Lena Boysen Hillestad I Summer training with your dog

In this episode of the Unleashed podcast, we talk about your dog's summer training with 25-time World Champion Lena Boysen Hillestad! Through this podcast, we want to inspire you to an active lifestyle with your dog by talking to experts and asking how-to questions about various topics.

Blanka

Today, I am here with 25-time world champion Lena Boysen Hillestad. Welcome!

 

Lena

Thank you.

 

Blanka

And today we will talk about summer training. So just to start off, what do you do for a summer training?

 

Lena

You can do anything except, things, bicycling for a long. distance, but, like, swimming, running free, if it's possible, in fenced areas. Mostly because we don't. We in Norway, we're not allowed to have dogs running free, agility, stuff like that. Playing with them. Just be together with them. The brain activity is the most important, I think, to keep them occupied and happy during the summer.

 

Blanka

So not so much physical, but more like the mental part and maybe like build a bit of bonding, of course.

 

Lena

but if you go out really early or late, it's possible to train. But I don't think the physical part is so important. I think that is just to, maybe some some people get happy if they do that and just be together with your dog having fun. Not forget that it's not the machine. It's a friend of yours.

 

Blanka

How long break do you take usually after the season?

 

Lena

Depending when the season ends. I went out skiing yesterday. That was the 5th of May, and, it was great, by the way, skijoring. And then we tried to take it a little slower or a little shorter. We don't want them to get more fit. More or less fit than they used to be. So, less days during the week and shorter. so I will say in maybe two, two weeks, we probably don't train very much. Then it's just running free, having fun. We have, 100 x 100 meter dog yard at home.  They can run and play, and we can go with the four-wheeler and just be there. And they're out there almost every day. So I actually have to feed the same amount during the summer as I do in the winter, because I play more, stress more, and in the winter I always bring them inside and they sleep and rest more.

 

Blanka

Oh, that's very interesting that you actually feed the same amount.

You talked about it that now you train a bit less. So is there a specific way how you transition from the racing season to the, to the off season?

 

 

Lena

No, not really. Just, right now we want to have, some of our younger dogs to be more fit for running alone. So we do one by one, and, then you have to go more laps of course, because we have more dogs, but shorter and fun. So they really enjoy running alone. That's what we did this year and other years. If we have all the dogs, maybe we go with the sled because then we can keep the speed down with the braking pad. And just control the whole thing. And very important now they're used to cold weather to winter and now it's getting warmer and warmer. I think yesterday must have been twelve/fifteen plus.

 

Blanka

Even twenty here, I think it was very warm.

 

Lena

Yeah, maybe. And then, you have to remember that they, they get really tired because they work so hard. And maybe in like yesterday it was a little bit deep. Not very deep, let's say ten centimetres or something. And it's hard for them to run in that.

 

Blanka

It's heavy training then, actually.

Yeah. What is the max temperature you usually train in?

 

Lena

I think the limit we have, in our rules is about... Is it 18?

 

Blanka

Yeah, I think it's from that in Norway. Yes.

 

Lena

But, I do believe we can train the dogs to perform or to be able to run in a little bit warmer temperatures because we live up north in Norwayand all the European people, they have such warm weather all summer and also in the fall. So I think we have to, try to train a little bit in the middle of the day, too. Not in the summer, of course, but when it comes to the fall and just to see how our dogs react. Do it very carefully, of course.  A lot of stops and you have to see how the dogs react to the warm weather. But if we train every night in like 12 degrees in Norway, and then you go to a championship in Spain and it's really hot, then I think we will have big problems.

 

Blanka

Yeah, I see it even on my own dogs that after the summer we train usually very early in the morning or maybe very late in the evening. And, and also it works better with work of course. But then we go to a race and suddenly we start, I don't know, 1:00 in the afternoon and then we're like, oh yeah, we have maybe trained a bit more on that.

 

 

 

 

Lena

But it's a big responsibility. Because they should not overheat. And it's hard to see. You don't see it before you stop. That's why every training in the fall we train like one or a maximum two km before we stop. And we let them free a little bit just around us.  It's still, not allowed to have them running free in the woods. And then we see how they react. And the plan we have in the beginningcan change drastically. Like it can be a long training or a short because then you see how then... You adapt to how the dogs are feeling.

