FLIRT POLE
Flirt pole is a great interactive game you can play with your dog with huge benefits for fitness and if you have limited mobility as a handler is perfect to give them a good workout. As with everything it’s important not to overdo it and notice signs of fatigue and tiredness
A short game with the flirt pole of 10 minutes or less can tire your dog quicker than going on a long walk
I start low and also give warning when we are going to turn.
I let my dog catch it and release and start again
If you’re going to do Lure coursing I then move up to more sudden movements. I don’t do it straight away to give my dog understanding of what will happen and prevent injury from sharp sudden turns
** It is important to warm your dog up first before jumping straight into strenuous exercise
*** I would not use a flirt pole with high intensity on a pup due to the turning and at times jumping
Benefits
👉 Flirt poles give a great cardio workout but also strengthens muscles. Change of direction works the whole body and the core.
👉 Improves co ordination
👉 Engage with your dog builds a bond with them
👉 Teach your dog self control and wait
👉 Requires minimal effort of movement from handler so great for those with limited mobility
👉 great training for sports such as lure coursing
My dogs love the flirt pole coming out, I’m never quick enough for a longer session. But they love it and when lure coursing starts I am going to see how Archie goes.
#winningtouchk9rehabilitation #cockerspanielsofinstagram #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #cockerspaniel #flirtpole #flirtpolefun #flirtpoledog #flirtpolework
PIVOTTING
This for me is One of the foundations that you need to build on for many many exercises. There’s so many exercises once a dog learns how to pivot that they can do not only in conditioning but also body awareness for heeling and dog training.
This exercise not only is a strengthening exercise but it also is for body awareness and coordination and proprioception.
Aim: The aim of this exercise is for a dog to pivot around the object. To start with it’s easy to have a circular object no higher than the wrist/carpus of the dog. I did this exercise with my puppy in and built-up to lateral stepping.
As the front legs are elevated most of the weight is shifted to the rear legs and as the dog is walking sideways it works the abductors and adductors of the rear legs. But it’s also working the front legs in an isometric contraction as they are stabilising the body and doing small little circles on the object that they are standing on.
As I was doing it with a puppy it is very important to do short intervals, I tossed the food and reset and I also mark and reward every little step in the beginning.
Pre Requisites
👉 Front feet target
👉 Elevated front feet
👉 Stillness
Like us on Facebook and Instagram at winning touch k9Massage
I am a mobile service based on the north shore of Sydney, servicing the Sydney area mainly the North Shore and northern Beaches.
#therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #caninerehabilitationtherapist #stabilizer #pivotting #kobiepuppyconditioningjourney #puppyconfidence #puppyfitness #puppyfitnessjourney #puppyfit
FRONT LEG WEIGHT SHIFTING
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
This is the next level up from Weight shifting which is done on a flat surface. Once an exercise is executed properly you need to then make an exercise more difficult or harder, keeping it at the same level will not help strengthen the muscles and dogs can get bored doing the same thing. Making an exercise more difficult can happen in various ways, raising the height, making an unstable surface in the world are two examples. When you raise the rear legs it shifts more weight to the front. The unstable surface add even more weight and also works the stabiliser muscles.
This is mainly a front leg exercise where you are pushing on the dog shoulder to shift weight to the other side. But it also work core muscles as they are engaging to help stop the dog from falling over. The stabiliser muscles in rear and front legs are engaging against the Push to stop the dog from falling over.
Isometric contractions, the legs aren’t moving in flexion or extension but still a muscle contraction
Pre requisites
👉 Use to a stable surface
👉 Rear feet targeting
👉 Forward focus
👉 Stillness
👉 Beginner weight shifting
Weight shifting is a great exercise to get weight onto other legs by gently pushing on the opposite leg. With your hand Pushing gently against the shoulder the dog resists the movement and weight goes onto the other leg.
