Sporting dogs are very much like human athletes, with extra demand on their bodies, as well as their minds. Working dogs, from various disciplines, such as agility, flyball, field trials, working trials, obedience and many more, put their bodies through regular exercises, which causes extra demands on tissues such as bones and joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments and even heart and lungs.

Therefore, sports injuries are common in these dogs, and they can range from simple minor sprains (to do with ligaments), to severe strains (to do with muscles and tendons) and tears, complete ligament ruptures (for instance cruciate ligaments), fractures and dislocations of bones and joints, as well as chronic fatigue syndromes.