The Penn Vet Working Dog Center Fit to Work Program: A Formalized Method for Assessing and Developing Foundational Canine Physical Fitness

Abstract

Fit to Work is a formalized working dog foundational physical fitness assessment and development program. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center developed this program to address the needs of working dog handlers, trainers, and programs for simple, effective, and efficient methods to develop and assess working dog physical fitness. Fit to Work focuses on the foundational fitness modalities of strength, stability, mobility, and proprioception. The Penn Vet Working Dog Center piloted and refined this program over 3 months in a closed population of 31 working dogs in training. Fit to Work consists of posture development and maintenance, warm-up and cool-down routines, training exercises, and assessment methods. To simplify implementation for dogs and personnel, the foundational training program incorporates a discrete number of exercises, standardized progression steps, defined criteria for progression, and a reduced emphasis on learned behaviors. Fit to Work also enables safe and progressive assessment of foundational fitness through a tiered and inexpensive process. Future research will focus on validation of training and assessment methods, development of assessment standards, and correlation of physical fitness with operational performance.

Enhancing the Selection and Performance of Working Dogs

“…Continuation of an exercise program throughout the life of the dog is likely to decrease injury and improve recovery from injury. A recent foundational fitness program for working dogs has been proposed for working dog puppies through adults ( 182 ). This Fit to Work program focuses on mobility, stability, strength, and proprioception and avoids repetitive high impact activities.…”

“…Mobility is required for all dogs and essential for working dogs. One of the most common causes of early retirement in military working dogs is spinal cord disease and arthritis ( 60 , 180 , 182 , 205 ).…”

The Animal Welfare Science of Working Dogs: Current Perspectives on Recent Advances and Future Directions

“…Over the last 10 years, there has been growing scientific investment to better understand all aspects of working dog genetics, rearing, training, and functional performance in areas as diverse as scent detection, therapy, mobility, and safety with a view to improving canine performance, welfare, and program efficiencies [ (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)]. Animal welfare science has also developed in the last decade, with the most recent update to the Five Domains Model adapted to include human-animal interactions, released in 2020 (12).…”

The Immediate Effect of Parachute-Resisted Gallop on Heart Rate, Running Speed and Stride Frequency in Dogs

“…Physical fitness is a recognized requirement for canine sports athletes and working dogs to optimize performance in tasks that are presented to them in various disciplines [1,2]. Physical fitness refers to the physical capacity to carry out tasks "with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue and with ample energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and to meet unforeseen emergencies" [3].…”

“…Physical fitness refers to the physical capacity to carry out tasks "with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue and with ample energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and to meet unforeseen emergencies" [3]. Canine physical fitness can be categorized into two groups: (1) health-related components of physical capacity (i.e., cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, body composition and mobility), and (2) skill-related components of physical capacity (i.e., agility, balance, coordination, speed, power, and reaction time) [1]. Each component of physical fitness needs to be properly addressed during physical exercise as they may have a beneficial impact the dogs' longevity and ability to perform physical, athletic and olfactory tasks [1,[4][5][6].…”