 

Blanka

And are there any specific things you're looking for when they are like, free there? How do you see if they are a warm or not?

 

Lena

I guess you just have to follow your stomach feeling and see how happy they are. How they are playing around you. How much foam in the face and stuff and how they're breathing.

 

Blanka

It's a very common question like oh how do you see it on the dog. And I think maybe the best advice here is that you have to know your own dog.

 

Lena

Yeah. You have to know your own dog. So you cannot just borrow a dog. Or have a, friend coming with you. And maybe the dog is running behind you and trying to catch up with you all the time. That's really scary. So you really if you're if you're in, if you doubt if it's possible to do more training. Then you stop.  Better be safe than sorry.

 

Blanka

Yeah, yeah, I think it's very important to know your own dog. And, even from you, 25-time world champion, I know that even if you would tell me that like, okay, until this, you can train the dog. It can be that my dog will not be able to train that much.

 

Lena

Sure. It’s just so individual. But I think having water close to where you train, you passing a water or a small, river thing or something, let them have something to drink and see how they react and play with them.

 

Blanka

Yes, that's a good thing.

 

Lena

And swimming, of course, is great, but there's not many lakes like that for us where we live. So the swimming just disappeared when I grew up. Yeah, we used to do a lot of it.

 

 

 

Blanka

Yeah. I think, at least for our dogs. here in the area, there is a lot of water. And that's one of the best summer training we do. We don't have that many dogs and, that big of a fenced area, so we rather. Yeah, go out with the boat and, just take them canoeing and it's, an amazing way to train both endurance and strength.  So, it's highly recommended for those who can.

 

Lena

That’s perfect. And there's so many perfect things to do because perfect is what fits good in your life. It's not, you don't have a Bible telling you what to do. It's so many ways you can do things. Yeah, just do something and do it in a way. So you believe it and stick to it. And, like, be happy with your dogs.

 

Blanka

That's a very nice time of the year as well because there are no races. Like there is not much pressure. You can in a way do anything, try new things, try new activities. So I think it's very cool.

When do you usually start training with the dogs after the summer?

 

Lena

Because the championships are usually around October. Yeah, we, I guess we start in the end of August. That's a little late, actually, but they're in. We have warm weather

But I feel if you have, a young dog, they need to start, like slower. When you have a grown up dog they get, fit so fast. That's my experience. So if they haven't been in a good shape the year before, they will be like. They go from, like, the first, training is around three km pulling.  And then we will very soon be up to like eight or something. So, that's our experience. But if you have a young dog, you have to be careful. Because they're not used to it.  

 

Blanka

It also sounds like that you are very good. keeping the dogs fit during the summer, if they eat the same amount, then they're actually really, really active, even though they are not pulling so much.

 

Lena

Yeah, they're active but I have a good, base fitness but also they are stressing more because it's more play fun going out of the dog yard. The first one, the fastest one. Playing, hunting each other, doing crazy stuff. And during the season, they're not allowed to do that. And I like to have those inside the house then. Then they relax more and I like to be together with them. But of course, in the summer we are also golf players. I know some of the viewers know maybe so we spend a lot of time there and then it's better to have them outside so they can go out peeing. And they all, sometimes they just stay in the big dog yard during the whole day. Even if we go away, we can have 4 or 5 dogs there.  And they just, relax, chewing on, something or, sleeping, playing.

 

 

 

Blanka

Humidity. That is something that maybe not everybody looks at. Everybody is very occupied with the temperature. But, can you tell a bit about why humidity is an important factor to consider when training?

 

Lena

Yeah, sure. You can have, quite good cold temperature and have high humidity, and it's really hard for the dogs and us, but I'm, also in the category that I don't have any limits for humidity. I go for my stomach feeling, and to how I react to it. Yeah, but it's a very great factor too. So don't just look at the temperature. And there are not strict, Bible rules. You have to feel how to do things.

 

Blanka

So I think you are one of the athletes I know because I have seen it so many times, first hand that you're you know, the dogs and you're very strict on like, okay, you know, that this is their limits. You will never, like, push them too far in a way. You you know the dogs very well and you are very, strict on, like, okay, this dog can do this. This dog can do that. You have to like, I don't know, break with this dog. You have to, like, not go longer than this distance because that dog is not trained for longer than this distance. So, I think my biggest takeaway here is that you have to spend a lot of time with your dog. So, you know how they are.

