Conditioning 

Pets and working dogs both come to K9 Strong for improved fitness. Conditioning is the process by which we improve the musculoskeletal system (bones and muscles), pulmonary system (lungs), and cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels), creating a stronger, healthier body. We strive for fitness for our own bodies, and our dogs should be no different. My sport dog receives more attention to his diet and exercise than I do; and is in better shape because of it!

Our conditioning sessions start with a good warm up, and then move to the dog pool, underwater treadmill, land treadmill, and/or therapeutic exercise equipment developed especially for animals.

Many of our Canine rehabilitation (or physical therapy) patients transition into conditioning work once their therapy is completed. Each conditioning exercise improves either strength or endurance. Canine athletes or show dogs often come for improvement of a specific body part: hind limb power for competitive heeling, core strength for agility, or a more powerful neck and chest for pulling or protection work. Show dogs come to strengthen the important anatomic areas for their specific breed standard.

Our individualized targeted exercise programs can be taught to the owners for workouts at home, or the dogs can be brought here for sessions. Our dogs involved in the weight management programs are often dropped off in the morning and stay with us for several hours where they enjoy several sessions of exercise and/or training as well as supervised turn out in the field. As a bonus, they go home and sleep soundly after being active and interested in watching the goings-on at the clinic all day. Training dogs to learn the exercises and use the equipment is fun for the owners and the dogs. Often it leads to the owner developing an interest in other dog training fields and dog sports which can be a lifelong family venture and a great way to keep their dog friend active, healthy, and feeling special from the attention for the rest of his life. Isn’t that what we all want for our dogs?

Common Conditioning cases: