It is important, especially with a performance dog, to understand normal movement and what is not normal for your dog, so you can be proactive about keeping your dog strong and injury free. Many people can see differences in a dog’s gait when watching them move, BUT many cannot or think these things are “normal for their dog”. And then there is a group of us that can obsess over movement. :-) We don’t see dogs anymore, we see strides, and compensations from injury, pain or discomfort, good or poor muscle development and so much more than, “just a dog”. We see movement that causes a dog to drop bars, pop out of weave poles, why a dog is refusing directional cues and simple things like why a dog sits with splayed rear legs or doesn’t want to sit at all. Knowing when to pull your dog from competition before causing further injury is KEY. Catching an injury in the early stages generally means an easier and quicker recovery time depending on severity of injury. Many dogs will WORK through pain and discomfort. Some dogs will shut down from pain but the owner assumes it is behavioral. It is the human’s job to watch out for their dog’s best interest and make sure that their dog is sound before asking them to perform. I often hear, “My dog limps when first coming out of a crate” or “My dog limps a little a day or two after a three day show”. A dog limps due to pain or discomfort. This could simply be due to tight muscles that need to be stretched out, or could be due to an underlying injury especially if this is occurring over and over. For instance, strained muscles often show as an intermittent lameness. A strained muscle requires a rest (NOT crate rest) for 4-6 week with regular icing, massage and anti-inflammatory medication to recover. If left untreated, this will cause your dog to have compensations in other parts of his body that will cause further discomfort and perhaps more injury. Another issue I see often is a dog that stands with a roached back. I understand that many breeds have a slight rounding to their back that is normal for their structure. However, it is important to know what is normal for your breed or your dog and what isn’t. If a dog’s back is un-naturally roached, is a RED FLAG. This dog may not know how to use their core muscles and be in need strengthening, may have digestive issues or might be VERY tight in the low or mid back. Dropping bars, refusing or popping out of weaves, or unable to turn tightly are all signs of tight muscles in a dog’s back or pelvic regions. Again, is important to know what is normal so you can be proactive in helping your dog strengthen and use their body appropriately. Having said all this, watching your dog move can become an obsession. You can start to see things that aren’t there. It is human nature. Video-taping your dog’s movement is a great way to watch and keep track of differences throughout your dog’s life. If you suspect your dog may have a soft tissue or any type of injury is it important to have your dog looked at by a “Qualified Veterinarian” that has experience with performance dog injury. Soft tissue injury is often very hard to diagnose. In addition, what is normal for a pet dog and normal for a performance dog may be different. It is truly important to really SEE how your dog is moving so that you can take note of differences in their weight distribution or gait change. In a performance dog, a small change in gait can have a profound effect on performance. Bobbie Lyons Email: pawsitiveperformance@yahoo.com Website: http://www.pawsitive-performance.com/schedule.html The new K9FITbone is a very versatile piece of balance equipment. The lateral movement the K9FITbone offers encourages your dog to engage their abdominal muscles, the muscles along the spine (core and trunk muscles) as well as the supporting muscles around the hips and shoulders used for stability. Here are 10 reasons that I think the K9FITbone is AWESOME:
1. Keeps knees and rear feet tracking forward. Often I see dogs that toe out while in a sitting or standing position. Some dogs have a lazy sit that developed in puppyhood, they live on slippery floors and/or lack of proper weight distribution which makes it harder for the dog to hold their rear feet and knees tracking forward. I work with the dog to maintain the correct foot/leg position that will strengthen the muscles used to hold their knees and rear feet tracking forward while also encouraging more weight distributed to the rear. The K9FITbone encourages proper foot position in both a sitting and a standing position due to the width of the bone. Even my 50 lb Border Collies can stand and sit on the K9FITBone while maintaining proper foot position and weight distribution. 2. Lateral stability The K9FITbone encourages lateral stability by strengthening supporting muscles around the shoulders and hips. Varying the inflation will make the K9FITbone rock side to side just a little or will be more dramatic by increasing inflation. The material the K9FITbone is made of has a lot of give and with it being 4” tall, it allows the dog to push into the bone to find balance thereby strengthening the major muscle groups that support the dog’s joints. Keeping the dog’s head in a more natural position will help to distribute weight more evenly. 