Canine Conditioning Seminar 7/16/22

Jackie and I attended the Canine Conditioning Seminar led by our coach Robin Barber at Cowtown Dog Sports. We learned about proper warm-up and cool-down, several balance and proprioception exercises to begin, the importance of proper form, and how to measure your dog to best track her body condition. It is important to trim your dog's toenails appropriately, about every couple of weeks, for proper balance and correct gait biomechanics. There was an excellent discussion about the role of dew claws and how dogs use their dew claws for running, balance, and stability. An ideal body condition score, from 1 being the most under-ideal to 9 being massively fat, is 4 to 5. However, it is noted that a dog can have an "ideal" body condition score of 4 to 5 and still have plenty of room to improve overall sport-related fitness. 

Pearls:

• Warm-up can include walking, stretches such as bow "Bravo!", moving laterally in full-pass, and sit-down-sit puppy push-ups
• Balance and proprioception exercises should only be introduced gradually and practiced for a few seconds at a time to gradually build your dog's fitness level and confidence
• Body condition is best tracked by keeping a weekly record of your dog's weight, hind legs circumference, waist circumference, and girth measurements
• Photographic tracking of your dog's body condition of front, rear, and both side views is also helpful in determining increased fitness over time
• Cool-down can include walking, treat-stretches, and stretches using a chair or the handler's body to elongate the dog in a full-body stretch

Jackie's initial body condition photos on 7/16/22:

Jackie's primary measurements on 7/16/22 are:

• Weight: 32.7 pounds
• Left hind leg circumference (at the gaskin): 25 centimeters
• Right hind leg circumference (at the gaskin): 23.5 centimeters
• Waist circumference (at the smallest "tuck" area): 43 centimeters
• Girth (where you would place the girth if she were a horse): 58 centimeters
• Measured previously on 9/9/21, Jackie's height at the withers is 19.5 inches

Overall, Jackie's body condition is within the ideal range as she is a 4 on a scale of 1 to 9.  A score of 4 means her ribs are easily palpable, with minimal fat covering, her waist is easily noted viewed from above, and her abdominal tuck is evident. 

Jackie's fitness level can certainly be improved from a dog-sport standpoint, which is our goal going forward.