Agility dogs are ideally lean, mean jumping machines, but a lot of times people get into the sport with an overweight dog to help them lose weight. Overweight dogs need to be especially careful in agility, since the extra pounds can cause extra stress on joints. While agility IS great exercise and great fun, think of it as a sport- you don’t just ‘start jogging’. You start out walking, jogging, walking, jogging, and so on, until you can jog those ten miles easily! Do the same for your dog. Do regular exercise in addition to his agility training so his agility will benefit. Take the agility a little slow to start, too. A conditioning ladder or set of cavallettis are great for conditioning and getting your dog moving! Maybe walk your dog for a bit, play a game of tug, do some agility, walk to cool down, and then belly rub as a reward for doing SO WELL! Just try to motivate all the exercising and training without (or with fewer) treats for a bit, hey?
Speaking on this subject… What do you all think about doggie treadmills? Affordable Agility is looking into carrying them. Would you buy one? Do you like the idea or no? We would love to get your opinion! Click on comments (or see down below) and share your two cents!
November 30th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I’d think about buying a doggy treadmill. My corgi has lots of energy and it would come in handy when the weather is bad and it’s hard to get out and do training or just chase a ball to burn off his energy.
Or even better, maybe I should get one that big enough for both of us to walk on, I could use the exercise, too!
Terry Blain
December 5th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Hi Terry,
These are customized for dogs only, with gates on the side, a specialized belt that is made for a dog’s place and paws, and longer length to accomodate their strides. We hope to have them available after the holiday, perfect for the after-holiday recovery period 
This week we had a team meeting, and the decision was unanimous, we are getting some doggie treadmills
December 7th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
will the doggie treadmills come with training tips to get your dog using it? i’ve tried to get my terv on a regular treadmill and he freaks out every time.
December 7th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
They sure will!