COOLDOWN

Every workout is important, but perhaps none is more important than the next one, because stringing workouts together--one after another after another--is the key to a successful training program.
To put together this string is by making sure you finish off today's workout with a complete cool-down routine.
Here are six ways to guarantee you get a complete cooldown:
 

• EASY RUNNING - Finish the workout with 10 to 12 minutes free running. This will decrease the stress on dog cardiovascular system, relax the leg muscles and ease the body into a postworkout state. There are times, however, when it mightbe smarter to skip the cooldown. For example, if you've been training your dog hard every day and he is not consuming enough carbohydrates, a cooldown can actually decrease the muscle glycogen stores enough to hinder subsequent workouts. In this case, it's smarter to just slow down during the final mile of their training and not tack on additional cool-down miles.
• STRIDES - About twice a week, it's a great idea to finish the workout with four to six strides. To do strides, run them at a smooth, fast but controlled pace for about 20 to 25 seconds. After each stride,walk  for a minute or two before beginning the next stride.
• STRETCH - In most cases, stretching and massaging after a training session increases muscleflexibility more effectively than preworkout stretching. Researchers has shown that postworkout stretching makes it easier for carbohydrates to enter muscle cells, helping to restore the glycogen that is "burned up" during a training session.
• ICE -  But only for 10 minutes at a time. Icing sore muscles does help control inflammation, but too  much icing can actually increase swelling and enhance bloodflow. The key is to rub ice for just 5 minutes at a time on areas where they seem to be sore. Then stop the ice treatment for 10 minutes before reapplying. This"interval-icing" scheme will ensure that their anatomical hot spots chill easily.
• CARBOHYDRATES AND PROTEIN - Graze on carbohydrates and protein. The studies suggest that feeding 15 minutes or so for a couple of hours after a workout can increase their glycogen-storage rates by up to 90 percent, compared to typical, nongrazing dogs. Feeding around 40-60 calories of high-quality protein (about the amount in 2 cups of skim milk or 2 cups of nonfat yogurt) along with three to five times as much carbohydrate shortly after a workout can speed glycogen replenishment and muscle repair.
• CANINE PSICHOLOGY - Your dog has to enjoy the workouts, than he will be ready to wait the next one with enthusiasm. To guarantee this, you have to change the sessions and the methods of workouts when your dog becomes used and bored with the previous one. Congratulate him, after each training session, on his success and for persisting through the whole workout.

These six guidelines after every training session, you will find that consistency and quality of their training will improve.
 

FASTER REACTIONS - 5 key to improvement

There are many ways to make your dog react faster.
Which are the right ones for him? If you try to cover all the bases you will end up overtraining him.
Then there's the pick-one-and-go-for-it approach. You know this one: "I'm going to make him do more mill work this keep" .We have a lot of good options, but by themselves they may not have much effect.

What we need is a more comprehensive approach that focuses on a manageable number of key training components. There are five. Improve in these areas, and is sure that he will  improve overall.
 

• Max VO2. Max VO2 is simply the maximum rate of oxygen use. Max VO2 goes up as the heart gets stronger and as the leg muscles improve their ability to process oxygen from the blood. Increasing the max VO2 enables them to run faster and longer at the same exertion level. The best way to boost max VO2 is to make running sessions of 1200-meter intervals at a easy  pace. The recovery running sessions should take  the same amount of time as the work intervals. Another good session: hard running workout, alternating 3-minute surges at a hard pace with 1 to 2 minutes of easy running. Do a max VO2­building workout every four days or so.
• Strength. Nothing is worse than an injury. If they can't work, they can't improve. Dogs who are strength trained regularly are injured less often than those who don't.  Twice a week, strengthen the muscles, connective tissues and ligaments of the legs by doing strength training sessions. Improve foot strength by using toughpad.
• Running economy. Improved economy means that the dog needs less oxygen to maintain a given pace. To bring this about, you should train them at faster pace than show pace. As with the other max VO2 workouts, do one of these running economy sessions every other week.
• Power. Power-boosting  Improved power translates to a quicker footstrike (that is, less time on the ground) and longer strides.The best way to boost their power is with hill work¬preferably once a week or so. On the hill-running sessions, combine high-speed "assaults" up steep hills with more moderate, continuous running on less steep hills. Consider adding some plyometric training as well.
• Lactate threshold velocity (LTV). LTV is the running speed beyond which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood. The important thing to remember is that as their LTV increases, their training times will improve. A classic LTV-boosting workout : run him on treadmill for 10-minute intervals at a current hard pace, with 5-minute recoveries. Do two of these repeats per session. More experienced trainers should aim for three or four on a well trained dog.

CIRCADIAN RHYTMS

Circadian rhythms. These daily biological  rhythms  can affect the training  in all sorts of ways. For example, circadian rhythms can cause joints to be stiffest early in the morning and most flexible early in the evening. The muscles, too, are at their strongest and most flexible in early evening, which also happens to be when the air passages are open the widest and white blood cell production reaches its peak.

Since the  joints and muscles are loosest in the evening, does this mean dogs who are worked out at this time are less susceptible to injuries? What we do know is that dogs are worked easier in the afternoon, and that they have more endurance in the afternoon than in the morning.

A study found that athletes who trained only in the morning did significantly better in a morning endurance test than in an afternoon test. Likewise, afternoon-only exercisers did significantly better in an afternoon endurance test than they did in the morning. The bottom line: if the show will be in the morning you should train your dog in the morning, and if the show will be in the afternoon you should train them in the afternoon.

Body rhythms also come into play when we travel and change time zones.
Here are three ways to outwit the time-zone problem.

• First, try to get to the show site well in advance. A good rule  is to give your dog one day to adapt to the new time zone for each hour of time change.
• Second, when you arrive at the destination, make sure that you immediately change your dog waking and eating patterns to the new time zone. Their body clock will adjust more quickly this way.
• Third, if you can't get to the show area ahead of time, try to work out for several days before the trip at the same hour that the show will actually be.
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