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Learn signs of muscle fatigue in dogs, (and mental fatigue) and how we use it to safely overload to build muscle.
Fatigue can physical OR mental. Fitness training requires a lot of concentration from our dogs. What does this look like? These are the 10 most common signs of muscle fatigue in dogs:
Arched back or other decrease in form
Speeding up or slowing down
Extra steps/foot shuffling
Panting
Paw off a platform
Avoidance/looking away
Lip licking
Changes in tail carriage
Sniffing
Vocalizing
These can happen FAST and in any order.
In this cavaletti weave exercise, my hound is starting to slow down, lose interest in the food lure (that's a BIG red flag), and his topline is not level.
We're going to finish this repetition and give him a break.
(See the full video in the Cavaletti Chronicles Course or Senior Dog Plan)
This is a lot more obvious.
In this screenshot from the tuck sit to kick back stand tutorial, Nike has one paw on the target and the other on the ground.
Her form is decreasing, so it's time to give her a break from this exercise.
(See the full video in AKC Fit Dog Level 1 Course)
It's very easy for your dog to give any of these signals back to back or at the same time, so it's important to video and review a training session every 1-2 weeks so you know your individual dog's signals. Video also a great way to see your progress and successes.
Watch the video below to see how your dog MAY show signs of fatigue.
SAID Principle
The SAID principle (acronym for “specific adaptation to imposed demands”) basically means that when your body undergoes some form of stress, like exercise, it will adapt to that stress so that you perform better in the future. Your body will also require less effort and energy to do the work.
When should you stop doing an exercise? If you are overloading, as a general rule, ask for one or two more reps after you see the FIRST sign of fatigue. When your gym teacher asked you for "one more rep" they were overloading your body to make you stronger. This applies to our dogs.
SAID Principle - Using fatigue to our advantage
To use the SAID Principle effectively without causing injury, we need to overload our dogs and push them (just a little bit) beyond their limits, so they can build more muscle.
How often do you have an overload session? It depends. What are your goals? When are your rest days? Are you competing soon? (you should not do strength training the days before competition. 3-5 minutes of foot targeting, light cardio or cookie stretches is ok.)
My goal with Echo is to build muscle. She gets the most overload AND the most rest. On average, we condition 3 days a week, train for obedience 1 day a week and rest 3 days a week. We always rest at least 2 days after an overload session. An overload session means asking for 1-2 more reps after I see her first sign of fatigue while doing ONE exercise. We overload twice a week. We are under supervision of a rehab vet (DVM, CCRP).
My goal with Dagon is to build muscle mass. We condition 4 days a week, train for scentwork 1 day a week and rest 2 days a week. He gets an overload session once a week.
My goal with Nike is to maintain muscle and build flexibility. When Nike was a puppy (less than 2 years old), we had 1 session a week where we focus on posture, 2 sessions of flexibility and body awareness and 3-4 short (5 minutes or less) low intensity agility sessions a week. Why so many agility training sessions? Nike doesn't know all the handling cues or obstacles yet. I also need practice on my handling. (Canine conditioning is NOT a substitute for poor handling choices.)
Updated April 2024: Nike is 2 years old now and she's ready for more advanced exercises and overload. She gets tight easily in her lower back, so spine and abdominals are my main focus areas. And we can start plyometric exercises since her growth plates are closed.
See how different each dog's conditioning and sport training schedule is? I have different goals for each dog, so they have a different program design to meet those goals.
This is where a custom fitness plan is the gold standard for meeting your goals and improving your dog's performance. It's also a good idea for you to have a fitness trainer, such as a certified canine athlete specialist, on your team. I love working beside your rehab team and your vet.
When does the SAID Principle apply in Fitness Training?
Make sure you are out of the learning phase (85% success rate) on an exercise before you start overloading. NEVER overload a dog who is still learning the exercise. If you don't have the correct reward mechanics or your dog doesn't understand the exercise, overloading is risky.
Let's say your dog is learning to tuck sit from a kick back stand, and they have a foot out of alignment. Is it because they don't understand the exercise yet, or are they getting tired?
We Don't Know.
We need to be able to tell the difference between poor form due to fatigue vs poor form due to a lack of understanding.
When you change equipment, watch closely for these signs, they will happen faster. Let's say you're doing a stand to a fold down, but you've elevated one end of your platform. This changes the muscles your dog engages to do that exercise. It's more difficult. Your dog will fatigue faster, so expect to do less reps. Do Not overload until your dog is proficient with the increased elevation.
Same things happen when you are an advanced team and are ready to use inflatables. Your dog is using tiny stabilizing muscles to maintain balance PLUS doing the exercise. They will fatigue faster. Do Not overload until your dog is proficient on the inflatable.
What does fatigue look like outside of fitness training?
They're very similar.
If you're walking your dog and you hear nails scratching the pavement, that's a sign of fatigue.
If your dog is dropping bars in agility, struggling to maintain heel in obedience, or giving you false alerts in scentwork, these are all signs of fatigue (assuming you made good handling choices).
Why is this important, to me, as my dog's human?
The more tired, or fatigued, your dog is, the more likely they are to have an injury.
The more tired, or fatigued, your dog is, the more likely they are to have an injury. Yes. We read that twice. Because it's important.
No one wants an injured dog. We don't want to see our dogs suffer in pain. For those of us with high drive cattle dogs, goldens, labs, Malinois, aussies or (insert your breed here), it's next to impossible to keep them on crate rest for 2-4 weeks as they heal. So, they usually don't heal completely.
We also want to spend our money on things other than tests, surgery and rehab for our dogs. I prefer to invest in trial entry fees and fitness equipment.
We overload safely and appropriately so our dogs see the muscle building benefits. We stop our dogs before they're exhausted to decrease their risk of injury.
What are YOUR dog's signs of fatigue? Leave us a comment!
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