Wellness Wednesday: Fitness Foundations
A podcast interview with trainer & FDSA instructor Lori Stevens
This Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast is used with permission of the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, an online school dedicated to providing high-quality instruction for competitive dog sports using only the most current and progressive training methods.
In this podcast, trainer Lori Stevens explains why "fitness is important for all dogs, and especially sport dogs. ...
The physical part, of course, of fitness includes strengthening, balance, flexibility, proprioception, but there's a mental part to that, and the mental part is confidence, focus, trust, strong communication. ... Fitness brings it all together in such a beautiful way, and foundations are just important no matter what we're doing, whether we're doing a sport, whether we're doing fitness.
I can tell you that doing fitness and getting those foundations really solid translates to your dog always having that in their body. My 15-year-old has muscle memory for all these fitness moves. She's had three strokes and her balance is off, but she nails these tuck sits, rock back sits, sphinx down to stand. All the things that are better fitness foundations, she just nails. She has them so in her body. So it's a great thing, I think."
Listen to the complete podcast below.
Interested in learning more about the foundations of fitness? Check out Lori's course on "Strong Foundations: Fitness Fundamentals." Registration closes Oct. 15, 2020.
About Lori Stevens
Lori Stevens (CPBC, CPDT-KA, CCFT, SAMP) is an animal behavior consultant, a professional dog trainer, a canine fitness trainer, an animal massage practitioner, and a senior Tellington TTouch® Training practitioner.
Lori continually studies the interactions among animal behavior, movement, learning, fitness, and health. She uses intimidation-free, scientific, and innovative methods, in an educational environment, to improve the health, behavior, performance, and fitness of animals.
Lori's most recent of three DVDs By Tawzer Dog Videos, co-presented with Kathy Sdao and called "The Gift of a Gray Muzzle: Active Care for Senior Dogs," focuses on improving the life of our aging dogs. Lori teaches via online classes and webinars, gives workshops worldwide, and speaks at conferences (e.g., Clicker Expo). She is the creator of the Balance Harness® and lives in Seattle, Wash.
Lori gets joy from helping others help their dogs, whether for competition or daily life. She enjoys hiking, training, and playing with Cassie, her Australian shepherd.
See SeattleTTouch.com for more information.