20/05/2025
Jura πΆπ§‘πΎ
Thought I would share a little something I enjoy doing with my own dog Jura who is 9.5 years old now - some training in the garden, with some specific exercises to help her maintain her best condition and mobility with her age.
Did you know that a dog naturally carries 60% of its body weight on their front legs, with the remaining 40% being carried on their back legs. This means unless specific exercises are encouraged through play, exercise or training, your dogs back legs/hind end will become weaker as they age and this is when we see dogs with hind limb muscle wastage, wobbly back legs and the progression of osteoarthritis (all of which I appreciate are also not completely unavoidable with aging!)
One exercise that can help prolong this happening is that shown in my video - Lie down --> stand --> lie down and repeat!
With your dog keeping all four paws roughly in the same place, moving from the down position to a stand position is one of the best exercises that can be done to encourage use of not only the core muscles in their belly and their back, but also the hind leg muscles.
[Ps. I have a tennis ball & treats in my legging pockets ππ€£]