Square-Stand
The Square-Stand, or stack position, is possibly the most important exercise with regards to canine fitness. When performed correctly, it reinforces proper posture for your dog and is a position that will find itself in many of the fitness exercises you will be doing. What separates this position from what you might commonly describe as a Stand is all in the details.
To begin, we’ll want your dog to stand freely - to do this, we’ve found it helpful to have a treat/reward handy and held out in front of them in order to coax them out of a resting or sitting position.
Next, you’ll want to check position of your dogs legs and feet - make sure they are repositioned under them and evenly spaced. You want to have them standing evenly on all four feet with a heel back.
A great way of improving your dog’s posture, the focus of this exercise is to have your dog standing comfortably with no shifting of weight or hunching evident. Improper posture can cause other muscles to work harder than necessary to accommodate, which can lead to undue pressure and pain in the compromised areas, as well as poor overall balance.
Beyond the improved posture and balance, the Square-Stand naturally increases core strength in your dog as well as teaching them a little more body awareness - which is helpful to all dogs, but especially so in dogs where we’ll be going through more of these fitness exercises.