Physical activity and sport-specific training patterns in Swedish sporting and working trial dogs-A questionnaire survey.

Objective: To explore physical activity patterns, including conditioning exercise and sport-specific training, and management routines utilized by handlers of Swedish sporting and working dogs participating in agility, obedience, rally obedience and working trial disciplines. Procedures: Dog handlers provided information on competition-level dogs through an internet-based cross-sectional and descriptive survey on physical activity, sport-specific training and management. Results are reported overall and stratified by participation in specific disciplines. Results: We received 1615 replies to the questionnaire. After data cleaning, 1582 dogs (98%) remained for the analysis. Of these, 430 participated in agility, 790 in obedience, 596 in rally obedience, and 847 dogs had competed in a working trial, i.e., messenger, protection, search or tracking. Number of disciplines performed by each dog varied between one and five. Most common was participation in one ( Conclusion and clinical relevance: We observe physical activity at moderate to high durations and moderate to vigorous intensities among Swedish sporting and working trial dogs. Most dogs received physical conditioning exercise, but not all dogs were warmed up before training and competition. Our study provides veterinary professionals and dog trainers with valuable insights on the physical exposures and management routines of sporting and working trial dogs.