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Why you need to Exercise your Dog

In a continuation of our “How to” serious we show you how to exercise your dog.

Dogs need exercise to prevent them becoming bored and frustrated, burn off energy and stay calmer at home, as well as build a close relationship with their owner, and of course “do its business”. Your dog should go out as soon as possible, even before it fully trained.

Dog Walking is good for you too! Studies have shown that dog owners who regularly walk their dogs have lower systolic blood pressure and triglyceride levels than similar people who do not take regular walks every day.

Taking your dog for a walk every day, for at least an hour a day is a win win situation for your health and your dogs. If dog exercises regularly this can this can help to keep off additional weight which can add stress to dog’s joints and muscles and may trigger injuries. Talk to your vet to determine your dog’s recommended weight and daily calorie intake and exercise needs.

Photo 56903007 © Ian Allenden – Dreamstime.com

Mix It Up

Your dog will love the chance to walk and run outside but dogs need more than agility, they will also benefit from other types of exercise for example swimming in shallow and safe waters, playing with toys such as with a ball, learning to fetch. Continue reading below for some great exercise ideas.

Daily Walkies is a good idea

Dogs need to be gradually conditioned to exercising and just like humans cannot go from sitting indoors most of the time to being a fit athlete in a short period of time, injuries can occur by forcing a dog to do too much too soon. However, over time particularly once you get to the point of taking your dog for a walk daily or even more than once a day you will have a fit dog who will be happier and healthier as will you be.

Exercise Ideas

Agility Training

Alone or with other dogs agility training keeps your dog fit and builds confidence physically and mentally. Show your dog how to crawl thru tunnels, jump hurdles and scale ramps and learning balancing skills on a flat surface or a see-saw. Agility training can be done in your garden, in a park or even better at a dog club. These skills can also be part of your obedience training. If you have a puppy it is best to wait until it is 1 year old before fully getting into agility training.

Fetch!

Some dogs by their nature love to fetch, the obvious example being golden retrievers and “gun dogs”. They thrive on running fast and enjoy the challenge of catching a ball or toy and feel happy and satisfied when they can retrieve it and quickly bring it back to you, and eagerly await the chance to do it all over again. This is one of the simple pleasures in life!

You can also use this type of exercise to improve your dogs co-ordination and mental skills. A great toy to use is a frisbee, however, if new to your dog this might take several attempts before your dog can feel competent in catching a frisbee. Your dog will follow and watch closely the frisbee and calculate where and when it will land or even might jump to catch it before it lands.

This is so much fun for your doggie pal and also feeds into the natural hunting prey drives of some breed of dog. However this type of exercise might not be suitable for your dog, it does depend on the breed, for example this would not work well for a corgi or dachshund.

Make a Splash

If you are able to get to a place with safe clean water you might want to consider water based activities. This could be more fetch type activities, or other types of exercise like swimming or jumping into water.

Remember safety first always for you and your dog and it may be necessary and safe to invest in a dog life vest, maybe with a handle on top for easy grabbing.

Dancing Dogs

Do you love to dance? Freestyle dancing with dogs is growing in popularity and your dog can dance with you to music, this has even become competitive in some dog clubs and dog owner circles. If this appeals to you the best way to learn is it get involved; watch and learn from participants.

Dancing can involve your dog doing moves which would not normally be seen in exercise or obedience training. It is a chance for your dog to have fun and express itself physically. Try it, you might be surprised how much you enjoy it.

Thanks for Reading

I hope you enjoyed this article, head over to the How to category for more instructional posts on thepoochlover.com HERE

 

We are also recommending a High Quality Dog Training Course Featuring 21 Games To Improve A Dog’s Intelligence And Behavior, Plus Easy Instructions For Training Obedience Commands! Created By A Well Known Professional Dog Trainer. You can find out more HERE