How do you find the right fitness exercises for your dog? – this is what you should pay attention to

Again and again I am contacted by dog owners who are looking for fitness exercises for their dog. A wide variety of training tools such as balance pads, wobble boards, cavaletti, hedgehog pods and the like are purchased – but what to do with them? I know, all these tools look great, lots of bright colors and the offer is just huge. Fitness exercises for dogs

However, I think this approach to dog fitness training is wrong. The right way would be to look first, how are the physical needs and also deficits of my dog, what do I want to train and only THEN it is about which exercises are suitable and whether and which tools are necessary for this at all.

Even if dogs are healthy and you only want to train a little bit as an occupation “just for fun”, it is important to see what makes sense. Why? Here, too, it can happen that you overtax the dog and, above all, perform exercises incorrectly.

What do I need to consider when choosing exercises?

What is the health condition of my dog? Are there organic conditions that affect training or musculoskeletal conditions such as hip dysplasia or spondylosis?
Does my dog have weak points in the musculoskeletal system? These can be, for example, muscular in nature, affect joint mobility, body awareness and coordination.
Basically, what is the muscle status? What are the connective tissue structures like?
How old is he dog?
What is the dog’s build – slim and wiry, tall and lumbering, etc.?
How well and for how long can he concentrate?

Furthermore, it is important to pay attention to the following aspects: Fitness exercises for dogs

Basically, what is the training status of the dog? Is he completely untrained and a beginner in movement training or does he already have training experience?
Accordingly, how many repetitions of an exercise are reasonable?
What is the level of difficulty of the exercises that are trained
A sensible combination of exercises and thus targeted training in terms of difficulty, trained body areas and type of exercise (muscle development/mobility/coordination/ static or dynamic…) is important. Here, for example, training with the help of a training plan makes sense.
Variety of exercises
Correct exercise construction – can my dog handle the exercise well in terms of complexity, both physically and mentally, so that the exercise can be constructed correctly without overtaxing the dog?
What tools are suitable in the exercises – less compliant or more flexible tools, depending on the training status.

Dog fitness training needs structure to be healthy and purposeful

The above points are just a selection to consider when choosing exercise and designing fitness training with your dog. Above all, they should be considered before deciding to use a tool.

Wrong training set-up, training tools unsuitable for your dog (too small/big, too flexible,…) exercises that are too demanding or those that are performed incorrectly or are not suitable for the dog at all can cause damage. One should always be aware of this. Again and again I see videos with dogs that hold themselves with a lot of effort completely cramped on tools and the owner is thrilled. That the dog is massively tense and a training effect is completely impossible, is not considered.

At this point I do not want to unsettle you at all, but rather sensitize you to deal intensively with the physical structures of your dog, his physical needs and deficits, etc. and to structure his training accordingly. Fitness exercises for dogs

If you want to make sure that you take into account all aspects of a well-structured training and find training plans for orientation great, then I recommend my online courses around the topic of dog fitness. You’ll find a wide range of courses on a variety of topics, with detailed video instructions on the exercises and matching training plans. Fitness exercises for dogs