Hopefully someone can help me, my friend who shows my dogs for me said I need to muscle him up and condition him a bit more. Now here's where I get confused, more work = more food = more muscle but what sort of foods (i've even considered going back to kibble to make it easier) do I just add more lean muscle meat to pack on lean muscle? is this how it works? or does all parts of their diet have to increase? My boy has a habit of getting fat easily but their work is increasing so hoping this won't be a problem. At the moment it's long walks interspersed with some slow jogging and intermittent running once a day approx 5-6kms at the moment plus swimming once a week. At the moment the diet is mainly chicken carcasses, kennel mince, kangaroo mince, pre packaged BARF once or twice a week, kangaroo tails, livers and kidneys when I get them (looking for tripe at the moment), lean beef mince and various fruits and vegies occasionally, lamb and pork offcuts, plus just the natural treats and sausages etc I use for training treats the diet varies daily depending on what's happening. Hope that's enough information.

 Quote: brad higgs

(i've even considered going back to kibble to make it easier)

Hmmmm... I have found the more junk food I eat, the more often I drive through McDonalds, I get fatter. Not more muscular.

I am not a nutritionist Brad, but my understanding is that exercise builds muscle - not JUST eating a specific type of food. Building muscle needs more protein however, so you would be looking at increasing the amount of protein in his diet.
Egg whites, low fat yogurt and chicken are all sources of protein, but I'd check with the "raw experts" on how many egg whites might be too many for a dog. He is only going to get fat if you increase calories without compensating with the appropriate amount of exercise.

If you could include more swimming in his routine, that would be great! No stress on joints, etc... Walking up slight inclines would be good too, playing tug, etc...

I'd recommend beginning a journal and going about this methodically - gradually increasing the amounts of time and distances in all areas.

Hope this helps a bit.

Yup^^

Athletes condition through exercise. Swimming sounds like a realy good plan. Also remember that dogs use fat like humans use carbs. So I'd up their fat intake bit by bit as you up the protien and exercise amounts.

For bulk, you need more calorie input combined with muscle building plus
rest. Bursts of exercise build more muscle than jogging. How about weight pulling? Think of human athletes and how they look. I think you want the 100 yard dash physique, not the marathon runner look.

I find that resistance builds muscle faster than anything else. Swimming, springpole, walks with weights, etc over cardio type exercises like walks, jogs, etc.

I have one dog who I have to spend a few days hydrating heavily to get her to look/feel show shape so it's a thought to make sure you're adding water to your dogs food even if it's raw if you're conditioning for the ring.

How old is the dog?

I really like swimming my dog, this year she is going to swim a lot more than last (she was only a pup last)

Also, like Betty said. Exercise in bursts. Jogging helps build indurance and some muscle, but the good muscle comes from a real "workout".

I've done retrieving uphill and downhill (dogs over 2 only) as well as retrieving downhill, into water for a swimming retrieve. then back up the hill to bring it to me. Adding a backpack to your jogs will definitely help. Start the weight small and build up.

Also if you have a creek with a light current where you can touch the ground, but your dog can't you can use this to add a little resistance to the swimming. Make sure you have your dog on a long line though and stand out with them as they paddle against the current. Do not leave them there alone. You stand with them, and when you are done bring them in with you.

Weight pulling with the correct equipment is a great one.

I let my dogs dig in a sandy place (like the beach or a river bed) and actually encourage them to dig more to build up shoulders.

Cavalettis work wonders too. These are super small jumps that cause the dog to lift the legs a little higher and thrust a little more than the actual walk or trot.

I use a tread mill as a supplement to my dogs exercise routine, and a nicely paced walk at a good angle works wonders in muscle development... Work up to it.

And like others have said, swimming, tug, spring pole, and uphill sprints are all things we do too...

Thanks everyone, he's only 12 months so trying not to overdo it with too much weight bearing exercise or even over running him. Thanks Jessica for the caveletti tip i've been considering that too improvement his movement didn't know it helps muscle development.

Cavalettis DO build muscle, coordination and body awareness.

They work the back and rear legs both. The back is worked by using the muscles in a different way to support the body and in rounding the spine in preparation of the jumps. The legs, and specifically the rear legs, must use more thrust to lift over the little jumps and add some spring to the gait. By lengthening the space between each one, it also guides the dog to stretch out the movement at a trot and lengthen his own stride.

They can really be a work out, so introduce them slowly and keep them very low at first. Two or three at a time is a good start, but I worked up to eight at a time. Three to six inches as a final height is good for my size dogs(and looks like yours too). You don't want them to feel the need to JUPM the cavalettis, but to lift the feet higher.

Thanks Jessica, will be getting into them this weekend! Now I'm more awake he does do alot of fetch and tug games plus running around playing with the other two but never really though of that as muscle/fitness work! And thanks again everyone for the advice great idea thanks Barbara the journal will help measure his progress, I almost got sucked in by the kibble advertising just a moment of weakness I guess, just got worried I might miss something in their diet if i keep working them harder but they've been on RAW now for about 5-6 months and never looked healthier!