i just started a very gradual conditioning program for my 2 yr old female gsd with the goal of getting the A.D. this coming spring. for those who have experience having trained for this, are there any foods you added specifically for the training? for example, did you feed more meat or more bones or less? or just the same diet but more because of the increased demand from the training?

Waht kind of diet is he on now?

Hi Scott

I added olive oil and hamburger meat, and also K9Power Peak Performance to help my dog build muscle. Several articles have shown that dogs can use additional fat in their diet as an energy source rather like carbohydrate loading in humans.

I don't know if you already have this, but this is a good article on physical conditioning for the AD http://siriusdog.com/ad.htm

Hi,
I have never trained for the AD, however when I work my dog to get ready for PSD trials, this is how I like to pre-condition.

I have an old car tire - minus the rim. Drill a hole in the center of the tread area, put an I-bolt with washers on both sides.

I warm my dog up by doing 10-15 minutes of obedience then with a padded chest harness and about 20 ft of nylon leash, I hook the dog up to the tire. Now he has some added weight to pull around, during drills - builds up chest, leg muscles and endurance. I figured if it work for me, in my OLD football days - why not for a dog.

I add an extra cup of food along with a can of tuna to their regular meal.

It has worked for me, for my purpose.

Good Luck
Mark

Tina, I think you need to go back a few steps.
Alot of dogs get wierded out at dragging stuff - you sometimes have better luck getting the dog to move ahead with you hooked as the resistance behind. While you are right to rap him for any aggressive moves, it sounds like a lot of this is coming from him being confused about what you are asking. get a belt and a long line and make sure he is wearing a good fitting harness (X-back) and a bellyband. What gets most dogs is the jolt at the end when the line slack is taken up and he takes the weight - to the dog it feels like a leash correction. Alot of dogs that have obedience training are used to NOT pulling as pulling brings on a correction, so they have to learn when it is appropriate to pull. Try using a line that has a bit of stretch in it - it is easy to make a line with a bungee in it. This allows the dog to pull without a sudden jolt. Make sure also you are having him work on a well defined path - he has to be able to see where you want him to go. Work him from behind - he is used to the idea that when you are beside him he is supposed to be heeling(not pulling). Don't try to make him move forward until he is ok with standing in harness, with your line clipped to the back with no tension on it. I would dispense with the prong for now - he is getting corrections for something he doesn't know yet.
Once he is standing - coil up your rope until there is couple of feet from the dog - give whatever command you are going to use and bring the rope up and forward this will bring the bellyband up against his underside and gives him a signal to move ahead. When he goes ahead put a little tension on the line and move forward with him. It can be pretty stop and start at this point but just keep starting from the beginning - if he drops back push him ahead a little, walk into him etc so he learns he has to go ahead of you. Once he is moving ahead well with tension on the line every time you give him the command to move ahead you can let out a little more rope.
Some dogs can take a little while to catch on, so just be patient. Every dog is a little different - I had one that would pizza herself on the ground and not get up as soon as she felt a little tug on the back of her harness. I took another keen dog that had a good recall and sent him up the trail running, "Pizza" decided chasing looked like fun and took off after him with me attached to the bungee line behind her - after that she wasn't afraid of the harness or the pull and that's all that it took to get her going. Just be creative, stay positive and use what works for your dog. You might want to check out the book "Training Lead Dogs" by Lee Fishback it is a good way to start and is well explained and broken down into steps. http://www.blackicedogsledding.com has it as do other outfitters, it isn't expensive.
hope this is of some help

Thank you Lynn. You are right, I did move too fast. Thank you for the great explination of how to teach him to pull.

Tina,
First, I let the dog wear the harness while doing a mulitude of fun things, secondly, I'm lucky my dog has a lot of prey drive and he loves to track. So pulling the tire around behind him is easier than pulling my lard butt behind him on a track.

But I take small steps in the process of getting to the final. Break it down, make the dog comfortable which each phase, then put them together.

I have been lucky, my retired GSD and my young current GSD, neither has had a problem pulling the tire around.

The harder the workout - extra protein with their meal is given.

Good Luck