3. Difficulty There are many levels of difficulty that can be obtained by varying the inflation. With less air the bone lays flat but is squishy and can provide resistance for strengthening feet, shoulders and hips. With more air the K9FITBone rocks side to side providing a lateral challenge, engaging the core and spinal muscles as well as supporting muscles around hips, shoulders, knees, wrists and feet. 4. GREAT for Puppies Because the K9FITbone encourages rear feet and knees to track forward, it does not put unnecessary stress on the joints. It encourages a flat back so that the puppy is developing muscles in the right position. This makes it perfect for puppies no matter the inflation rate. 5. Shaping for strength and balance Training your dog to use the K9FITbone requires less handler support and lends to shaping independent behaviors in the proper position. If you use a clicker and love to shape behaviors, this piece of equipment is for you. As your dog gains strength, you can pair the K9FITbone with other pieces of equipment, shaping the dog to stand, down, weight shift and other movements that will strengthen their core, spinal muscles and muscles around shoulders and hips. 6. Target hips or shoulders with two feet on the K9FITbone If you have front feet on the long side of the K9FITbone you can target rear end strength by shifting weight to the dog’s rear legs. With rear feet on the long side of the K9FITbone you can target shoulders, biceps and triceps by shifting weight to the front legs. Position your dog’s feet on the END of the bone and you can engage more muscle groups while challenging your dog to balance laterally. 7. Fabulous for small dogs The material has enough give when under inflated to provide a challenge for smaller dogs as their feet push into the material. It also provides the lateral challenges as mentioned above when air is added. It is close to the floor so most smaller dogs are completely comfortable using it. The handler can also put the K9FITBone on a table and it won’t roll away :-) This allows the handler to stand upright and not bend over or kneel on the floor to participate in a strength program for their dog. 8. Using it with larger dogs Due to the fact that it is 23″ x 11.5″ x 4″ it makes it very difficult for a 35-45 pound dog to find a good position while supporting a flat back but it can be done. Because of the narrow shape and depending on the level of inflation it is more difficult for the dog to find balance which encourages more muscles to be engaged. If you have a larger dog, the K9FITbone can be paired with another bone, balance disc, donut, or paw pods. 9. Encourages a FLAT back Due to the elongated shape, the K9FITbone encourages a flat back when the dog positions his feet correctly. Some dogs have a harder time with maintaining a flat back but I have found that the K9FITBone helps the dog to find the correct position faster than on other equipment. Longer dog??? Use two K9FITbones end to end and still reap the benefits of a flat back, lateral movement, shaping independent strength training etc. 10. Versatile The K9FITbone can be paired with almost any other FitPAWS items; balance discs, paw pods, wobbles boards, rocker board, and even the peanuts and eggs. A note on size: 23″ x .11.5″ x 4″ I get “told” all the time, that the K9FITBone is “not big enough” for the 35-45 pound dog. Since using the K9FITbone I have worked with Border Collies, Australian Shephards, Brittany Spaniels, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Long Haired Whippets, Corgis (just to name a few breeds) and other mixed breed dogs 30-50 pounds that were all able to stand with front and rear feet a natural distance apart with a flat back. This is easily shown during a private lesson. Larger dogs such as German Shepherds, Labradoodles, Great Danes, Greyhounds and the like can simply use the K9FITbone paired with another piece of FitPAWS equipment or simply use 2 K9FITbones. I have also worked with JRTs, Papillons Poodles, Mini Schnauzers, Mini Aussies, Cavaliers, Cocker Spaniels, Shelties and others who have greatly benefitted from having a piece of equipment that is challenging but requires less handler support. Smaller dogs tend to be more spatially sensitive and this piece of equipment allows the handler to give the dog some room. Bobbie Lyons, Cert CF pawsitiveperformance@yahoo.com It is important to pay attention to fitting a harness correctly before purchase. If the harness you choose has a straight strap that lays across the shoulder blades it can impede your dog’s forward stride. Picking a harness where the straps are made to go around the shoulder or where the strap is above the shoulder is key. Impeding your dog’s forward stride can cause all kind of issues such as: 1. Stress to the spine and neck 2. Poor weight distribution 3. Shoulder injury These are the two harnesses that I like for normal activity such as walks, trotting and hiking. The Original Fleece Lines Harness: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3930&ParentCat=783 Hurrta Harness: http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=3374&ParentCat=783 Alpine outfitters Flyball harness: http://www.alpineoutfitters.net/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=178 Other harnesses like sold by FitPAWS, Julius-K9 and others are GREAT for stationary strength work such as when on the peanut. I personally have several different harnesses for my dogs and use them according to the activity we are involved in. Does your dog’s harness fit correctly???? Bobbie Lyons, Cer CF email: pawsitiveperformance@yahoo.com SURFACE is everything folks. When a dog lives most of his life on a slippery surface the dog will continually contract their muscles for balance, traction and stability. The dog will rarely relax when standing and moving on a slippery surface. This over use of the muscles will cause stress to the dog’s joints and surrounding tissue. Many of us have more EXTREME dogs:
