CC235: Fresh Paws and Golden Years: Fitness for Puppies and Seniors
Course Details
This class is all about the special dogs. The ones that don’t suit general fitness classes, because they have specific needs. This class is for YOU!
This class will be aimed at Puppies, Senior dogs, and dogs with specific body needs such as TriPaws or dwarf breeds.
We will cover:
Over each week specific concepts and exercises for Puppies
Over each week specific concepts and exercises for Senior dogs
Special lectures about fitness for dogs with special conditions or chronic health concerns
Please note that due to the focus of this class it is recommended that older dogs, and dogs with medical and/or orthopedic issues have specific clearance for fitness training.
Teaching Approach:
Kelly will release lectures over the week. These lectures will be a combination of written theory, and specific exercises. There are usually multiple videos to illustrate the finished exercises, and training of these exercises. Because of the nature of class there will be a wide variety on topics each week, and also training exercises to select from with your own dog and their specific needs in mind.
Special conditions: Dwarf breeds (short legs, long backs)
Week 5
Senior dogs: Why muscle mass matters
Puppies: Face targeting
Fitness Intermediate skills: Active stretching
Special conditions: Giant breed dogs
Week 6
Puppy progressions: where too and when?
Senior dogs: Proprioceptive enrichment
Fitness workout ideas
Advancing fitness exercises appropriately
Special conditions: Common medical conditions and their considerations
Prerequisites and Equipment
There will be flexibility in the equipment required, and Kelly is happy to help students figure out the right equipment for their dogs and there specific needs.
The basic requirements include:
Two smaller non-slip stable platforms
One longer, taller non slip platform
Two bowls
Cavaletti poles will be one exercise you may choose to do, and this need 8-12 poles.
Additional equipment may include:
Two larger cones
Silicone textured target mats
More advanced dogs may need items with instability like a wobble cushion, foot pods etc.
A variety of size and height platforms may be useful
Due to the nature of this class, it is reccomended that:
- Senior dogs have veterinary clearance for fitness exercises
- Dogs with special conditions have veterinary clearance for fitness exercises (they should not be in the active rehabilitation phase of recovery)
If you have any questions about the suitability of this class with your dog, please contact Kelly.
There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't do fitness training with a young dog, however we need to be considerate of a couple of things:
Their bodies are physically immature. Their bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles are still growing. This means that not only are they not at their full proportion, but also strength. This means that the soft tissues in particular are somewhat vulnerable to injury.
They have not yet developed the full degree or proprioception and neurological control of their body, as well as muscle strength. They are more at risk of falling or having accidents that could cause an injury.
Much like a young human child they have not had the life experience to understand that in some situations they need to take care.
This means that in particular for fitness training we have to have a couple of rules!
No standing on highly unstable equipment. We don’t want wobbling and shaking! Younger dogs can develop movement confidence with unstable equipment in a couple of exercises where they are moving safely over equipment.
In young puppies, limiting how much tight turning they are doing. Younger dogs' elbows and knees are particularly vulnerable. We want to protect these joints, and turning puts a lot of force on them. So we limit the types, and amount of turns that they do.
Trying to vary WHAT exercise you train each session. This creates variation, and reduces repetition.
Watch the total amount you are doing. There are no hard and fast rules, but I think over class if you aimed at one minute fitness specific training per month each day that would be great. So a 10 month old puppy can do one 10 minute training session a day. So be smart, and plan your sessions well. Choose a couple of exercises to do in a session.
Be smart with reset cookies!
" style="text-decoration: none;">
There are some other things I would recommend for your sports dogs, in terms of their lives, to consider managing to reduce the chance of injury.
This includes:
Jumping down
LOTS of exercise e.g. really long on lead walks
Rough play with older and/or bigger dogs
Watching their movement on slippery floors, using baby gates and rugs to reduce slipping
Stairs
General exercise for puppies
What is somewhat interesting, is that some exercise even in high amounts is not harmful for puppies. It’s actually helpful for their development. For example research shows that moderate amounts outdoor exercise on soft ground in moderately rough terrain to decrease the risk for developing radiographically detectable HD. However access and use of stairs in dogs 3 months and less can increase the chance of hip dysplasia.
What gets tricky is managing what type, and how much exercise young dogs should be doing. I have a tendency to be on the cautious side with young dogs, mostly because the breeds I have aren't so good at showing self preservation. So generally I manage my dogs' access to stairs, concrete, and slippery floors with fencing, baby gates etc. I manage play with other dogs, and I don’t do lots of forced exercise e.g. long on lead walks.
Next session starts: April 1, 2026Registration starts: March 22, 2026Registration ends: April 15, 2026
Registration opens at 10:30am Pacific Time.
SILVER LEVEL Testing Project for April 2026 - In this session students will be permitted to submit ONE 90 second video per week when registered at the silver level. All "your dog" specific questions must be accompanied by video so the instructor can assess video and questions together. Silver students may also ask generic questions and participate in discussion forum threads.
Instructor: Kelly Daniel
