Proprioception In Dogs + What Is Dog Fitness Equipment
If you’re new to K9 fitness, there’s a word you’ll hear often called proprioception. Across my blog, YouTube channel and Instagram/TikTok, you’ll also see my dogs Diesel and Annie doing their dog fitness exercises on dog fitness equipment.
I thought it would be really helpful to share exactly what proprioception is and do a complete breakdown of what kinds of dog fitness equipment there are (including household options!), where to start with dog fitness equipment, and how it can help your dog’s fitness training.
P.S. There might be a sneak peek at a brand new redesign of a popular piece of dog fitness equipment from one of my favorite brands!
What Is Proprioception In Dogs?
So what exactly does this big fancy word mean? Well, to keep it short and simple, it means “body awareness.”
Fun Fact: Did you know most dogs have no idea where their back feet are?
Double Fun Fact: Did you know dogs carry 60% of their weight in the front and 40% in the rear? Their head and chest are the heaviest parts of their body.
With that second fun fact, the first one makes a lot of sense right? Why know where the back feet are when more weight is in the front? When dogs have a better understanding of where their feet are, this can help them in everyday life, and, if you do dog sports, there as well.
Think about it. If you have a sport dog that does dock diving or agility, having a better understanding of where their feet are can help them jump off the dock better or have better contact points. For pet dogs, knowing where their body and feet are can help them navigate through the house and be more confident, especially as they get older.
P.S. Check out my post K9 Fitness For Senior Dogs: Improving Balance and Stability for some really cool insight on what we can do to help our senior dogs. There’s a ton about how proprioception in dogs changes and things you can be doing with your dog now to set them up for success as they age!
Something important to note about proprioception in dogs, is that it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to develop! A dog fitness exercise that took forever for Annie to figure out was rear paw targeting. Now, I can’t get her to stop putting her back feet on anything, ha!
How Does Dog Fitness Equipment Help Proprioception In Dogs?
Dog fitness equipment can help aid in teaching dogs where their feet are through the textured surfaces featured on every piece of equipment. What these different surfaces do, is stimulate our dog’s neuroreceptors so every time they take a step on a piece of equipment, a signal is being sent from their feet to their brain so they learn where they’re putting their feet.
Pretty cool, right?! I know, I’m a nerd about K9 fitness, but when you start to see those lightbulb moments happen when your dog figures something out, it’s the coolest feeling!
What Kinds Of Dog Fitness Equipment Is There?
I like to break down dog fitness equipment into two categories: stable and unstable. With everything your dog learns in K9 fitness, you’ll always be starting on stable equipment. Stable equipment builds proper form while building your dog’s confidence, strength and stability. Unstable equipment is the inflatable items that challenge your dog’s balance and stability. Think of unstable equipment like Bosu balls in the gym. With unstable equipment, you can increase or decrease the challenge by adding or removing the amount of inflation.
Next, I’ll breakdown a variety of the different types of dog fitness equipment. The examples don’t include everything that’s out there. We’d be here a long while if I did, ha! If you have any equipment specific questions, feel free to leave a comment below and check out my K9 fitness section here on my blog to explore many other pieces of dog fitness equipment!
Stable Dog Fitness Equipment:
Some of the most common pieces of stable dog fitness equipment are:
The Blue-9 KLIMB dog training platform is a great piece of stable equipment that is extremely versatile for training numerous different K9 fitness exercises and everyday dog training. If you’ve ever taken an AKC Fit class with your dog or would like to, you’ll use the Blue-9 KLIMB a lot! I incorporate the Blue-9 KLIMB into numerous dog fitness exercises for my dogs. The senior dog fitness post I shared above features the Blue-9 KLIMB and I also have a post sharing 5 Blue-9 KLIMB dog fitness exercises. The KLIMB comes with their standard leg set (tall legs) and you can get shorter legs or plugs called Sure Feet to add challenges and keep your dog safe. They also have a traction mat that goes on top of the KLIMB for additional traction. I personally never train with out it, I love it!
P.S. You can save 20% on your next Blue-9 order when you use code Sparkles20 at checkout! The code does not apply to limited edition KLIMB colors.
The Blue-9 KLIMB Jr. is the newest product from Blue-9 Pet Products and is a great all-in-one piece of K9 fitness equipment. I actually did a full review of the KLIMB Jr. sharing more about it and I included 3 dog fitness exercise ideas!
Next up is an item that isn’t a type of platform at all! To help train front and rear paw targets and/or provide an additional proprioception aid, I highly recommend the FitPaws K9 FitMat or the FitPaws TRAX Targets. I use these two pieces of dog fitness equipment every single training session. Both of these items have nubs on them to send signals from your dog’s feet to their brain to tell them where their feet are. So, when you’re training rear paw targeting for example, and you’re marking when they put a back foot on either the K9 FitMat or TRAX Targets, that immediately is telling them when they’re correct and when they’ve used their back feet to do something. Isn’t that cool?!