#winningtouchk9rehabilitation #therapeuticexercisesfordogs #shoulderworkout #therapeuticexercise #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #frontlegstrengthening #dogs #therapeuticexerciseprogram #therapeuticexercises #intermediate #therapeuticexercisefordogs #stabilizer
UPHILL SPRINTS
One thing after Kobies lung operation and wanting to get back to do agility with him as he loves the sport was we had to work on his aerobic and anaerobic fitness. The anaerobic part was actually the easiest while their Robeck part was actually harder in getting him to trot and run for 10 to 15 minutes with me and a sore ankle. At least living where I’m surrounded by hills had a benefit for once in my dogs recoveries
👉 The sprints are to last for 10 seconds these were actually shorter at times
👉 I used a pod where you put in food and then they can open it as he actually had to have a two minute rest between each sprint, that went to a lesser time over time
👉 I also used a flirt pole where we had to run up the hill after it, this resulted in me having to run to and she could have a little break playing with it.
👉 you can throw a ball up the hill, I did not want that, I wanted something that would stop and he could get two rather than something that would continue going and he might have to do a sudden stop which could then affect his thoracic limb they had to cut through.
👉 I did increase the distance he had to run when going out placed and they had hills
Until I had to do this I really never thought of it but it is a great exercise especially for flyball and agility dogs moving up to longer sprints with less recovery time
*** if your dog is recovering from an injury, surgery or has a heart condition please ensure you check with your vet or whoever you are seeing first. As with every exercise they are suitable at set times in recovery or suitable for fit and healthy dogs****
#caninerehabilitationtherapist #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #cockerspaniel #cockerspanielsofinstagram #anaerobic #anaerobictraining #anaerobicexercise #sprinttraining #lungoperationrecovery
PISTOL SQUAT
This exercise is one of the newer exercises that I have learnt over the past couple of years. I had a list of exercises that I’ve done for so long and then started finding more and more exercises to do when I started learning canine conditioning and rehab. Once my dogs got it, it was great.
Pre Requisite
👉 Front feet targeting
👉 Rear target
👉 Stillness
👉 Pivot step up and down
The main leg working in this exercise is the stationary leg. This leg is to be kept still and not too abducted. Jaxon had a bit of trouble keeping that leg still as he was never taught stillness and got overly excited.
Foot Touching the floor should touch as close to the target as possible. When Kobie does this you will notice the Stary isn’t abducted as much.
The muscles engaged in the stationary leg are the hamstrings, quadriceps, gluteals, abductors and the stabilises of the hip, stifle and tarsus.
The foot which is being lowered down, should have minimal muscle engagement, at times in the video there is more muscle engagement than there should be as more weight is put on that leg when the stationary leg is more abducted
This was an interesting exercise to do, as my dogs do Pivot step up and step down, they were wanting to do that at first. But my hand movements we got the desired result.
*** as with all exercises if your doggies injured, recovering from surgery or compromised, please don’t attempt these exercises with Vet clearance***
#caninerehabilitationtherapist #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #cockerspaniel #cockerspanielsofinstagram #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #pistolsquat #pistolsquats #rearlegstrengthening #caninerearleg
BALL FUN
The so many fun ways, if you have a bald obsessed dog that even when they’re injured and need to be kept quite Ish, but they can still have a bit of fun. It also depends how obsessed your dog is and if they can play with the ball without getting overly stimulated ,
This was one of the fun games Jaxon and I used to play a lot where he would sit or lie down and catch the ball, but instead of catching it, he would throw it back to me and then he would catch it and the game would start again. It was one of his tricks, that when he was a therapy dog, they just loved watching him do it. As a result, the others have learnt from watching him except for she was never into balls except if another dog had it.
Another fun game which I didn’t put here was we would be opposite each other and I’ll draw the ball and he would try and catch the ball before it got to his chest. If it got there, I got another go.
Another one was hide and seek. I would hide the ball and he would have to find it, he was very good at that. So is Kobie
We would make up a few ball games during wet weather, when he wasn’t allowed to chase a ball or in the evening when he was excited which was often.
These games also had another benefit that it helped with their coordination, their eyes had to follow the ball to be able to play with it
This video, though is of Kobie during his recovery.
