The most important thing for all of us is to keep our canine athletes injury-free throughout their sport career. Best possible performance is a nice bonus. Easier said than done? Not at all! Effective warm-up routine helps reduce the risks of sport-related injuries of your dog and improve their physical performance!
Without a proper warmup your dog is prone to injury and won’t be able to perform at his best!
Why warm up?
It’s quite simple: without a proper warmup you won’t be able to perform at your best and are prone to injury. Your turns and direction changes will be slower, won’t be able to accelerate as fast and you’ll feel more sore the next day. The same applies for your dog – a proper warm-up routine:
helps reduce sport-related injuries,
raises cardiovascular and respiratory function,
improves your dog’s performance.
What is happening during warm-up?
When the dog starts to move, the blood circulation in their body increases. They breath more frequently, the blood flow to the tissues is higher and quicker, the tissues get more oxygen. Muscles and joints are warming up. Warmed up muscles & joints have higher mobility (prevent injury) and can generate more power (improved performance).
Principles of physical Warm-Up routine
Gradually increase the intensity
Include active & dynamic exercises
Target all joints
Include specific motions for the activity the dog is about to do
Implement mental warm up to increase focus and concentration of your dog
Common Myths
Myth: Playing a few minutes of fetch or tug-o-war is enough to warm up my dog Answer: No! Quick & sudden stops or movements can cause injuries of cold muscles, tendons or ligaments! The dog needs to be properly warmed up for tugging or playing fetch!
Myth: I need to stretch my dog to warm up the muscles and joints Answer: No passive stretching before activity! By holding a stretch, you reduce the tone of the muscle. It cannot contract as quickly as usual; thus, it cannot generate the usual power! Static stretching before activity has a negative effect on dog’s performance!
Dogs4motion Academy!
You want to put together an individual and effective warm-up routine for your dog? If you have an agility dog, we got a little tip for you! Check out the exclusive content of our partner Dogs4motion Academy!
Their agility specific videos will teach you how to properly warm up and cool down your canine athlete before and after every dog training session and competition!
It took some time to find the right amount of repetitions and length for the warm-up routine. If I did too many, the dogs were warmed-up, but seemed a bit exhausted already before the start. For my dogs optimum amounts are 5 reps from each exercise. Caspi has a history of back problems, so with him I always did a few more repetitions of the exercises like spins and figure 8s, to focus on warming up his back muscles.
Warm-up for Agility
Gradually increasing the intensity
Before each training or competition run, I start with taking the dog for a longer walk for about 15 minutes. First of all, to let them do their needs and „wake up“ after relaxing in the kennel. After they are done, I start with quick walk and trotting.
Active & dynamic exercises to target all joints
Going backwards and running towards the reward (toy or food)
Side stepping
Spins clockwise and counter clockwise
Sit to stand – several quick repetitions in a row
Down to sit – several quick repetitions in a row
Jump-Ups from sit
Specific motions for Agility
Weaves: Figure 8 between the legs
Short sprints
Jumps over my leg (I prefer to let them jump over my leg and not using the jumps in the warm-up area. This way I can warm up for jumping practically anywhere even if the warm-up area is not available).
After this I start with mental warm-up and keep the dog in motion until it is our turn in training or competition.
Warm-up for CaniX/Bikejöring/Scooterjöring and Coursing/Dog races
Gradually increasing the intensity
Before each run, I start with taking the dog for a walk for about 15 minutes. First of all, to let them do their needs and „wake up“ from their relaxing mode. After their done, I start with quick walk and trotting.
Active & dynamic exercises to target all joints
Going backwards and running back to me
Side stepping
Quick spins clockwise and counterclockwise
Sit to stand – several quick repetitions in a row
Down to sit – several quick repetitions in a row
Specific motions for running
In canicross or coursing, the dogs run in terrain on various surfaces. Therefor I always keep extra attention on their paws before these types of activities. Each paw individually:
flexing and extending the paw and wrist several times
rotating wrists
spreading the digits, a few times in a row
Only after this I put on their racing shirts/pulling harness and keep the dog in easy pace in motion until ready to start.
Useful products & tips for additional help
Remember, that after finishing your activity it is important to perform Cool-Down with your dog. Gradual decrease in activity & stretching exercises will help relax their muscle and provide for effective recovery.
For warming up in colder weather conditions I also prefer to use the mesh rug or standard rug from Back on Track to support the blood circulation. It helps to keep the body warm up to the start line.
For warming up in hot weather I prefer not to use cooling mats or shirts. You want to warm-up their muscles even if the dogs seem to be hot. Exposing the muscle to cold is rather contra-productive. I make sure to warm-up mostly in shadow. During the dynamic exercises I let the dog rest shortly if needed and cool them down with colder water from the bottom part of their chest or inner tights. I use the cooling shirts only after the run for cool-down.
If you have specific questions to warm-up routine, I really recommend buying access for the warm-up video from our partner dogs4motion. It will not only help find you specific exercises for your dog to implement, but also answer many questions like:
What if my dog tires from the warm-up itself?
