movement puzzles - The Moving Canine

Balance. Surprisingly way less static than you thought!

On January 6, 2021

Balance really is a very complex topic, encompassing so many different elements and areas of physical training. In dog physical skill/fitness training we often see the term “balance” being used mostly in the context of working on unstable surfaces. Where the dog has to put some effort into maintaining his body position while the surface underneath him is wobbling. But this just a tiny little part of balance. The reality is way more complex. Most of the time our dogs need to have good balance during movement! And, as it comes out, not only to stay upright and not fall over…

The #1 tip for keeping your dog in The Flow

On November 18, 2020

As soon as my dogs start looking at me because of my faulty mechanics, they find it very difficult to focus on the exercises. They may miss one of the cones when looking at me. They struggle figuring out the foot pattern. And they may even trip and lose their balance during the exercises. They are no longer in The Flow mindset for coordination work, they are no longer mindful about their own movement but rather multitask, trying to keep an eye on me + do the exercise.

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The story of Movement Puzzles. Spoiler alert: poisoned cues!

On November 6, 2020

The turns were uncomfortable enough for Bo to cause uncertainty and confusion during the turns. And this uncertainty transferred into the agility exercises. Every time I asked Bo to do an exercise that included a turn, I could see that he was a bit doubtful before doing that exercise. The cues were getting poisoned due to the lack of physical skills.

What is coordination and can we train it?

On November 5, 2020

In order to link our dog’s fitness program to real life situations, we need to have movement exercises in there. Exercises where our dogs develop movement skills that carry over to sports and work. And that teach our dogs to really use the power and strength they have. We need coordination exercises for our dogs!