logo

  • Log In
  • About Us
  • Calendar
  • Faculty & Staff
  • instagram-icon
  • facebook-icon
  • twitter-icon
  • Courses
    • Schedule
    • By Discipline
    • By Instructor
    • Prerequisites
    • Self-Study
    • Scholarships
    • Gift Certificates
  • Webinars
    • Schedule
    • FAQ
  • Workshops
    • Schedule
    • FAQ
    • Gift Certificates
  • On Demand
    • Pet Dog Presentations
    • Pet Professionals Presentations
    • Self-Study Courses
  • Special Links
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Fenzi TEAM Titles
    • Trainer Certificates
    • Private Lessons
    • Other Free Stuff!
    • Swag
  • Events
    • Matters of Motivation - May 10, 2025
    • FDSA Training Camp - Maryland Sept 26-28, 2025
  • Contact
    • Course FAQ
    • Webinar FAQ
    • Workshop FAQ
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Help
  • Courses
    • Schedule
    • By Discipline
    • By Instructor
    • Prerequisites
    • Self-Study
    • Scholarships
    • Gift Certificates
  • Webinars
    • Schedule
    • FAQ
  • Workshops
    • Schedule
    • FAQ
    • Gift Certificates
  • On Demand
    • Pet Dog Presentations
    • Pet Professionals Presentations
    • Self-Study Courses
  • Special Links
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Fenzi TEAM Titles
    • Trainer Certificates
    • Private Lessons
    • Other Free Stuff!
    • Swag
  • Events
    • Matters of Motivation - May 10, 2025
    • FDSA Training Camp - Maryland Sept 26-28, 2025
  • Contact
    • Course FAQ
    • Webinar FAQ
    • Workshop FAQ
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Help

CC180: Powerful Performance: Fitness to Optimize All Sports

  • Overview
  • Syllabus
  • Prerequisites & Supplies
  • Sample Lecture
  • Testimonials & Reviews
    • Registration
      Apply for a scholarship

  • See Also
  • All Classes
  • All Workshops

CC180: Powerful Performance: Fitness to Optimize All Sports

Course Details

Many people don’t understand the importance of conditioning until their dog has suffered an injury.  They feel that participating in dog sports IS conditioning.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  ALL dog sports require specific conditioning to prevent injuries and to ensure that your dog is performing optimally and comfortably.  Many dogs are physically uncomfortable or in pain but will continue to work because they love it and want to please us.  Something slightly off in your dog’s performance?  Often it is physical and it’s not picked up by conventional medicine.  Want to optimize your dog’s performance?  ALL performance dogs are athletes and all athletes require a conditioning program!   It doesn’t have to be complicated, time consuming or require a lot of equipment.  By evaluating your dog’s structure, current fitness and the specific demands of their sport we can developed a streamlined, personalized program.  We will look at exercises that can easily be done at home with a minimum of equipment.  Quality over quantity is my mantra!  Many people are “conditioning” their dogs but just like with human core work, form is of paramount performance.  Exercises done incorrectly can actually cause injuries.  Whether you are playing sports just for fun, a novice competitor or seasoned team, conditioning should be part of your routine.  The best part is that dog’s love it!!   

Required Equipment:  

  • A platform that is longer than when your dog is standing; wide as your dog’s legs when it sits 
  • Perch that is not slippery – For example a rubber Feed Tub sold at Tractor Supply 
  • Recommend but not necessary:  24” Fit disc for most dogs; very small dogs can use a 13” disc  

Teaching Approach 

Lectures and videos will be released on a weekly basis. Instructions are provided in both written form and with short videos.  Mechanics and technique are important with the skills in this class placing importance on the videos.   Key points of the videos will also be provided with bullet points.  Students will work through materials at their own pace and get individualized feedback on their progress. 

For larger dogs many of the exercises will require you to bend down.  Students with physical considerations can sit in a chair.  With medium and smaller dogs several of the exercises can be done on a grooming table (or any table with a non-slip surface).  The stretching exercises will be done either on the floor, or you can modify by putting the dog on your bed, a table or raised surface.  I’m happy to help Gold students with modifications.  Most of the conditioning exercises can be performed indoors or outdoors in a small area.  They must be done on a non-slip surface.  I can help adapt the exercises for working students.   

