" go's out the window....

If you happen to be someone who enjoys the routine of getting your dogs out for a decent walk/run twice a day, then I doubt there's too much to worry about.....

.....& does anyone really do a 'keep' for a terrier??? I seriously doubt it.....

[timmy k 591]

I honestly think fitness isn't even considered with terriers, certainly not in the same way as it is with lurchers but if you think about it it's more important, being down a hole with limited air, fighting it out with a foe that's got everything staked in its favour, sometimes grit and determination ain't going to be enough and that's where fitness comes into it.

[Zilverhaze 1,627]

What's a keep mate ?

[marshman 7,758]

ive noticed a lot of lads when starting out have their dogs overweight . Yer they might get walked a lot but each day but they're being over feed, you only have to watch them slobbering after ten minutes of hunting on top to know they're to fat.

I like to see any animal in good fit condition it's a pleasure to see a dog busting with health. An animal thats wiry and sinew and shinning rather than fat . I'm always handling them and know whether they're to fat or thin . I always remember watch my father conditioning and him saying " you can't make a bad un good,but it can make a good un better ! Just something that's stuck with me .

[Keepbordersworking 103]

There isn't a boxing/karate trainer in the world that would ask his/her protege or seasoned fighter to enter a tournament without them being fit so to say the terrier will get fitter as the season goes on is simply a load of pish I think more of the dogs I keep than that just up there exercise the nearer the season draws in how hard is that.

[THE GENERAL 1,982]

There isn't a boxing/karate trainer in the world that would ask his/her protege or seasoned fighter to enter a tournament without them being fit so to say the terrier will get fitter as the season goes on is simply a load of pish I think more of the dogs I keep than that just up there exercise the nearer the season draws in how hard is that.

let's be honest here mate. It's not as if they have been smoking 60 fags a day and on the drink for weeks so they're in a bad state of non fitness! Lol. Any man worth his salt will have his dogs in good order all year around maybe a bit heavier in the summer but that extra bit of exercise and correct feeding they should be ready to rock. It's not really rocket science, people are making a mountain out of nothing.

[Zilverhaze 1,627]

Easy done for most people genral goes with out saying but Thers plenty of dogs out ther what don't see the outside of a kennle block till hunting season then they spew jack jib and the dog is to blame when the problem really Lies with the owner for entering them with zero fitness I bought a dog in once and tried it on the first week of owning it it walked after A hour due to pure lack of fitness it was f****d after a few more weeks of walks bike and good food it was flying never walked again until we parted and was the most determind dog I've ever had the pleasure of digging to

[Bryan 1,362]

Most guys have the very highest standards of what they expect from their dogs. They'd cull them for any minor deviation from their super high standards of work.

 

But the are very slack of the standards they put on themselves and what they bring to the table. Cheapest food, skimp of worming etc. see no need to walk a dog "ah work keeps them fit" etc. etc.

 

I rarely see terriers where I'm impressed by their condition. Where I think, wow that dog could not be in better condition, or it's weight is bang on.

 

At tracks greyhound weights are posted, and a 70lbs dog can go from a sure thing to no hope with a pounds weight on or off it's back. Yet the weight of an 16-18 pound dog way over or under seems to never concern some guys with terriers.

 

But cull? Oh they'll tell you what high standards they have.

[fireman 10,934]

I take my earth working terriers bushing rabbits and ratting a few times a week to get them fit for the proper terrier work . ....

[unlacedgecko 1,466]

Most guys have the very highest standards of what they expect from their dogs. They'd cull them for any minor deviation from their super high standards of work.

 

But the are very slack of the standards they put on themselves and what they bring to the table. Cheapest food, skimp of worming etc. see no need to walk a dog "ah work keeps them fit" etc. etc.

 

I rarely see terriers where I'm impressed by their condition. Where I think, wow that dog could not be in better condition, or it's weight is bang on.

 

At tracks greyhound weights are posted, and a 70lbs dog can go from a sure thing to no hope with a pounds weight on or off it's back. Yet the weight of an 16-18 pound dog way over or under seems to never concern some guys with terriers.

 

But cull? Oh they'll tell you what high standards they have.

You talk a lot of sense. I used to walk twice a day and twice a week use the flirt pole. 3 x sessions each time. Start at 30 secs and then build from there.