Physical fitness Archives - 2 Minute Trainer

Train both sides of your dog

One of our Rally student’s dogs was having an issue with lameness. A trip to the veterinary chiropractor yielded some relief, and some good advice. Whatever the dog does on one side, balance it with an equal exercise on the other side. Train both sides of your dog.

Regardless of your opinion of chiropractic practice for either people or dogs, the advice is good. Common sense tells you that all beings with bilateral symmetry, both dogs and people, should strive for equal strength. The classic example of asymmetrical development is baseball pitchers. The difference between their dominant arm and shoulder and the subordinate joints is dramatic.

So how does this apply in dog training? Most people will notice that their dogs have an easier time moving to one side than the other. Just like people, dogs have a dominant side they tend to favor. The “Spin!” game is usually where the dog’s preference shows most dramatically. It’s up to you, as your dog’s trainer and coach, to make sure the dog’s non-dominant side gets an equal, or greater, workout.

Why it matters

When your dog is young and healthy you may not see any obvious benefits resulting from two-sided training. But as your dog ages, their weaker side will be more prone to injuries, issues, and arthritis. When they’re old and creaky, an evenly-developed dog will have better muscle tone and be, perhaps, slightly less creaky.

If you’ve ever trained your dog in Obedience, you know that it’s almost exclusively performed with the dog on your left side. And some Obedience competitors question the need for training on both sides. After all, if dogs are always supposed to “Heel!” on the left, why bother with opposite-side practice?

There are obvious benefits for even muscle and balance strengthening. The less-apparent reason is to keep your dog’s attention and interest. You know that dogs love routine and patterns. Given the opportunity, dogs will follow known patterns and even try to anticipate the goal of any exercise. To avoid anticipation (which gets a disqualification in Obedience), it’s a good idea to switch up your training. It keeps sessions fresh and interesting for both of you.

Do it the “other” way

We also teach Rally, which is a bit more evenly distributed between left and right. Your dog still maintains heel position on your left, but many Rally signs have both left and right variants – 360 degree turns both ways, 270s both ways, etc. Even the Spiral signs have two options – either “Dog Inside” (closer to the pylons) or “Dog Outside” (handler closer to the pylons). This creates both inside and outside turns for your dog, balancing bilateral training exercises.

It’s easy enough to set up a mini-course with these easy heeling exercises. You don’t have to have cones or pylons, just three (or four) similarly-sized objects you and your dog can heel around, and the space to do it. If you want the official instructions, the Rally signs are readily available online.

Both sides of the coin

We’re always surprised when one of our students tells us their dog “only” goes one way on a behavior like “Spin!” or “Roll Over!” It may be easier to indulge your dog’s “handedness” preference, but it’s not what’s best for your dog. Train on both sides of your dog. Make a point of working the “hard” side more than the other. Your dog will be in better physical shape, and their physiology and gait will stay strong.

As with all dog training, your dog may resist your emphasis on their “off” side. Like all dog training, the most difficult part is patience. And rewards. The more difficult something is for your dog, the more valuable the reward should be. Make it worth your dog’s time to expend the effort. We all work a little more diligently for a great pay day.

Does your dog know where his butt is?

Perch work builds dogs’ hind end awareness

Have you ever seen a dog chase its tail – either live or on video? It’s both funny and a little bit sad. Funny because it just is. And sad because most dogs don’t know they have back ends. They lack hind end awareness. They certainly don’t know that the bits back there are able to move independent of the parts up front.

Building hind end awareness and keeping your dog physically fit are two of the best reasons to do “Perch Work” with your dog. It’s also great for teaching tight turns (for Obedience & Rally people), loose-leash walking, and proper heel position. It’s easy to do, doesn’t really need special equipment, and fits easily into a 2-Minute-Dog-Training session. (For more on your dog’s physical fitness and how we can improve it, check out the article, “Wellbeing of dogs – caring for mind and body.”)

What is Perch Work?

Simon, improving his hind end awareness with Perch Work. — Simon doing Perch Work on a feed bucket.

At its simplest, Perch Work means the dog has two feet on an elevated surface. They “perch” on some platform. It can be absolutely anything, but not too high. When introducing Perch Work, you shouldn’t use anything more than two to four inches high. We use a 4-inch step stool, but whatever you have will do. If all you’ve got is a couch cushion – that’s fine. The unstable surface will actually benefit the dog’s core strength.