Anyone have any other fun games they play with their dogs with balls when they can’t chase
#winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #caninerehabilitationtherapist #safeballfun #inside #all #insideball #inside #all #insideballfun #dogcatch #balllovingdog #cockerspaniel #cockerspanielsofinstagram
THERABANDS
Therabands are a great tool for rehab and recovery and has so many uses. They can also be used in conditioning to provide resistance to. Therabands come in various strengths and it’s important to get the correct strength to start with and progress. Are use human ones as they are the only ones around.
They actually target set muscles and groups depending when you position them.
It is very important to be shown how to use them and the correct way and resistance provided. Too much resistance especially in rehab can cause issues. You DO NOT want the dog to lose balance, push weight to the other leg
Pre Requisites
👉 Square Stand
👉 Stillness
👉 Forward Focus
*** if your dog is recovering from surgery or an injury you need to get Vet clearance to start any exercise. Was this is a great exercise for rehab it is to be done under guidance and at set healing times***
SIDE STEPPING
ADVANCE LEVEL
This exercise was taught to me at a canine conditioning seminar from an overseas presenter. It was for mainly people who do agility and this was one of the weaving exercises to help strengthen the adductors and abductors Of the shoulders. And this is a great exercise for any dog competing in sports like agility, frisbee, flyball Not just the proper all good weaving performance but for turns in flyball as it helps by having proper muscle strength and stability in the medial and lateral shoulder muscles.
This is an advanced level as you now have the unstable surface that is used. Adding an unstable surface you now just don’t have the adductors and abductus of the shoulders but you also have the stabilising muscles of the core and spine and also the stabilises of the hips.
Pre Requisites
👉 Front feet target
👉 Rear feet target
👉 Beginning side stepping
This is an exercise are use often leading up to big competitions and is one are use later in my dogs recovery from his lung operation when he had months and months of agility
#caninebodyawareness #therapeuticexercise #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #unstablesurface #agilitytraining #agilitydog #caninerehabilitationtherapist #canineconditioning #agilitydogsofinstagram #agility #canineconditioningfitness #frontlegstrengthening #therapeuticexercisefordogs #corestrengtheningexercises #canineconditioningexercises #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #agilityconditioning
ARTHRITIS AND OLDER DOGS
Arthritis is painful for us and for our dogs.
Arthritis causes chronic pain and is a problem for many dogs as they get older and some when they are younger. Arthritis major cause in dogs is from a secondary issue such as hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, patella luxation, cruciate ligament or trauma.
Osteo arthritis it’s a disease that affects all age groups it’s not just for older dogs but it can affect young dogs and even puppies. So don’t make them mistake of thinking that arthritis is a disease only for old dogs
When dogs reach an older age they can start to slow down and like us their joints can start to stiffen up and they don’t want to move as much.
There is a lot that you as an owner can do to help your dogs as they age and especially when they start to get arthritis. Many times we as owners don’t notice the subtle signs that our dog might be getting arthritis especially if they’re not old, it’s not until they can’t get up as well, they struggle to get onto the bed, they struggle to climb the stairs and sometimes they might start to be snappy with the pain there in if we want to touch them .The best way to manage arthritis is multi modal which is approaching it from many directions
🐶 It’s important to keep them active still and mobile and taking them for walks and doing some exercises.
🐶 Home environment and lifestyle is extremely important. Do they have to walk upstairs to get into the house, to get down to go to the toilet, to get to their bed. Are they reluctant to climb up the stairs or hesitant to go out and go to the toilet. Do they need help in getting onto the lounge you’re up onto the bed. It is important to make their life as easy as possible and this might include getting a ramp or small steps to help them get on and off the bed or the couch or encourage them to lay next to you on a bed
🐶 What is your car like, do you have a big four-wheel-drive. Is your dog struggling to get into t
PUPPY PUSH UPS
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
When doing exercises especially food conditioning the aim is to increase the degree of difficulty once the dog has mastered that level. This can be various ways one of which is to add unstable surfaces to either the front or rear legs
This is a great exercise for the shoulders and elbows with flexion and extension.
