08/07/2026
Catching up on posts from the last couple of weeks! It’s been a fitness filled few weekends and I’ve been enjoying every minute of it!
2 weekends ago I attended and was lucky enough to lecture at the inaugural Canine Fitness Summit put on by Northeast Seminars Canine Rehab and held at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine & Veterinary Hospital. It was truly an amazing weekend filled with SO much learning, great conversations and fun.
My lecture and lab was on fitness and conditioning for large dogs. It was a big step out of my comfort zone as I’m accustomed to working with much smaller groups, but once I got up there and started talking I found I really enjoyed myself! The group was wonderful and very engaged with lots of great questions and feedback!
I also took in as many lectures as I could and stuffed my brain with great information from some truly incredible speakers!
A big takeaway for me from the weekend is:
- As easy as it is to get super excited when we’re starting puppies, we (as a dog sport community) need to to slow down, and let puppies grow and develop before starting specialized sports training with them. Let them be babies, and let those growth plates close before doing drills and going overboard. Early specialization can lead to injuries and lameness and we’ve just got to slow down and be patient. **Side note for us dock diving folks…that water is NOT as forgiving as we all want to believe it is!**
Lastly, I’ve got to brag on the Curri Furry Fish! He was used as a demo dog for a few labs and was just the very best boy! Allowing tons of hands on manipulation by Dr. Sherman Canapp and working in Julie’s lab just having the very best time!
Thank you SO much to Bobbie Lyons for giving me this wonderful opportunity and to Jamie Sheehan for recommending me, I appreciate you so very much! 💜
