Tag Archives: long island

The Need For Canine Conditioning

Proper conditioning  doesn’t just make your dog stronger, it makes your dog more sensitive to the amount of muscle contraction necessary to move most efficiently. Without conditioning, your dog will only be able to perform as well as they’ve learned to while participating in their sport or life activity. Continue reading The Need For Canine Conditioning

Puppy Socialization Before Full Vaccination

The most common advice given at a new puppy owner’s first appointment is to keep the puppy away from all other dogs as well as not walk the pup on the street until their series of 5 in 1 vaccines are finished and they have received their Rabies vaccine at least 16 or even 20 weeks of age. It is during this time that antibodies that the puppy has from the mother are diminishing and before the vaccines have taken full effect leaving a window of vulnerability. This was the protocol that I and many other veterinarians were taught in Vet school. However, this is bad advice for the social and behavioral development of the puppy. Continue reading Puppy Socialization Before Full Vaccination

Your Dog Doesn’t Want To Be Fat

Overweight dogs don’t choose to be that way. Sure they eat when given food but they don’t know the ramifications of doing so when done in excess. The responses from owners when talking about how much they overfeed their dogs are “He acts hungry”, or “He really likes to eat”. This can be frustrating because many owners act as if they can’t deny their dog something that it enjoys so much.

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The Problem With Canine Conditioning

Canine conditioning as it is generally practiced is not really geared toward canine athletic performance. There are a lot of great Journiexercises that ultimately will not translate to improved performance or injury prevention because the execution will never advance beyond a dog simply going through the motion of the exercises. That’s because the overwhelming majority of canine conditioning exercises never move beyond their canine rehabilitation roots. Continue reading The Problem With Canine Conditioning

8 Reasons To Exercise Your Dog In A Pool

At The Martial ARFS™ we use our pool for a variety of water based exercises that go well beyond swimming.  We call them Open Water Exercises (OWE) or Aquatic Conditioning, and you can have your dog perform them in a pool or any other open body of water. The purpose of Open Water Exercise is to incorporate a variety of exercises into a canine athlete or a companion dog’s conditioning program that use water to provide resistance, buoyancy, instability, challenge, and/or safety. Continue reading 8 Reasons To Exercise Your Dog In A Pool

Functional Canine Conditioning Part 4: Endurance

The 4 Elements Of A Functional Canine Conditioning Program:
Power. Athleticism. Speed. Endurance. (P.A.S.E.)

Part 4: Endurance

How do you build your dog’s cardiovascular Endurance? Should you do High Intensity Short Duration or Low Intensity Long Duration. What about muscle endurance? How long should a set of Puppy Push Ups or Squats last? Or how long should an entire conditioning sessions last? At The Martial ARFS™ we use three components to develop dog’s endurance: Cardiovascular Endurance, Muscle Endurance, and Mental Endurance. Continue reading Functional Canine Conditioning Part 4: Endurance

Functional Canine Conditioning Part 3: Speed

The 4 Elements Of A Functional Canine Conditioning Program:
Power. Athleticism. Speed. Endurance. (P.A.S.E.)

Part 3: Speed!!

When you see a dog run and think to yourself, “Wow that dog is fast!”, what are you looking at? Is it how fast the dog runs in the open field? What about how fast the dog runs an agility course? Is it how fast the dog starts? Stops? Or changes direction? At The Martial ARFS™ we define speed using 4 components:  Reaction, Direction, Acceleration,  & Sprint, and you must train them all to improve your dog’s performance.

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Functional Canine Conditioning: Part 1: Power

The 4 Elements Of A Functional Canine Conditioning Program:
Power. Athleticism. Speed. Endurance. (P.A.S.E.)

Part 1: Power

Each of the 4 elements are comprised of several key components that make up that element. Ignoring any component of any element ruins the integrity of the entire process and you will most likely never see the result you’re hoping to achieve. There are 4 components to developing a “functionally” more powerful canine athlete. They are: Strength, Stability, Flexibility, Connection.

Continue reading Functional Canine Conditioning: Part 1: Power