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by jrs1984 on 26 August 2010 - 16:08
by jc.carroll on 26 August 2010 - 17:08
The GSD is not a bulky breed by nature. 83lbs is an appreciable weight for the average young male. Assuming he's active and physically fit -- neither too skinny, nor too fat -- he should have decent muscle tone at that weight and age. Also figure that he won't finish filling out till sometime between his 2nd and 3rd years, depending on lineage.
That being said, if you're looking for show muscle, some of the best excercizes are trot-work that build up the latteral muscles in the back, thus concealing the dreaded "dip" where the vertebrae change from forward to backward angle. The dip is created over a triangular shaped backbone that marks the area where the front angle ends, and the rear angle begins.
If you're looking for bulk, it's directly related to quality of food, excercize, and, of course, genetics. Some dogs, just like some people, are "hard-gainers."
I find articles for strength conditioning pitbulls for sports like Weight Pulling are very good resources. This is a good article, and the advice is sound. http://www.pitbulllovers.com/health-articles/pit-bull-conditioning.html
Five things you must keep in mind are:
1) Don't start him too young. 18 months is the earliest. You won't hurt him by waiting till his 2nd birthday.
2) Stamina is crucial to any workout. It has to be developed first.
3) Build up gradually!
4) If he seems in any sort of discomfort, stop the program.
5) Dog body-builder suppliments are NEVER recommended.
by Koach on 26 August 2010 - 17:08
- has to be free of parasites, etc.,
- be on a good high protein diet like Orijen or Acana,
- dog needs to sleep well and fully recover.
Best muscle building exercises for dogs are:
- weight pulling; if using a wheeled device then pulling has to be uphill and I don’t really recommend that as if the dog fails the wheeled device could pull him backwards. The best is on the flats using a sleigh, Start with a lightweight such as a concrete block. Have the dog pull for 45 seconds and then rest for 3-4 minutes. Muscle tension should be of 45 to 60 seconds, Eventually, over time build up to 10 repeats for 3 times a week. Once he has reached 3 times a week for 10 reps then slowly increase the weight.
- Sprinting; get a ball thrower and use rubber balls that fit the thrower. Do not use the tennis balls that come with the thrower, as they will wear down the dog’s teeth. Vary between land retrieves and water retrieves.
Long runs won’t put on much muscle. It’s the fast/power and slow/strength work that’s best.
If your dog has prey drive then a tug tied high to a post with a bicycle tire tube will give him a good workout.
Koach
www.geraldguay.ca
by ronin on 26 August 2010 - 21:08
Also in terms of the good advice above, don't forget good old walking. We have the Guide Dogs for the Blind training near us, those labs and GSDs only ever walk and they are build like brick sh*t houses. Also in terms of developing make sure the exercising has variety e.g. Monday running for the ball/tug games (sprint type training), Tuesday swimming(low impact cardio muscle conditioning), Wednesday a good walk. Variety like with humans allows for active recovery of the nervous system and muscles/tendons, reducing injury allowing the body to repair and build. He could still fill out in the next year easily.
Good Luck
by KYLE on 26 August 2010 - 21:08
Your dog is young and still growing (even at 83 lbs.),lol. I used to feed canidae but stopped about 3 years ago. I stopped because of the reasons you mentioned, dry ski, excess dander, not keeping weight on. I was once told that if you want to feed your dog quality food, don't feed dry dog food. I personally supplement their kibble with raw restraunt grade chicken. If you do the math raw chicken is often cheaper than kibble. Search the website for food topics, there are millions of threads.
Someone mentioned feeding twice daily, this is very good advice. Many useful nutrients are "wasted' when fed large quantities at a single feeding. You'll be amazed at the benefits and gains from just spitting that one feeding into two.
If you do not have access to a watering hole or pool, how about a hill. playing 2 ball going up and down a good incline is a great work out. Going up the hill works the hindquarters, going down is all chest and shoulders.
If your dog does not have its "a" stamp yet, I would not do anything too crazy until it ofa's. Good Luck.
p.s. How refreshing it is to see a topic related to training and general health. Thanks to everyone that replied. All of the advice seems valuable and informative.
Kyle
by Blkdog on 27 August 2010 - 01:08
by windwalker18 on 27 August 2010 - 03:08
If you're working him, competing in sport, then that well muscled lean build is exactly where you want him... if you are going to be in the conformation ring, or in AKC obedience then you probably will want more weight on him... it's the old thing that if your dog's fat you love them, but if they're thin then you're cruel... *sigh* Be patient... shepherds don't generally fill out to mature size/weight til they're 2-3 years old.
by blair built gsd on 27 August 2010 - 04:08
by jrs1984 on 27 August 2010 - 12:08
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