To keep your dog on a stable surface, put carpet runners down, or something that provides traction. If using carpet runners, make sure to put the liner underneath to prevent the carpet from moving as the dog moves over it. In my house I have interlocking mats over my Pergo flooring to help my dogs have better traction, comfort and balance. How about stairs? Carpeted stairs can be as slick as wood stairs. Teaching your dog to walk up and down the stairs slowly at your side is the best way to keep your dog free of injury. You can also teach your dog to back up the stairs. Either walking forward or backward improves limb awareness and core strength if you teach the dog to put one foot on each step. Barreling down the stairs has caused injury to the shoulders, knees and backs of many dogs. When training tricks, K9 Conditioning exercises or any other behaviors be mindful of the type of surface your dog is on. What kind of surface does your dog live on??? Bobbie Lyons Email: pawsitiveperformance@yahoo.com Website: http://www.pawsitive-performance.com/blog.html Many things go into keeping your dog in good “condition” and how performance is improved. Improved performance can mean many things. Listed below is what I perceive as improving performance through handler improvements, strength improvements and increasing endurance. BETTER: Handling is a huge key. How many handlers out there feel like they are the caboose on an out of control train when running a freakishly fast dog?? I know how you feel. I have been the caboose. Poor or late handling has an adverse effect on performance. For example: When you give your dog late cues, they fold shoulders as they land turning over jumps, contort their bodies in all kinds of difference ways to immediately change directions, drop bars and land very hard on their wrists and shoulders, just to name a few things. Does this sound familiar?? If your dog is properly conditioned it will reduce the chance of soft tissue injury in these types of situations. This is not to say that you shouldn’t do everything in your power to give your dog timely cues and continue to improve your handling skills and footwork. Keeping your dog strong and balanced will help a dog during the training process as well as during those times when you just can’t seem to get there. FASTER: When a dog is propelling forward, turning, stopping and landing using their core muscles (the center of their movement) and using all four legs, they will get faster. When you teach your dog where their rear feet are, how to use their limbs properly and exercises to improve strength, they will move with greater precision. Faster might also mean, improved focus for the game. Engaging your dog in a regular conditioning program has improved focus in my student’s dogs over and over. If your dog has previously been lame for any reason, the dog is likely not using the previously injured limb efficiently and this will slow your dog’s momentum and increase their chance of re-injury. Teaching this dog how to redistribute weight and increase muscle in the injured limb is key to participating in any K9 performance event. STRONGER: It has been proven time and time again, that strength improves stability and lends to increased endurance in human athletes. This same concept can be applied to your K9 Athlete. Using a variety of exercises on a regularschedule is the key to success!! Exercise that strengthen the muscles above and below the joints, will improve stability and balance. For instance, improving quad muscle strength and flexibility, supports a dog’s knees during movement. Improving your dog’s physical and mental endurance will only enhance performance. Designing a regular program for your dog is the key to SUCCESS!! In just 10-15 minutes every other day, you can make a huge difference in improving your dog’s performance. If you are interested in teaching your dog how to be BETTER, FASTER and STRONGER, contact me to get more information on my online classes, in person and online private lessons by video exchange. Bobbie Lyons, Cert CF email: mailto:pawsitiveperformance@yahoo.com When our dogs get older and unable to do performance any longer, what then? Often we all get new puppies to train. It is important to continue to pay attention to the physical and mental needs of our retired dogs. There are a few things that I think are very important to keep in mind. Number 1-WEIGHT: I believe it is VERY important to make dietary adjustments when older dogs become less active. A less active dog does not need as many calories and the single most important thing you can do for your older dog is keep them THIN. Extra weight on the joints can cause pain, inflammation and deterioration. If you are unsure how to tell if your dog is a good weight, please refer to this fantastic article written by Chris Zink, DVM. (other useful articles found on this page) http://www.caninesports.com/useful-info.html Number 2 - STRENGTH: What about K9 Conditioning for the older dog? Depending on the age and activity level of the dog, a conditioning program will help your dog gain muscle, maintain muscle and or reduce muscle loss caused by inactivity and age contributions. Number 3-MENTAL: Old dogs CAN learn new tricks and many of these tricks will help to strengthen, or maintain muscle mass as well as mentally challenge your dog. My oldest dog Stanley is 12 years old and he has not lost much muscle as he ages. When I am working the other dogs on new tricks, conditioning exercises and even agility practice he is right there waiting his turn. Do I make adjustment for him, sure I do. I modify the difficulty of the exercises and time spent. If we are doing agility, we skip the A-frame, lower the jumps to half his regular jump height and have fun. Performance dogs are not generally happy just to BE. They want activity and challenges in their life. Finding the balance that works for your dog is Key. Don’t over exercise your dog until they are sore and limping the next day, even if it is a trip to the beach and they are having a blast. Don’t allow your older dog to get fat and make sure you are providing mental challenges. And by far the most important things is to take a few moments every day to hug your older dog and thank them for being your best friend, for doing all the things we ask of them, for being our guinea pig in training and for loving us even when we make mistakes. Bobbie Lyons Email: pawsitiveperformance@yahoo.com Website: http://www.pawsitive-performance.com/blog.html Concerns with Rear Foot targeting Rear foot targeting is something I use for many strength and body awareness exercises. Teaching a rear foot target can be very useful and IMO can also teach poor weight distribution. Here is a short list of some behaviors trained with rear foot targeting. · Backing up/Get back · Hand stands · Pee · 2o2o contact behavior · Crawl back High repetition REAR