Canine Fitness: Why ALL Dogs Need It And 3 Easy Exercises To Start #87
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 21 May 2021
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
Do you have a fitness program for your dog? It's not something that is just for canine athletes and dog sports! Every dog will benefit from conditioning exercises for their health, well-being and longevity. A fitness program is also a fun way for you and your dog to spend time together and easy to start.
In the episode you'll hear:
• Why fitness for dogs should include more than walks or chasing a ball or frisbee.
• How dogs can have an imbalance in their body leading to injury.
• The importance of your dog's weight and getting a fitness check.
• Why soundness is different to fitness.
• About making sure that your dog has age-appropriate fitness exercises.
• The four areas I focus on with my dog's fitness program.
• Why your dog's strength, flexibility, balance, and proprioception are all important.
• The reason we need to build up our dog's big muscles first.
• Why to introduce an unstable surface gradually to your dog's fitness routine.
• What you can do today with a sit, down or stand for your dog's fitness without any equipment.
• How you can join the canine fitness program that I am doing with the Susan20 discount code.
Resources:
• YouTube Video: Susan Garrett's Perch Work Dog Tricks (Pivots and Spins) - https://youtu.be/O6sj6fTJnFc
• Podcast Episode 85: Understanding Your Dog's Sit: LWT - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/85/
• Blog Video: How to Train Your Dog to Stand on Cue - https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2020/10/train-your-dog-to-stand-on-cue/
• Join Carolyn McIntyre's "From the Ground Up" online fitness program with the discount code: Susan20
• Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube - https://youtu.be/LGdhcU0eNzQ
*Balance pad - https://geni.us/balance-pad
*Amazon Links Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Susan only recommends products she uses herself, and all opinions expressed here are her own. The link above is an affiliate link that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission if you decide to buy from it. Thank you!
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi there. I have a question for you. What does your dog's current fitness program look like? |
| 0:15.6 | If you're like most people, you're going to say, oh, it's kind of non-existent. Or maybe you say, well, we go for a couple |
| 0:23.4 | walks every day, which by the way, that's awesome, but that isn't the full extent of what I'm talking |
| 0:29.0 | about by fitness. Or you say, yeah, on weekends, we throw a ball or we let them catch a flying |
| 0:33.7 | disc. That's an exertion of energy, but it could be potentially injurious unless you're |
| 0:39.9 | dealing with a dog who has regular fitness during the week. We're on that later. Hi, I'm Susan |
| 0:46.1 | Garrett. Welcome to Shape by Dog. And today I'm going to show you how easy it could be for you |
| 0:52.0 | to demonstrate your love for your dog by investing in a fitness program |
| 0:59.0 | that could lead to extending his life, more importantly, adding fullness to that life. |
| 1:06.9 | Now, if you're sitting there thinking, well, Susan, I don't do those dog sports like you do. |
| 1:11.9 | I don't need to listen to this. Please, do not turn away. Think about this. It's not just |
| 1:18.9 | professional hockey players and professional gymnasts or professional tennis players that go to gyms, right? |
| 1:26.9 | Of course not. Every day folk like us go to gyms, right? Of course not. Everyday folk like us go to gyms. |
| 1:30.5 | And the same is true about canine fitness. Every single dog on the planet would benefit by having |
| 1:37.8 | an owner who invested the time into doing fitness with their dog. And here's the real kicker. It doesn't really take that much time. |
| 1:46.4 | Plus, it doesn't hurt you at all when your dog does the fitness. How awesome is that? |
| 1:52.1 | Today I'm going to share with you why it's so important that we have a fitness program for |
| 1:56.7 | all dogs of all ages. What that looks like, what's involved in, how easy is it to get started? |
| 2:03.1 | I'm also going to share some insight from the fitness coach I'm using with my puppy this. |
| 2:07.9 | Over the last few months, I've been sharing videos on social media of some of the exercises |
| 2:13.6 | that I've been doing with this. And I've got comments with people saying, |
| 2:21.7 | I'd love to know more about this. Could you possibly do a podcast episode about him? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from DogsThat, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of DogsThat and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

