View Full Version : In need of some advice.
Hi all, just wanted to ask you guys for some advice. This is my first time in conditioning a dog, and furthermore its an amstaff since my country has a countrywide ban on pitbulls. So his genes won't work for him already.
He's now 17 months, I'm not working him too hard, but he can take a lot. He's a tough dog with a bulletproof character and I'm very satisfied with him.
he's now 57 lbs and 20 inches. I feed 580 grams raw food, first I gave 600 grams, but he kept some fat/moist on his muscles.
I take him on the bike almost every other day, the rest is handwalking/tug o war.
Some pics:
http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/files/7/7/5/5/Muurtje2.jpg
http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/files/7/7/5/5/Muurtje1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/ellaversa/Andyzijkant2.jpg
http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/files/7/7/5/5/Aanval.jpg
Does anyone have some advice or tips? I've got a show scheduled for the 17th of june...
Attila
05-15-2007, 08:14 AM
take him swimming a few times a week. up the distance of your walks.
koening
05-15-2007, 09:32 AM
IMO he looks great, maybe he needs some finishing touches, so i second attila on that :)
Thanks for the advice. I'm trying to find a place where I can let him swim. I still have some weeks, hope he gets really nicely toned.
14rock
05-16-2007, 04:25 PM
He looks well-excersised, and well-defined you can obviously tell he either has the genetics, or you've been working quite a bit. It's hard to tell how large he is, but assuming he's a 50 lb. dog in those pics, he's got about 5 lbs. of fat to loose to really lower the BF % and increase mobility, healthy, and endurance firstly, but more of what your aiming for I'd guess.....trophies.
ETA- I just seen he is 57 lbs. in those pictures, work him down to 53 (work, not feed!) and post some pictures. I'm assuming he will still have a few pounds to go, but I don't want you to do it so gradually if your not comfortable with it. Only take him as light as you are comfortable doing, there is little point in you bringing him down to peak show condition if your unsure of what your doing.
I tend to like my dogs about 1.5 lbs. heavier, than alot of folks condition down to. I'd rather KNOW I have strength and reserves to bring him back, than bring in a fraile dog who might not be 100%, and recover fully. Better to be safe, than sorry. But, he does have quite a ways to go in cutting internal fat out, and tucking the stomach to be really competitive. Good luck, keep us updated!
Thanks 14Rock, I hate (repeat HATE) fat dogs, waggling, not able to scratch their butts and almost getting a heart attack when they have to walk longer than 15 minutes.
I want to start working him in june at a german club so he's got to have good endurance and mobility. and before summer I'd like to have the bodyfat cut down. He still has a chubby layer. I work him "hard", not as hard as I think you are used to, but I think he's still too young to take everything. That's a gradual process.
I take him on the bike every other day for approximately 45 minutes, sometimes I have him pulling me, since weightpulling is another thing we have a countrywide ban on :mad:, we walk a lot and when playing tug-o-war we play at least 20 minutes with walks before and after.
The longer I work on my "programme" the better he feels! That's more rewarding than anything. Besides that, we have a working dog show only once a year, I'd like to have him looking great then, prooving not only 1935 standard staffbulls can be athletic, but that's not as important as having a healthy dog.
Well, just a little update.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/ellaversa/Zijkant-staffordtimes.jpg
I got his weight and fat a little down, but he's also grown a little. Hard to measure exact weights from a growing dog. I think he looks better now, compared to the other stacked pic. His muscles have become harder and his stamina is also growing, just like his confidence.
Swimming is something that won't work. He just won't swim. I bet he's afraid his sugarfrosting will come of or something. He also got a thorn in his paw so he had to rest for a few days, but I'm satisfied with the result.
14rock
06-02-2007, 01:40 PM
Looks good :)
Have any other pictures? Looks like a completely diffrent dog ;)
I've got some other pics.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/ellaversa/Henkiespiertjes.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/ellaversa/Front2.jpg
They are not that great, Andy wasn't in a "picture-mood" and after making those pics my brand new Canon Rebel camera broke down :( I hope it's fixed in 3 weeks, otherwise I'll make some crappy pics to keep you updated :)
Almost showtime. I increased his walks and his time with the tug-o-war/flirtpole stick.
http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/files/7/7/5/5/Andybezig.jpg
http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/files/7/7/5/5/P1010104.JPG
Well, today was showtime and Andy got a second place! I'm very satisfied, because he was the only dog in his class who went through for best conditioned dog of the day!
screamin'eagle
06-17-2007, 01:23 PM
Congrats...he looks great.
14rock
06-17-2007, 01:52 PM
Congratulations, hard work does pay off ;)!
Cool - great job with him!
CHATNJACK
06-17-2007, 08:45 PM
Congratulations Ella !
Well, a little update. He's coming along really nicely and his "basic" condition is there and maintained from june.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/ellaversa/Boom1.jpg
(photobucket pic because upload won't work with me today..) I think he looks nice for an amstaff and not even in showcondition! As soon as I can place my order at Stillwaterkennels he'll be introduced to some drag weights and I found a nice place with much sand to walk on. We still do lots of bikerides and long walks and he is eating a lot. Can't really get him to swim however... If anyone has some new tips or a little help for some finishing touches I'd appreciate it.
Oh and before I forget; How do I get some nice back muscles on him? His back is developing nicely, but some more muscle on his back wouldn't hurt him.
14rock
09-14-2007, 05:27 PM
His build looks very much like an Amstaff. To get that kind of condition out of him, is great.
His rear looks good. You don't want it overly bulky, and I wouldn't worry about adding any more muscle, but defining what is there. That will come when you get closer to show date. If you want to work on it now, resistance excersises. Running in sand, uphill, or dragging weights on a harness will do wonders ;)
His build looks very much like an Amstaff. To get that kind of condition out of him, is great.
His rear looks good. You don't want it overly bulky, and I wouldn't worry about adding any more muscle, but defining what is there. That will come when you get closer to show date. If you want to work on it now, resistance excersises. Running in sand, uphill, or dragging weights on a harness will do wonders ;)
Thank you! :)Thanks for the tips, I'll have to get a working harness by stillwater kennels and we have enough hills over here :D. No shows anymore this year, but I really like working with my dog!
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