We ask a lot of our sporting dogs so as owners we also have to do a lot of groundwork to prepare them for the physical challenges they'll face. Think of an agility run and the types of physical demands we place on our dogs. As trainers, we'll often drill our dogs on contacts, weave performance, and distance work but how often are we dedicating time to jumping form? In a single agility run the jump is the most common piece of equipment your dog will see. Think of how many jumps they might complete over a two day competition? The reality is we often take advantage of our dog's natural ability to jump and can neglect to put in the same amount of training for the jump performance as we do for their weave or contact performance. This week, I break down the complex topic of jumping!

Have you ever woken up in the morning only to find that you somehow "slept wrong" and now your back hurts? The spine is a complex system and back pain sufferers can tell you just how debilitating injuries to the spine can be! Like us, our dogs can also suffer from back pain and knowing how the spine works and how to help our dogs avoid injury to this area is a crucial part to conditioning our dogs and keeping them healthy.