Warm-up and Cool Down for Dog Agility
We all know that when we exercise, the body needs to warm-up first to avoid injury. Research has proven multiple times that preparing your muscles for intense work can make your recovery less painful. If you weren’t to warm –up you could cause an injury and over time that could cost you money.
It’s the same with our dogs too. Veterinary bills aren’t the easiest things to pay for nowadays. More importantly however, if your dog is injured, that results in more downtime rather than training and you don’t want that.
Always ensure that before you let your pooch go wild on the agility course, you do some form of warm up with them first.
Warm up right
When you’re out at work, dogs are rarely active. They’ll just sit around and wait for you to come home… Maybe they’ll have the occasional walk to the water bowl and back. If you dog is kept in a kennel, they’ll do even less moving too!
This inactivity can cause cold and contracted muscles, therefore meaning they’re unprepared for an activity and they’re more easily injured. Injuries in dogs can sometimes take up to 6 weeks for recovery.
A warm-up for dogs has the same effect as it would for humans. It increases the heart rate and blood flow. This makes their muscles more pliable and flexible, allowing them more movement. It also prepares their mind for the exercise ahead too.
Warm-ups don’t have to be long or boring. Most warm-ups recommend a 5 to 10 minute walk just to ease your pooch into it. Towards the end of the walk, you can make the warm up more intense! It all depends on what your dog is about to do, and what muscles he’s about to use.
(Here’s an interesting quote I found on http://agilitynet.co.uk/) “Warm-up routines need to vary for the level of exertion expected of the dog. All dogs who compete should start off with at least a few minutes of walking, especially if they had been crated,” says Andrea Lee, MS, DVM, of Syracuse, New York, an owner and trainer of Brittany’s with conformation and agility championships. “My warm-up routine depends on the age of the dog and the dog’s orthopaedic history. My older dog who has had multiple stifle injuries and whose back sometimes gets sore receives the most extensive warm-up (and cool down). I will take her through five minutes of walking, followed by two to three minutes of trotting and a few sprints — actually, recalls or else I have to sprint with her! Then I use some active stretching.”
Active stretches are good for warm-ups, “active stretching” means the dog is stretching whilst moving, for example when he’s reaching for a treat. This stops the build-up of fluid and makes it less painful when it comes to cool-down.
Make sure your schedule your warm-up for no longer than 20 minutes before your activity, otherwise your pooch will have had no movement for too long and they will have cooled down again.
Cool-down
As soon as your dog finishes moving, the contraction of the muscles kicks in. This is why cool-down is important.
Allow a short walk to lower your pooch’s hart rate down to its normal speed. Then engage your dog in another lot of active stretching, maybe give them a treat or ask them to stand up on their hind feet. Anything that you think is appropriate to stretch out the muscles that have been used. Offer them some fresh water to keep them hydrated too.
You can also bring in some static stretches once their heart rate is back to normal. Only attempt these stretches in the cool-down phase. Make sure when you stretch your dog; you stay within his comfort zone. If he objects, loosen the stretch and don’t pull as far. Always speak to a professional during your first time stretching, to ensure you don’t cause any injuries to your pup.
You should also consider the temperature outside If it is hot outside, give your dog some extra water to keep them hydrated. However if it is cold, you may have to consider putting a jacket on them so that their body temperature doesn’t drop too rapidly.
