Agility Seminar With The Award-Winning Author Of Peak Performance, Dr. Chris Zink

November 21/22, 2009

Canine Structure – What it Means for Performance

Your dog’s structural strengths and weaknesses
What those strengths and weaknesses mean for performance
How to capitalize on your dog’s strengths to maximize performance
Understanding your dog’s weaknesses to minimize injury


The Amazing Canine Athlete

The six canine gaits and how to put them on cue
Gaits your dog uses for different performance events
Abnormal gaits, why they’re abnormal, and how to banish them
How your dog uses its body in agility/obedience and other events
Age-related tips for performance training


Jumping – a Core Athletic Activity

Training jumping – from puppies to seniors
Lead legs – what they are, why they are important, and how to train your dog to use them appropriately
Jumping problems – what causes them and how to fix them


Contact obstacles, tunnels, weaves

The role of the front and rear in climbing and descending contact obstacles
How dogs of different shape and size perform the contact obstacles
Reasons for slow performance
Ways to make obstacle performance safer and more accurate
What muscle dogs use to weave quickly
How structure affects the ability to weave
How dogs of different sizes accommodate to the tunnels
Why some dogs get stuck in the chute
VIDEOS of dogs of various shapes and sizes performing agility obstacles to see how they use their bodies


Keeping your Athlete at Peak

Body work for your teammate
Fitness – it’s easy!
Balancing strength, endurance, body awareness and stretching exercises
Nutrition tips for the canine athlete


When Things Go Wrong

Common athletic injuries your vet might not know about
How to recognize them and get the best treatment
Complementary and alternative therapies for healing and improving performance
Canine rehabilitation – what it is and how to do some of it yourself



There will be 40 working slots available and unlimited auditing slots. Please note that working participants are asked to include information on what sports you participate in, as well as any particular issues which you would like Chris to discuss. These topics will be given to Chris prior to the seminar for preparation purposes.


Chris Zink, D.V.M., Ph.D., is a consultant on canine sports medicine, evaluating canine structure and locomotion, and designing individualized retraining and conditioning programs for canine athletes. She is the award-winning author of Peak Performance: Coaching the Canine Athlete, Dog Health and Nutrition for Dummies, and The Agility Advantage, and co-author of Jumping from A to Z: Teach Your Dog to Soar and Building the Canine Athlete: Strength, Stretching, Endurance and Body Awareness Exercises. She has obtained more than 70 obedience, agility, retrieving, tracking, and conformation titles on dogs from the sporting, herding, working, terrier, and hound groups. Dr. Zink presents Coaching the Canine Athlete® seminars worldwide to rave reviews.



To register go to Registration Form

For more info contact us at 613-989-3647 or info@dogtraining.ca