When introducing your dog to their perch, just put it on the floor and let your dog check it out. Looking at it gets a click & reward. Sniffing it is also good. Pawing at it? Great – click and reward. When your dog has done the same thing (look, sniff, paw) three or four times, wait for something more. One paw on the platform is the next step, then two paws.

Since most dogs don’t understand using their back feet and paws, it’s most likely your dog will perch with front feet first.

Next steps

Perch work is one training game where we do use lures to teach the dog what we want. When your dog has two feet on the perch, start moving. If your dog is facing you, it doesn’t matter which way you go. Show your dog a treat and start moving your feet. If your dog swivels to stay at your front, click and reward. Move a little more and wait for your dog to take a step with his/her back feet. If your dog comes off the perch, just wait. When he/she gets two feet back up, click and reward.

The objective is to get your dog to circle the entire perch, front feet up, back feet moving. It may take a couple of sessions to build up to the entire circle. That’s okay. There’s no rush.

Then do it in the other direction. Both sides need equal exercise and tone. Your dog may favor going one way over the other. Just like people, dogs have a dominant side they tend to favor. Be sure to “work” the other side as well.

Different positions

You should also try for Perch Work with your dog next to you. This is the part that helps with those turns for performance sports.

Whichever side your dog is on, hold the treat in the hand further away, so your dog will curve around you to find it. Then put gentle pressure on the dog by stepping slightly into him/her. This will encourage your dog to move those back feet. Again, be sure to work both directions so your dog’s skills develop evenly.

Back feet next

Whatever your dog does with front feet on the perch, they can do with back feet as well. Since this is a very different idea for most dogs, expect it to go somewhat slower.

The easiest way to get your dog to put back feet on the perch is to have them walk across it and click as soon as the back feet are on and front are off. Most dogs will try to get their back feet off as soon as possible. If you’re in front of the dog, try to block the motion and, if the dog is still on the perch, click and reward.

When your dog is comfortable putting back feet only on the perch, start the same circles around, both directions. Click and reward when your dog moves his back feet on the perch.

Name that Perch Work

Decide on different names for the exercises for front feet and back feet. Very uninspired, we call front skills “Feets” and back skills “Rears.” The dogs know what they’re supposed to do. And as long as they’re getting rewarded, they don’t mind a bit.

Training Games help dog fitness

It’s always great when you have proof. This week we got expert confirmation that training games help dog fitness.

Tango's training games help his fitness. — Tango’s training games help his fitness.

Fran’s almost-13-year-old Brussels Griffon Tango was sick. Really sick. Spewing out both ends sick. He’s recovering now, so the worry part is over. But while at the veterinarian’s office, the vet said she wasn’t worried about Tango not eating for two days, or a health crisis. Because he’s so fit, his body could cope and recover quickly.

That made an impact. Two sleepless nights and 36 hours of gastrointestinal distress may leave no long-lasting effects because this senior dog is in good shape. Fitness matters, for dogs, too.

Dog fitness plan

It makes sense. Both the body and mind for both dogs and people are “use it or lose it.” Dogs’ bodies are subject to many similar age-related problems as people are. Arthritis, loss of vision, loss of hearing, lessening of balance, etc. But staying active and asking our dogs to do the same can delay or prevent some issues.

Tango’s fitness routine is simple. It takes less than 10 minutes a day. He has a good time, gets treats (when he’s not sick), and even runs over to play his dog training games. If you didn’t know he was almost a teenager, you’d never guess it.

The balance disc “workout” is first every day. You’ll find the details and video in this post: Wellbeing of Dogs. Some days it goes better than others. We didn’t ask Tango to do it when he was sick. And he was a bit wobbly when he got back to it. But he did it happily. He missed the attention, if not the exercise.

Favorite training game

Tango’s favorite dog-training game is “Put your toys away.”

You dump a bunch of dog toys in a pile. The dog’s task is to get each one, pick it up, carry it across the room, and place it in a box.

Tango’s never played with toys, but he loves putting them away. And, because Fran puts the box as far away as the space allows, he gets lots of back-and-forth steps in. The first day he was feeling better, he actually trotted back and forth, so happy to be playing his game again.

Mind and body dog fitness

All dog training games work to help your dog’s fitness. Working your brain is just as important as working your body. Tango may not be able to see very well, but he can think just fine. And, while “Put your toys away” may be an old favorite, it’s also important to introduce new games. Challenging your dog’s mind can help keep it sharp.

