After intensive sport activity, it is important to perform Cool-Down with your dog. Slowly decreasing the activity & adding stretching exercises will help relax your dog’s muscles and provide for effective recovery.
Without a proper cool-down your dog’s flexibility and range of motion will become limited!
Why Cool-Down?
It’s quite simple: without a proper cool-down you won’t be able to perform at your best and are prone to injury. Your muscles will feel sore, your flexibility and mobility will be limited – no effective recovery for your body. The same applies for your dog – a proper cool-down routine:
provides sufficient muscle relaxation to reduce tension
keeps the muscles and joints flexible and within best range of motion
Principles of Cool-Down routine
Gradually decrease the activity
Take your dog for 10-minute walk right after the activity. They should be slowly trotting or walking, their heart rate should drop back to normal.
Perform Active/dynamic stretching to improve flexibility
Use cookies or specific tricks to stretch their muscles and joints.
At the end of training/competition, perform manual passive stretching to decrease muscle tension
This is performed manually with your hands. You should never do this with cold muscles. For muscle relaxation, it is important to hold each static stretch for about 15-30 seconds and repeat several times. You should learn the passive stretching from a professional person to make sure you are not causing any discomfort to your dog. You can find the passive stretching techniques in the Warm-up & Cool down video from Dogs4motion.
Dogs4motion Academy!
You want to put together an individual and effective cool-down routine for your dog? If you have an agility dog, we got a little tip for you! Get access to the exclusive content of Dogs4motion Academy!
Learn to perform the cookie stretching & manual passive stretching of your canine athlete after every dog training session and competition!
I perform cool-down routine with my dogs after each physical performance – after dog fitness session, after biking or running outside in the woods, after swimming training, after agility run, etc.
I usually start with walking for about 10 minutes. After this we find a nice quit place and perform cookie stretches. I use a cookie to lure their head sideways to the their hips, knees & paws to stretch their spine and repeat this on the other side as well. After this we do some tricks for stretching like „bow“. At the end I ask them to place their front feet on a higher platform or my thighs & use the cookies to stretch their hip flexors. This would be dynamic/active stretching part of our cool-down routine.
At the end of the competition day or intensive training, you should perform the passive stretching. I must admit I do not perform manual stretches myself. Caspi hates to be manipulated in any way and Keen gets too excited and works against my movements. In addition, I use the Back on Track mesh rug to support effective recovery of their muscles or we would use the dog blanket from SWIT to help them relax. However passive manual stretching is important to keep the flexibility and best range of motion. This is something I will definitively work on to implement with my active dogs in the future with help of a professional person.
Cookie Stretch – Dynamic Stretching
head to hip
head to knee
head to paw
hip flexor stretch
Useful products & tips for additional help
For cool-down in colder weather conditions I also prefer to use the mesh rug or standard rug from Back on Track to support the continuous cool-down of muscles.
For warming up in hot weather I use the cooling shirts. After the run I put them on for a cool-down walk and make sure to walk in shadow, if possible. Make sure to use cooling equipment, that cools your dog from below, through chest and provide evaporation to avoid hot spots in the fur.
Jana Gams, DVM, CCRP from Dogs4motion, canine rehabilitation & sports medicine will not only help you with your warm-up routine, but also with Cool-Down & Stretching. Remember, effective Warm-up & Cool Down routine are the key routines for every dog athlete!
Effective Cool-Down Routine for Your Dog Athlete
After intensive sport activity, it is important to perform Cool-Down with your dog. Slowly decreasing the activity & adding stretching exercises will help relax your dog’s muscles and provide for effective recovery.
Why Cool-Down?
It’s quite simple: without a proper cool-down you won’t be able to perform at your best and are prone to injury. Your muscles will feel sore, your flexibility and mobility will be limited – no effective recovery for your body. The same applies for your dog – a proper cool-down routine:
Principles of Cool-Down routine
Take your dog for 10-minute walk right after the activity. They should be slowly trotting or walking, their heart rate should drop back to normal.
Use cookies or specific tricks to stretch their muscles and joints.
This is performed manually with your hands. You should never do this with cold muscles. For muscle relaxation, it is important to hold each static stretch for about 15-30 seconds and repeat several times. You should learn the passive stretching from a professional person to make sure you are not causing any discomfort to your dog. You can find the passive stretching techniques in the Warm-up & Cool down video from Dogs4motion.
Dogs4motion Academy!
You want to put together an individual and effective cool-down routine for your dog? If you have an agility dog, we got a little tip for you! Get access to the exclusive content of Dogs4motion Academy!
Learn to perform the cookie stretching & manual passive stretching of your canine athlete after every dog training session and competition!
Example of Cool Down Routine
I perform cool-down routine with my dogs after each physical performance – after dog fitness session, after biking or running outside in the woods, after swimming training, after agility run, etc.
I usually start with walking for about 10 minutes. After this we find a nice quit place and perform cookie stretches. I use a cookie to lure their head sideways to the their hips, knees & paws to stretch their spine and repeat this on the other side as well. After this we do some tricks for stretching like „bow“. At the end I ask them to place their front feet on a higher platform or my thighs & use the cookies to stretch their hip flexors. This would be dynamic/active stretching part of our cool-down routine.
At the end of the competition day or intensive training, you should perform the passive stretching. I must admit I do not perform manual stretches myself. Caspi hates to be manipulated in any way and Keen gets too excited and works against my movements. In addition, I use the Back on Track mesh rug to support effective recovery of their muscles or we would use the dog blanket from SWIT to help them relax. However passive manual stretching is important to keep the flexibility and best range of motion. This is something I will definitively work on to implement with my active dogs in the future with help of a professional person.
Cookie Stretch – Dynamic Stretching
Useful products & tips for additional help
For cool-down in colder weather conditions I also prefer to use the mesh rug or standard rug from Back on Track to support the continuous cool-down of muscles.
For warming up in hot weather I use the cooling shirts. After the run I put them on for a cool-down walk and make sure to walk in shadow, if possible. Make sure to use cooling equipment, that cools your dog from below, through chest and provide evaporation to avoid hot spots in the fur.
Jet Stream™ Cooling Vest
Previously
€ 54,90Original price was: € 54,90.€ 37,90Current price is: € 37,90.Dog Standard Rug
€ 61,00 – € 85,00
Dog Mesh Rug
€ 64,90 – € 88,90
Click here: www.dogs4motionacademy.com/warmup to access.
Jana Gams, DVM, CCRP from Dogs4motion, canine rehabilitation & sports medicine will not only help you with your warm-up routine, but also with Cool-Down & Stretching. Remember, effective Warm-up & Cool Down routine are the key routines for every dog athlete!
Happy training!
Martina