The Importance of Exercise for Sporting Dogs
If your dog participates in sporting dog competitions, you’ll want to make sure your dog is in prime physical condition. Core conditioning is an essential part of any athletes’ training program, and this is just as true for the canine athlete. By adding strengthening activities to your dog’s cross-training activities 3-4 times a week you’ll see major improvements in your dog’s reaction time and body control, trunk and core strength, balance, range of motion, body awareness and overall agility. You’ll also be helping your dog stabilize weaker areas of the body and prevent sports-related injuries.
Fitness and Strength Training for Agility Dogs
Agility dogs need extra hind end musculature to leap great heights, strong abs to weave through cones, and a strong sense of balance, body awareness and muscle memory to hit every contact and clear those bars.
Focus on exercises to increase hind end strength and explosive power such as “puppy-squats” on the FitPaws® Peanuts. Try reps of “puppy push-ups” for increasing overall core strength. The FitPaws® Peanuts are great for core strength training and stretching exercises.
Improve your dog’s flexibility by stretching your dog over the saddle of the Peanut for a cool down session. Cross training on a FitPaws® Peanut 3-4 times a week produces big results that you can’t get from your normal agility equipment training- it’s all about instability training that instantly activates core and stabilizer muscles which are the powerhouse of the dog’s body.
Increase paw awareness with paw target exercises on the FitPaws® Paw Pods or Balance Discs. The FitPaws® Wobble Board and Giant Rocker Board are great for confidence building and cross training for the teeter, as well as overall balance training.
Start your cross training program as early as puppyhood and continue throughout life. There are vast arrays of fun conditioning exercises to train on the equipment to help your canine athlete perform their best!
Fitness and Strength Training for Dock Dogs
Dock Dogs need a strong hind end and core for launching off the dock at great distances. Increase the hind end musculature needed for explosive and powerful starts by training reps of “puppy-squats” on the FitPaws® Peanut or Disc. For an increased stability challenge, try puppy push-ups and squats on two FitPaws® Donuts with Holder.
Increase body awareness and practice jump training with the FitPaws® Agility Kit. And don’t forget to stretch your dog out after exercise with the FitPaws® Peanut.
Fitness and Strength Training for Disc Dogs
Discs dogs leap through the air and twist their bodies at great distances with force to catch flying discs. They engage their core in every aspect of the sport, and will benefit from core strengthening on the FitPAWS Equipment for increased performance and injury prevention.
Disc dogs can practice the basic fundamentals of the sport such as vaulting, rebounding, and holding a stand on the FitPaws® Peanut . Increase hind end musculature needed for powerful jumps by focusing on puppy-squats with the FitPaws® Peanut or Balance Discs. Work abdominal muscles needed for twisting and turning with stand-rocks on the FitPaws® Peanut.
Fitness and Strength Training for Flyball Dogs
Flyball dogs need a strong hind end for explosive starts and a strong core, back, and shoulders for injury prevention and increased performance. Carpal (wrist) and shoulder injuries are common for this fun but intense canine sport. Cross training with FitPaws® equipment just 3-5 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week is a great way to reduce the chance of injury and increase performance!
The FitPaws® Peanut, with its natural saddle dip, is a great tool for stretching your dog as a part of their cool-down post exercise. Strengthening the core muscles can be accomplished on the FitPAWS Peanut or Donut. Reps of tippy-paw raises on a FitPaws® Disc, and pivots around a Disc or FitPaws® Wobble Board are great exercises for toe strengthening and body awareness. Train Flyball jumps with the lightweight and portable FitPaws® Agility Kit! and it can be used for indoor or outdoor training.