Rear legs remain stationary but as front feet are elevated weight is shifted to them and they are working to stabilise against the push ups plus with the unstable surface.
To make it harder you can put an unstable surface for them to push up against. This will be used in my rehabbing of my dog against a bicep injury at the moment but he isn’t up to this or beginner yet.
Pre Requisites
👉 beginner puppy push-ups
I love this front leg exercise but also works the core, spine and hind legs. I do front legs on a day, hindlegs another day, core strength another day so on my front leg days this is when I do use at times when I want to make it harder.
#therapeuticexercises #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #therapeuticexercise #frontlegstrengthening #therapeuticexercisefordogs #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #shoulderworkout #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #elbowflexion #therapeuticexerciseprogram #puppypushup #elbowextensorstrength #puppypushups #therapeuticexercisesfordogs #elbowextension #dogs #intermediate #harderlevel
Shake high 5 rear legs elevated
INTERMEDIATE EXERCISE
This exercise is an intermediate exercise as it has progressed from beginner.
This exercise is a front leg exercise, with the added height with the rear legs it’s put more weight on the front legs, which more affects the leg on the ground which is the stabilising leg. It also increases the core strength which is having to stabilise the body against the shake.
Lifting the front leg strengthens the whole elbow shoulder and upper thoracic part. It also requires small, fine muscles to activate, which is the flexors and extensions of the shoulder and the elbow. The leg that is stationary works the stabiliser muscles, so the body doesn’t collapse when the other leg is lifted up.
I have put the link in for the beginner exercise as I think I added it to YouTube but not here.
https://youtu.be/Vw4GiPMLYjA?si=Z1LgCBs-sikaD_X2
#therapeuticexercisefordogs #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #therapeuticexercise #therapeuticexerciseprogram #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #therapeuticexercises #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #caninerehabilitationtherapist #caninerehabtherapy #shoulderworkout #frontlegstrengthening #intermediate #stabilizer #thoracicmobility #elbowflexion #elbowextensorstrength #elbowextension #shake #high5
Stable vs. unstable surfaces
Is unstable the way to go and more fancy like many people think. I often see many dogs well owners start on unstable surfaces first and that makes me cringe. Who doesn't love to watch all those cool workouts performed on various unstable surfaces? Are you really helping your dog and is it as beneficial as it is fancy-looking?
Here are some facts about unstable surfaces.
Working out on UNSTABLE equipment
Primarily engages core and postural muscles that help to keep the dog's body in balance, the stabilisers. This is especially useful for rehabilitation purposes where
we need to re-educate and facilitate neuromuscular activity. There is a but and downside as only working on unstable surfaces that these stabilizers override the work of large muscle groups responsible for generating the actual power, so the total speed and strength of your dog might
decrease.
Unstable surfaces make the exercises more difficult, but do not appear to increase the "over-load" sufficiently to increase the strength and power that are developed with performing actions on stable surfaces, as they don’t necessarily target the larger muscles.
So there are some shortcomings to working out exclusively on unstable/inflatable fitness equipment.
You still need to perform dynamic exercises on STABLE surfaces as this is where the dog engages large muscle groups (the ones that are responsible for producing powerful actions), and this provides sufficient "over-load" to the
muscles to increase in power and strength.
Are use both unstable and stable surfaces in my workout more often than not a lot of them are stable, but as I progress both are added in along with height. It is important before adding unstable surfaces that your dog can execute the exercise with good form and posture, this is done on unstable first before progressing, too often, I do see people going straight for the unstable surface first.
#stablesurface #unstablesurface #caninebodyawareness
FUN AT THE PARK
Did you know that majority or many injuries at dog parks. I’m not talking about dog attacks but people who just take their dog on weekend and the rest of the week it’s left in the backyard all the most common I see is someone walks through a gate and just throws the ball straight away for their dog. Just like agility and other sports dogs need to be warmed up before going into full on running. Just like an athlete before they start their training they warmup.
I never go to a park and just throw a ball, saying that majority of the time my dogs don’t get a ball. The few times they do they need to walk around first and have a warmup before a ball is thrown.
