258 Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
Case Study 10.2 is an example that provides
the reader with basic principles. The specific
exercises and their progression should be indi
vidualized for each dog depending on the
many factors listed earlier.
Overtraining
Canine athletes can be overtrained, just as
human athletes can. In human athletes, over
training leads paradoxically to reduced fit
ness, poorer athletic performance, an increased
chance of injuries, reduced resistance to infec
tion, and depression (Purvis et al., 2010;
Winsley & Matos, 2011). Overtraining syn
drome also occurs in sport horses, resulting in
sustained loss of performance despite a heavy
training program (Rivero et al., 2008). The
same problems can occur in dogs that are
overtrained.
Three important variables of strength train
ing are intensity, duration, and frequency.
Intensity refers to the amount of work required
to achieve the activity and can be both physical
and psychological. Duration refers to the length
of time over which the exercise occurs. Frequency
refers to how many training sessions are per
formed in a given time period.
These variables are important because they
are all interrelated, as the muscle has only so
much strength and endurance and takes time
to recover after significant use. Increasing one
of these components by any significant
amount might necessitate decrease of the
other two. For example, increasing the height
at which a dog jumps should be accompanied
by a reduction of the number of reps, and
might require more recovery time and there
fore fewer workouts per week. Trying to push
too much intensity, duration, and frequency at
the same time will result in overtraining, and
can eventually lead to injury and other health
issues such as chronic soreness and general
lethargy, illness, or even acute trauma such as
avulsion fractures (MacKinnon, 2000). A high‐
medium‐low formula can be used to avoid
overtraining, with intensity, duration, or fre
quency being high, one of the others being
medium, and the other being low (Coutts
et al., 2007).
To help prevent overtraining clients should
be encouraged to:
(1) Vary the duration, frequency, and intensity
of training throughout the week.
(2) Give the dog 1 day off from training every
week.
(3) Give the dog a minimum of 1 month (30
consecutive days) off from training and
competition every year. The dog should
undertake no skill training during this
time and only mild to moderate strength
and endurance training. This last sugges
tion can be difficult for some clients to
comply with.DeconditioningCanine athletes frequently take substantial
breaks from competition, and it is of interest
to know what effects those breaks might have
on conditioning and a dog’s strength and aer
obic capacity. There are few studies of detrain
ing in dogs, but studies in horses and humans
can provide us with clues as to the potential
effects of detraining in dogs. In one study,
eight Canaan dogs were exercised on a tread
mill until they achieved a level of fitness that
allowed them to run 8.7 km/h at a 10° incline
for 1 hour without their temperature elevat
ing above 40 °C or their heart rate above
250 bpm. They then were put on a program of
complete cage rest. Within 3–5 weeks, there
was a significant loss in their fitness (ability
to perform the above exercise) (Sneddon et al.,
1989).
In another study, yearling Thoroughbred
horses were trained for 6 months, and then
placed on pasture for 8 hours a day and stall
rest at night for 10 weeks. The exercise that they
obtained on pasture was sufficient to maintain
the gains in Vo2max, cardiac output, and stroke
volume that were established during training
(Mukai et al., 2006).
In a study of the effects of detraining in
humans, men and women underwent strength
training for 9 weeks, then experienced detrain
ing for 31 weeks. The detraining period consisted
of cessation of the strength training protocol,
while continuing daily activities of living. The
strength gains established during the training