From tennis to soccer to surfing, us human folk really get into summer sports. But we’re not the only ones who like to spend the season working on our fitness. 

Check out how these small sporty dogs mastered the art of basketball, obstacle courses, and “hunting” vermin. Plus, get inspired to raise an athletic pup of your own with a list of sporty dog names and nicknames.

Trick Shot Training with Aircorg

If you love seeing dogs doing human sports on social media, then you may recognize this queen of small sporty dogs. Lilo is an 8-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi that is insanely skilled at trick shots, fetch, and anything involving a ball. 

In 2015, Lilo found her forever family through her dog dad, Denny. He knew from day one that Lilo was a “straight-up diva”. 

“She had so much personality and was very vocal about everything. That's why we named her Lilo after Lilo & Stitch, because she reminded so much of that character,” Denny explained. 

Denny discovered Lilo’s trick shot skills during his wife’s 30th birthday party. The corgi enjoyed hitting the balloons into the air and even popping them. 

“One time, a balloon fell into a basket and we thought to ourselves ‘Did she mean to do that?’.

From there, we took her actions and turned them into a ‘hit’ command where she would hit up an inflatable ball, and after a few tries (and a couple of lost balls) she started to understand what we wanted her to do.”

Lilo became a total pro at shooting, dunking, and even turnaround jump shot. Her skills are so impressive that she’s earned the nicknames Aircorg and Steph Furry. Denny said that it's been so much fun to play with Lilo in this way and share his love for basketball with her. 

Small sporty dogs like Lilo can only show off their impressive moves when they are fueled by nutritious dog food. That’s why Denny feeds her naturally nutrient-dense Sundays for Dogs. 

“Lilo has never been a picky eater which, if we aren't careful, can cause her to gain a bunch of weight. We needed to find a food that could balance out her athletic lifestyle and quality nutrition without overfeeding her.”

Lilo loves the taste of Sundays’ USDA Beef recipe. It’s made with 90% fresh beef, organs, and ground bone, along with 10% superfoods. She eats around ⅓ cup twice a day. 

“She really does go crazy for the food, so it's been really cool to bring Sundays into our home. The minute I open the bag, she runs straight to her bed waiting for us to pour it out.”

See more of Lilo and Denny’s amazing trick shots on @Aircorg on Instagram and TikTok. You can even visit their site at Aircorg.com. 

Small Sporty Dogs in Agility Competitions

Willow is a 6-year-old Boston Terrier that loves sunbathing by the pool and snacking on eggs and apples. According to her dog mom, Julie, she also loves playing fetch and won’t stop playing even if she’s almost out of breath!

When Willow was younger, Julie started taking her to agility training classes. She’s participated in agility competitions with other small sporty dogs for several years now. 

“Dog agility is a sport where you direct your dog through a pre-set obstacle course within a certain time limit,” Julie explained. “The score you receive is based on our dog’s accuracy and speed through the course. Willow thoroughly enjoys running an agility course with me and we both try hard to get it right.”

Willow and Julie recently participated in the annual Dog Agility Competitions of Florida (DACOF) in Kissimmee, Florida. 47 different teams competed at DACOF this year. Each team is comprised of 3-10 sporty dogs and their handlers. That means Willow was up against 300 other talented pups! 

“Our team’s name was ‘Focus on the Sideshow’, so some of us dressed up our dogs and ourselves in circus costumes. Each dog is in a category based on their height and ability level. Willow placed third overall out of 16 dogs in her 8-inch height and excellence category.” 

Willow's team placed fourth overall of the teams that participated.

Willow recently began competing in a dog sport called barn hunt. This requires each dog to use their heightened hearing and sense of smell to track down rats. Don’t let the name fool you — it’s not a real “hunt”. The rats are kept in tubes that keep them safe and unharmed from the dogs.

“Barn hunt is a newer sport we just recently started where live rats are placed in plastic tubes and hidden under hay in a barn-like setting. Willow loves to hunt for the rats. She scratches at the tube and lets out a quick yelp when she locates one hidden in the hay.”

With a rigorous training schedule, Julie knows how important it is to feed Willow a high-quality doggy diet. Willow eats 1.1 ounces of Sundays in the morning and 1.2 ounces in the evening. She loves all three recipes and rotates between beef, chicken, and turkey. 

“I feel Sundays for Dogs has given Willow the edge in her performance and stamina for our chosen sport of dog agility,” Julie said, “and the excellent nutrition has helped to keep her virtually injury-free.”

Switching dog food has also helped Julie and Willow on their various travels.  On the road, it was difficult to constantly find refrigeration for Willow’s frozen raw dog food diet. 

“We once had a repairman forget to turn the refrigerator back on in our RV when we left it for repairs and our frozen dog food thawed out and leaked all over. We don’t have that concern anymore with Sundays for Dogs. It’s easy to store several weeks of food when we travel in our RV compared to a frozen raw food diet.”

Sporty Dog Names

Manifest the athletic spirit in your pup with these sporty dog names. Naming (or nicknaming) your pups after athletes, games, or niche sports terms is a fun start to raising sporty dogs! 

Athlete Dog Names

• Tiger (Woods)
• Venus (Williams)
• (Lionel) Messi
• Serena (Williams)
• Magic (Johnson)
• Kobe (Bryant) 
• (Mia) Hamm
• Steph (Curry) 
• Simone (Biles) 
• Hulk (Hogan) 
• Billie (Jean King)
• Danica (Patrick) 
• Gronk (Rob Gronkowski)
• (Ricardo) Kaka
• Rafa (Rafael Nadal) 
• Lebron (James) 
• (David) Beckham 
• Megan (Rapinoe) 
• (Wayne) Gretzky
• Apollo (Ohno)

Dog Names Inspired by Pro Sports Teams 

• Raider
• Blue
• Spark
• Jet
• Bruin
• King
• Ranger
• Supersonic
• Bronco
• Bear
• Dodger
• Saint
• Lightning
• Knight
• Raptor
• Rebel
• Buck
• Rocket
• Nugget
• Avalanche
• Maverick

Other Sporty Dog Names

• Rookie
• Tag
• Puck 
• Scout
• Buzz
• Pepper
• Nike
• Mitt
• Bullseye
• Striker
• Ace
• Coach
• Rally
• Dash