Growing Up FDSA - Free Ebook

Fitness benefits every dog, but it is particularly valuable for dogs who train and compete in performance sports. A well-rounded, consistent fitness program can support cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility, body awareness, strength, and muscular power. These qualities can help dogs move with greater speed and efficiency, stabilize their joints, and build resilience for the physical demands of training and competition.

Jumping and agility skills are not only about enthusiasm and athletic ability: they require precise positions, controlled movement, and safe technique. In this course, we use the fitness principle of specificity to focus on exercises that relate directly to the movements agility dogs need most. You will learn how to develop strength, control, and coordination in ways that support confident jumping, efficient turning, balanced landings, and powerful movement. We will also balance this with general fitness cross training. 

Across six weeks, the course combines essential theory with extensive practical instruction. You will learn:

• Core principles for safe, effective canine fitness training
• How to assess exercise form and recognize quality movement
• Ways to collect and use data to monitor your dog's progress
• A range of strength, mobility, balance, and power exercises
• How particular exercises relate to agility-specific skills and positions
• When and how to progress or modify exercises appropriately
• Exercises that support correct form for key agility movements
• How to combine exercises into balanced, purposeful workouts

The focus is not simply on asking dogs to do more, but on helping them move better. You will gain a clearer eye for technique and learn how to choose exercises that match your individual dog's current ability, goals, and training demands.

This course is suitable for dogs at all fitness levels, from complete beginners to experienced canine athletes, provided they have been cleared to begin fitness training. Although some lessons explore agility-specific applications, every workout is designed to be balanced and can benefit dogs participating in other sports or simply building a stronger, healthier body.

Additional lectures address fitness considerations for jumping in other disciplines, including skills such as the scale jump used in working trials.

Important note for young dogs

Dogs who are still growing require special consideration. Dogs whose growth plates have not been confirmed as closed by radiograph, or who are under 18 months of age, will have limits on the amount and type of work they should complete during the six-week course. Exercises and progressions should always be adapted to protect developing bodies.

Watch the introductory video here:

* This class has had a curriculum refresh for August 2026 * 

Teaching Approach 

Lectures will be composed of extensive written detail, and accompanied by photographs and videos that both verbally explain concepts, and demonstrate exercises. The majority of details and concepts will be covered in both written, and video form. There are often multiple videos showing different stages, or dogs, performing exercises. This means that the concepts are accessible to those who like to learn through text, or verbal explanation, or visual explanation.

This class is meant to be intensive, giving you not just the ‘how too’, but also the ‘why’. There is LOTS of information, however if a student feels overwhelmed by lots of written information, they can just focus on the practical components which are highlighted at the end of each lecture with an action such as ‘Gather your baseline data, and set some goals for you and your canine teammate’.

Lectures will be released weekly, and are grouped under similar concepts. They will be released sequentially from theory and foundation fitness concepts, through teaching individual exercises, to putting these into workouts.

Feedback is given in detail in relation to the goal of a particular task or exercise. In particular the focus of feedback will be improving a dog's form, and understanding of exercises.

This class has a TA to assist all students in the Study forums.

Instructor: Kelly Daniel

Kelly Daniel (She/her) is a learning and dog training addict. She has been training and competing with her dogs (of various shapes and forms) for around 15 years ...(Click here for full bio and to view Kelly's upcoming courses)