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Book Review: Canine Sports & Games

Posted on 19. Nov, 2009 by admin in Dog Activities, Dog Books, Top Stories

Canine sports perfect guide to dynamic dog adventures

STAFF REPORT
©2009 NoDogNo.com

The editor of “The Original Dog Bible,” Kristin Mehus-Roe has another valuable resource for dog people who want to have fun with their dogs while keeping them fit and active. Her well-written “Canine Sports & Games: Great Ways to Get Your Dog Fit and Have Fun Together” is a fetching overview of all the sports you can do with your dog. This book is not for the owner who’d rather watch a TV marathon with couch potato lapdog, though maybe it should be. And the fun activities are not like other books that rely upon tossing a dog toy around the living room or backyard or guessing which cup is hiding away a pingpong ball.

So why do people take on complex sports with their dogs?

“People come to dog sports for many reasons,” Mehus-Roe writes in her book. “Most are just looking for something fun to do with their dogs, but many turn to dog sports as a last resort when dealing with behavioral issues.”

That’s one of the reasons why rescue dogs or mutts found at the pound can make the best dogs for sports. The high-energy that flustered their previous owners is perfect for a high-octane game like flyball or lure coursing.

“The simple fact is that dogs who were developed to do intense work are not equipped to hang out in the house while their people work for eight hours a day, five days a week,” the author writes. “They become bored and frustrated, often causing damage to themselves or to their owners’ property. Some dogs develop separation anxiety, while others can neither relax nor focus. They roam from room to room whining and crying, looking for an outlet for their pent-up energy.”

If that sounds like any member of your pack, “Canine Sports & Games” offers the solutions to these problems without any talk of pack leader dominance training. Your marching orders will be to have fun with your dog. After all, these are just games.

Although some of these dog sports will not be unheard of by the dog lovers who will be pulled to this great read at the local bookstore shelf, it succeeds in providing detailed overviews of possible dog sports without falling into the trap of being too concise or too encyclopedic. The chapters are narrative when appropriate and flow quickly with subheads and sidebars. The publisher of this book brought together a talented writer and dog expert with top-notch design. The cover and inside illustrations distinguish this book from most others that rely upon tired photographs of the same trainer working with the same dog throughout the book. You’ll love skimming through this book again and again.

The overviews are aplenty. The book starts with chapters advising owners on the health of dogs and how to go about selecting the right sports. Then, dog people can dig in to chapters dedicated to each sport: agility, flyball, disc dog competitions, dock jumping, obedience trials, Rally-O, canine freestyle dancing and more. Dog lovers who want to express their dogs’ instincts will find guidance through herding, scent tracking, hunting tests and trials, Earthdog events, lure coursing, water rescue and Shutzhund, for serious trainers and serious guard dogs. Owners of powerful dogs, or at least dogs who think they’re powerful, will relish chapters on sledding, skijoring, dryland pulling, carting and weight pulling.

Every sport is not suitable for every dog, so the author provides advice and charts on matching your mutt to the right activities. Still, some sports remain open to most every breed at least on a non-competitive basis if the owner focuses on health and safety. The sports sound so compelling that the book should have a warning label: “Reading these pages may compell you to buy another dog.”