Cyrius Canine Training and Kennel

20/06/2024

A great visual aid for watching for heat injury!

12/05/2024

13/04/2024

There are two key messages for managing hot dogs: – Cool first, transport second. – Cool using water, the colder the better but use what you have available.

26/03/2024

Signs of fatigue can vary from dog to dog. As a handler it's important to identify these signs before sloppy training persists, and injury risk goes up!

Fatigue starts long before your dog is laying down panting heavily, squinting and with their tongue on the ground …
Understanding and recognizing early signs of fatigue is key to keeping our dogs successful in training, and their bodies safe.
The longer you train, the higher the chance that your dog will experience:
🏋️ physical fatigue (tired body)
🤯 mental fatigue (tired mind - too much information)
❤️‍🩹 emotional fatigue (tired mind - too much stress/excitement)
Or often a combination of these!
The subtle signs can be easy to miss. And if we don’t stop training when our dog first tells us they had enough, things usually go downhill fast …
Be observant and look out for the following:

1️⃣ Disengagement
If your dog has been happy and enthusiastic during your session and suddenly disengages, sniffs the ground or wanders off, chances are they had enough. Do not keep pushing them to train … it will likely not be successful.
2️⃣ Overarousal
Your dog was in a focused state of mind, but suddenly “spins out of control”? Even though over-excitement may look like excess energy to us, it can actually be a sign that the dog needs a break! Some dogs “stress up” (become MORE crazy as they get tired).
3️⃣ Fidgeting
Your dog was doing well (for example by staying in a Sit Stay), but suddenly starts adding “random” behaviors? Stepping in place, scratching, sniffing themselves etc. are all signs that your dog is getting tired.
4️⃣ Regression
Your dog was doing well at the beginning of the training session, but seems to actually get *worse* as time goes on? This is a very common and often overlooked sign of fatigue.
We see it especially in reactive dog training, where dogs are fine at the beginning of a session, but exposure near their threshold and trigger stacking makes them more and more stressed throughout.
Don’t ignore these first signs. If you try to push through it, your dog will not magically recover (mentally, physically or emotionally) … but is much more likely to keep making mistakes, rehearse unwanted behaviors or even get injured!
Which of the above signs of fatigue do you see most often in your dog?

09/02/2024

Proper foot care is essential for any sport or activity, even a casual game of frisbee in the snow can cause scrapes, cuts and blood spots on the floor. Best practice is to check feet after each activity to avoid discomfort and stress.

To maintain healthy feet during extensive outdoor activities like mushing, drag work, rabbit hunting, or tracking, it's crucial to intermittently examine them to ensure they are in good condition and adapted to the trail conditions.

03/02/2024

Sharing this great infographic here! Identifying fatigue is an important skill as a handler AND pet owner!
From daily activities like hiking and fetch, to skillwork in advanced sports. When the body gets tired, your injury risk rate increases significantly. Dogs won't always restrict themselves, when they are having fun.

A very important topic in canine fitness -- signs of fatigue! Sharing this again because it's *that* important.


𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐠?

Knowing when your dog is getting tired is a KEY part of fitness training!

Dogs can only communicate to us with their bodies, so it is OUR job as handlers to watch for signs of fatigue and to RESPECT what they are telling us.

Reaching fatigue during fitness training is important for progress & muscle development, but 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍.

Many dogs will work through fatigue, pain, and discomfort (especially in the presence of food rewards!!). It’s up to us to not let them go too far past physical limits.

Muscles that are tired cannot work as effectively as rested muscles. Working a fatigued muscle too long will put strain on other parts of the dog - weaker muscles, ligaments, or tendons - which can lead to compensation, overuse, and injuries!

SEEING the fatigue is not easy!! Especially if you are just getting started with your canine fitness journey. 🥰

I made this little cheat sheet to help the humans be more aware of what fatigue might look like in the dog!

You’ll notice the word “CHANGE” a lot in the descriptions below. This is the main thing I watch for with my own dogs when training. Watching for a 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 in posture, attitude, speed, topline, (etc) from the dog’s normal, or from the start of the session, is the best first step in reading your dog’s level of fatigue.

𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐄

𝐅 - FIDGETING - excessive foot movements, dramatic change in foot position, dog is no longer staying still or starts to offer other behaviours, etc.

𝐀 - AVOIDANCE - dog starts to avoid or refuse well-known behaviours, or leaves work entirely.

𝐓 - TOPLINE - change in the dog’s topline from the dog’s normal or from the beginning of the session (often showing up as roaching/hunched/rounded back or a dip behind the withers (swayback).

𝐈 - INTENSITY - change in the dog’s speed, intensity, and/or attitude of the exercise.

𝐆 - GENERALIZED STRESS SIGNALS - watch for excessive stress signals: lip licking, yawing, tucking tail between legs, sniffing, avoiding eye contact, hard mouth, loss of confidence (“shutting down”), becoming frantic, etc.

𝐔 - USE OF LIMBS - changes in weight distribution between limbs (dog offloads or favours one leg), change in leg position (tucking hind limbs beneath pelvis, or “posting” with front legs), etc.

𝐄 - EXTERNAL ROTATION - watch for external rotation of elbows, carpal joints, hips, stifles, and hock joints - especially if different than the dog’s normal posture.

If you see 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐄:
1️⃣ Stop and give the dog a rest!
2️⃣ Reassess your session - At what point is the fatigue showing up? Can the dog comfortably & with good form complete more reps? Did you make it too hard too fast?
3️⃣ EITHER
A - Continue the session if the dog seems better after a rest.
OR
B - End the session if the dog continues to show fatigue!

⚠️𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ⚠️ If you are seeing these signs of fatigue REGULARLY (during training and in life) - keep track, make notes, and most importantly ask a veterinary professional. Your dog may be showing signs of chronic pain/discomfort instead of just fatigue! If so, it will be important to STOP canine fitness training, and figure out WHY your dog is displaying these signs, before you carry on with any training.

28/01/2024

A great write up on risks of fetch and alternatives to make it safer!

Not sure what might be bad about repetitive ball throwing? Read more, and also learn some perhaps more appropriate ways of exercising and bonding with your...

18/01/2024

No pull harnesses are intended for training, not sport dog exercise. Long term use in high impact activities will inhibit range of motion and can cause compensatory issues with gait. If you want to use a harness for exercise, hiking and long distance work, find a Y-back, X-back or custom harness for your pups. We want comfort AND as much range of motion in the shoulders as possible. Read Dr. Zink's comments in the article below!
I've no doubt that dogs wearing these harnesses long term will have affects. I do know that dogs have been pulling in y-back harnesses, for centuries, and still have great longevity and quality of life.
If you do want to do pulling sports or mushing sports with your dogs, it is important to teach collar pressure and loose leash walking at a young and early age. 'Practice makes permanent!' BE it dragging you down the street or walking and sniffing politely.

And as someone in the veterinary field, if you do choose to not use a collar for walking, please, please, please, still train collar pressure, collar grabs and gentle restraint. None of us want to be your dog's first experience being handled in an emergency. Collar or not I am holding your dog's neck and head, to protect myself. I am not holding the harness b/c I cannot deflect a head butt or teeth from behind their shoulders. Ask me how I know.

A sports medicine guru and canine athlete enthusiast, Dr. Zink posits that no-pull harnesses are detrimental to a dog's structure and gait.

09/01/2024

Partners in Canine is hosting me for a mini workshop! Reach out for information and availability! Limited spots available.

Join us for a Fitness and Conditioning Workshop with Dani Cyr. Learn how to provide safe behaviors to both enhance your pup's' skill set AND keep them fit! From the family pet to the drivey sport dog, simple movements and exercises can develop appropriate muscle memory, proper posture and mitigate injury from day-to-day dog antics! These tactics can enhance the quality of life for aging dogs and help them age gracefully. Body awareness and proprioception are paramount for growing pups and all ages. Let's learn some basics of functional fitness, identifying structural weaknesses, and build a better foundation to live life to the fullest!

February 3rd, at 4 pm Partners in Canine in Windham, ME
Limited Spots Available!

