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THE WARM UP
FITNESS FOUNDATIONS
A proper warm-up isn't optional, it's the first few reps of every session. Here's how to build one that actually prepares your dog's body and mind for the work ahead.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cold muscles are stiff, poorly perfused, and neurologically sluggish. Asking a dog to sprint, jump, or execute complex movement patterns straight out of a crate — or off the couch — is the fastest route to a soft tissue injury. The warm-up changes the physiological state of the body before demanding anything from it.
Injury prevention
Increased blood flow makes muscles more flexible and less prone to tears, strains, and compensation injuries.
Better performance
A warmed-up dog moves better: Improved range of motion, faster muscle recruitment, and cleaner mechanics from rep one.
Mental preparation
The warm-up signals the start of work. It gets your dog focused, engaged, and in the right arousal zone before the session begins.
THE 4 STEP WARM UP
Each phase builds on the one before it. Don't skip ahead — the order is the mechanism. Start general, get specific, and arrive at full-intensity work with a body that's prepared for it.
STEP 1
GENERAL WARM UP
Duration: 2–5 min Intensity: Low
The goal here is simple: gradually raise heart rate, increase blood flow to working muscles, and begin elevating core body temperature. Nothing demanding, nothing complex — just movement.
This phase should feel almost boring. If your dog is already panting or working hard, you've skipped past it. Think easy movement at a pace that requires minimal effort.
Loose leash walk
Easy trotting
STEP 2
NEUROMUSCULAR ACTIVATION
Duration: 1–2 exercises, 5–10 reps Intensity: Low- Moderate
Now we engage the nervous system. The muscles are warming up — but the brain-to-muscle communication pathway also needs to be primed for coordinated movement. Neuromuscular activation exercises require your dog to think, balance, and engage specific muscle groups deliberately.
Pick exercises that require body awareness and controlled movement — not speed or power. Slow and deliberate is the point. You're recruiting motor units, not testing fitness.
Backing up
Side stepping
Cavalettis
Unstable posture
STEP 3
Mobility
Duration: 1–2 exercises, 15–20s each Intensity: Low–Moderate
With blood flowing and muscles engaged, we now move joints through their active range of motion in multiple planes. The goal is to prepare the body for the directions and positions it will encounter during training or competition, not just straight-line movement.
These should be dynamic, not static holds. You're moving through range, not stretching and holding. Static stretching before activity has poor evidence behind it — dynamic mobility is what primes performance.
Spins
Figure 8
Dynamic Bow
Dynamic paws up
STEP 4
Sport Specific Preparation
Duration: Duration1–2 exercises, 5–10 reps Intensity: Moderate — building toward work intensity
The final phase bridges the warm-up to actual work. Here you introduce movements that will occur during training or competition — at reduced intensity. You're not running a full sequence; you're previewing the demands and giving the body a chance to rehearse them in a controlled context.
This phase changes based on what's happening that day. A dog preparing for an agility trial gets different prep than one heading into a SAR deployment or a conditioning session. Match the phase to the day.
Sit to stands
Sprint starts
Heeling
Short retrieves
Tugging
Jumps
COMMON MISTAKES
Static Stretching Before Activity
Holding passive stretches on cold muscles before work is not recommended. Static stretching at rest has not been shown to reduce injury risk and may temporarily reduce power output. Save passive stretching for the cool-down, when tissues are warm and pliable. The warm-up is for dynamic movement — not held positions.
Skipping the Warm-Up When You're Running Late
The warm-up is especially non-negotiable under time pressure. High-drive dogs who go from crated or resting straight into competition intensity are at the highest injury risk precisely because they won't self-regulate.
Using the Same Warm-Up Every Day Regardless of the Session
Phase 4 of the warm-up should reflect that day's demands. A dog warming up for a conditioning session needs different sport-specific prep than one going into a trial, a SAR callout, or a high-intensity training day. The first three phases are usually pretty consistent — the fourth is always contextual.
WARM UP VS. COOL DOWN STRETCHING
Both sessions include flexibility work — but the type of stretching appropriate for each is completely different. Using the wrong kind at the wrong time is one of the most common mistakes in canine conditioning.
Warm-Up — Now
DYNAMIC STRETCHING
Moving through range of motion continuously, without holding positions. Spins, figure-8s, dynamic bows. The goal is to prepare tissue for load, not elongate it. Cold or cool muscle does not respond well to being held under tension — it's less extensible and more vulnerable to strain. Keep moving.
Cool-Down — After
SUSTAINTED STRETCHING
Holding positions for 15–30+ seconds. Warm, post-exercise muscle tissue is at peak extensibility — this is when flexibility gains are actually made. Sustained stretching after activity reduces stiffness and takes full advantage of the physiological state the session has already created. Save it for the end.
VS.
When it comes to cool-down stretching, always let your dog move into the position themselves — don't manually move their body for them. Behavior-cued stretches (a held bow, a cookie-to-hip reach, paws up on a surface) allow the dog to control the depth, maintain joint stability through muscular co-contraction, and communicate discomfort through resistance. When you manually reposition a limb, you remove all of that. The dog can't tell you when you've gone too far, and you have no way to feel their threshold from the outside. Active-assisted stretches are safer, more effective, and more comfortable for the dog — every time.
INDIVIDUALIZE THE PROTOCOL
The 4-phase structure is the framework. How long each phase lasts, and which exercises you choose, depends on the individual dog in front of you that day. These are the variables that should be shaping your decisions.
AGE
Older dogs lose thermoregulatory efficiency and tissue elasticity over time — their warm-up should be longer, not shorter. Senior dogs may need 8–10 minutes in phase 1 alone before moving on. Puppies have immature musculoskeletal systems; keep intensity very low and duration short, but don't skip the structure.
FITNESS LEVEL
What constitutes a warm-up for a highly conditioned working dog may be a full workout for a deconditioned pet. Exercise selection in phases 2–4 should reflect current fitness, not target fitness. If your dog is just starting a conditioning program, the entire warm-up should be low-intensity until their base improves.
WEATHER & TEMPERATURE
Cold environments slow tissue warming — extend phases 1 and 2 accordingly and consider working indoors or in a covered area to start. Hot environments change the equation: the warm-up still needs to happen, but phase 1 should be shorter to avoid arriving at work already heat-stressed. Monitor closely for early overheating signs.
TIME SINCE LAST ACTIVITY
A dog who trained hard yesterday may move differently than one who's had several rest days. Post-rest stiffness is real — muscles that have been inactive for 48+ hours benefit from a longer general warm-up phase. A dog who's been lightly active will be easier to bring up to readiness.
PREVIOUS INJURIES
Dogs with known injury history — shoulder issues, iliopsoas strains, cruciate history, etc — should have targeted activation work for those structures built into phase 2. A dog with a prior iliopsoas injury, for example, benefits from specific hip flexor activation exercises before any jumping or explosive work. Work with your vet or rehab professional to identify what that looks like.
TODAY'S SESSION DEMANDS
A low-intensity conditioning session needs less sport-specific preparation than a competition day, a high-intensity plyometric workout, or a SAR deployment. Scale the length and intensity of phase 4 to match what's coming. The higher the upcoming demand, the more thorough the preparation needs to be.
The warm-up is also a brief daily health screen. As you move through the protocol, you'll notice things: a subtle head bob, a shortened stride on one side, reluctance to perform a movement that's usually easy. Your dog can't tell you when something hurts. The warm-up gives you the opportunity to see it. If something is off at the warm-up stage, that's your signal to evaluate further before proceeding with full training.
