• Sit up and beg

    - the begging position is an excellent way to strengthen this muscle. It is an isometric exercise that forces the dog to use its lower back and stomach muscles as stabilizers. Teach your dog to get into the begging position, you know the one in which the dog starts out in the sit position then brings its front paws up and close to its chest while it straightens its back to sit in an upward position. Hold this pose for 10 seconds and then increase it up to a maximum of a minute. This will really strengthen the psoas group.

     

  • Hind leg stretch

    - Have the dog stand, kneel behind your dog. Take your left arm and support underneath your dogs belly, be sure he/she is comfortable with this. It may take a couple of times just doing this before you actually stretch your dog. Now with your right hand grab the dogs right knee (in some larger dogs you may have to stabilize the knee with your left hand from underneath the belly and with your right hand grab just below the knee closer to the dogs hock), gently pull the leg straight back, keeping the leg straight at all times. This will stretch the quadriceps and also tip the pelvis forward stretching the psoas group and some of the other stomach muscles. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds and then relax. Switch legs, support with your right hand and use your left to stretch the left hind leg straight back. Repeat each leg 3 times. Go only as far as your dog will allow, up to the point of tension, dogs with injured psoas muscles, hip dysplasia, or bad knees will not be able to extend completely backward, just go to tension.

    - Another way of stretching this muscle is to have your dog lay on its left side, then while sitting behind your dog supporting its back by applying a little pressure to the spine with your left hand/arm, gently grab the right knee with your right hand and pull the leg straight backward. Hold for 10 to 15 seconds, then release for 10 seconds, then repeat. Repeat this three times with this leg and then flip the dog to its other side and do the other leg.

    In order to prevent a very common performance dog injury you need to strengthen and stretch your dog. Do these exercises at least every other day if not once a day to have a healthy happy dog.