07/30/2026
THE ATHLETIC DOG
Summer Performance Series – Part 3
Preparing the Canine Athlete: Why Simply Walking Isn’t a Warm-Up
Have you ever watched your dog explode out of the crate, drive off the start line, fly over the first jump, launch off the dock, or sprint after a retrieve…and thought,
“Wow…they look ready.”
They certainly look ready.
But here’s the question…
Is their body actually prepared for what’s about to happen?
Not necessarily.
In Part 1, we talked about how heat affects the canine athlete.
In Part 2, we explored why many high-drive dogs don’t know when to stop.
Today, let’s look at what happens before performance even begins—and why those first few minutes may be some of the most important of the entire training session or competition.
One of the most common misconceptions is that simply walking—whether around the parking lot, the trial grounds, ringside, or along a trail—is all a canine athlete needs before explosive activity.
Walking certainly has value.
It gives your dog a chance to eliminate, explore the environment, mentally settle before work begins, and begin preparing the body for exercise.
But from a physiological standpoint…
A warm-up is much more than simply getting the body moving.
It is a carefully coordinated series of changes occurring throughout nearly every major system in the body—changes designed to prepare muscles, tendons, joints, the cardiovascular system, and the nervous system for the demands that are about to follow.
Elite human athletes don’t warm up because it’s tradition.
They warm up because physiology matters.
The same is true for our canine athletes.
A WARM-UP ISN’T ABOUT GETTING TIRED
One of the biggest misconceptions is that a warm-up should leave your dog feeling like they’ve already exercised.
In reality, the opposite is true.
The goal of a warm-up is not to use up energy.
It’s to increase readiness.
A properly designed warm-up prepares the body for performance while preserving the physical and mental reserves needed for the activity itself.
Think of it as turning on—and fine-tuning—every physiological system before asking it to perform at its highest level.
Your dog should finish the warm-up feeling prepared.
Not fatigued.
A warm-up should increase readiness—not decrease reserves.
STARTING WITH THE MUSCLES
One of the first things that changes during a warm-up is muscle temperature.
It may only increase by a degree or two, but that seemingly small change has surprisingly large effects.
Within the muscle fibers, the chemical reactions responsible for producing movement begin occurring more efficiently.
The proteins responsible for muscle contraction cycle more rapidly.
Muscles contract faster.
They relax faster.
They produce force more efficiently.
Research in both human and veterinary exercise physiology has consistently shown that warmer muscles perform better than cold muscles.
But there’s another important benefit.
Warmer muscles are generally better able to absorb and transmit force during explosive movements.
Whether your dog is accelerating, landing after a jump, climbing over an obstacle, or making a sharp turn, those tissues are better prepared to handle the loads being placed upon them.
The goal isn’t simply to make muscles warmer.
It’s to prepare them to perform.
FOLLOWING THE BLOOD FLOW
Muscles can’t work without oxygen and nutrients.
As activity begins, the cardiovascular system rapidly adapts.
Heart rate increases.
Cardiac output rises.
Blood vessels supplying working muscles begin to dilate, allowing greater delivery of oxygen and nutrients while helping remove carbon dioxide and metabolic byproducts.
This redistribution of blood flow doesn’t happen instantly.
It develops progressively throughout the warm-up.
By the time your dog reaches the start line, the body has already begun directing its resources toward the tissues that will need them most.
It’s another reminder that your dog’s first maximal effort shouldn’t also be their first meaningful movement of the day.
TENDONS NEED TIME TOO
Muscles often receive most of the attention.
But tendons play an equally important role in athletic performance.
Think of tendons like biological springs.
Every time your dog accelerates, lands from a jump, changes direction, or pushes off the ground, tendons temporarily store elastic energy before releasing it to help create efficient movement.
Cold tendons are generally less compliant than warmed tissues.
As movement continues and temperature rises, tendons become better prepared to absorb and release force.
That doesn’t make them injury-proof.
