Clean Run Magazine - January 2008 - 74

ECE’S C G YM Exercise of the Month: Get on the Ball Basics By Debbie Gross Saunders, MSPT, OCS, CCRP, photos by Clean Run Any dog competing in canine sports should possess good core muscle strength; that is, good strength of both back and abdominal muscles. Core work is a part of every human athlete’s workout and should also be part of every canine workout. Without adequate core control, the dog is at risk for injuries to his body, speciﬁcally the back muscles. Yet, injuries could occur at any part of the body secondary to poor core strength. For example, if a dog has a weak core, he may compensate with his rear and begin to have problems with “tight” muscles, muscle strains, or other issues. Many dogs with weak core muscles have diﬃculty with collection work, a necessity on agility courses. In addition, working the core muscles oﬀers an excellent method of cross training for the performance dog. Strengthening the core muscles should be a part of every performance dog’s conditioning program. An easy and eﬀective method of core strengthening involves a large vinyl ball, also sometimes referred to as an exercise ball, theraball, balance ball, ﬁtness ball, gymnastics ball, or Swiss ball. Theraballs challenge the dog’s body because they are an unstable surface. The dog’s legs and abs immediately contract to keep him from falling oﬀ the ball. (Try sitting on the ball yourself; it’s hard work!) Add an exercise to that (like reaching to the side for a treat), and you’ve just increased the intensity of the movement. Work on the ball also provides a method of strengthening the core muscles without altering the dog’s standing biomechanics. There are many brands of theraballs available such as FitBALL, DuraBall, Thera-Band, Gymnic, and Pezzi. There are also diﬀerent shapes 74 of balls available such as the Gymnic Physio-Roll (a double ball with a peanut shape) or the Pezzi EGG. For core work, I personally prefer the Physio-Rolls or EGGs to the round balls because they are longer in design, making them more comfortable for the dogs, and they are easier for the human member of the team to manage. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to all of these as “balls” in this article. For core strengthening work, you need a large ball. The ball should be a minimum of 4" higher than the dog’s withers, but higher is ﬁne. The goal is to have all four of the dog’s limbs on the ball. If owners have diﬀerent sized dogs at home, I recommend one large ball so that the ball may be easily used for all of their dogs. The two most common questions I receive about the ball are: 1. How do I get my dog on the ball? 2. Will he pop it? I’ll answer the first question shortly. The answer to the second question is to train the ball as a working activity. At no time do you want the dog to chase or bite the ball in the working environment. In addition, store the ball in a location that the dog cannot access; it is not a toy. Unless the dog’s nails are very long and sharp, the nails should not pop a good-quality ball. Inexpensive balls from discount stores are usually made from a thin layer of vinyl and tend not to hold up for very long for canine work. It is money well spent to invest in a good quality ball. To help preserve its life, don’t leave your ball outside in the weather for long periods of time. Clean Run | January 08

Clean Run Magazine - January 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - January 2008