foot targeting can teach the dog/puppy to put all their weight forward on their shoulders. This is not a bad thing in low repetition. In high repetition, I find that these dog’s target everything in their path with their rear feet. I have student’s dogs that have rear foot targeting my legs, a stool, a wall, really anything when stepping sideways or backward. This will hinder the dog’s ability to shift weight to the rear and puts added stress on the dog’s shoulders. Some issues I have seen with high repetition rear foot targeting: · hinders the dog ability to engage their core muscles properly due to shifting their weight forward when they lift their rear leg and their head drops below their spine. · when the dog continues to offer a rear foot instead of focusing on the task at hand, it increases training time for other exercises, tricks and behaviors. · Increases handler frustration when teaching their dog to shift their weight to the rear. · Increased muscle mass on ONE rear leg as they tend to lift the same rear leg all the time. · pelvis rotation or spine misalignment due to always lifting the same leg (confirmed by K9 Chiropractor) · shoulder soreness · tight in the thoracic and cervical spine As part of a conditioning program (or for any performance dog program), a good practice is to pick one rear foot targeting exercise and then pair it with two other exercises that encourage the dog to shift weight to the rear, flatten their back and engage their core. These could be balance and core strength exercises using FitPAWS balance discs, peanuts or paw pods but could also be floor exercises that lengthen and strengthen through the spine such as rearward weight shifting, sit stands with front feet elevated, or crawl forward and backward. Lengthening back stretches are can also be helpful. Pairing exercises this way keeps your dog from expecting to always target something behind them. A note on shaping: Many of us shape exercises encouraging the dog to think on their own, which is a fabulous training tool. Once you have the correct behavior shaped (allowing the dog to offer behaviors), put a name or a hand signal to the behavior so that you can encourage the dog to listen and focus and not ALWAYS “offer” behaviors. In my world, a handler’s silence means “offer”, hand signals and verbal commands means “pay attention to what I am asking you to do”. In doing this, you are teaching the dog to not always offer behaviors such as lifting a rear leg on everything near them. :-) This is probably a topic for another day, maybe a future blog post :-) Bobbie Lyons, Cert CF Online classes - http://classroom.daisypeel.com/courses-offered/k9-conditioning-rehab-classes/ Contact me for in-person or online private lessons If you have ever taken a class from me you KNOW how I feel about warming up and cooling down your dog before and after activity. This is one of the easiest steps you can take to help reduce injury in your agility dogs. There are NOT always convenient environments for warm ups and cool downs. I have students all over the world and some do not have inside training facilities that have room for you to warm up your dog. Time is a factor as well. Some would say they don’t have enough time. So what do you do? The answer is the VERY BEST you can. In the absence of space or even time, think about movements you can do to warm up your dog’s major joints: hips, shoulders, and the spine which includes the neck and tail. We all get caught off guard and have to run to the start line now and again, it happens. In these cases you still need a fast warm up such as down to stands, turn circles in each direction or weave through your legs, lateral movements and backing up. These are things you can do in a small space while waiting your turn. After your run take special care in cooling your dog down. I generally recommend using your warm up routine in reverse. Warm does not mean temperature per say, but think more in terms of movement of the joints. I hear a lot about these jackets people buy to keep their dogs warm. Let me be clear. There is nothing that is a substitute for movement. If I was cold and wrapped up in a blanket curled up on the couch, I would not drop the blanket and sprint, turn, stop suddenly, bend etc I do believe these jackets have amazing benefits in very cold conditions to keep your dog “warm” between runs and aid in muscle recovery, but they are not a substitute for moving all major joints through range of motion prior to activity. The recommendation is to spend 5-10 minutes warming up your dog and 5-10 minutes cooling down your dog. Developing a routine that you and your dog can do before each run can only increase your dog’s connection to you, improve speed and accuracy in movement as well as decrease the chance of injury. Also be aware that it is important to warm up your dog's joints before tossing a ball or frisbee, before hiking, swimming, endurance trot work or before any activity or performance sport. Do you warm up your dog before activity??? Bobbie Lyons, Cert CF Join my email list for quarterly update here: http://www.pawsitive-performance.com/schedule.html Over training is very common in dog training. Many dogs will work and work and work and never show signs of fatigue or unwillingness to continue. As the handler, it is your job to set time and repetition limits so you don't end up deteriorating your dog's muscles, ligaments and joints. On any given day that you are not at performance practice or competition, you training sessions should not exceed 5-15 min. (IMO). I recommend setting a timer (smart phones all have timers). You will be amazed how short 5 minutes is but you will be thanking me in the long run for encouraging you to be more aware. Many handlers do not see issue from over training until the dog is 3-5 years old when “over training catches up with them”. A dogs structure can play apart in these injuries. It is very important to learn to SEE your dog, put your hands on your dog everyday, watch their movement and notice when they are "off".