Petra FordInstructor: Petra Ford

Petra (she/her) graduated from Rutgers School of Health Related Professions 17 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. Her areas of expertise included in-patient rehabilitation, orthopedics and neurology. (Click here for full bio and to view Petra's upcoming courses)

Syllabus

View Full Syllabus

Week one:

  • Impact of Structure on Function
  • Structure evaluation
  • What exact is the “Core”
  • All dog sports require a strong core!
  • Core strengthening Postures
  • Front Feed Up Head Up
  • Wonderful Walking!
  • Body Awareness and Balance

Week two:

  • Winning Warmups
  • Core work Endurance with Postures
  • Body awareness continued
  • Balancing your Schedule
  • Importance of Rest

Week three

  • Flexibility
  • Stretching vs. Range of Motion
  • Full Range of Motion before Strength
  • Core progression
  • Strengthening Exercises Hind End
  • Body Awareness Progression

Week four

  • Motor skill…what is it and why
  • Breaking Down Motor skills for your sport
  • Components of Conditioning
  • Strengthening exercises front end
  • Body Awareness Progression

Week five

  • Cool Down
  • Hind End and Core strengthening
  • Motor Skills continued
  • Putting it all together

Week 6

  • Catch up week
  • Focusing on problem areas
  • Exercises balancing strengthening and proprioception

Prerequisites & Supplies

View all Prerequisites & Supplies

Required Equipment:  

  • A platform that is longer than when your dog is standing; wide as your dog’s legs when it sits 
  • Perch that is not slippery – For example a rubber Feed Tub sold at Tractor Supply 
  • Recommend but not necessary:  24” Fit disc for most dogs; very small dogs can use a 13” disc  

Sample Lecture

More

CONDITIONING

I think it is critical for every working dog to have an underlying fitness base.  Physically conditioned dogs:

  • perform better in their sport,
  • are less likely to get injured, and
  • if they do sustain an injury, the injury is usually less severe and the recovery is quicker. 
  • In addition, exercise not related to their sport is psychologically healthy for dogs. 

Before you begin, make sure your dog is cleared by your veterinarian to participate in a conditioning program.

When preparing an exercise program, you must take your dog’s structure and any physical limitations into consideration.  This does not necessarily mean your dog cannot be conditioned.  Conditioning programs can be tailored to meet an individual dog’s specific needs.

OLDER DOGS:  Extra care must be taken with older dogs to guard against injuries to joints.   They need a prolonged warm-up, a generous cool down and should be stretched at the end of the day.  Their exercise program should be geared towards activities that place minimal stress on aging joints (such as swimming, underwater treadmill, walks/hikes on soft surfaces).

Conditioning programs should have a rationale and be personalized for each of your dog’s unique needs.  I have three dogs and they are all on a different program! 

Your Dog is An Athlete

It is important to start thinking of your dog as an athlete NOT as a pet that’s getting exercise doing their sport.  Athletes need to be treated differently than the average dog.  Athletes warm up, cool down, stretch, cross-train and have strong core muscles.  Whether your dog plays in one sport or multiple sports, conditioning is crucial.  When working, our dogs are performing activities that they would NEVER do on their own, certainly not repeatedly…they would never traverse a dog walk, run through weave poles, jump a broad jump and turn for a front, repeatedly jump over a high jump, etc. 

I often treat dogs with a soft tissue injury that was likely caused by an event not related to training.  It was not a serious injury. If the dog were a pet, it might have resolved without intervention.   However, our dogs are working dogs. When you ask the dog to participate in their sport, the injury is aggravated.  Thinking of your dog as an athlete is a mental shift that has helped many of my clients.  It’s a change in perspective that increases your awareness and motivates people to be more proactive.

WARM-UP

Athletes warm-up their muscles and loosen joints prior to every workout and every competition.  Not only do warm-ups help prevent injuries, they have been proven to improve performance.   It is critical to warm your dog up before EVERY training and trialing session.   If your dog is older, and/or has been injured in the past, they need a longer warm-up.   The following is a generalized warm-up program:

Loosen Up

Start with a 7-10 minute controlled leash walk. Keep the sniffing and pottying to the first few minutes and slowly increase the pace. By the end, you should be at a brisk walk.

