Front Matter

Chapter 10 Conditioning and Retraining the Canine Athlete 241

In  addition, if the dog already knows how

to wave or do high‐nines, these exercises can

be added to the beg exercise to off‐balance

the dog (Figure 10.17C). The exercise is then

made more difficult by sequentially having

the dog perform the exercise on a soft, level

surface (bed, couch, air mattress), then on

hills (facing the dog up, down, or sideways in

each direction), and finally on an egg‐shaped

physioball with the client moving the ball

rhythmically, then nonrhythmically.

Most dogs require several months to develop

enough strength to proceed through all stages.

This exercise is very difficult, but clients should

be encouraged to keep working on it, since

attempting and failing means that the muscles

are working to overload, which is necessary to

build strength. The dog should be worked to

failure on this exercise with a training session

never having more than three attempts. The

client should not progress to the next surface

until the dog can complete three 15‐second

begs with perturbations.

Clients with chondrodystrophic dogs such

as Dachshunds or Corgis frequently are told

not to let their dogs beg because of a belief that

there is increased risk of spinal injury. In addi­

tion, some canine sports medicine/rehabilita­

tion professionals worry that this exercise

puts the dog in an unnatural position, placing

more stress on the facet joints. Evidence by

Butterman and colleagues (1992) on the stress­

ors placed on the facet joints while dogs are

sitting up on their haunches indicates that the

loads described here are not excessive; in fact,

they are substantially less than occur when a

dog is ascending or descending stairs. Athletic

dogs do place themselves in a vertical position

frequently when taking off or landing from

jumps, when landing from contact obstacles

in agility, especially when using a 2‐on, 2‐off

contact performance, and when jumping over

ditches and other obstacles when retrieving,

and so forth. In these circumstances the dog’s

spinal column is not only vertical but has the

added pressures of concussion.

The exercise described here carefully and in

a nonconcussive manner strengthens the very

muscles that will help athletic dogs deal with

unexpected flexion and extension as well as

concussion on the spine. With careful progres­

sion, this exercise significantly strengthens

the core muscles, thus helping protect against

the hyperflexion and hyperextension of the

vertebrae that is thought to contribute to disc

degeneration, spondylosis, and intervertebral

disc disease (IVDD). Having said that, one

caution for this exercise is that it should not be

(A) (B) (C)

Figure 10.17 Dogs demonstrating the beg. With the dog nibbling on a treat, the client moves the food up and back
until it is in a position over the base of the dog’s tail (A). The food is then moved in all directions to off‐balance the dog.
To increase the difficulty, the client can gently push on the dog’s shoulders, chest, and back to off‐balance the dog,
causing the dog to work the core muscles harder to maintain itself in the beg position (B). The dog can raise one or both
feet to increase difficulty—note the strength and stability in this dog’s core (C).