The Obedience Warm-Up
Ready to work before you start
Obedience asks a lot of a dog's body. Sharp sits and drops, tight turns and fast fronts all load the hips, shoulders, back and core, often straight out of a car or a crate, and cold muscles are slower, less accurate and easier to strain.
This printable gives you a ten-minute routine in three parts. Your dog moves first to warm the whole body, then switches on with five fast exercises, and cools down once you've finished. Each exercise explains how to do it, what it warms up, why it helps and what to watch for.
I've been training dogs for over 30 years, and I wrote this the way I'd explain it if we were sat at your kitchen table together.
What's inside
Why warming up matters for the body, the mind and you
Part one: walking, trotting and check-in games
Part two: fast sit, fast down, fast stand, walk back and spins both ways
The whole routine at a glance
Show-day timing, cooling down and what to do when the ring runs late
Signs to stop and speak to your vet
Pages to print and keep
A cut-out warm-up card for your training bag
A warm-up log to see what suits your dog
Why this printable is different
Every exercise has a 'watch for' note, so you can fix problems as they happen
It works for everyday training, classes, rally and competition obedience under any rules
It sends you to your vet for anything that looks like pain or stiffness
It's built on games plus structure, with reward-based training
Who it's for
Obedience and rally handlers, families training at home and anyone whose dog starts slow or stiff, wherever they live. It takes ten minutes, so it fits before every session as well as before the ring.
What you get
An 8-page A4 PDF, ready to print at home, emailed to you straight after checkout. Print as many copies as you need for your own dogs.
