Warm-up and Cool-down for freestyle dogs; Why and how!

By Dr Attila Szkukalek

During a freestyle routine dogs perform many of the following moves: walk/trot/gallop/crawl forwards/backwards/sideways and in small and large circles, roll over, lift their paws, spin, jump in a straight line and more frequently in a circle, stand/jump/walk/spin on their rear legs. They have to perform these moves sometimes at high speed and most of the times on more (linoleum or tiles) or less (carpets) slippery surfaces. And last but not least they have to change from one move to another one in a split second at a certain beat of the music and several ten(s) of times depending on the level the team competes at and the difficulty of the routine.

Only agility demands equivalent fitness, flexibility, strength and stamina from the dog’s structure, muscles and joints as freestyle. If the dog is not conditioned properly to the demand of the moves and not sufficiently warmed up before the exercise or routine it is exposed to the risk of injury. Regarding the level of concentration and mental stamina Canine Freestyle is one of the most demanding if not the most demanding dog-sport. The dog has to respond to the handler’s physical and verbal cues, be aware of the ring-space and many times carry out learned move-chains throughout 2-6 minutes depending on the length of the routine.

The goal of the warm-up is to tune the dog’s mind and body to cope with the increased physical and mental demand in the most efficient way. With age the muscles, tendons and ligaments become stronger, shorter and more rigid and hereby more prone to injuries when they are stretched. The older the dog the more increasingly important the warm-up and the cool-down before and after the exercise become. The first part of the warm-up aims to increase the physiological and metabolic rates in the body; increasing; the heart rate and breathing, blood pressure and in consequence the oxygen and glucose (source of energy) supply and the temperature of muscles and joints. In a warm muscle the nerve impulses travel faster and the body reacts quicker also the muscles glide against each other better, which makes the move quicker and more precise. A warm muscle is less prone to sprains and ruptures than a cold one. The human muscles when cold are about 35-360C while the warmed-up muscle is 38 0C. This takes about 9 minutes to achieve and done through moves carried out at gradually increased rate.

The second but nonetheless extremely important part of the warm-up is stretching the muscles connective tissues and tendons and the ligaments of the joints. Through the stretching exercises the muscles tendons and ligaments reach their maximum length which means that the muscles and joints will be flexible. The flexible muscles and ligaments enable the dog to spin, jump and turn quickly, smoothly and accurately without the risk of spraining or tearing the muscles, tendons or ligaments by sudden twisting or stretching moves.


The basic principles of warm-up are:

1. Keep it light. Do not exercise the dog too long or too intensely! The warm-up is to prepare the body and not to tire it. The aim is to exercise all muscles that the dog uses during the routine.

2. Do the warm-up on the same surface on which the dog has to perform. This helps the dog and also the body to adjust itself to the real conditions.

3. Time it well. The dog should reach its mental and physical peaks just before entering the ring. Depending on the age, size, and physical condition of the dog and the difficulty of moves in the routine the warm-up can take 5-15 minutes. For older dogs the warm-up has to be more thorough and the build-up is slower than for juvenile and young dogs.

4. Start the warm-up with the large muscles (legs, shoulders and spinal-column) and begin without straining the muscles or joints (e.g. walk, trot).

5. Raise the difficulty and intensity of exercises gradually in parallel with the smoothness and ease of the dog’s moves (e.g. walk, trot, and gallop).

6. After the cardio-vascular system is in full action (walk, trot, walk on stairs, gallop, swimming) and the muscles are warmed up continue with stationary stretching and then with the dynamic stretching exercises that require flexibility from the joints and muscles (weaving, circles around the handler, play-bowing, lifting paws, tugging, crawling, spining, walking backwards)

Note: proceed according to point 4. and progress from the least straining exercise towards the more demanding one.

7. Do each warm-up exercise symmetrically Left/ Right, Clockwise/Anti-Clockwise and Forward/Backwards to warm-up muscles on all sides of the body equally.

8. Warm-up the dog even before the shortest exercise which puts the muscles/joints under strain; even one wrong move can cause a serious injury!


A sequence of suggested warm-up exercises:

1. Using your fingers a) rub the skin then b) gently move the skin in ¾ clockwise circles on the body, shoulders, hips and legs are all very important

2. Massage the leg muscles

3. Walk, Trot, (Walk on stairs), Gallop at Both Sides of the handler, Circles in both directions

4. Place your left arm under the dog’s tummy and lift its rear end, then with your right hand gently push its left rear leg at its patella and stretch its legs backwards and hold it for 10 -30 seconds. Then place your right arm under the dog’s tummy, lift its rear end and with your left hand stretch the dog’s right leg backwards. Alternatively lure the dog to the Lying Down position in a forwards movement so that it stretches the rear legs behind.

Note: do it very slowly and if the dog indicates any discomfort (tries to move) or you feel any resistance in the joints, stop stretching further.

5. Hold the dog’s front by placing your arm under its chest and slowly push its left front leg forwards under the elbow and hold it in the position for 10-30 seconds. Then stretch the dog’s right front leg similarly. Alternatively ask the dog to Stand with it’s front paws on your chest and keeping the dog in this position slowly stretch its front legs by pushing forwards under the elbows. With this exercise both the front and the rear legs are stretched as well as the spinalcolumn.

Note: do it very slowly and if the dog signals any discomfort (tries to move) or you feel any resistance in the joints, stop stretching further.

6. Then move each leg in up and down circle and afterwards gently inwards then outwards. The circle can be completed in 30 seconds.

7. Dynamic stretching exercises the suggested sequence: Weaving, Spins, Bows, Tic / Tac, Reverse Moves, Standing on rear legs, Jumping.

Note: Carry out these exercises in all possible directions.

During exercises that require strength and speed e.g. jumps and standing/jumping on rear legs lactic acid is produced in the muscles which causes pain. Good blood circulation in the muscles is essential for breaking down the lactic acid and avoidance of sore muscles. Also through ageing and exercising the muscles, tendons and ligaments become stronger, shorter and more rigid. This leads to limited movement ability and increased injury risk in the long-term.

Cooling down the body after an intense exercise gradually helps the body to remove the metabolic products from the cells and cleanse itself, hereby avoiding soreness and through the stretching the muscles, ligaments and tendons will stay elastic and flexible. This means the body will stay fit and the dog will not develop muscle and joint injuries and early arthritis.

The cooling down follows the opposite trend to the warm-up. The intensity of the exercises is progressively decreased finishing with a walk and then the thorough stretching is an essential part of the cooling down. In this each muscle and joint used has to be stretched.

The warm-up and cooldown programmes are essential to keep the dog in top physical and mental conditions and avoid injuries. However, practising and performing on proper surfaces are as much important. The ideal surface must be level, non-slippery and firm to allow the paws to turn and even slide, but moderately soft under the surface so that the dog lands softly after jumps and for the rear leg work. My practise surface preference is the slightly neglected cricket courses with 2-3 cm long dry grass. Non-slippery carpets with 0.2-0.4 cm (the thicker the better) rubber insulation underneath are also good indoor surfaces. I liked the children playground rubber surface indoors at the CHATS Centre in Christchurch. Linoleum and tile surfaces are a definite no no for freestyle dogs! In a short time the dog can pick up a serious injury while practising on these surfaces.

Copyright 2007 Happy Pets - Attila Szkukalek