Training, recovery, and good nutrition are key to success on the agility course
Meet the three Belgian Shepherds Booboo, Rolex, and Lumi, and their owner Kerstin. They live on a farm in a village outside Luleå. Kerstin is a horse girl who switched to dogs, and after trying agility with her dogs she was hooked straight away. Seeing how much the dogs loved the sport, she quickly became addicted, and for the past four years they have been training and competing regularly. In April they travelled to Romania to take part in the World Championships in agility for Belgian Shepherds. In a month’s time it will be the Swedish Championships. Between competitions, they train hard on the agility course at home on the farm. Kerstin is also an instructor and organises large competitions together with friends.
In addition to agility, they also do dryland mushing – with a bicycle, skis, and on foot. Her partner also does tracking. They are active dogs, which places high demands on recovery and good nutrition. Kerstin has always had a strong interest in health and wellbeing for dogs.
“Diet is an important part of succeeding on the agility course. But so is the training between competitions. They do a lot of swimming and strength training to keep them going in the long term and to stay in good health. When it comes to food, they eat Mush Vaisto Blue.”
Mush and Raw for Paw are both owned by Snellman Petfood. What both brands have in common is that they are made from natural ingredients and are completely free from unnecessary additives. For Kerstin, it is incredibly important to feel confident about what she gives her dogs and to know the ingredients are of good quality.
When Raw for Paw launched its range of supplements, she quickly took notice of several of the products.
“All three get Digestive Guard. Booboo, who is the oldest, also gets the supplements MSM, Mobility Guard, and Green-lipped Mussel to help with his joints. Rolex, the middle dog, also gets these occasionally. But the digestive supplement is given to all three continuously.”
Kerstin noticed an effect from the supplements straight away.
“Booboo has a bowel condition that makes it difficult for his body to absorb vitamins, but Digestive Guard helps to settle his digestion.”
It proved especially valuable during their recent trip to Romania for the World Championships.
“It is easily done – they might pick up something they shouldn’t, or we didn’t always have access to bottled water. Digestive Guard helped keep their digestion happy. And the dogs have no trouble taking the supplements at all. I mix it into their food and they are good eaters, so it goes down without them noticing any difference.”
The dogs are fed morning and evening, with a snack and treats in between. When it comes to treats, they stick to Mush Vainu and Raw for Paw’s treats. Both consist of dried snacks made from 100% natural ingredients.
“The freeze-dried dog treats from Raw for Paw are a perfect size for the dogs’ treat dispenser. They are also low in calories, which means the dogs don’t put on weight. A fair amount of treats go into training, so it feels important that the ingredients are good. They are always in the bag.”
We wish Kerstin, Booboo, Rolex, and Lumi the very best of luck in their upcoming competitions. If you’d like to follow them, both at home on the farm and out on their adventures, you can find them on Instagram at @trebelgare