 

Lena

We also have a lot more stuff to learn, but we try to do, like you say, and for like feeding, watering the dogs, we always do different things in the morning, maybe sometimes food, sometimes water, sometimes nothing. And then when you train, you, you get to know dogs are different. Some dogs can run forever without no water or food or. Yeah, and some dogs that just need to have a certain amount. And you have to know all those things before a race, because if something happens, changes, then you know what to do.

 

Blanka

Do you have the same routine for all the dogs, or do you have individual routine for some of them?

 

Lena

Most dogs have the same routine, but I had dogs that really needed food before and before training and race, and I don't feel that that's the normal for us. It's always, water before. But, if I took this dog for, yeah good run, she could just be too tired to finish the whole thing, and I had to be picked up. Yeah, but I learned that, after one incident. But, it should actually not happen. So you need to know. Go step by step, short. Test out things.

 

Blanka

Never, yeah, go too far or too hard.

 

 

Lena

Yeah, that’s right. But for the dogs, they trust you. That's the important thing. If they stop to trust you because you do wrong things, then you have a problem.  And be fair with them. What did they learn, what can you expect from them.

 

Blanka

That’s. Yeah. Yeah. It's very important they know that you will not push them too far. They're like they can give their best performance. They can go 100% because they know that like oh yeah you will ensure that it will not be too much.

 

Lena

But in Spain during the World Championship last fall,  it was really hot. And when we tested the trail before, yeah, a couple of days before the start, it was warm, and then we were, on the very limit what was good. Then we really had to run around with one dog especially, which is always 100%. And, well, that's hard. Because when you're there, it's it's done. You really just have to do the best out of the situation.

 

Blanka

Is there any way you can prepare for, bit warmer temperatures?

 

Lena

We do wash our dogs with the shampoo. Yeah, not dog shampoo, because the dog shampoo keeps the fat and the stuff in. Yeah, that protect the dogs, but we want everything out. So before the start, some rule say you cannot have your dogs wet. You have to do it in, like, some hours before, but not some days before, because then they get the fat back.  And you really want to have this, the surprising feeling for them.

But we do that. We used to do, some haircut earlier. We don't do that anymore. I don't know, it's much, for their brains, too. You know, when you are really, if you know your dogs very well and they know you, they understand stuff.  And if you have these routine, they are like “Wow, this is serious stuff, I'm going to run fast.”

 

Blanka

It's crazy how much they can pick up on. I see it with my own dogs. Sometimes I feel like, oh, did I underdressed or like something? Because they know that, like, I'm not going to work. I am going out training. Like they pick up on everything. If I have normal clothes on, that is just like, yeah, she's just doing some boring stuff. If I have just a little bit more outdoorsy clothes, something is going on.

 

Lena

Yeah, right. But the interesting thing with that is, when I was younger, I had other routines and other, other things I felt was important. And then they picked up on those things.  And that was really important to perform for me and the dogs. And today it's just changed. But I have my stuff and then they pick up on that. So the important thing is how you connect with your dog.  And it can be different. There's no rule for that either. You just have your stuff and you believe in your own stuff and they just well, we're going out or doing this or that.  Well it's a special bond you have with the dogs and I'm, my, fuze, is that an English word like, it's a little, So, they, But I try to be fair. Of course. That's important. So we have the mutual respect, but they know where they have me. kind of, so I don't have to say too much. because they know where my limits are.  And I think I think they like that. It's good for them.

 

Blanka

Yeah, it's very well consequent.

 

Lena

They know what to expect. But then they, they have to learn first, before have the short. Yeah. So. Just be nice with them.

 

Blanka

And when they are teenagers, they're testing their limits.

 

Lena

Suddenly they have no ears. They're just there to be flopping around.

 

 Blanka

Yeah, that happens.

Life with dogs.

 

Lena

It's, it happens with them.

 

Blanka

I think, we covered everything. Do you have any, any general knowledge you would like to share or best tip for something you would like to tell to the viewers?

 

Lena

No, just the things we already talked about, like, remember, they are your friends, not machines. Like, they get their food and their water every day, every year, no matter what. And I think if you were a dog, what would you like your owner to do. So just, I think that's important. Make sure they are having fun.

 

Blanka

Thank you so much.

 

Lena

It was a pleasure.