CC140 Aged to Perfection: Keeping Your Senior Fit in Mind and Body

Senior dogs are the best, aren't they? Mature, skilled, and in tune with us! But, this is also the life stage when a bit of worry starts to creep into our thoughts. Are they strong enough? Am I doing enough to keep my older dog fit and happy? How do I know if my dog's aging is progressing normally? If you find that you are asking yourself any of those questions, this class may be for you!

Course Details

What is a senior dog anyway?

Commonly, giant breeds are described as seniors starting at 5 or 6 years of age; medium to large breeds at 7 or 8 and smaller dogs a little later in life. But this class doesn’t require that your dog fits into any particular age frame. If you feel like your dog is starting to show signs of aging or even if this is just something you are worried about for the future, this class will help you be proactive in their senior care. If your dog is already deep into their retirement and teetering on becoming an antique, you are welcome here too! Anyone who is willing to really dive into the individual and changing needs of their dog will find this class useful.

Concepts of enrichment, conditioning, and husbandry skills will be our focus as we look at a series of games and exercises that can be modified to suit seniors of all abilities. There is an emphasis on promoting what your dog CAN do, maintaining and building strength, and focusing on the positive! Older dogs often find patterns and routines comforting, so we’ll examine how to provide the security of structure - but without turning life into a bore. We’ll explore ways to add safe, interesting twists to their daily schedule that require little in the way of time or equipment, but add a lot in terms of joy and bonding and will bring a sense of purpose back to your training time together! And because older dogs often do require more veterinary and grooming care, but frequently grow less excited about these things with age, we'll spend some time making sure the care tasks you'll use most often are fun and doable for your dog.

This class is suitable for handlers of all skill levels. The conditioning exercises in this class are foundation-level functional exercises that can be adapted to a wide range of dogs, but are not meant to replace veterinary care for dogs with active injuries or rehabilitation needs.

Teaching Approach

*NEW FOR 2025- This class has a Training Assistant to help guide bronze and silver level students!*

Lectures will be released at the beginning of each week. Each week's topics will be divided into 4 categories:

A) Concepts on Training and Aging relevant to the class homework

B) Brain Games

C) Conditioning Exercise & Movement Puzzles

D) Cooperative Care Skills

Lectures will contain written material which includes descriptions of all exercises in detail, supplemented by short demonstration videos- generally one minute or less in length- selected to highlight specific parts of the exercise that are most important, helpful steps to introducing your dog to the exercise, or progressive challenges on an exercise your dog has already learned.

In this class, the basic lesson plan and homework will begin the same for all students, but Gold students can expect to receive personalized modifications when suitable for their dog, which may be presented via written description or video example. Gold and Silver level student feedback is provided in a kind, supportive, and detailed format. Students may or may not get through all Conditioning or Cooperative Care Skill exercises during the 6 weeks of the class- progress will depend on their individual dog's current fitness level, past training history, and their individual personality- but all students who are able to practice short sessions two or 3 times a week should be able to participate in all of the Brain Games activities or a modification thereof.

*** Outdoor exercise and activities will be discussed and explained but each week will have exercises that are meant to be completed indoors. Teams in all climates will be able to participate in this class regardless of weather.

Syllabus

The syllabus for CC140 (subject to re-arrangement or minor additions depending on gold and silver student needs):

Pre-Class Lectures

Syllabus and Supplies
Getting Started
Marker Cues
Luring for Precision
Signs of Pain and Fatigue

Week 1

Wellness Topic: Behavioral Diversity
Enrichment Brain Game- Egg Carton Quick Search
Fitness Conditioning- Front Paws Up, Still Positions (Sit, Down, Stand)
Fitness Movement Puzzles Intro
Cooperative Care- Assessment Positions

Week 2

Wellness Topic: Posture, Traction and Confidence
Enrichment Game: Cookie Trail
Fitness Conditioning- Weight Shifting, Position Changes
Fitness Movement Puzzles- Platform
Cooperative Care - Friendly Foot Care Tactics

Week 3

Wellness Topic: Mobility and Exercise
Enrichment Brain Game- Knot Puzzle
Fitness Conditioning- Backup. Cavaletti
Fitness Movement Puzzles- Step Over
Cooperative Care- Rear Foot Scratchboard

Week 4

Wellness Topic: Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome
Enrichment - Seeking Mindset & Bravery Game
Fitness Conditioning- Pivots and Lateral Stepping
Fitness Movement Puzzle- Narrow Spaces Puzzle
Cooperative Care- Chin Rest

Week 5

Wellness Topic: Vestibular Syndrome
Encrichment: Sensory Challenge
Fitness Conditioning: Flexibility and Balance in Motion
Fitness Movement Puzzles: Noises & Textures
Cooperative Care- Relaxed Restraint, Assembling Pieces

