Stretching!

Remember when you used to do this in school? When was the last time you stretched yourself or your dog?

Stretching has been proven to reduce the incidence of injuries by improving flexibility[i]. Flexibility is important in sport dogs due to movements asked of them when competing. Think of the way your dog goes though the weaves, does tight turns, takes off for a higher jump, or adjusts their back end to avoid hitting a jump. All of these require flexibility. In other sports such as obedience, flexibility is used in heeling, pivots, and retrieves.

So the big questions:

1. Why does stretching prevent injuries? Studies have shown certain muscles are more likely to tear when they are tight[ii]. This tightness means that the body cannot use these muscles to their full extent, and at the same time predisposes them to being torn as tight muscles cannot…