Course Details
Performance dogs are athletes. High drive performance dogs are elite athletes. They NEED to work out! Exercise provides a much-needed physical, mental and emotional outlet. Unfortunately, these dogs typically have no regard for safety or self-preservation. That’s where we come in. A well-rounded fitness program will keep your dog flexible and strong to help prevent injury. In this webinar, I will present a training progression that builds your dog’s fitness level safely. I will present stretches to maximize your dog’s flexibility. We will look at ways to safely build your dog’s aerobic fitness. I will demonstrate strengthening exercises that can be done in your home. I will emphasize proper form while presenting dynamic challenges. We will focus on improving balance, coordination and hind end awareness which will improve your dog’s reaction time and ability to recover from fast, sudden movements.
A high drive dog that is in peak condition will be more physically and mentally resilient. They will also be a bit easier to live with and more focused with their sport. The activities presented in this webinar will benefit dogs that play in all sports. High drive dogs present unique challenges. Our job is to ensure that they get the physical activity they need while staying safe.
About the Instructor:
Petra (she/her) graduated from Rutgers School of Health-Related Professions 30 years ago with a degree in physical therapy and has experience working with an extremely varied caseload including pediatric through geriatric clients with a vast range of diagnoses. Petra attended the Canine Rehabilitation Institute in 2007 and is a certified Canine Rehabilitation Therapist. Petra opened her own Canine Rehabilitation facility in 2007 and has been working with dogs ever since. She treats dogs with a wide variety of diagnosis, including performance dogs. She has presented seminars and taught classes on canine conditioning for over 15 years. Petra raced bicycles at the professional level and participated in international events. She is now an avid runner, practices yoga and meditates daily.
Petra trains and trials her Labrador Retrievers in obedience, agility and field. Her black Labrador Retriever, Tyler, has the distinction of being the 2008 and 2009 National Obedience Champion and First Runner Up in 2010. In 2012, Petra and Tyler became the first American team to win the Obedience World Cup (they placed second in 2010). Petra’s dogs have earned field titles (MH, QAA). She competed in agility at the Masters level with Zaidan, who is now retired. Zeal competed in Obedience and won multiple Regional Qualifiers, the 2018 Obedience Classic and earned 12 Perfect 200 scores. Following in his father’s paws, Zeal is the 2020 National Obedience Champion. Zeal is now retired and enjoying a life of leisure. Zayna won the Novice Division at the 2019 Obedience Classic, placed second (to Zeal) at her first Regional and has won and placed at other Regional events. In 2022 she was third runner-up at the AKC National Obedience Championship. She has earned multiple 200s. Zesty is the newest family member. He is quite the clown! He loves dressing up and learning new tricks. He is becoming quite the social media star. He is also training for competition obedience and will start competing this year. Petra has written several articles on canine conditioning, canine injury prevention, competing with your dog and more. She has been published in a number of magazines including Clean Run, Front and Finish, and Whole Dog Journal.
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