Dogs that regularly compete at agility, obedience and flyball are like human athletes. They are physically subjected to far more stresses and strains than the average pet dog. As well as a good diet aimed at working dogs, they need specific conditioning and training programmes in order to perform to their optimum ability and to prevent injuries occurring.
These are high impact sports involving speed; acceleration and braking; and twisting and turning so the likelihood of injuries is increased. Helping to prevent injury is important in order to keep the dog fit and healthy and to keep their performances consistent.
There are many common injuries associated with agility and flyball dogs – mainly soft tissue injuries affecting muscles and ligaments.
Hydrotherapy sessions can help to keep a dog fit and toned and can improve core stability (the core muscles are the muscles which are located in the core of the dog e.g. stomach, mid/lower back and are important in helping to balance the body which in turn helps to prevent injury). It can also be useful in the prevention and treatment of soft tissue injuries, enabling a dog to recover from injury far quicker and therefore return to training sooner.