It’s easy to take old dogs for granted, assuming they’ll be happy just napping away in the sunshine. But to keep them in the best shape, let them nap after they’ve played their training games.

Wellbeing of dogs – caring for mind and body

If dogs are people’s best friends, it’s up to us to look out for the wellbeing of our dogs. Dogs give us the gift of unconditional love. We owe our companions the best life possible. That includes looking after their physical, as well as mental health.

All aspects of life

Dog training games provide mental stimulation and enrichment. We’ve talked about how the games also enhance our bond and relationship with dogs. But how can we improve our dogs physical wellbeing, too?

One of the easiest ways is incorporate balance and stability exercises into our training games. This is particularly important as our dogs age. Like us, dogs’ strength and balance can wane with the years if these capabilities aren’t exercised.

Exercise isn’t a four-letter word

Many people, us included, don’t particularly enjoy “working out,” or exercising. We do it because we know it’s good for us, and allows us to keep doing the things we love – like eating chocolate. Our dogs have a better attitude about working out. As far as they know – it’s just another game we play together. And our dogs are always up for a game.

The particular exercise games each dog plays depend on that dog’s wellbeing needs. For example, Fran’s Brussels Griffon Tango is a senior dog at 11 years old. He’s by far the most flexible dog we’ve ever had. We sometimes joke that he has no bones – only cartilage, like a shark. Fortunately, he doesn’t have the dental array of one.

Tango’s issue with wellbeing was that he lacked core strength. He can practically bend in half, but he couldn’t hold himself up for a trick like “sit pretty.” To address this lack, we started doing balance disc exercises with him, shown in the video. He does this routine with Fran almost every day and it’s made a huge difference. If you don’t have a balance disc, you can use any cushion big enough for your dog to stand on. The whole routine takes only a couple of minutes, and makes a major impact on the wellbeing of your dog. (This post has more about your dog’s balance and how you can incorporate these games into your training.)

Different issue

Torque, Hope’s French Bulldog, has different fitness needs. He’s extremely top-heavy, like all Frenchies. He tends to use his front half for everything he can, so the challenge is keeping his hips and back legs strong. Hope developed a routine for Torque of “squats” and “crouches.” Using a four-inch step, Torque steps off the back and crouches, sits on the step, steps off the front and squats. It helps work his whole body, with emphasis on using his knees and hips.

These exercise routines were presented to the dogs as new games, taught in little chunks and evolving over multiple training game sessions. The dogs don’t know they’re “working out,” because they never see sessions as work. Tango even complains when he sees other dogs doing balance disc routines – he’s impatient for his turn.

Wellbeing of dogs games

When you and your dog get in the great habit of 2-Minute dog training games, you’re taking the best care of your best friend. We know that addressing the needs of both mind and body allows everyone, including our dog, to live the best life.

Balancing act for your dog

Dogs are more stable than people. It’s just physics. They have support at each corner. An advantage of having four legs over two!

It doesn’t mean that they don’t have to practice balance – it just means it’s a bit easier for them than for us. One of Fran’s passions is helping people, especially as mature adults, to avoid falls by practicing balancing. From what we’ve learned, balance is an autonomic response that weakens with age. For everyone. People who practice their balance (as simple as standing on one leg for a minute), lose less.

We’ve seen the same effect in dogs, although we haven’t come across any studies to prove it. As our dogs age, they’re less stable when jumping, first waking up, going up stairs, etc.

Because we want our dogs to do “stuff” throughout their lives, we take a 2-Minute Session most days to practice balance. All of our dogs play on the balance disc, from 11-year-old Tango to 18 month-old Simon.

We use an inflatable balance disc, but a couch cushion, or any soft surface that’s big enough for your dog to stand on would be fine.

The first exercise we do is just “Sit” and “Stand.” About five times. We were astonished, when we started doing this with Tango, how difficult it was for him. He’s a very “bendy” dog, but didn’t have a lot of core strength. This works the dog’s core.

Simon is walking in a circle on the balance disk.

Next we ask them to turn around on the soft surface, first one direction, then the other. We go around with them and, in this case, lure them around in a circle at first. We’re not big fans of lures, but it’s sometimes the best way to get our dogs to understand what we’re asking of them.

Then we go around some more, first with only their front legs on the disc, then with the back. Again, we go around with them and teach them to move with the lure. We did clicker-train the positions of “front legs only” and “back legs only.” Teach your dog the positions before asking them to move that way.

