FitPAWS® is a system developed specifically for overall canine fitness using specially designed equipment.
Canine fitness using the FitPAWS® method can increase the bond between you and your dog, reduce risk of injury and future health problems, enhance performance in chosen dog sports and improve the overall health of your pet.
Flygility has its very own qualified FitPAWS® Master Trainer, bringing canine fitness services including recreational fitness classes and custom designed canine fitness plans to the North Notts area.
How it works
Adding simple exercises to your dog’s activities 3-4 times a week incorporating the 5 key elements of FitPAWS® will help keep your dog fit and healthy along with helping to reduce the risk of injury.
- Strength Fitness for increased trunk and core strength which enables muscles to work with less fatigue and more power.
- Balance Fitness which prevents injury improves agility and encourages body awareness and balance.
- Mental Fitness brings motivation, persistence, self-confidence and a wagging tail to all our canine companions.
- Flexibility Fitness Improved reaction and control, increased range of motion of joints and elongation of muscles.
- Cardio Fitness– Cardiovascular fitness allows better use and delivery of oxygen to working muscles and tissues.
Why dog’s need to have a canine fitness plan.
If your dog is a loved pet and part of your family, you’ll want to make sure they stay healthy and fit. FitPAWS® Canine Conditioning Equipment is a fun and simple way to exercise your pet indoors!
Because you are supervising their exercise and helping to stabilize the equipment, you’ll spend some quality time with your pooch which you’ll both enjoy and your dog will love you for it. Dogs of any breed and at any lifestage can benefit from a FitPAWS® program. Canine fitness is equally important to performance dogs, show dogs, pet dogs and senior dogs.
Fitness plans are tailored to improve your dog’s level of body awareness, strength and performance while inspiring you to be aware of your dog’s movement and capabilities with simple but effective fun exercises. The difference can be a simple as your dog being able to stretch and reach that bit of cake you shoved to the back of the worktop for later, where it was previously just out of reach. You may have to work on manners skills to combat that… but I’m here to get your dog fit.
Fitting it all in
A fitness plan does not have to mean something extensive, as little as 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference.
Its not just canine athletes that can benefit.
Puppies
The common statement that “A tired puppy is a good puppy!” is a bit misleading for puppy owners, destructive behaviours are often due to a puppy that has not had enough mental stimulation.
Over exercising your puppy in the conventional running around chasing balls and playing way can not only exhaust them but turn them into super puppies.
Soon you have a dog that is capable of running a marathon but still not tired and still demands attention and the ball to be thrown.
Expel puppies’ excess energy and give your puppy a beneficial physical and mental “job” by teaching them new games, tricks and behaviours on FitPAWS products.
The FitPAWS inflatable products are low impact and can improve your puppy’s core strength, confidence, and body awareness. They can start as early as 8 weeks with short training sessions meaning your puppy will be on the right track to living a longer, happier, and healthier life!
Senior Dogs
As dogs age, they tend to lose muscle mass and balance so it’s good to incorporate workouts on the low impact FitPAWS equipment a few times a week to maintain a happy and healthy senior pet.
Weekend Canines warriors
Is your dog a couch potato during the week and a weekend canine warrior? Many couch potato dogs are often over worked on the weekends by fun yet strenuous play activities like ball chasing in the park or going on long walks and some of these dogs, being overweight and overworked are more susceptible to injuries from having a weak core. It is very important that these dogs have a conditioning program to prevent injuries. Just 5-10 minute sessions 3-4 times a week will help improve core strength and muscle tone for injury prevention and increased weekend performance
Show dogs
Show dogs are required to move elegantly and be able to hold good posture. Fitpaws products and simple exercises can help your dog maintain the perfect stand without the muscles becoming fatigued.
Canines Athletes
A well balanced fitness plan is essential to maintain the perfect athletic body that frequent competition demands. Improved cardio, balance, flexibility & strength along a good mental state can help you achieve you winning goals.
Agility
Does your dog need a little more oomph in the ring to clear those bars and get those contacts? Get the edge over the competition by cross training on FitPAWS® equipment!
Cross-training with FitPAWS improves core strength for increased performance and injury prevention. It can also improve key muscle groups with exercises to target specific body areas. Agility dogs need extra hind end musculature to leap great heights, strong abs to weave through cones, and strong sense of balance, body awareness and muscle memory to hit every contact and clear those bars.