Week 6

Wellness Topic: Choice & Agency
Enrichment: Spaghetti Tree
Fitness Conditioning- Circuit Square
Fitness Movement Puzzles- Combination Puzzles
Cooperative Care- Trained Eating

Prerequisites & Supplies

No previous skills are required. Training is based on food rewards so a reliable level of food motivation is required. Supplies: 3-4 egg cartons 3 cones, toilet plungers or wingless jump standards (or objects of similar height) Cavaletti poles with supports (4-6 poles will do!) Stable front foot target No wobble Should be dewclaw height or lower Wide enough that dog can place both front feet on it comfortably- so at least shoulder width. Grippy Ideas: Phone book with yoga mat taped to top surface Foam mats stacked to appropriate height and taped Rubber Feed Bowl A platform large enough to sit on (A cato board works great for many dogs). You can also make your own out of foaml floor tiles and duct tape (instructions provided in the first week's lectures). 2 food bowls Nail Clippers, Dremel and/or Scratch Board (I use a home made scratchboard which has gator grip taped on to one side of an old cutting board). We'll also use some random household objects like pillows, cardboard boxes, or brooms! No need to specifically acquire such things in advance, we'll work with what you have on hand. ***A surface area with good traction for games and conditioning is a must (most can be done in a 6 foot x 6 foot space, with some exercises requiring about double that- all training spaces require good traction. Consider adding matting to slippery floors to create a safe training space if needed.

Sample Lecture

Balance Challenges via Weight Shifting

When we introduce balance challenges, we'll start on stable surfaces first. There are many functional ways to do this which create big results! Consider each one of these balance challenges as its own skill that you can work on individually in a stand- some are also appropriate to do in a sit.

For each of these exercises, you do want to start out with your dog in their ideal posture- facing forward. You may need to provide something to focus on visually if your position would distract from this forward head posture. We can't safely and effectively challenge balance if the dog is not balanced to begin with. And because these exercises increase the challenge, note that the number of repetitions that your dog can do will probably amount to less time than they are normally able to hold in a still stand, sit or down. Do watch for signs of fatigue!

Side to Side Weight shifting

Use slower and smoother hand movements than I am using at the start of this video- but the idea is that you'll feed your dog slightly to the right or left of their center line. When your dog's head moves from side to side, their weight shifts, and that is a balance challenge. Ideally you want to challenge them only enough that they can move their head, but do not need to move their feet to adjust.

Getting the weight shift with reward placement:

Front to Back Weight Shifting - head lifts

Weight shifts in a sit-

This clip demos reward placement side to side, and up and down. As with the stands, you need to be a little careful that you don't create movement out of position (lowering the treat too far may cause the dog to stand or lay down, for example)- we want pretty subtle weight shifts, not actual movement.

Manual Weight Shifts

In this exercise, we are challenging the dog's balance by putting a small amount of measured pressure against the dog. We are not trying to move them, but just feel that weight shift. For dogs who are very sensitive to pressure, you may need a very light touch. Having one hand on each side of the dog prevents them from thinking that we are trying to move them over. Start with very brief pressure, first to one side, then to the other. When your dog understands the exercise, you'll be able to feel them bracing against your hands- and you can even then hold the challenge for slightly longer. This exercise is excellent for building the stabilizing muscles and is very functional- when your dog gets bumped by you, another dog or a creature in their daily life, they will be experiencing balance challenges very similar to what we are doing here. I like to challenge at three points in the stand- shoulders, ribs, and hips.

Manual Weight shifts in a sit:

Single Leg Lifts- Stand

A pre-requisite for this exercise is that your dog is comfortable with you handling their feet. You can certainly incorporate the bucket game here to judge their comfort level and add that extra layer of consent history to foot handling. Lifting a leg causes the dog to shift their weight onto the remaining 3 legs- meaning that they are working harder. A slightly easier version than a human standing on one leg. Your goal is to just lift the foot enough that there is no weight on it, and keep it in a natural position- don't pull it out to the side, lift it high or out front/behind the dog or you will greatly increase the challenge. When your dog starts to get the idea of this exercise and can hold with a foot up for several seconds, the foot you are holding will start to feel weightless in your hand. Be sure to practice with each foot equally. Place each foot back down gently when it's turn is over (don't just suddenly let go).

Sit with leg lifts:

In the sit, you can only lift the front feet, for obvious reasons. You can either lift these as you did in the standing exercise or if your dog understands a paw-shake cue, you can use those! In this clip, Shelby demos her 'shake a paw' (right paw) and 'high 5' (left paw) using my hand as a target- and then I also show it where the cue just results in a leg lift without touching my hands for support.

Instructors

Erin Lynes

Faculty

Erin (she/her) is a lifelong dog enthusiast from Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. Erin is certified as a Karen Pryor Academy Training Partner, a Certified Professional Canine Fitness Trainer, a Licensed Family Dog Mediator, and as a Cani-Fit Leader, ...

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