01/01/2024

Join us for a Fitness and Conditioning Workshop with Dani Cyr. Learn how to provide safe behaviors to both enhance your pup's' skill set AND keep them fit! From the family pet to the drivey sport dog, simple movements and exercises can develop appropriate muscle memory, proper posture and mitigate injury from day-to-day dog antics! These tactics can enhance the quality of life for aging dogs and help them age gracefully. Body awareness and proprioception are paramount for growing pups and all ages. Let's learn some basics of functional fitness, identifying structural weaknesses, and build a better foundation to live life to the fullest!

February 3rd, at 4 pm Partners in Canine in Windham, ME
Limited Spots Available!

30/12/2023

03/12/2023

We are taking registrations for Tricks classes starting in January!

We will cover 6 to 10 tricks IN class, and over a dozen additional ideas, for this 5 week session. If prepared by week five, dogs can test for their AKC Trick Dog titles! Intermediate and advanced dogs are welcome, to work on new ideas and troubleshoot with my assistance.

Let's make some one-on-one time and have fun despite this cold season!

Please email here for registration info and questions: [email protected]

03/12/2023

We have openings for group Fitness Foundations, in Berwick Maine! Classes starting in January.

Email: [email protected]
For registration info.

Reserve your spot today!

03/12/2023

Does your pet dog love learning new tricks?
Are you looking for some new things to do while the winter weather demotivates your activity?
Would you like to try a program where the tricks serve a purpose in canine health and fitness?

This winter I am offering virtual 'trick' ideas that will benefit your companion with proprioception, flexibility and mental enrichment!

We will build communication skills between handler and companion. These fold over into daily interactions!
We will build confidence in learning new skills and mastering old ones.
We will enhance your pet's quality of life by keeping them moving and actively working muscle groups that mitigate injury in day-to-day activities.
We will provide a great sense of mental enrichment to help your companion settle easier in the home.
We will be able to better identify changes in your companion's health and comfort level as they age.

26/11/2023

Kevvy has been working on his planks at home, so we used some of his video journaling to make a video for students! Isn't he so cute!

Created by VideoShow:http://videoshowapp.com/free

08/10/2023

This is a great explanation of the importance of exercising the shoulders, outside of the sport work you are already doing!

19/09/2023

As your dog retrieves the first...second...third...maybe fifth or sixth ball, his muscles start to tire and soon they reach overload, where they no longer can fully control and support your dog's movements. Now, when your dog does those amazing athletic maneuvers to snag the ball, soft tissues like the cranial cruciate ligament, iliopsoas muscle and tendon, and the muscles and ligaments that support the vertebrae are overstretching. Minor tears are occurring. Now the ball is thrown 10, 12 times or more and ultimately your dog lies down, exhausted.

That period between when your dog's muscles are in overload, and when your dog lies down exhausted, is the injury zone (Figure 1). But remember, with all that adrenaline, your dog doesn't feel the injuries happening, so you have no idea that the tissues are being used beyond their capacity.

When this game is repeated day after day, month after month, the small tissue tears become large ones, and suddenly it becomes evident that your dog is in pain and has an injury. Of course, it hasn't been sudden at all-what seemed sudden is just the final result of repeated stress and strain until the tissues gave way.

Chris Zink DVM
Discovering Your Dog

14/08/2023

Kevlar had to put in some work this weekend. For those wondering, weight pull is a sport that doesn't use only his brute strength. It uses his brain. It's very hard on his baby dawg brain.
This pull, while not much, was after he had a moment of doubt. But, he worked through it. I still need to work on timing my fouls more appropriately so it reinforces his hope. I'm very proud of the boy dog when he is using his brain!

My only goal for him, was to do the thing, 20 hours from home, on a new track. He did that and even got some pretty ribbons.
It'll be some time before we get competitive.
For now I want his brain to be convinced, that he can! No matter how hard it seems.

Weight Pull is his mandatory meditation. In training and on the track. He can't hyper excite. He can't get into trouble. He can't pick fights. His drive must be focused. He must, focus on himself and what's in front of him.

This weekend was exciting. And informative. Our relationship to come, still has much to work on. He's teaching me things every day, while I try to teach him too.