After a weekend of agility I'm always a little sore... I mean I'm running three dogs, so that's not unexpected? So what do I do in the first couple of days after a show? Not much!
A weekend of agility competition is physically and mentally exhausting for our dogs, no matter how fit they are, or how much they enjoy agility.
Their muscles work really hard, and with this comes small micro tears in muscle. This is not a bad thing - it's a part of how muscle is built. However if not allowed recovery time, this could lead to soreness, injury, and compensation.
💜 So how do we recover from an event? 💜
Easy - a couple of quiet days! These could include;
🐕 A few low intensity walks to help blood flow, move lactic acid out of muscles, move joints through ROM, and decompress with sniffing
🐕 recovery aids like @backontracknz coats and PEMF beds
🐕 a break from training! This is important for the body and mind.
🐕 heat or a #photizo red light on sore or tight muscles
🐕 massage for relaxation, tight muscles, or problem areas.
💜 WHEN SHOULD YOUR DOG GET BREAKS? 💜
This is important. I see alot of dogs that are doing way too much, and not getting the breaks they need.
Dogs should rest (have a quiet day with no training or highly exerting physical activities):
🤍 At an agility show in between runs. There is absolutely no reason to do a large amount of jumps or training.
🤍 1-2 days after a weekend show or seminar
🤍 The day after any training session that is long or highly physically exerting
🤍 Any stressful event
🤍 In a month dogs should have AT LEAST 1-2 weekends with no shows or large training sessions/seminars
🤍 Over a calendar year your dog should have at least two decent training and competition breaks of 4-8 weeks. Over these breaks I do NO agility or equipment of any kind, instead focus on fitness and decompression activities. Remember you need to allow time after long breaks to slowly reintroduce agility work (don't go from the break straight into training hard skills and sequences).
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Need help with this? Email on hybriddogtraining@gmail.com to arrange a lesson and/or custom plan.
*This blog post is based on a post I made on my FB page.
Σχόλια