Springtime!! More daylight means more hours to play with
our dogs outside and enjoy nature. Many of our dogs
have slept through winter and enjoyed lazy nights by the
woodstove dreaming of swimming, playing ball, hiking and
enjoying the warm sunshine. Unless your dog was doing
agility or another sport that kept them fit this winter, they
will benefit from a spring conditioning program designed to
get them back in shape without injury.
A conditioning program will gradually build strength in
muscles, joints and tendons. Muscles gain strength much
faster than joints and tendons do so you want to increase
the duration and intensity of their activity slowly, allowing
them to get back into the swing of things while avoiding
injuries, strains or pains. Be aware that puppies, no
matter how energetic they are, need special consideration
to avoid complications with bone growth, joints and
ligaments. They don’t have the ability to call time out and
can easily overdo it, setting them up for injury.
Your dog will benefit from warming up their muscles
before beginning strenuous sports, especially if they play
frisbee or other games that have them jumping and
twisting.
Stretching, massage and acupuncture or acupressure can
help your dog avoid injury and we would love to help you
design a program for your dog and show you how to keep
them healthy and injury free.
Cindy Brooks, certified canine massage therapist and canine conditioning coach, Dog Matters
