Many dogs, surprisingly, have relatively poor body awareness and body consciousness. For them, their body stops behind the torso. This inevitably leads to uneven loading of the runs but also the spine. In the longer term, this influences excessive joint wear and tear and thus osteoarthritis in the joints.
So it makes sense to look at how evenly your dog uses his runs, how his movements are and how good his coordination is. However, if deficits become apparent here, coordination, body awareness and regular movement sequences can be trained with simple exercises at any age and in any state of health.
With good body awareness, your dog’s risk of injury is basically reduced, and not just in sports, but in any everyday movement. In the following article, I will introduce you to various exercises that you can do yourself with your dog, even as a layman. No special equipment or prior knowledge on your part or your dog’s part is necessary for this. Body feeling dog
With these 2 exercises you promote body awareness and coordination of your dog body awareness dog
1. balance on a blanket
For this exercise, grab a larger towel or blanket – depending on the size of your dog. Your dog should then stand about centered on this blanket Now you begin to pull lightly and slowly on different corners of the blanket or towel. Your dog must thus give the load center of gravity from one run to the other and balance himself. In addition, he thus perceives his body as a whole. The exercise is more strenuous for your dog than it may look at first glance. Start with a unit of 20-30 seconds and then slowly increase the units.
2. balance in a container like cardboard box body feeling dog
For this, depending on the size of your dog, you will need a cardboard box or other suitable container in which your dog can theoretically stand with all four legs. First of all, this container should be a fairly comfortable size so that your dog can position his four runs in it with relative ease. The edge should be easy to overcome. It is primarily about a visual, spatial limitation. The bottom of the container should be non-slip, or lined with something non-slip. Then motivate your dog to enter the container with his paws. Affirm your dog positively every time he puts his paws in the container. Even if it’s a paw at first.
The goal is for him to gradually put all four paws in the container and stand completely in it. If your dog makes it with this size of container, he should hold the position for a short moment (about 2-3 sec.) Now in the next step you can reach for a smaller container and motivate him to stand in it. The smaller it gets, the more challenging it is for him. The closer his paws get under his body, the more intensively he has to balance himself. You can then also vary the length of time he holds the position accordingly. Body feeling dog
This is what you should keep in mind when training
Always work out the exercises slowly with your dog and give him the opportunity to become aware of his body at his own pace. Be patient with him. In active movement training, the journey is the destination and gives your dog a chance to actively engage with his body and movements. It is always a good idea to keep the exercise sessions short and based on your dog’s physical condition and ability to concentrate. That he has fun during training is indispensable. Please also always pay attention to its safety, that means first of all that it stands on non-slip surfaces. If you’re not sure how to do the exercises, feel free to email me and I’ll help you out!
So you have three active movement exercises for better coordination and body awareness that you can do with your dog very easily and without special equipment at home.
All love, your Tina
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