If the dog participates in multiple events/runs per day, should I warm up before each one separately?
What if I don’t have enough time between a course walk and start to properly warm up my dog?
What if I train/compete in different dog sports? Should I use the same warm-up routine?
The use of dog coats in cold weather, or cooling jackets on hot days?
What if there is limited space available for warming up?
What if there are no warm-up jumps available?
My dog is too crazy to do the warm-up exercises. What can I do?
Jana Gams, DVM, CCRP from Dogs4motion, canine rehabilitation & sports medicine will not only help you with your warm-up routine, but also with Cool-Down & Stretching. Remember, effective Warm-up & Cool Down routine are the key routines for every dog athlete!
Physical Warm-Up: Activate your dog’s body
The most important thing for all of us is to keep our canine athletes injury-free throughout their sport career. Best possible performance is a nice bonus. Easier said than done? Not at all! Effective warm-up routine helps reduce the risks of sport-related injuries of your dog and improve their physical performance!
Why warm up?
It’s quite simple: without a proper warmup you won’t be able to perform at your best and are prone to injury. Your turns and direction changes will be slower, won’t be able to accelerate as fast and you’ll feel more sore the next day. The same applies for your dog – a proper warm-up routine:
What is happening during warm-up?
When the dog starts to move, the blood circulation in their body increases. They breath more frequently, the blood flow to the tissues is higher and quicker, the tissues get more oxygen. Muscles and joints are warming up. Warmed up muscles & joints have higher mobility (prevent injury) and can generate more power (improved performance).
Principles of physical Warm-Up routine
Common Myths
Myth: Playing a few minutes of fetch or tug-o-war is enough to warm up my dog
Answer: No! Quick & sudden stops or movements can cause injuries of cold muscles, tendons or ligaments! The dog needs to be properly warmed up for tugging or playing fetch!
Myth: I need to stretch my dog to warm up the muscles and joints
Answer: No passive stretching before activity! By holding a stretch, you reduce the tone of the muscle. It cannot contract as quickly as usual; thus, it cannot generate the usual power! Static stretching before activity has a negative effect on dog’s performance!
Dogs4motion Academy!
You want to put together an individual and effective warm-up routine for your dog? If you have an agility dog, we got a little tip for you! Check out the exclusive content of our partner Dogs4motion Academy!
Their agility specific videos will teach you how to properly warm up and cool down your canine athlete before and after every dog training session and competition!
Examples of Warm Up Routines
It took some time to find the right amount of repetitions and length for the warm-up routine. If I did too many, the dogs were warmed-up, but seemed a bit exhausted already before the start. For my dogs optimum amounts are 5 reps from each exercise. Caspi has a history of back problems, so with him I always did a few more repetitions of the exercises like spins and figure 8s, to focus on warming up his back muscles.
Warm-up for Agility
Gradually increasing the intensity
Before each training or competition run, I start with taking the dog for a longer walk for about 15 minutes. First of all, to let them do their needs and „wake up“ after relaxing in the kennel. After they are done, I start with quick walk and trotting.
Active & dynamic exercises to target all joints
Specific motions for Agility
After this I start with mental warm-up and keep the dog in motion until it is our turn in training or competition.
Warm-up for CaniX/Bikejöring/Scooterjöring and Coursing/Dog races
Gradually increasing the intensity
Before each run, I start with taking the dog for a walk for about 15 minutes. First of all, to let them do their needs and „wake up“ from their relaxing mode. After their done, I start with quick walk and trotting.
Active & dynamic exercises to target all joints
Specific motions for running
In canicross or coursing, the dogs run in terrain on various surfaces. Therefor I always keep extra attention on their paws before these types of activities. Each paw individually:
Only after this I put on their racing shirts/pulling harness and keep the dog in easy pace in motion until ready to start.
Useful products & tips for additional help
Remember, that after finishing your activity it is important to perform Cool-Down with your dog. Gradual decrease in activity & stretching exercises will help relax their muscle and provide for effective recovery.
For warming up in colder weather conditions I also prefer to use the mesh rug or standard rug from Back on Track to support the blood circulation. It helps to keep the body warm up to the start line.
For warming up in hot weather I prefer not to use cooling mats or shirts. You want to warm-up their muscles even if the dogs seem to be hot. Exposing the muscle to cold is rather contra-productive. I make sure to warm-up mostly in shadow. During the dynamic exercises I let the dog rest shortly if needed and cool them down with colder water from the bottom part of their chest or inner tights. I use the cooling shirts only after the run for cool-down.
Jet Stream™ Cooling Vest
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What if …?
If you have specific questions to warm-up routine, I really recommend buying access for the warm-up video from our partner dogs4motion. It will not only help find you specific exercises for your dog to implement, but also answer many questions like:
Click here: www.dogs4motionacademy.com/warmup to access.
Jana Gams, DVM, CCRP from Dogs4motion, canine rehabilitation & sports medicine will not only help you with your warm-up routine, but also with Cool-Down & Stretching. Remember, effective Warm-up & Cool Down routine are the key routines for every dog athlete!
Happy training!
Martina