Canine Phyiscal Conditioning

We love to work with the canine athlete. If your dog competes in agility, obedience, flyball, schutzhund, tracking, water work, conformation, or is your favorite running buddy, your dog needs special attention. Your dog needs to be treated like an athlete. Every athlete requires conditioning and cross training beyond their basic level of training.

For example, an effective conformation dog needs exercise and conditioning to perform at their optimal level. A pretty face and body is one thing, but the dog needs to be conditioned! The conformation dog needs to be an excellent example of the breed and needs to look good, move well and be able to perform the task they were bred to do. Fitness is a must.

Whether your goal is finishing a championship or specialing the dog to one of the dog tops in the country, you are missing a major component if the dog is not involved in a daily fitness program. Athletic dogs need cross training and additional activities to bring them to their optimal level. Weekly appointments are recommended. Individualized programs are developed to meet the needs of your dog.

Sometimes, a more intense program is required to initially bring the dog up to a level of fitness. We take in dogs for an initial period of seven days to one month to increase their muscle mass, endurance and body condition. After an initial thorough movement analysis and evaluation, a program is developed for the dog. Programs include the underwater treadmill, hiking, land treadmill, theraball activities, cavaletti work, and other specific exercises. Typically, the dogs receive two sessions per day with a rest period sometime during the week.

Dogs stay in one of our suites and are supervised twenty-four hours a day at our home-based office. You can send your own food or we offer a variety of food. For your convenience, we offer a canine pick up and drop off service from your home, your handler, or many of the local airports. We can also arrange for grooming if needed while they are with us.

For the conformation dog preparing for a large show, such as a national specialty, the Eukanuba Invitational, or Westminster, we recommend seeing them two to four weeks prior to the show.

In addition, maintenance programs can be set up anywhere from once to three times per week. We offer individualized care to each and every dog that stays with us and pride ourselves in the care we offer.