Conditioning

[paul23]

I want to start conditioning my staff hes 14 months old is this an ok age to start? and whats the best way to go about it? I feed him a good food and have a spring pole and flirtpole.
Any help what be appreciated.

[paul23]

I meant any help would be appreciated, wheres the edit button lol.

[jacko]

;)you obviously think he is up for conditioning. we all have our reasons, got any pics ??;)

[paul23]

24082

This was taken a few weeks ago now

[bgblok68]

What are you calling good food and have you researched on properly using the spring and flirtpole? Whats the reason for conditioning? Just asking. He loooks good.

[paul23]

Burns which is full of natural ingredients, ive done my research on the spring pole and flirt pole. Hes had the spring pole for a while now but not seein much difference if any on the muscle. First reason being i want him bein fit healthy not fat and i love the look of a good conditioned dog and second hopefully get him to some events.

[mikej]

good looking dog paul 23.
just out off interest, what are you paying for the burns.
i am paying over 50 euros here.
atb,mike.

[paul23]

good looking dog paul 23.
just out off interest, what are you paying for the burns.
i am paying over 50 euros here.
atb,mike.

Cheers very much.
I payed £42 or £43 free next day delivery

[mikej]

not much in the differance then in price.
no delivery on that, pick up only.
what hight and weight does your dog make,
if you dont mind me asking.
atb,mike.

[paul23]

He's around 19" i think I'll remeasure when i find my tape and 43lbs.

[mikej]

nice dog.
i like the leggy, athletic type myelf, but very hard to come by.
atb with him. hope he does you proud.
atb, mike.

[NGK]

Their is no big secret to conditioning although many will tell you otherwise, find activities such as fetching and swimming that your dog enjoys and start slow and build up the time the dog works. Rest the dog when its tired and work the dog when its rested. Maintain a feed schedule and make sure the dog is empty of food and water before working it, increase or decrease the food based on what the dog shows you it needs to gain, lose or maintain a healthy weight. This is a loose conditioning program and will benifit the dogs health, once you see consistancy in the work and the dog has increased its endurance you can begin to add time to the work but always evaluate your dogs recovery time as this is how you will guage the effectivness of the workload. Never ever overwork your dog as to little work is far better than to much and your dog will rely on you to evaluate the workload. This is not a competition keep, it is simply a healthy maintainance program for active pets.

NGK

[mikej]

hi ngk.
great post.
i see you said that was not competition keep,
would you mind telling what is competition keep.
as i have a young dog that i want to enter into some events,
and i want to do the best for him.
atb, mike.

[NGK]

hi ngk.
great post.
i see you said that was not competition keep,
would you mind telling what is competition keep.
as i have a young dog that i want to enter into some events,
and i want to do the best for him.
atb, mike.

Alot goes into a competition keep and it will vary for each individual dog based on their strengths and weaknesses. The first thing would be to have your dog checked by a vet and screened for any genetic or medical conditions that might effect his performance, at this time also worm the dog and obtain a clean stool sample for evaluation, all this can be costly but dont try to save a few nickels and lose a good dog due to ignorance... After you have a clean bill of health from your vet you can proceed with obtaining your dogs true weight. You will know your dogs true weight when your dog reaches its lowest weight without losing strength or endurance, physical appearance means little to nothing when obtaining a true weight.

There are a million and one ways to feed a dog while conditioning and each feed program has their plus and minus, every dogs feed will vary slightly as every dog metabolizes their food differently. Also, every conditioner has a secret formula that they tend to base their feed program around, some like to buy expensive suppliments, others feed more natural, I tend to lean towards the latter.

When it comes to work the object is to increase the workload while speeding up the rate of recovery. If you increase the work and the length of recovery also increases you need to back off the work until the dog begins to recover faster, if you can do this consistantly and decrease the recovery time over a period of say 1 week then you are in a position to add a couple of minutes of work. Not all dogs can handle heavy workloads and it is at this time that you are going to make the decision on whether or not the dog is a competition animal or just an average dog.

Their are a few things you need to watch for that will tell you when your dog has had enough work before the recovery period, ie. spooning tongue, rapid panting etc... when you see the dog fatiguing you stop the work activity and and walk the dog out on a long lead until breathing is back to normal. I use a long lead so that the dog is not pulling or straining against my weight. Once the dog has fully recovered from the first session of work you can start the second session and continue to evaluate the dogs ability to continue with the set work load.

Start slow, increase work in small amounts, evaluate recovery and increase or decrease feed to maintain a healthy weight (a few lbs higher than true weight) slowly working the dog down to its true weight while peaking strength and endurance (preferably on the day of competition). Do not allow the dog to drink water until the work is 100% complete and the dog is 100% recovered and never assist your dog by using water or wet towels to help the recovery process. At the end of the workout rub your dog down for 10-15 minutes and feed the dog 1/2 hour to 1 hour after work.