But it does help them perform the job they were designed to do.
For dogs competing in agility, flyball, dock diving, disc, Fast CAT, field work, protection sports, and many other athletic disciplines, those repeated loading cycles occur hundreds—sometimes thousands—of times.
Preparation matters.
THE JOINTS ARE PREPARING TOO
Movement doesn’t only prepare muscles and tendons.
It prepares the joints.
Articular cartilage has no direct blood supply.
Instead, it receives much of its nutrition from synovial fluid—the remarkable lubricant found within healthy joints.
As joints begin moving through their normal range of motion, synovial fluid circulates more effectively across the cartilage surfaces.
This improves lubrication while also helping nourish the cartilage itself.
In a very real sense…
Movement helps prepare the joint for movement.
It’s one more reason why expecting maximal athletic performance immediately after stepping out of the crate may ask the body to do more than it’s prepared to do.
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM IS WARMING UP TOO
Warm-ups aren’t just about muscles.
They’re also about communication.
Every athletic movement depends on constant communication between the brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, muscles, tendons, and joints.
As activity begins, the nervous system becomes increasingly prepared for rapid, coordinated movement.
Motor units are recruited more efficiently.
Proprioception—the body’s awareness of limb position—becomes more refined.
Timing improves.
Coordination improves.
Reaction time improves.
The goal isn’t simply faster movement.
It’s better movement.
That distinction matters.
Many injuries don’t occur because a dog isn’t strong enough.
They occur because movement quality changes at exactly the wrong moment.
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE SKIP THE WARM-UP?
Can a dog perform without warming up?
Of course.
Many do.
The better question is whether they’re performing at their physiological best.
Without adequate preparation, muscles may produce force less efficiently.
Tendons may be less prepared to manage rapidly changing loads.
Joints may not yet be optimally lubricated.
The nervous system may not yet be fully coordinated for precise athletic movement.
None of these changes guarantee injury.
But together, they reduce the body’s margin for error.
When athletic performance demands explosive acceleration, rapid deceleration, jumping, landing, twisting, and repeated changes in direction, small physiological differences can become meaningful.
Preparation doesn’t eliminate risk.
But it helps the body manage it.
WHAT SHOULD A WARM-UP ACCOMPLISH?
A thoughtful warm-up should gradually prepare every major physiological system involved in athletic performance.
Its goals include:
• Increasing muscle temperature
• Improving circulation
• Enhancing oxygen delivery
• Preparing tendons for repeated loading
• Improving joint lubrication
• Activating the nervous system
• Refining coordination and movement quality
• Preparing the dog mentally for the work ahead
Exactly how you accomplish those goals will vary depending on your dog’s sport, age, conditioning, previous injuries, environmental conditions, and the intensity of the activity.
But the underlying physiology remains remarkably consistent.
Preparation always precedes performance.
THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
Elite athletes don’t warm up because they’re fragile.
They warm up because physiology matters.
Your dog’s body doesn’t become ready the moment you open the crate door.
It becomes ready through movement.
Through rising muscle temperature.
Through improved circulation.
Through joints that become better lubricated.
Through tendons that become better prepared to absorb and release force.
Through a nervous system that becomes sharper, faster, and more coordinated.
Simply walking gets your dog moving.
A thoughtful warm-up prepares your dog to perform.
Because…
Performance doesn’t begin at the start line.
It begins with preparation.
I’d love to hear from you…
What does your dog’s warm-up routine look like before training or competition?
Have you found certain exercises or routines that seem to help your dog perform more confidently or consistently?
Or has there ever been a time when you realized afterward that your dog wasn’t as prepared as you thought?
Share your experiences below. Your routine—or your lesson learned—may help another handler better prepare their own canine athlete.
⸻
Dr. Sherman Canapp
Board-Certified Veterinary Surgeon
Board-Certified Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Specialist
Performance Medicine • Longevity
The Athletic Dog
⸻