Cross training 3-4 times a week produces big results that you can’t get from your normal agility equipment training, it’s all about instability training that instantly activates core and stabilizer muscles which are the powerhouse of the dog’s body. Start your cross training program as early as puppyhood and continue throughout life. There are vast arrays of fun conditioning exercises to train on the equipment to help your canine athlete perform their best!
Flyball
Flyball dogs need a strong hind end for explosive starts and a strong core, back, and shoulders for injury prevention and increased performance. Carpal (wrist) and shoulder injuries are common for this fun but intense canine sport. Cross training with FitPAWS® equipment just 3-5 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week is a great way to reduce the chance of injury and increase performance!
Obedience
Have your dog put all of its attention on you while he focuses on learning new behaviors and gains balance, core strength and body awareness with the FitPAWS training tools.
A strong square sit perfected with FitPAWS along with Gait training, left & right heeling turns will surely up you scores in obedience trials.
Canine Freestyle
Improve balance, body awareness, tight turns, and overall core strength with FitPAWS training tools. Training with FitPAWS will benefit the powerhouse or core of the dog’s body, flexibility, and balance control needed for routines performed in Canine Freestyle.
Improve gait, rhythm and body and Paw awareness, lateral side steps and increased proprioception.
Cone weaving, pivots, heels, crawling, gait training, and jumping with FitPAWS will improve your performance and may even inspire new moves for your routines.
Lure Coursing
Lure Coursing dogs race at full speed, chasing the lure, and can be prone to many Sports related injuries. These canine athletes can benefit greatly from cross training on FitPAWS® equipment. Training on FitPAWS Canine Conditioning Equipment instantly activates core muscles as your dog tries to stay balanced on the subtly shifting surfaces. This invaluable instability training will fine tune and tone your dog’s coordination, increase core strength, and body awareness so they can race at their best!
Hunting Dogs/Gun Dogs
Hunting dogs move fast in the field and often hurdle over branches and under natural obstacles to chase down their game. Having keen body awareness and a strong core can help your dog perform their best when they are on the job.
Proprioception exercises can help a dog instinctively learn how its body moves in space so that it can respond to different environmental factors at fast speed.
Often times, hunting dogs can strain themselves by twisting themselves the wrong way in a ground hole or uneven surface. All movement begins from the core, so developing strong core muscles by cross training can reduce the chance of injury and help improve overall field performance. Dogs learn to engage their core muscles and major muscle groups in order to keep balanced on the unstable surfaces.
Dock Jumping (Dock Dogs)
Dock Dogs need a strong hind end and core for launching off the dock at great distances.
Cross training 3-4 times a week can increase the hind end musculature needed for explosive and powerful starts.
Disc Dog
Discs dogs leap through the air and twist their bodies at great distances with force to catch flying discs. They engage their core in every aspect of the sport, and will benefit from core strengthening on the FitPAWS Equipment for increased performance and injury prevention.
Therapy/Service Dogs
Breeders of Service dogs can start with the low impact FitPAWS® equipment as a part of their super puppy program. Therapy and Service dogs need to be confident when walking across any type of surface. The unstable and textured surface of FitPAWS products will help develop confidence in different environments.
Training will also continue to strengthen the bond between owner and service dog while giving the dog an important outlet for its excess energy.
Weight Pulling/Dog Sledding
Weight pulling and sled dogs pull a lot of weight that can cause strain on the body. It’s important that these dogs have strong shoulders, hips, and an overall strong core for pulling weight. Consistent and proper cross training with FitPAWS will help increase core strength, flexibility and may help minimize injuries associated with weight pulling. Focus on exercises that will strengthen abs, spine, shoulders and hips.
Trieball/Herding
Herding dogs need a strong core, coordination and body awareness on the field to perform at their best. Herding dogs love to “work”, so put your dog to work with FitPAWS cross training when they can’t herd outside. Whether your dog is involved in herding large round balls (Triebball), or livestock, they engage their core as they twist and turn on the field, so make sure that they are in prime shape and have a strong core. Incorporating the FitPAWS Canine Conditioning Equipment into their training routine is a great way to accomplish this.