DOGA, The New Fitness For Dogs

Just when we thought we'd seen every pet product imaginable, along comes DOGA.  The recent emergence of the practice has gotten favorable reviews and DOGA classes are popping up all over the world.  Pet fitness is extremely important for the health and quality of life in all pets, and any activity that involves interaction and physical activity is going to be beneficial.  What's the advantage of DOGA?  

Dogs like attention.  It doesn't matter if you are playing fetch, tug of war, or sit-stay-roll over, if you are giving them one on one attention, you are fulfilling them.  A little bit of time spent easing them into yoga poses they are capable of is just another game.  Add the physical benefits of yoga poses and you have a game that makes them happy to play as well as making them feel good throughout their muscles.  Its a win-win activity for both of you.

Another advantage of DOGA is the training element.  You will be teaching them different poses and they will learn from any command you choose.  Ongoing dog training is a healthy activity both mentally and physically and strengthens the bond between you.  If they are enjoying the DOGA training, they'll enjoy other training sessions.  Remember, dog training is a game, they enjoy it because it is fun and the more you expand your training methods, the better behaved your dog will be in all situations.

So how much DOGA-Yoga is a dog capable of?  Since they are the inspirations for several yoga poses that humans practice, they may be more capable than we've given them credit for.  The downward dog and upward dog full body stretches that yogis practice came directly from the way dogs stretch themselves.  If you've ever done either of those stretches and held them for a few minutes, you know how pleasantly stretched you feel from head to toe.  Corpse pose, achieved by laying on your back, every muscle from your eyebrows to the bottoms of your feet completely relaxed, is another one that dogs just instinctively do.  Laying on their backs, eyes closed, legs relaxed is a posture of absolute submission, and it only happens when they have achieved complete relaxation.  That state of relaxation is the goal humans aspire to, and dogs just simply do. 

It will take a basic understanding of yoga for humans to share it with your dog as a pet fitness and training activity, but like any physical fitness program, it takes time, repetition, and my become a new way for your and your DOGA Dog to enjoy each other.