{"id":3261,"date":"2019-11-11T23:39:47","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T04:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/?p=3261"},"modified":"2019-11-11T23:48:37","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T04:48:37","slug":"sports-involving-pets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Unusual Sports Involving Pets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/OVRS-Sports-shutterstock_1527597113.jpg\" alt=\"A black dog rushes at a red ball, larger in size than itself.\" class=\"wp-image-3262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/OVRS-Sports-shutterstock_1527597113.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/OVRS-Sports-shutterstock_1527597113-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Sports involving pets&#8211;that usually brings to mind hunting dogs and agility. But we are combining our love of both recreational exercise and pets in new and interesting ways. Doga, or yoga with dogs, is one form of exercise that combines them. It doesn\u2019t stop there. When you, Fido or Frisky is ready to skip the normal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/arthritic-pet\/\">exercise routine<\/a> or wants something more challenging than a game of Fetch, it may be time to try one of these five unusual sports involving pets.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5 Weird or Unusual Sports Involving Pets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Has your cat mastered the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/indoor-pet-enrichment\/\">cat tree<\/a> and ready for additional challenges? Is your dog bored with normal tricks or puzzle games? Maybe it is time to up their game with some of these wacky but fun sports for pets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Cat Agility Training<\/strong><br>If you\u2019ve ever tried to get your cat to do anything, you may be all too familiar with why there is a saying, \u201cJust like herding cats.\u201d But did you know that some felines are ready for the ultimate in fitness and go pro with cat agility competitions? Yes, that\u2019s right. Cat agility is a sport that involves cats going through several agility obstacles while led by their handlers. Cats are judged on their level of skill through each obstacle course, as well as how quickly they get through the entire program.<\/li><li><strong>Canine Nosework <\/strong><br>If your dog has an extraordinary gift of smell, canine nose work can put him to the test. These competitions use a dog\u2019s natural ability to sleuth out a variety of scents to locate several targets.\u00a0In fact, specialized schools train dogs in identifying hundreds of scents. These schools are particularly useful in helping dogs who work with law enforcement.\u00a0<\/li><li><strong>Treibball<\/strong><br>Treibball is a positive reinforcement, competitive sport that originated in Germany. The goal of treibball is to gather 8 large balls and drive them down the field to a soccer goal. A dog must drive each of these balls down into the goal within a certain amount of time. This sport turned competitive in 2008. It was originated to strengthen a dog\u2019s herding skills.<\/li><li><strong>Canicross<\/strong><br>This sport puts both dog and dog owner to the test by training them to run cross country distances. Canicross is the sport of running cross country with dogs. It originated as an exercise used to keep mushing dogs (sledding) well trained and active during the summer months. Canicross accommodates more than one dog at a time, but you can do it with a single dog.<\/li><li><strong>Dog Parkour\u00a0<\/strong> <br>This extreme sport is trendy among those who want to live on the edge &#8211; literally. You may have seen this human kamikaze-style sport, which challenges people to run and jump over hurdles, skip along walls, performing handstands and other acrobatics in rapid succession. <br>Well, now dogs are in the mix, too.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dogparkour.org\/\">Dog parkour<\/a> combines dog agility with the sport of parkour through jumping, climbing, balancing, crawling, and other exercises. For the most fit among Fidos, this extreme game can be the ultimate challenge for a fur frind.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>We hope some of these unusual sports involving pets inspire you. Your fur friend may not be ready for these extreme activities, but it may give you the motivation to try something new rather than your usual pet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/cat-doesnt-like-to-play\/\">exercise routine<\/a>. Variety is the spice of life, after all, and your four-legged friend will appreciate having some fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For questions about your pet companion\u2019s health and well-being, please do not hesitate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/contact-us\/\">to check in with your regular veterinarian.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sports involving pets&#8211;that usually brings to mind hunting dogs and agility. But we are combining our love of both recreational exercise and pets in new and interesting ways. Doga, or yoga with dogs, is one form of exercise that combines them. It doesn\u2019t stop there. When you, Fido or Frisky is ready to skip the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,28,29],"tags":[114,1167,175,435,486],"class_list":["post-3261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pet-health-wellness","category-training-behavior","category-you-your-pet","tag-cat","tag-cat-training","tag-dog","tag-pet-activities","tag-pet-exercise"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Unusual Sports Involving Pets<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Has your cat mastered the cat tree or is your dog bored with normal tricks and agility? Up their game with one of these fun, unusual sports involving pets.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Unusual Sports Involving Pets\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Has your cat mastered the cat tree or is your dog bored with normal tricks and agility? Up their game with one of these fun, unusual sports involving pets.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Oakland Veterinary Referral Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ovrservices\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-12T04:39:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-12T04:48:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/OVRS-Sports-shutterstock_1527597113.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"OVRS Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"OVRS Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"OVRS Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/624f934086950c0c4fde65d49fc64823\"},\"headline\":\"5 Unusual Sports Involving Pets\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-12T04:39:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-12T04:48:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/\"},\"wordCount\":593,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/OVRS-Sports-shutterstock_1527597113.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cat\",\"Cat Training\",\"dog\",\"pet activities\",\"Pet Exercise\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pet Health &amp; Wellness\",\"Training &amp; Behavior\",\"You &amp; Your Pet\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/\",\"name\":\"5 Unusual Sports Involving Pets\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/sports-involving-pets\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.ovrs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/OVRS-Sports-shutterstock_1527597113.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-12T04:39:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-11-12T04:48:37+00:00\",\"description\":\"Has your cat mastered the cat tree or is your dog bored with normal tricks and agility? 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