Cavaletti
Straight cavaletti - Beginner

Straight cavaletti

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Straight line cavaletti, as the name implies, refers to a set of cavaletti poles set in a straight line, with equal distance between poles.

This setup is the foundation of all cavaletti exercises, as it promotes body awareness, improves shoulder and hips flexibility, activates and strengthens the core muscles, and encourages focus forward.

Straight line cavaletti is designed for trotting purposes.

What you need:

* A set of cavaletti: 4-6 poles with cones/blocks (Want to make your own adjustable cavaletti?) * A relatively flat and non-slippery surface * A handful of yummy treats * A dog * Optional: Two "anchor" objects (e.g., traffic cones, rubber feeder bowls, platforms, raised beds, flat targets)

The setup:

* The distance between two poles should start at about the height of your dog’s withers (or ~2 times elbow height if you have a short-legged breed)

  • For example, if the dog measures 24” at the withers, I will set the poles to be 24” apart to begin with

  • If I have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi that measures 6” from the ground to the elbow, I will set the poles to be 12'“ (i.e., 6 x 2 = 12) apart to begin with

  • Aim for feet landing about mid-point between two poles

    • Adjust the distance depending on your dog’s stride length and size
    • If you hear your dog’s feet keep hitting the poles, the distance may be off and need to be adjusted
    • For some dogs, you may need to shorten the distance until they learn how to maneuver across them

  • Start with the poles on the ground and slowly increase the height, but the height of the poles should be no higher than your dog’s hock height ( Why not higher than hock height? )

    • Tip the cavaletti cones to the side can set the poles lower than the lowest hole on the cone
    • When the poles are on the ground, secure them sandbags, bricks, or PVC connectors so they will not roll

withers height

Withers height refers to the distance from the highest point of the shoulder blade to the ground.

elbow height

Elbow height refers to the distance from the elbow joint to the ground.

hock height

Hock height is the distance from the top of the hock joint to the ground.

The presence of the cavaletti poles is to help the dog to be more mindful about picking up each foot as they move across the setup. As the goal of cavaletti is to encourage the dog to trot through the poles, setting the poles at lower than hock height will allow them to move through the setup with correct form. When the poles are set higher than hock height, the setting will be more likely to encourage the dog to hop or skip over the poles due to the increased height. As a result, the dog would be less likely to be able to trot through the poles, but rather hopping, skipping or jumping over the poles, which is not the goal of the straight line cavaletti.

Similarly, long back dogs (e.g., corgis, dashunds, basset hounds) and small dogs may never need to raise the poles off the ground in order to keep the poles lower than hock height.

nomial-straight-cavaletti-front.jpg

What are the goals?

  • Trot across the poles

  • Aim for focus forward (i.e., head looking straight)

  • Aim to have your dog’s feet land approximately midway between two poles (video is truly your best friend here)

Evaluating progress:

  • One repetition (i.e., 1 rep) refers to the dog trotting across the cavaletti setup once (e.g., trot across 5 poles set in a straight line). What is a trot?

  • In the beginning, reward after each rep (i.e., dog trots across cavaletti setup -> mark + reward)

  • Once a dog understands how to trot across the poles, focusing forward, with feet landing about mid-point between two poles, I will usually start doing 4-6 reps in a session. At this point, the dog is doing 1 set of 4-6 reps.

  • Slowly increase the number of reps in the set. How to increase the number of reps?

  • Once a dog can reliably do number of reps in 1 set, slowly increase the number of sets. I typically reduce the number of reps when increasing the number of sets to help my dogs succeed. How to increase the number of sets?

  • Until the dog can reliably do the increased number of reps without fatigue, I will not progress further with the exercise.

  • As cavaletti is a relatively repetitive exercise, I typically do no more than a total of 30 reps

  • Need some help tracking cavaletti progress? Download our FREE cavaletti tracker! (Printable version or Online version)

A "rep" refers to a repetition. For straight line and curved cavaletti setups, one repetition (1 rep) refers to when a dog trots across the cavaletti setup once.

A set is the number of repetitions (i.e., reps) a dog completes before taking a break. For example, 1 set of 5 reps means that the dog trots across a cavaletti setup 5 times before taking a break.

The reasonable number of reps to aim for depends on your dog’s age, physical condition, experience, and other factors (e.g., weather, the amount of distraction).

With healthy adult dogs with no pre-existing conditions, I usually start with 4-6 reps a session, then slowly work up to 1 set of 10 reps of a beginner/intermediate level exercise before progressing.

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I typically reduce the number of reps when increasing the number of sets to help my dogs succeed. For example, a dog can comfortably complete 1 set of 10 reps. My next goal is to increase to 2 sets of 10 reps = a total of 20 reps. I may ask for 2 sets of 6 reps (a total of 12 reps), or 2 sets of 8 reps (a total of 16 reps).

I will not ask for 2 sets 10 reps (a total of 20 reps) until the dog can complete less than or equal to 20 reps in any rep/set combination.

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A trot is a 2-beat gait where a dog moves their diagnoal front and rear legs (left front + right rear; right front + left rear) forward and land on the ground at the same time. After a diagonal pair od legs lift off, there is a short moment of suspension before the other diagonal pair lands on the ground. This is typically considered the most efficient gait for dogs.

Click here for an animation demonstrating different types of canine gaits.