Clean Run - February 2015 - 10

Body Awareness
and Balance
Training for Puppies
By Bobbie Lyons, Cert CF. Photos courtesy of author

CONDITIONING

Agility training requires a good sense of pr oprioception (body a wareness) to properly and e˜ ciently manage obstacles on an agility course.
Successful agility requires speed, stamina, and c oordination. Starting
body awareness training with your puppy at an early age is key to establishing e˜ cient movement.

Dogs rely heavily (60% or more) on their front assembly for
movement. It takes less effort and energy when dogs efficiently use their core muscles and rear assembly because more
muscles are working together to propel the dog forward.
Training exercises using inflatable balance products introduce your puppy to a variety of surfaces that promote proper
muscle engagement and improve balance and coordination.
Just like with agility training, it is important to focus on training foundation behaviors on the "flat" slowly and for short periods of time before trying them on a peanut or other inflatable. Focus on slow, controlled movements that engage the
smaller supporting muscle groups.
Many dogs "power" their way through life engaging only the
larger muscles, which can contribute to injury because the
smaller muscles used to stabilize are not strong enough to
withstand the abuse caused by repetitive training. If we can
teach puppies to distribute weight to all four feet while managing different surfaces, they will use more muscle groups in
their movement which will reduce the chance of injury.

When to Start?
For best results, start body awareness exercises that engage
not only your puppy's large muscle groups but the smaller
supporting muscles around your puppy's joints at 8-12 weeks
of age and continue throughout his lifetime. Make sure to include mental and physical stamina training to prepare your
dog for future training in agility.

How Long to Train?
For conditioning and trick training, train no longer than 1
minute for every month your dog is old. This does not mean 1
minute per exercise, but rather 1 one minute per session. You
can, however, train several times per day in the early stages;
for example, if your puppy is 3 months old, each session
should be no longer than 3 minutes.
10

Puppy Exercises
There are many different exercises and activities that help
improve your puppy's physical and mental capabilities. Some
examples of exercises that promote good body awareness,
four-limb engagement, and surface training, as well as mental and physical stamina, are included here.
Foot Awareness
Train your puppy to stand on four FitPAWS Paw Pods. This exercise focuses on teaching your puppy to place each foot independently, engages the smaller and larger muscles groups,
and improves weight distribution, coordination, and stability.
You don't want to teach this exercise by luring your puppy because he will concentrate on the food in your hand with very
little focus on his limbs and feet. It is important to teach your
puppy to find the objects on his own, so do not place his feet
on the Paw Pods. Shaping this exercise is the best way to reap
the benefits of body awareness. When shaping, your puppy
will be focused on moving each foot to earn a cookie, rather
than just following the cookie.
1. Train front feet
on the Paw Pods
first.
Training Tips:

2. Train an independent back up (to
improve rear foot
awareness and
to help with foot
placement).

3. Train a back up to the Paw Pods (use a channel if need be).
4. Finally ask for front and rear feet on the pods.

Clean Run | February 15

Clean Run - February 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - February 2015