Strong adductors and abductors are important for both non linear sports such as agility, as well as more linear sports like Flyball. For nonlinear sports like agility strong adductors will help your dog change direction and stabilize themselves while moving across the equipment. For linear sports like Flyball, strong adductors and abductors will help keep limbs moving efficiently in their intended direction with minimal wiggle or wobble.

Dog’s long linear make up enables for fast powerful movement straight movement. Meaning, dogs are very strong from front to back. Think of your dog running toward you from a distance or changing a ball or disc moving straight away from them. However, their limited lateral range of motion and relatively weak adductors and abductors make them far less powerful from side to side.

To improve your dog’s performance in both linear non linear athletic movement, we have to improve the strength of their adductors and abductors. In our online course, One Piece Conditioning: The Donut, FITbone, Or Balance Disc, for adductor and abductor strengthening, we’re going to elevate your dog’s hindlimbs or forelimbs (as demonstrated in this video) and have them rotate around or move across around whatever piece of conditioning equipment you’re using.

Because the FITbone is a rectangle shaped piece of equipment as opposed to round, we can use that to create a variation of the exercise that allows us to travel length wise on the bone instead of just in a circle. While guiding your dog lengthwise on the bone they will be stepping with both the hindlimbs and the forelimbs.