Agility competitors (both dogs and humans) have to be in great shape to perform well.
But let’s face it, the dog is the high performance athlete in this case.
If you and your pooch are competing in dog agility you know that every second counts.
Just like in high performance human athletes there is a difference between being injured and being hurt.
Being injured usually requires time off to heal, recoup and rehab back to shape.
Being hurt usually means, playing through discomfort, but not being able to perform at optimum capacity.
The same is true in your performance agility dog. It’s obvious when they get injured. They may go lame, or pull up and stop at obstacles. However, when they are hurting signs may be less obvious.
The most common objective measure that a dog may be hurting is that their performance is slipping for no apparent reason. You are training hard, they are responding to you well but yet the time isn’t up to where it should be.
This is a good time to have your agility dog check by an animal chiropractor.
When joints in the spine or extremities are not functioning optimally, your pet’s performance is not going to be optimal either.
Time and time again I see agility dog’s that respond really well to getting a chiropractic check up and adjustment.
Think of it like a tune up analogous for a high performance sports car.
After all you would never miss an oil change with your sports car would you?