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Stretching
for the Canine Athlete
From
Warm-Up to Cool Down
by
Glyn Clayton
We
as dog trainers must remember a very important point, and it is that our
dogs are canine athletes. They are just like runners, gymnasts, basketball,
and football players. We ask them in our training to perform great physical
and mental feats. Yet, time and time again, I see trainers teach and
practice the specific skills required for competition without building the
proper platform on which these skills lay. The platform is physical
conditioning. Just as all human athletes know that they must include this as
part of their training program, so should we for our canine athletes.
Dog
owners today are doing so many different activities with their dogs, both
competitively and just for fun, that require a high level of physical
conditioning. Agility, obedience, tracking, schutzhund, ring sport, herding,
flyball, SAR (search and rescue), conformation, the list goes on and on.
This is not just taking Rover for a walk in the park; these are athletic
sports, and our dogs are the athletes. The difference between a high score
and a lower one is often timed in fractions of seconds, or in how fast the
dog performs a particular exercise. In addition to speed, concentration and
the ability to deal with stress play a role in every dog sport, and these
characteristics too can be affected by the physical condition of the dog.
Physical
conditioning can be broken down into three main areas: strength, endurance,
and flexibility. Strength is the ability of the dog�s muscles and tendons
to bear the load of and move the dog�s body. Endurance is the ability for
the dog�s lungs, muscles, tendons, and other physical systems to work
together to sustain activities over longer periods of time. Flexibility is
the range of motion allowed by the amount of stretch in the muscles and
tendons.
Flexibility
In
the dog sport world, flexibility is the most neglected of the three
conditioning areas. Working on some simple stretches as part of a warm-up
routine prior to any physical activity is an easy way to add flexibility
training to your program.
The
importance of the warm up is to prepare the canine athlete for the task at
hand. I can not tell you how many times I have seen handlers pull their dogs
from their crates and immediately begin to require them to perform at high
levels of precision�turning fast, running fast, and striking fast. All too
often, the dog comes up hurt later that day or the next day, and the handler
cannot figure out what could have happened. It is such a simple thing to do,
warming up your dog, yet very good handlers overlook it all the time.
Warm
up
Warm-up
stretching should consist of some basic stretches as outlined below, as well
as some activity to get the dog�s blood pumping so the body will be
prepared for more strenuous activities to follow. This activity does not
need to be complicated, and I find that a short walk (distance depends on
air temperature and amount of time at rest) at a moderate pace works very
well. I recommend that the walk come first with the stretching immediately
following. This way the dog is just a bit warmed up and the stretching will
come easier.
Stretching
Exercises
Stretch
1
Place
your dog in a standing position with his rear either pushed up against your
legs or with you straddling his rear, facing the same direction as the dog.
With tidbits of food in your hand, guide the dog to stretch his nose to the
sky while keeping him from sitting or bringing the front feet off the
ground. Next, move the bait down in between the front legs, so the dog curls
his neck and head down as close to his body as possible, while discouraging
him from moving the front feet. Alternate between up and down stretches.
Remember to move slowly from one to the other�this is a stretch.
Stretch
2
Place
your dog in the same position as in Stretch 1 and move the food from in
front of the dog�s nose to the left, encouraging the dog to move its nose
towards its tail by bending in the middle. Do the same to the right and
alternate slowly from left to right. Do not allow the dog to stretch too
far! The drive for the food may push the dog to go farther than it should at
first. Build up the amount of bend slowly. Eventually the dog should be able
to bend all the way to get a piece of food placed just to the opposite side
of his tail (you will have to adjust your position at this point so you are
only supporting the dog with one leg to keep the rear end from following the
front).
Stretch 3
With
the dog standing and you at his right side, carefully pick up the dog�s
left front foot with your left hand. With your right hand in the middle of
the dog�s chest, carefully pull the left leg straight out in front of the
dog. Next, carefully tuck the leg up tight against the dog�s body (the
complete opposite position as stretched out) and then repeat a few times.
Next work the �wrist� joint gently back and forth a few times. Do the
same on the other front leg�be sure you switch sides! Build the amount of
stretch slowly, pulling forward only until you feel the slightest
resistance.
Stretch
4
With
the dog standing and you standing off to one side of his rear, take a hind
leg and carefully tuck it up tight to the body. Next gently pull the leg so
it is extended directly behind the dog. Repeat this a few times and then
work the �ankle� joint back and forth a few times. Do the same with the
other leg. Build the amount of stretch slowly, pulling back only until you
feel the slightest resistance.
Cool
Down
Just
as important as warm up is a cool-down period. This can consist of a walk
similar to that used as part of the warm-up routine, but should last at the
least until the dog�s breathing returns to normal prior to being put back
into a small kennel or crate. Water given during the cool-down period should
be lukewarm not ice cold and given in small amounts over the cool-down
period.
Our
canine athletes need a program that puts them at their best physical
condition so they can properly handle the physical and mental stresses
training for dog sports places on them. The program needs to incorporate proper warm up, stretching,
and cool down. It should
include strength, endurance, and flexibility training.
Sound like a lot of trouble? Well maybe, but it really is common
sense. Your attention to
building your dog�s flexibility and making sure that your dog is properly
warmed up and cooled down could eliminate weeks of down time due to an
injury.
Glyn
Clayton trains and competes with her German Shepherd dogs in various dog
sports including Schutzhund, Agility, and AKC Obedience & Tracking.
Glyn�s current competition dog is Midnight Calamity,
FH2,CDX,TD,TR3,OB2,OA,OAJ,BH,AD,CGC,TT and her up and coming star is
Hellequin vom Eichenluft.
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