If you are over training repetitive movement it can cause muscles to fatigue and that will lend to compensations in other parts of the dog’s body. Once your dog starts compensating for soreness, you will have bigger problems that can have a domino effect on other muscles and limbs. The physical ramifications of “repetitive” training can be huge for a performance dog that does not get sufficient rest for their muscles to recover or that over trains during single sessions. I have personally seen over-training injuries such as torn or ruptured cruciate ligament (knee), spinal alignment issues that cause other compensations and lameness, shoulder injury, lumbar/sacral muscle soreness, escalation in reactive behavior, wrist arthritis from jumping, soft tissue injuries and MORE. Soft tissue injury is very hard to diagnose and can take a very long time to heal. When I teach my online classes, private lessons and workshops, I talk a lot about schedules. Everyone’s schedule is different, that is for sure. It is important to develop a training plan that fits your schedule, your dog’s needs, and the individual goals for that dog, while keeping in mind what is best for the dog with respect to repetition and timed training. If you have multiple dogs in the house, your goals will likely be different for each dog due to age, weight, competition level, behavior issues, your available time etc. Spreadsheets work wonders for keeping track of this stuff!!! I subscribe to the LESS IS MORE philosophy. When developing a training plan, you have to consider, performance training, strength/stretching and endurance training without “overdoing it”. Rules of thumb for a healthy adult do
For a young dog before growth plates closed, I recommend training session not more than one minute for every month they are old. (walking or trotting limits, see my previous post “Sustained Trotting” ) Within each training session SEVERAL behaviors should be taught. The attention span of a puppy is very short and you will accomplish more by keeping your sessions short and not creating physical issues with repetition. Questions and comments are always welcome Many things should be considered when designing a K9 Fitness/Conditioning program for you and your dog. There is not a “one size fits all” conditioning program. It is not just about tossing your dog up on a piece of equipment. The position the dog is in can make a huge difference in the muscles they are using and if the exercise is improving strength or causing weakness.
Things to consider when designing a conditioning program: · Your dog’s age · Current physical condition of the dog · Has your dog had previous injury · What sport or sports is your dog involved in · Have you gotten any guidance on using equipment safely · Competition schedule · Do YOU have any physical limitation that may affect your ability to support your dog · Do you have the space needed to complete the exercise ( living room, backyard, garage) · Do you have a non-slip surface for your dog to work on · Are you willing to devote 10-20 minutes at least three times a week to improve performance and reduce the change of injury in your dog. A full body program should include exercises that improve the following: · Weight distribution · Overall strength · Flexibility · Endurance · Coordination · Balance A warm up and cool down strategy should be in place before and after performance and fitness training. The recommendation is to spend 5-10 minutes warming up your dog and 5-10 minutes cooling down your dog. Developing a routine that you and your dog can do before each run can only increase your dog’s connection to you, improve speed and accuracy in movement as well as decrease the chance of injury. If you are in the process of designing a program for your dog I hope this list of considerations helps you to pick exercises that are appropriate for your dog's age, current physical condition and the activities you are involved in. I also hope that it you have not sought out proper training, that this will encourage you to do so. Better to make sure that what you are doing is helping and not hurting your dog. Questions and comments are always welcome Bobbie Lyons, Cert CF Email: pawsitiveperformance@yahoo.com Website: http://www.pawsitive-performance.com/schedule.html |
AuthorBobbie Lyons, CCFT, KPA CPT Archives
April 2019
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