Again this is a completely variable work program and all ive laid out is guidlines to follow to ensure that you are not hurting your dog while conditioning. Every dog is different and will respond to work differently, stay consistant and honest to your dog to avoid damaging your dog with overwork.

Now take the dog back to the vet, get another full screening and check up and start all over as the above was just a mock keep for you to evaluate your animal, hope this helps.

NGK

[paul23]

nice dog.
i like the leggy, athletic type myelf, but very hard to come by.
atb with him. hope he does you proud.
atb, mike.

Thanks :-)
I too love the leggy athletic type. Hes my pride and joy. Ill keep u updated on his progress. What dog u got and How old and Any pics?

[paul23]

Their is no big secret to conditioning although many will tell you otherwise, find activities such as fetching and swimming that your dog enjoys and start slow and build up the time the dog works. Rest the dog when its tired and work the dog when its rested. Maintain a feed schedule and make sure the dog is empty of food and water before working it, increase or decrease the food based on what the dog shows you it needs to gain, lose or maintain a healthy weight. This is a loose conditioning program and will benifit the dogs health, once you see consistancy in the work and the dog has increased its endurance you can begin to add time to the work but always evaluate your dogs recovery time as this is how you will guage the effectivness of the workload. Never ever overwork your dog as to little work is far better than to much and your dog will rely on you to evaluate the workload. This is not a competition keep, it is simply a healthy maintainance program for active pets.

NGK

Thats brilliant cheers for that. Would u say hes ok at 14 months to start? Also on the food side, hes got a good waist but the muscle tone side is not really gettin anywhere should i increase his food?

[mikej]

i have a 5 month old staffie at the moment.
i am not doing anything at the moment with him,
because he too young yet.
he is a ball of fun and energy.
i will try and get some pics up when i figure out how too.
atb,mike.

[mikej]

thanks very much for that ngk.
my pup is only 5 mounths so he is to young for all that yet,
but it is good to have a plan laid out for the future.
he gets plenty of fun exercise as it is now.
little and often.
atb,mike.

[Bully_UK]

Hi,
I also love keeping my dogs as fit as i can and they love it.
i thinj varation is the key,springpole/flirtpole,swimming,sprinting,different terrains etc.
Ive just started my lot in a regime again after a slow down in winter.
Road walking is brilliant for helping with muscle tone,it is for mine anyway.
Weightpull is another thing im doing,just remember..REST IS AS IMPORTANT for your dog and give him a good rubdown after activities too,wind him down too befor ending.
i try my best to give my 3 a varied exercise regime,which they and i love and they are a happy,content pack.
Heres my 4yr old male Stafford Archie a couple wks ago,not there yet at all but the journey is great for both dogs and myself.
Brilliant advice and info in above posts,im just a girl and her 3Bulldogs in the UK..lol.x
Archie.






















Tracie.x

[Bully_UK]

Sorry forget to say its also down to GENETICS as to how your dog will eventually look,some dogs though in excellent shape dont have muscle definition like others.

[PitNoob]

He's around 19" i think I'll remeasure when i find my tape and 43lbs.

if you don't mind me asking, how is he bred? I like the taller, athletic staffs myself. Unfortunately most staffs are now 15inches and 40 lbs. with an overly exaggerated head.

[NGK]

Thats brilliant cheers for that. Would u say hes ok at 14 months to start? Also on the food side, hes got a good waist but the muscle tone side is not really gettin anywhere should i increase his food?

You can start a dog working at that age but make sure your not trying to build muscle (resistance training) or you could hurt the dogs joints. Adjust the feed to maintain a healthy weight with some fat covering the ribs and no spine or hip bones showing. Don't push the pup or expect him/her to look like a well muscled adult dog as they are still in the filling out stage with less bone density. Be patient and hopefully with some work at a younger age you will have an adult dog that really takes to a larger workload and is easy to condition.

NGK

[paul23]

if you don't mind me asking, how is he bred? I like the taller, athletic staffs myself. Unfortunately most staffs are now 15inches and 40 lbs. with an overly exaggerated head.

Unfortunately i dont know any background further than his parents. His dad was tall and his mum was short , sorry.

[paul23]

You can start a dog working at that age but make sure your not trying to build muscle (resistance training) or you could hurt the dogs joints. Adjust the feed to maintain a healthy weight with some fat covering the ribs and no spine or hip bones showing. Don't push the pup or expect him/her to look like a well muscled adult dog as they are still in the filling out stage with less bone density. Be patient and hopefully with some work at a younger age you will have an adult dog that really takes to a larger workload and is easy to condition.

NGK

Ok thanks for the advice.

[Bully_UK]

My Stafford bitch Kia,17.5inc tts,and 25g approx.
Same regime as Archie and my Ambull bitch,rock hard to the touch and nice long mucles,just not as easy to see as some.