Canine Cross-Training

The dogs and I enjoy activities other than dock diving, too. ;) One of our favorite fun activities is hiking, especially in areas where it's safe for the dogs to go off-leash. Hiking itself is a good workout for everyone - lots of running, jumping, navigating obstacles, and practicing obedience skills - but I realized recently that we can use these fun outings as opportunities to work on specific dock diving skills, too!

Enter my new cross training idea!

One of the trails we frequent parallels a wide, shallow river. This is *perfect* for working muscles for speed retrieve - Kes wades/swim-jumps through the belly-high water which means lots of resistance training for him. Inevitably Kes will end up swimming against the current as well, which also builds the muscles he uses to propel forward as it acts like a treadmill of sorts.




When we first started, I used a life vest for Kes' safety - I didn't know if he would know when to stop and the current can get fairly swift in some spots. He did very well in that first session, so on our second visit to the river I had him just wear his regular hiking harness. His stamina is already improving and he was just as confident without the vest as he was with it!

When we have someone to throw for me I also work on Kes' starts. I stand or crouch on the bank and try various holds to determine which allows him to get the most explosive starts.

In addition to working on muscles for strong swimming and practicing starts for speed retrieve and EV, we also work on balance and body awareness via the uneven river bottom - sometimes Kes can touch, sometimes he must swim - and the rocks that sit in the middle.


The swimming/swim-jumping is great exercise in and of itself and Kes loves it, so we now spend at least 45 minutes at one of the river access points on the trail each time we go.

Aeri hasn't had a chance to come along yet since she's in heat and thus can't be off-leash, but as soon as she's out she'll be joining us as well. :)