You may have a good idea how to train the behaviors for your chosen sport, but have you addressed the fitness side of it? Have you ever stopped to think about the muscles and movements that are required? Have you done anything to physically prepare your dog for those specific movements? 

💢 Let's take dock diving for example. What happens?

A dog has to hold a static position at one end of the dock, sprint hard for approximately 40 feet and then launch its body off the end of the dock. To prepare for that, at a minimum, you'll want to use exercises that strengthen the core, front and rear to hopefully mitigate the chances of shoulder, knee and iliopsoas injuries, but to really help your dog minimize the chance of injury while being able to excel at the game, you'll also want to make sure that your dog can hold a balanced static position for a period of time, explode out of that static position while still in balance, sprint longer than 40 feet without wearing out and knows how to shift weight and power to its rear end while lifting the front end of its body.

💪 There's a lot more to it than chasing a toy into the water! If you need help developing a fitness plan for your sport dog, be sure to reach out!