Fitness and Strength Training for Obedience Dogs
Have your dog put all of its attention on you while he focuses on learning new behaviors and gains balance, core strength and body awareness with the FitPAWS training tools. The FitPaws® Agility Kit is great to practice indoor jump training, and the cones can be used for left & right heeling turns. Set up the Hurdle Set for gait training as well. Make sure that your dog has a strong square sit with hind-end strengthening exercises such as puppy sit-ups on the FitPaws® Balance Disc or Peanut. Teach your dog “place” on the FitPAWS Balance Disc or Wobble Boards for core strength and confidence building. Develop tight turns, body awareness and core strength by having your dog practice pivoting exercises around the Balance Discs with their front feet on or back feet on. A tired dog is a well-mannered dog!
Fitness and Strength Training for Canine Freestyle
Improve balance, body awareness, tight turns, and overall core strength with FitPAWS training tools. Training with FitPAWS will benefit the powerhouse or core of the dog’s body, flexibility, and balance control needed for routines performed in Canine Freestyle. Practice paw-awareness with the FitPaws® Paw Pods. Have your dog back up on to them, lateral side step or practice paw target awareness exercises to increase proprioception.
Improve gait, rhythm and body awareness with FitPaws® Agility Kit. Practice cone weaving heels, crawling, gait training, and jumping with the FitPaws® Hurdle Set. Advanced exercises include backwards walking through the Hurdle Set, and lateral side stepping.
Practice pivots and circular heels with the FitPAWS Discs, Wobble boards or Donuts. Improve balance and spinal musculature with “Sit-Prettys” on the FitPaws® Balance Discs. Increase overall core strength, flexibility and practice “log-rolls” and rebounds with the FitPaws® Peanut. Cross training on the FitPaws® Peanuts, or Donut is a fun core workout and will improve your dog’s core strength for overall injury prevention and increased performance.
Fitness and Strength Training for Dog Sledding
Weight pulling and sled dogs pull a lot of weight that can cause strain on the body. It’s important that these dogs have strong shoulders, hips, and an overall strong core for pulling weight. Consistent and proper cross training with FitPaws® will help increase core strength, flexibility and may help minimize injuries associated with weight pulling. Focus on exercises that will strengthen abs, spine, shoulders and hips. The FitPaws® Peanut is a recommended product for overall core strengthening and can be used to stretch out your dog for a cool down session after exercise. Puppy-squats, push-ups, standing-rocks and sit-pretties can be done on the FitPaws® Peanuts, Donuts, and 36″ Wobble Board for core strengthening.
Fitness and Strength Training for Herding Dogs
Herding dogs need a strong core, coordination and body awareness on the field to perform at their best. Herding dogs love to “work”, so put your dog to work with FitPaws® cross training when they can’t herd outside. Whether your dog is involved in herding large round balls (Treibball), or livestock, they engage their core as they twist and turn on the field, so make sure that they are in prime shape and have a strong core. Incorporating the FitPaws® Canine Conditioning Equipment into their training routine is a great way to accomplish this.
The FitPaws® Peanut is a multi-functional core conditioning tool and can also be used for stretching exercises to maintain flexibility. If your dog has a strong core and good body awareness, it is less likely that they will injure themselves on the field.
Teach body awareness with the FitPaws® Paw Pods, FitPaws® Agility Kit, Focus on hind end strengthening exercises such as reps of sit-to-stand on the FitPaws® Balance Discs. Keep your dog’s core in tip top shape so they can herd at their best!
Fitness and Strength Training for Lure Course Dogs
Lure Coursing dogs race at full speed, chasing the lure, and can be prone to many sports-related injuries. These canine athletes can benefit greatly from cross training on FitPaws® equipment. Training on FitPaws® Canine Conditioning Equipment instantly activates core muscles as your dog tries to stay balanced on the subtly shifting surfaces. This invaluable instability training will fine tune and tone your dog’s coordination, increase core strength, and body awareness so they can race at their best!
Focus on hind-end strengthening exercises with reps of puppy-squats on the FitPaws® Peanut, Balance Disc or Donut. (Large dogs may need to use 2 Donuts.) Ramp up your dog’s jumping and body awareness skills with the Agility Kit; perfect for indoor or outdoor training. Get the edge over the competition by cross training with FitPaws® Canine Conditioning Equipment!