As a follow up to the last blog post I got a few questions about the updated Flexiness Twindisc. Based on these questions, I wanted to further take a moment to discuss/demonstrate what is meant by “stable” instability. It seems to be an oxymoron right?
When shopping for canine fitness equipment, it’s important to understand that they are not all created equal. Certain pieces of instability equipment are more stable or unstable than others. The more unstable, the more advanced it is for the dog. Advanced equipment is intended for dogs with a more advanced level of fitness and/or excellent body awareness and thoughtfulness. Understanding the differences in equipment can help guide you to the equipment that is right for your dog depending on their fitness level, arousal state around equipment, or special conditions. Working with a certified fitness professional can help guide you on what is right for your particular dog, but we will give a general explanation and demonstration of the differences. I may recommend a more advanced piece of equipment if I know the owner and their skill level and by observing their dog. So working with a professional directly can help guide you better.
The “Toe Test”
The first part of the video I’m going to demonstrate the differences in stability among a variety of equipment. It’s important to note that this demonstration does not mean that the first two pieces are “unsafe” because they easily flip. That’s NOT the intention. The intention is to show that these pieces are advanced pieces of instability equipment than the other pieces shown. And because they are advanced, the dog and the owner are required to have a healthy respect for this equipment so that the dog is safe working on this equipment. Equipment should not lurch forward or backward or be in anyway off the ground while the dog is on the equipment. A dog catching an edge or stepping on the edge of an advanced equipment or standing too close to the edge to reach for the cookie/lure, can hyperextend and stress their musculature, fall off, step off wrong etc. Owners using advanced equipment (or really any instability equipment) need to closely monitor the dog on the equipment and make sure they are properly loading and unloading as well as ensuring the dog and equipment is positioned properly while working. It sounds like common sense, but an accident can happen in a blink of an eye.
Advanced instability equipment challenge the dog by creating more difficulty and challenge for the dog to maintain their balance while working. That’s a good thing if the dog is advanced and needing more challenge to advance their fitness goals. It’s not such a good thing if the dog (and owner) is new to fitness, the dog doesn’t have the sufficient strength or skill level to balance/execute advanced exercises on advanced equipment, or the dog gets excited around instability equipment because you know cookies, mom is paying attention to me and cookies OMGee!
The first part of the video demonstrates my ultra scientific “toe test” :)) (and no it’s not science), but intended to show the various levels of stability among equipment. You will see the first two pieces flip easily with just one toe catching an edge. The remaining pieces don’t flip, and I’m really working hard trying to get them to flip and they remain “stable”. I show two Flexiness Updated Twin Discs with one more inflated than the other to show the difference even with more inflation. And still they remain “stable”. This is why it’s an excellent piece for dogs new to fitness, introducing or utilizing advanced exercises, or a host of reasons already discussed. I can make more challenge via inflation, weight shifting, exercises, that are still highly beneficial for my dogs and that serve a wide range of fitness levels. It has a great deal of versatility.
Equipment Under Pressure
The next part of the video shows how equipment stands up to pressure. This helps to guide me on understanding how the equipment reacts to pressure placed on it as a guide for what exercises may be more appropriate for that piece. Obvs a human is going to weigh more than a dog but this attempts to demonstrate the differences in each. Maybe you have a large dog and want to know how a piece stands up when your large dog steps on it. This section hopefully helps in that regard. And it also helps you as the owner understand the difficulty of instability so that you can better appreciate what you are asking of your dog. Of course we should say to please be careful standing on equipment depending on your fitness level. We want you to be safe as well :)
Lastly, I show how the old TwinDisc/FitPaws Duo Disc will slide under slight pressure if the cone nubs side is face up. It will not slide if the cone nubs are face down. The new updated Flexiness TwinDisc will not slide on either side and I’m pushing on it pretty hard. Why is this important? Well if you have your dog in a balanced stand standing on two pieces equipment and you decide to have the dog do a deep bow as an exercise, you need to know how that equipment will react when the dog moves into that position putting backward pressure against the equipment. And you need to know this information before asking your dog to perform that exercise. Many people will place the rear feet equipment against the wall to help stabilize the equipment, but that may potentially give the dog false information about the equipment in general. So when you go to perform another exercise and the equipment isn’t against the wall, then you may be setting your dog up for confusion. If you don’t feel your dog can control equipment under pressure without a wall then I would say your dog is not ready for that type of challenge or that type of advanced equipment. Again, both the dog and owner need to have a healthy respect for advanced pieces of equipment before a more advanced exercise is conducted on it.
Summary
While we are providing this information, it doesn’t take the place of working with a credentialed professional fitness trainer with your particular dog. There are so many nuances to equipment and fitness that help you keep your dog safe and require certified trainers to help guide you properly. Credentials and experience of a fitness trainer matter and it’s best to have a CCFT or equivalent credentialed fitness trainer working with you or your dog especially if you want to utilize instability equipment. Please note AKC Level 1 Fitness Trainers are not equivalent to a CCFT or CPCFT and utilizing/teaching the use of unstable equipment is beyond the scope of that ultra beginner program. With equipment and training, we want to make sure you are spending your money wisely and most importantly keeping your dogs safe. As always we hope this has been beneficial!! Happy Fitness!!