Active Stretches

They are done while moving and are an important part of a dog’s warm-up routine. They help elevate body temperature and move muscles and joints through a functional range of motion. An active stretch allows your dog to regulate how far to push a muscle.

Hold each stretch for 5-10 seconds. Do 5-7 reps of each one.  ALWAYS do the three posture exercises.           

  • head to shoulder, hip, toe
  • high 5 or wave (right/left paw)
  • bow (elbows straight)
  • spin right and left
  • front feet up head up
  • hip flexor stretch
  • sit posture
  • down posture
  • stand posture

These active stretches can provide an early warning that an injury may be brewing.  Be on the lookout for imbalances or changes.  For example, if your dog stretches more readily to one side than the other, if your dog is more reluctant to turn in one direction versus the other, etc…..

Testimonials & Reviews

Read All Testimonials

A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...

Petra put together a very comprehensive course. There was something for everyone for dogs at all levels. Her explanations and feedback were detailed and very individual and precise for each of us Thank you Petra for a great course, I hope you do more like this one.       


I loved this course because it is practical and because Petra is both exacting and encouraging. It is simple and focused, to where a student has a hope of remembering what they learned. It doesn't use a million different kinds of specialized equipment, and you can improvise. My dog is stronger than he was six weeks ago!       


Petra is very knowledgable and has a well trained eye. I highly recommend her course.          


This course is absolutely fantastic! Petra has provided a structured method for assessing your dog (or she will do it for you at Gold level) and then a huge variety of different exercises that specifically target the strengths and weaknesses in each individual dog. The course will open your eyes to how to look at a dog and assess the structure/balance and any areas that are, or could become, problematic in future. The feedback has been amazing. I have a very stiff/tight/sore dog and by applying the correct exercises for him and with Petra's feedback, he's improving week on week. Highly recommend this course - I will attend again at Gold if it's offered in the future. Thank you!       


One of the things I liked the most was the structural assessment we did at the beginning. It gave me a good framework to create my dog's fitness plan based on her areas of weakness. I loved that you stressed all dogs have weaknesses and that you were looking at structure from a functional standpoint rather than the "standard" for the breed ring. Please offer this class again so I can take it with my other dog, who followed along, but didn't get your great feedback.       


This class was fascinating and very helpful to both my dogs. The material was explained well and is easy to understand and put into use right away. My ten year old Pomeranian really enjoyed trying the new exercises. I like seeing him moving like a puppy again!        


One of the best canine fitness experiences I have had online. Petra is a great instructor-her feedback is very helpful, she had an excellent eye even for video and the variety of exercises was also great. I felt like she really looked at my videos and gave me information that I could use each time. 

Registration

There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please subscribe to our mailing list for notifications.

Registration opens at 9:30am Pacific Time.

CC180 Subscriptions


Gold

Silver

Bronze
Tuition $ 260.00 $ 130.00 $ 65.00
Enrollment Limits 12 25 Unlimited
Access all course lectures and materials ✔ ✔ ✔
Access to discussion and homework forums ✔ ✔ ✔
Read all posted questions and answers ✔ ✔ ✔
Watch all posted videos ✔ ✔ ✔
Post general questions to Discussion forum ✔ ✔ ✖
Submit written assignments ✔ ✖ ✖
Post dog specific questions ✔ With video only ✖
Post videos ✔ Up to 2 ✖
Receive instructor feedback on
  • Questions
  • All videos
  • Questions
  • All videos
✖

Find more details, refund policies and answers to common questions in the Help center.

 

  • Prev
  • Next
  • FDSA
    • About Us
    • What Do We Teach?
    • Faculty & Staff
    • Testimonials
    • Privacy Policy
  • Student Resources
    • Calendar
    • Scholarships
    • Gift Certificates
    • Swag
    • Trainer Certificates
  • Courses
    • Class Schedules
    • By Instructor
    • By Discipline
    • Prerequisites
    • Self Study
  • Webinars
    • Schedule
    • Webinar Courses
    • Register
  • More Learning
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Puppy Book
    • Private Lessons
    • Team
  • Help!
    • Getting Started
    • Enrolled Students
    • Video & Images
    • Webinars

Copyright © Fenzi Dog Sports Academy and individual instructors.

Technical support - send email to help@fenziacademy.com

Connect with us! facebook-icon email-icon instagram-icon