Hey humans – Burticus here! My mumma’s been watching Gladiator on the telly box again and this is what she sometimes calls me – heehee. In today’s blog I’m gonna tell you a little bit about some of the ways I’ve kept me & my human fit over the past few years and managed to keep my trim waist and honed bod!

Mummy first started taking me to agility training when I was about 18 months old – you have to be over 12 months old to begin because your joints need to be strong & developed – At first, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do so I just messed about a bit and enjoyed sniffing the weird shaped obstacles. Soon though with lots of help from Auntie Caz, I started to enjoy going over the see-saw and the dog walk, and really soon after that I started jumping the hurdles too! Mumma needed some remedial training as she kept waving her hands around and confusing me, but eventually she got it and I was able to understand what to do and basically get to the treat in her hand as quickly as possible to eat it! I’ve sent you a video of me to watch – I know what you’re thinking… that the video is speeded up, but no I really can run that fast, it’s a myth that bulldogs can’t run and are unfit and lazy, we just need stimulating and encouraging to build up our fitness. Like a lot of humans we will just sit on the sofa if were not encouraged to move our paws every day. The only bit I didn’t see the point of in my agility lessons was the weaving in and out of the cones – you try moving this hunk of love in and out that quickly! Auntie Caz did get me to do it a few times but because we only an hour it would have taken up the whole lesson waiting for me to do it so we decided to leave that one to the bendy slinky dogs. In 2014 I thought I would try out my new found skills so mum entered me into a local dog show and agility competition. It was great fun but I sort of did my own thing, I’ve put a video on here for you to see. I made lots of people smile that day and I think I was a big hit. I don’t think I’m quite ready for Crufts agility yet though...

Agility training really is one of the most fun ways to bond with your dog and keep fit at the same time. If you would like more info about agility training and lots of other forms of training for you and your four paws then please visit the CAST training website www.castdogtraining.co.uk Caroline Penistone is a Kennel Club registered Trainer and animal behaviourist. She lives near Northallerton in North Yorkshire.