DH202: Conditioning the Athletic Dog
To recognize the unique needs of your athletic dog and develop a conditioning program which will achieve the goal of a long, productive career – not just a good run! The emphasis will be on competition and service dogs; however the basic principals apply to all dogs, as this course focuses on the many factors which may reduce the risk and/or severity of injuries to dogs leading active lives!
Prerequisites: None
Course not currently available. Check back soon. The course is in development.
Course Length: ___ one hour classes meet weekly (EST)
Course Cost (Register above):
Live—You will speak to the instructor in an online “classroom” with other students. Choose from the listed times in the Course Registration box above.
OnDemand/Recorded—Watch classes "OnDemand"- at your own pace. Click on "OnDemand/Recorded Session" under "Register for Recorded Class" above.
Certification/For Credit-You will participate fully in the class with required homework and tests. You will send in homework (may include video) to learn "hands on" with the instructor examining and providing individualized feedback, attention and assistance on course material.
Audited-You will participate fully in the class with no required homework or tests.
The instructor will not provide any assistance out of class such as viewing your videos in order to be able to give you individualized feedback.
Course Information:
This course will focus on the five important attributes for the athletic dog. We begin with structural evaluation of your dog as it relates to performance – in other words we are evaluating for purpose, not for fancy. This will create your “Problem List”. Using the information from your problem list, we will develop a program to enhance the aspects your dog may be lacking and preserve the ones it already has; this will create balance by strengthening adjacent musculature in addition to the primary muscles used for your particular event. We will not only take your dog’s physical fitness to a new level, the Conditioning program will create variety, which is the key to maintaining mental sharpness for any athlete!
What a student can expect to learn from this Course:
- Enlightened appreciation of their dog as an athlete
- How to evaluate structure in relation to potential injury
- Understanding of conditioning vs training
- Importance of balance/proprioception to achieve optimal performance and enhanced wellness
- Skills that will enhance abilities to raise and train each dog better than the last
Instructor: Racine Hyatt certified in Canine massage, graduating from the first class of the 2003 program at Treetops. She then went on to complete studies in Canine Rehabilitation at the Animal Rehabilitation Institute in the USA., receiving instruction in Anatomy & Physiology, Bio-mechanics, Program Design and Rehabilitation Techniques and Canine Sports Medicine. She seizes every opportunity to attend workshops and seminars believing the key to being able to help so many different dogs successfully has been her continuing education which puts as many 'tools in the box as possible' since there is rarely one right answer! 
Racine has been training dogs in various disciplines since 1972 when she began showing the family Newfies in conformation. She would discover her life's purpose and the world of rehabilitation in 1992 when she was blessed with her first canine life-partner, Meisha, who required several surgeries to repair the damage from the acutely abusive situation from which she had been removed. Although Meisha's after-care was complicated (the variety of practitioners who helped her would introduce Racine to complimentary health care) everyone involved knew the real struggle would be in restoring the confidence this Boxer should have. Someone suggested dog sports would be an excellent way to help "Moo", but didn't say which one - so Racine and Meisha signed up for everything (and so began Racine's education in the benefits of cross-training) including Schutzhund (Racine and Meisha did their last demo for a small training club when Moo was 9yrs old!). Racine attributes the (then rudimentary) skills she was taught in massage, T-touch and acupressure for maintaining Meisha's health and in large part why she never experienced a single injury (Racine discovers the benefits of physical conditioning!).
Today, Racine's practice in rehabilitation exposes her to (what she believes) is a ridiculous number of dogs recovering from the same few injuries - pets and athletes alike! As we enjoy more active lifestyles, so do our dogs; and yet few people apply the same basic 'rules of fitness' to the dogs as for themselves. A large part of her programs at DOGWORKS is education - and as word spread, Racine began doing more conditioning/preventative counseling than injury recovery!
Racine shares her life with Boxers, German Shepherds and an extraordinarily patient husband! When not training or competing, Racine's dogs take turns demonstrating at seminars the benefits of conditioning and the body's ability to heal when given the right support!
She believes it is never too late to start and that an educated handler will go on to raise and train each dog better than the last - certainly the dogs deserve this!
Student Information
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