P.S. Check out my post, 3 K9 Fitness Exercises Using FitPaws TRAX Targets to see how versatile they are!
Last but not least is an aerobic bench step platform or Cato Board. Technically the aerobic bench step platform isn’t designed for dogs, but it’s fantastic for working on proper form in numerous exercises like the tuck sit or fold down. I have a post on here sharing 4 K9 Fitness Exercises Using An Aerobic Bench Step Platform. A similar item is called a Cato Board. Cato has two different sizes platforms, the Cato Plank XL Platform and the Cato Board Dog Training Platform. The XL version is closer to the aerobic bench and offers length while the other is almost a mix of the Blue-9 KLIMB and KLIMB Jr. in terms of size and shape. What sets Cato a part is the two surface options (rubber and turf – fake grass) and the option to add a tilt stand with the XL version.
Unstable Dog Fitness Equipment:
Now let’s get into unstable equipment. Blue-9 does have one piece of unstable dog fitness equipment, but the main brand for this category is FitPaws. They have a lot of options, so I’m going to share some of my favorite pieces for anyone who’s just getting started with K9 fitness and unstable dog fitness equipment:
The FitPaws Balance Pad is a fantastic and extremely versatile piece that is great for teaching foundational K9 fitness exercises with the least amount of instability. The FitPaws balance pad is soft, and provides a slight balance challenge without any bit of movement or rocking. I love using the FitPaws balance pad to do beginner, intermediate and advanced K9 fitness exercises for dogs of all ages. In the last year or so, they launched a cover for the balance pad and offer a bundle for both on their site. You do save $20 with the bundle deal!
Next up is the FitPaws K9FitBone (pink in photo below). This is a great piece to start leveling up dog fitness exercises with and it can be used in conjunction with many others. You can easily control the amount of inflation you keep in it to make the challenge easier or harder. It has two different surfaces, one for more sensitive paws and one regular side. Similar to the FitPaws K9FitBone is the Blue-9 Propel Air Platform. This items is more rectangular shaped and also has two different surfaces for different paw sensitivity. The surface design does vary from FitPaws but is just as great! I do have both, but feel like it’s personal preference on which you’d like to get. I will say, the FitPaws K9FitBone seems to have the option for more inflation if that changes your decision.
The last item is the FitPaws Balance Ramp and this is the piece that I mentioned the sneak peek about at the beginning. On the right is the old design of the FitPaws Balance Ramp and on the left is the new. The right side is similar to the K9FitBone or Balance Disc in terms of material and texture. The new design is actually not inflatable at all, but still unstable! It actually features a large pocket for air flow to create the balance and instability challenge for your dog.
With this new design, I think it’s extremely inviting for dogs of all ages and fitness levels. It’s soft, not super unstable, and with two different texture surfaces, your dog can choose what works best for them!
Similar to the FitPaws Balance Pad though, I feel like you could do a lot with this piece of dog fitness equipment to create combo exercises and take some of your beginner exercises to the next level!
One beginner example is front paw targeting! By using the FitPaws Balance Ramp, not only are you creating a challenge with a smaller surface area, but you’re also adding the slightest incline to shift a bit more weight to the rear!
I hope this was helpful in understanding what is proprioception in dogs and what is dog fitness equipment and what it can do for your dog’s K9 fitness training!
Don’t forget to use my code Sparkles20 to get 20% off your entire order at Blue-9!
If you want to learn more about dog fitness, check out my K9 fitness blog section to find more canine conditioning exercises and more ways to use your FitPaws or Blue-9 Pet Products canine conditioning equipment. Plus, check out my K9 Fitness YouTube Playlist and follow me on Instagram to find tons of helpful K9 fitness exercise videos and tips!
- 4 Blue-9 Propel Ait Platform K9 Fitness Exercises (20% off discount code inside!)
- K9 Fitness For Senior Dogs: Improving Your Dog’s Balance and Stability
- 4 K9 Fitness Exercises Using An Aerobic Bench Step Platform
- 3 K9 Fitness Exercises Using FitPaws TRAX Targets
- 5 Blue-9 KLIMB K9 Fitness Exercises (20% off discount code inside!)
- 3 FitPaws Balance Disc K9 Fitness Exercises
- 3 Beginner FitPaws K9 Fitness Exercises
- 3 Easy Stretches For Dogs
- 5+ K9 Fitness Exercises with FitPaws Balance Pad