A good warm up routine gradually increases the heart rate and circulation and prepares the muscles and joints for activity which helps prevent injury. The warm up routine should contain a mix of light cardiovascular exercises, strength moves, as well as stretches. This should be done before any physical activity (ex: agility trial). In this two part series, we will break apart an example warm up and cool down routine that Dr. Mary has put together.
Example Warm Up Routine
◊ Start with an easy trot for 2-5 minutes.
◊ “Wake Up Call”
This increases body awareness as well as warms up the muscles. Quickly rub every part of your dog’s body covering everything from nose to tail. Don’t forget to include toes and ears and everything in between.
◊ Spin/Twirl exercises 3-5 times in each direction or cookie stretches to shoulders/hips/rear toes
◊ Sit/Stand and Down/Stand 3-5 times each
Make sure your dog sits and downs squarely.
◊ Have your dog do a few practice maneuvers of the sport they are partaking in. (Example- jumping, tugging, heeling, etc.)
◊ Play bow
◊ Cat stretch
◊ Stretch hind legs back (encourage self stretch by shifting weight off one rear leg and rubbing the quads of that leg until dog stretches it behind him/herslef).
◊ Focus games until time to work
In part two we will go over a cool down routine.
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