Are dogs tearing their cruciates the most common cause is ball throwing from the sudden movement, especially if they go from doing nothing all week to Saturday running full out and stopping.
I like to do everything I can to help prevent injuries from occurring in my dogs
#caninerehabilitationtherapist #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #funatthepark #dogshavingfun #warmupstretch
FRONT FEET DOWN & UP
This was an exercise I got taught at the conditioning seminar a few years ago and I love it. When broken down it was easy to do but I was lucky that I had a dog that loved physio and understood things.
As my dogs do agility it’s a great front leg exercise in giving isometric, eccentric and concentric contractions to the front legs, whilst the core muscles are working to stabilise the body and keep it in a sit position
The leg that remains on the platform is strengthening in an isometric contraction and stabilising the body as the other leg is eccentric contraction, The muscle is lengthening of the muscle as it’s lowering to the ground against the gravity. Lifting the leg back up to the platform is a concentric, shortening of the muscle.
The platform needs to have slight height, not too high.
Pre Requisite
👉 Sit
👉 Shake
👉 Stillness
I love this front and exercise and it’s one I use when I’m getting back into agility with my dogs.
#winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #caninerehabilitationtherapist #corestrengtheningexercises #corestrengthtraining #therapeuticexercisefordogs #CanineArthritis #therapeuticexercise #frontlegstrengthening #canineconditioningexercises #canineconditioningfitness #kobiepuppyconditioningjourney #puppyfitnessjourney #agilitydog #agilityconditioning
CONTACT TRAINING
I do agility with my dogs, I’m still training one on Contacts but my other has now been trained but I still do conditioning exercises to help with the Dog walk to help make it as safe as possible to navigate. It is important for a dog to develop dynamic balance and coordination. The plank on the Dogwalk is quite narrow and dogs going across it at speed can lose their balance.
It’s important that we do all we can with foundation work today to make any equipment and the dogs doing that piece of equipment as safe as possible to prevent injury. It’s important as dogs owners for us to teach our dogs these skills so they have confidence.
My goal of any obstacle/skill is to get a reliable and safe execution of that obstacle or skill and for my dog to understand what is required and to be able to have the necessary skills to do it and training follows a step by step plan.
#caninerehabilitationtherapist #winningtouchk9rehabilitation #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #agilitydog #agility #agilitydogsofinstagram #agilitytraining #dogwalk #dogwalktraining #canineconditioning #canineconditioningfitness #canineconditioningexercises #caninebodyawareness
I’m having lots of fun teaching, my dogs, new things and exercises that I’m finding on various groups, pages. It’s important that dogs have variety so they don’t get bored and not work on the same thing over and over again. We do a few exercises each session, and unless I’m rehabbing an injury which in Kobies case I am and some of these are involved I do different ones each day, build on ones we know,
Each of these exercises will be written up over the next few weeks once I finish videoing .
I also love how my dog start to understand what’s asked from them from the foundation work we have done
DIGGING
My dogs well Kobie mainly love to dig, I thought he was digging to an underworld at times. I still want him to dig though as it is a great exercise, especially on their front legs. At the beach, he absolutely loves digging, but I thought I’d also try and teach it on command.
I found a piece of material and had some food under it and got the dogs to dig and rewarded every time they did, any part of it.
Digging is a great exercise to strengthen the front part of the body, not only the elbows and shoulders, but the carpus too.
But digging is also a great core strengthening exercise as the core is resisting the forces produced by the digging. Both the hypaxial and epaxial muscles are working, but also the hamstrings and hip flexes have to work to stabilise against the digging force
It’s an exercise that isn’t used by many because they don’t want their dogs to dig, but even getting a little sandpit or a small container filled with sand outside, not only helps with this exercise, but can also help relieve some boredom if left outside.
#winningtouchk9rehabilitation #caninerehabilitationtherapist #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #agilitytraining #canineconditioningexercises #canineconditioning #caninebodyawareness #therapeuticexercise #therapeuticexercisefordogs #frontlegstrengthening #hamstringstrengthening #digging #diggingdog #digginginthedirt
PUPPY PUSH UPS - BEGINNER LEVEL
This is a great exercise for the shoulders and elbows with flexion and extension.
It is concentric and eccentric contraction of both shoulder and elbow, isometric contraction of the rear legs.
First I reward the slightest movement of elbow flexion and back into extension of a stand.
Rear legs remain stationary but as front feet are elevated weight is shifted to them and they are working to stabilise against the push ups.
Pre Requisites
👉 Front feet target
👉 Elevated Stand
👉 Stillness
I love this front leg exercise but also works the core, spine and hind legs.
#winningtouchk9rehabilitation #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #therapeuticexercises #puppypushups #puppypushup #therapeuticexercise #therapeuticexercises #therapeuticexercisefordogs #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #therapeuticexercisesfordogs #therapeuticexerciseprogram #frontlegstrengthening #elbowflexion #elbowextension #elbowextensorstrength #shoulderworkout
*** as with all exercises. If your dog is injured or recovering from surgery, you need to get clearance from your vet and do these exercise under guidance. Doing exercises incorrectly, especially in recovery target wrong muscles and at times make it worse.***
FREE RUNNING
My dogs do a lot of free running, this means they don’t chase a ball but they run on their own accord. We do a lot of off flash walks some in the bush, others my favourite walks all around Sydney and even in New South Wales when we have travelled. It’s a great way to decompress after a competition and it’s a way that they can run around safely without a sudden turn or stop of a ball. They control their own movement.
Running is great to get their fitness up but as my dogs are agility dogs it’s not enough. I want more of a strength training program designed for agility and my dogs but it is great for endurance and the aerobic exercise that they need and still has many benefits
Benefits
👉 it helps a dog‘s mental health and well-being. Dogs can do more being out and free running with sniffing
👉 it improves the physical health of a dog – it helps to improve mobility and dogs can get fitter from running
👉 increase their fitness
👉 where is likely of injury – throwing a ball is the major cause of cruciates in dogs with the sudden stocking and turning.
👉 also benefits us as an owner, it’s help me become fitter by doing walks but my dogs can run around on.
👉 dogs can set their own pace so they are not stuck at a walk or a pace, they can choose the speed they want to go.
👉 Does improve their joints and then muscle mass and it does work quite a few muscles especially if there are hills (up or down)
❌ It is not good for dogs that do not have a recall, can be aggressive or reactive to other dogs or people unless you are in an enclosed space with no other dogs.
⛔️ The dogs that do not have a recall you can get a long line but on many of the places I go to that can be extremely dangerous as there’s bike riders and runners
I have a few of my favourite off leash walks when my dogs have heaps of fun free running and there is of course the beach to
#dogshavingfun #cockerspaniels #fitdogsofinstagram #itsa
WALKING FORWARDS THEN BACKWARDS
This is a great exercise that works the front legs, rear legs and also the core slightly. It is an intermediate exercise and one that I don’t use enough.
The stabilisers come into work when the legs go up and down separately on the platform and also the core.
Walking backwards works hamstrings, Quads and glutes as well
Forward walking works the shoulders, carpus, elbow, thoracic muscles.
Pre Requisites
👉 Front feet targeting
👉 Rear feet targeting
👉 Backward walking
I need to get back to doing this exercise again.
*** as with all exercises. If your dog is injured or recovering from surgery, you need to get clearance from your vet and do these exercise under guidance. Doing exercises incorrectly, especially in recovery target wrong muscles and at times make it worse.***
#winningtouchk9rehabilitation #therapeuticexercisesfordogs #therapeuticexercises #frontlegstrengthening #therapeuticexercisefordogs #winningtouchk9massagerehabilitation #dogs #therapeuticexerciseprogram #therapeuticexerciseandrehabilitation #therapeuticexercise #shoulderworkout #intermediate #rearlegstrengthening #hamstrings #hamstringsworkout #hamstringsandglutes #hamstringstrengthening #quadriceps #quadricepsworkout #thoracicmobility
