Come on baby....do the Locomotion

Well…..there’s a first 

When we got to the Park this morning at 7:00, the temperature was below zero and it was very frosty. So, after getting the dogs out of the back of the car, we did our Locomotion routine on them. 

A lady, who’d just drawn up, got out of her car and said, in a quizzical unbelieving voice “Wait……did you just warm-up your dogs?” The reply came in stereo from us “Yes” in a why-not tone of voice. Chris had been warming-up Sarah and I’d been warming-up Sam. 

She was then more than interested to find out what we’d been doing. I explained that we designed the quickest effective warm-up routine in Sussex which we call The Locomotion. After waving my hands in the air, showing her how to do it, I explained that the dogs love it. It’s fast. It’s very warming. And if you sing a warmy-up song while doing it the dogs add to the routine by becoming bouncy. 

I explained the song lyrics doesn’t really matter – she started singing “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round” If you turn up the volume on the video here , you’ll hear the booming voices of the Healing Animal Graduates with their rendition of the Locomotion. (Yes, the AchyPaw workshops are full of fun and interaction while you’re learning). Or you can simply make up your own song. Mine….it’s a rubby dubby song. 

As long as you warm your dog up before exercise – even a walk – especially on these cold days and nights, it can help to prevent injuries from cold muscles. Like our Locomotion routine, it doesn’t need to take ages, and the dogs get to expect it, even asking for it – standing still after they get out of the car until they’ve had their warm-up. They are clearly more sensible than us. 

My mission for 2018 has now expanded. Added to my first mission to help all caring owners become aware of early signs of arthritis or other mobility issues teaching them how to help their dogs before these problems become chronic, is to share and spread the importance of warming their dogs up, and, of course, cooling them down afterwards. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s efficient, it’s The Locomotion, it’s all part of our service.