Simon walks around the disk – front legs on.

When you start this, don’t rush it. Your dog may wobble quite a bit and need some time to find his/her center. As usual, reward for everything!

If your dog is having trouble with any part of any of these exercises, don’t do many repetitions. Just like us, if it’s been a while since our dogs have used a muscle in a particular way, they may be sore the next day and need some time to recover. Don’t wait to revisit the exercise, but ease off on the intensity until your dog is moving comfortably again. Build up slowly, and if your dog is reluctant to do something, pay attention. We want them to have fun doing their balance games, which they won’t if it’s too hard or causes discomfort.

Stretch your dog out

Everything in your dog’s life is your decision. It’s a huge responsibility, and one we gladly shoulder because our dogs add so much to our lives. But everything to do with our dogs’ wellbeing is on us.

We all want the best for all of our family members – dogs included. One portion of that is seeing to their physical fitness. The training games we play keep them “on their toes” mentally. Some of those games involve physical exertion. Others are rather stationary. To make sure our dogs are “warmed up,” we do some warm-up exercises that include some basic stretches.

Every dog knows how to stretch, just like every dog knows how to sit. Getting them to do it on command takes a little training, but it’s easy for anyone familiar with training games.

Most dogs (and people!) stretch when they first wake up. When you see your dog stretching, say “good stretch!” and give him/her a treat. If your dog is accustomed to 2-Minute Training methods, he’s going to ask himself “What did I just do that got me that treat?” and he’ll try it again. It may take a few times for your dog to understand what’s being rewarded. Don’t worry about “catching” the stretch every time. Your dog stretched before he knew there was a name for it, and he’ll keep doing it whether or not you ask him.

Other stretches

The wake-up-from-a-nap stretch is an all-over, full-body stretch. There are also specific stretches to help your dog get moving. If you have an older dog, or one that may suffer from arthritis, these can be helpful as well. Pay attention to your dog – if he or she is resisting a particular movement, stop. Don’t force any movement. Our dogs have no way of telling us if something hurts – your first indicator may be resistance. The second may be a yipe of pain, which we want to avoid. Our purpose is to help our dogs keep moving. Pain isn’t any part of that.

Legs:

Before you start doing stretching exercises with your dog, take note of each joint in their legs and how they naturally move.

Dogs’ front leg joints are called the same as our arms: shoulder, elbow, wrist. But they don’t move the same as ours. Dog shoulders aren’t designed to “spread” their arms as we can – don’t ask them to. What we can do for the shoulder is gently, while supporting the elbow, move the fore leg back and forth. Don’t go sideways – dog shoulders don’t move that way. Same with the elbow and wrist – gently move them back and forth, copying the natural movement of the joint.

Stretching out Torque's back leg. — Rear leg extension

Torque flexing a back leg. — Rear leg extension

Stretching Torque front leg. — Front leg extension

Torque flexing a front leg — Front leg extension

Dogs’ back leg joints, from top to floor are called hip, knee, and hock. Just the simple exercise asking your dog to “sit” alternately with “stand” will warm up the joints. You can also gently manipulate the joints, in the pattern of their natural movement, while your dog is standing still.

Neck:

Most people don’t think about dogs needing to stretch their necks, but keeping them limber is always a good thing. Dogs don’t seem to “roll their heads” around to stretch their necks, so they need some help. Again, never force any movement on your dog. If he’s unwilling to move a certain way, try again another time, perhaps with a lesser angle or degree of motion.

We generally don’t use “lures” to train dogs, but in this case it’s the easiest way to get your dog to stretch. While your dog is still, move a treat along from about his cheek back toward his shoulder. If you do it on both sides, it will stretch his neck to either side. To get the “up” and “down” sides, hold a treat above his head for the “up.” To get your dog to stretch his neck forward, have him stand and hold the treat between his front paws, with your finger pointing toward the dog’s head. You may have to get down on the floor to do it.

Torque stretching his neck to the right. — Neck stretch to the right

Torque stretching his neck to the left. — Neck stretch to the right

Torque stretching his neck up. — Neck stretch up

Torque stretching his neck down. — Neck stretch up

All stretched out

Of course you can make “stretches” another training game in your repertoire. Think of names you can remember for each of them, and, while you’re doing them, repeat the word with praise and treats. Hope’s French Bulldog Torque’s favorite “trick” – tapping alternately on her legs – started as front leg stretches. He loves doing it. And it makes her smile every single time.