Compass Canine

06/03/2023

*IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT*

In a bid to try and keep things a little simpler and more organised, I will be archiving this page soon - all future updates and information will be on my other page. If you're not already following that page, and would still like to follow me, please click on the link and like that page!

https://www.facebook.com/CompassCanineTraining

Offering a range of free and paid resources, covering foundations, scentwork and more advanced training. I advocate for respecting our dog's choices whenever we can, and do not use any pain or intimidation in my training. https://www.compasscanine.co.uk

23/01/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=701912481681594&id=100055885454821

I've been reflecting on a few things over the last month or so, and made some decisions - read more on my blog post by clicking the link below.

https://www.compasscanine.co.uk/post/new-year-new-me-not-quite

14/11/2022

Sadly I see too many overweight dogs out and about, as well as a few within the hydro centre. We have a duty to our canine companions to do our best for them - letting them remain overweight is literally killing them.

Please - if you need help to try and get some weight off your dog, reach out for some tips. There are many little changes that you can make that will have a big impact.

I'll be honest - Ripley gained weight earlier this year, but we put the work in and he's now down to a much healthier weight for him. However, most people that saw him probably wouldn't have recognised that he was overweight. In part I think that's due to us not being sure what a healthy dog SHOULD look like.

There has been a lot of change within the vet industry in recent years. Huge changes in the owner's expectations and massive leaps in advanced services on offer. So, with this in mind, why is pet obesity still a problem and one that is worsening!!!

27/10/2022

Another round of my 15 Days of Fitness Focus starts on Monday - you still have time to register and join in! All the details are on the link below ⬇️

https://tinyurl.com/ccfitnessfocus

20/10/2022

10/10/2022

Have you heard of canine fitness, but not sure where to start?

Maybe you've done some conditioning with your dog, but don't keep it up.

Would you like some motivation and support to build up your dog's fitness and strength?

With the agility season nearly over, there's never been a better time to really focus on your dog's fitness.

But fitness training isn't just for agility/flyball/canicross dogs - it can be beneficial for all of our canine companions, supporting them into a happy and healthy old age.

It starts with a few simple exercises, that can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. Over the course of three weeks, I'll get you started with foundations, share some progressions and aim to inspire you to do a little bit every day. All for just £30! Starts Mon 31st Oct, all online and you keep the content for life.

NOTE - this is only suitable for dogs with no current underlying physical issues.

This course is written and run by Sara Seymour, Certified Professional Canine Fitness Trainer.

https://compasscanine.newzenler.com/courses/15-days-of-fitness-focus-2

30/09/2022

We won an award! Thanks to anyone and everyone that voted 🤩🏆

Here are our 2022 Award Winners!! Huge Congratulations to all!! I will be emailing all winners individually shortly.

Congratulations to all our professional dog businesses who were entered. The voting was very close in a number of categories!

All our PDBUK members are deserving winners, you all work extremely hard in what you do, constantly improving your knowledge education and training, to provide the best care and services for the dogs and their welfare. So keep up the good work, this could be you next year!

We will be having a 2022 PDBUK Supreme Award Winner. All the winners below will be entered to find an overal 2022 winner so keep following, competition will be released soon.

All our winners will receive a winners certificate, extra promotion on our website, an article each on their business, plus a PDBUK members bumper sticker for their vehicle. All details will be emailed to you.

Congratulations once again!
Emma

29/09/2022

About those sits...

First up, if your dog has a sloppy sit please make sure that you've ruled out any physical issues. This may mean seeking out help from a canine physiotherapist or other professional.

If all is as it should be, then there are things you can do to help straighten up your dog's sit. It's worth working on this, in the same way as we should be conscious of how we sit - slouching all the time is not good for our joints, and it's the same for our canine companions. Teaching good posture will help keep them stronger for longer, which is always a good thing.

In this clip you can see that I have the platform up against a wall. The platform itself is just wide enough for Ripley to sit on, and the height gives him feedback to know when his legs are in the right place. He knows that keeping everything on the platform is what pays! In fairness to him, I did this session after his weekly underwater treadmill session, so his legs were a little tired 😂 Still, I noted that he was having issues with that back right foot so will try facing him the other way next time. I also should have stopped sooner.

Peak's platform is just big enough for him to sit on. Again, he has tired legs and also is still learning the sit to stand transition (that's partly why I have two platforms there - he understands back feet targeting)

28/09/2022

Long before I became obsessed with stands, I was obsessed with sits!

This actually started when considering teaching the 'sit pretty' trick to Ripley (very much a trick, NOT a fitness exercise!). This particular trick needs to start with a strong sit as it's foundation, and it highlighted to me that there was work to be done on Ripley's sit. So I set about teaching him a 'tuck' sit, focussing on his form at the same time. This was also going to be useful for rally/obedience training. In a tuck sit, the front feet stay in place, and the back feet come forward. The opposite is a 'rock back' sit, where the back feet stay in place and the dog rocks back into a sit. Can you picture how the way your dog sits can make a difference to their rally/obedience performance?

Looking at Ripley's sits, I began to see that Vinnie's were also far from ideal. This was at the time that we were working through diagnosing his many physical issues, and it was clear to see signs of those issues in his sits! In fact, after extensive rehab I can still remember my excitement when I saw him do a beautiful, square sit 🥰 I even posted a photo on Facebook!

Now when I see dogs for hydrotherapy, I will often look at how they sit (as well as how they stand) and discuss this with their guardians. As a fitness trainer, I can give some hints and tips on how to improve your dog's sit as well as talk through why they may be sitting the way they do.

One final thing to remember - always look for changes! If your dog has always sat squarely, but they are now slouching or sticking a leg out to one side, then that could well be a sign that something isn't quite right.

So - show me your sits! Peak came with a lovely tuck sit as his default, which has always delighted me 😍 His back feet are nicely tucked in, and parallel to each other. He's at a little bit of a funny angle, but the photo was just too cute not to share 😂

31/08/2022

I've just sent an email to all current hydro clients - I will be away on holiday for a week in Sept, so the centre will be closed.

26/08/2022

I'm working Peak through the Beginner program from Canine Conditioning Coach at the moment. It's not entirely going to plan...

Training often doesn't go to plan, but few trainers share the videos where it all goes wrong! I video most of my training, and I generally do review the ones where we're working on fitness exercises - I want to check alignment, etc that I can't always see in the moment. Today's attempt at starting foot to hand targets was a total bust! BUT - I went and re-read the instructions, and watched the relevant video. Turns out, there's a step that we haven't done, that will likely make all the difference.

The session that I took the below still from was about nine minutes long. After it was clear that we weren't going to get far with the foot to hand targets we just mucked about - I'll put a sped up version of the video in the comments. We'd already worked on some other stuff that had been successful, and we can always try again another day.

Happy International Dog Day - just have fun and enjoy being with your dogs.

Thanks to Anna Lee Sanders for allowing me to use her image of the fabulous RB.