Crawl tunnel and Bar jump
Two fun exercises with great health benefits for dogs.
Crawl Tunnel
The Crawl Tunnel strengthens the limbs, both rear and front, the hip flexors and most importantly, the core muscles.
A dog’s core is the abdominal muscles, obliques and back muscles. Dogs use their core muscles in almost everything they do.
The core is the stabilizer that supports erect posture and protects a dog’s spine.
Core strengthening is so important because it protects the back, making it less susceptible to injury. Increases stability ,decreasing stress on weaker limbs .Strengthens the centre of gravity ,improving balance . Improves posture, and performance during exercise.
A weak core results in poor posture and this causes problems with the back, shoulders ,hips, neck and knees.
The crawl tunnel strengthens a dog’s core and all four of his limbs, as the dog crawls below a low ceiling.
Bar Jump
The Bar Jump strengthens a dog’s hind and front limbs.
A dog’s front end is the muscles of the neck, shoulders, and front legs. Front limbs are primarily responsible for weight bearing and stability. They are used to turn ,land and slow down or stop after movement. Dogs place the majority of their weight on their front legs.
Strengthening a dog’s front end stabilizer muscles, improves stability when running, landing and walking on unstable surfaces.
A dog’s rear end is the muscles of the hips ,knees and the Achilles tendon.
Explosive strength ,produces a maximal amount of force in a minimal amount of time. Such as jumping over a jump bar.
The key is the speed of movement. Rear limb muscles, increase a dog’s speed and power ; they help the dog jump and extend his rear limbs.
Strong rear muscles help a dog get up, go upstairs and run.
The bar jump works a dog’s hind end during take off and the front end during landing.
Both the Crawl tunnel and Jump bar are easy to teach. Creating the obstacles is also very easy. All you are going to need is PVC pipes and a couple of tools. Coming soon , a video with instructions on how to teach the crawl tunnel and the bar jump.
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