How to Exercise Your Dog

You love your dog and want them to have a long, happy, and healthy life. As their owner, you are responsible for providing your dog the means to be healthy. Dogs by nature need to be active and need exercise. But how do you provide activity and exercise for your dog?

Letting your dog out in your backyard to use the bathroom is not enough daily exercise. Exercise is important, not just for your dog’s physical health, but also for their mental health. Therefore, providing different types of exercise daily will provide the best physical and mental health benefits for your dog.

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What are the benefits of doggie exercise?

Physical health benefits of dog exercise

Helps reduce and prevent obesity We all know to be healthy, we need to include exercise into our daily routine. This is true for your dog as well. According to AKC.org, 55.8% of all dogs in the United States are overweight or obese.

When your dog is overweight, they can suffer from:

  • Breathing problems
  • Diabetes
  • Pancreatitis
  • Cardiac issues
  • Bladder and kidney issues

Decreases and prevents joint problems One of the most severe problems obesity can cause in your dog is joint problems. Joints need to be moved, in humans and dogs. With your joints, it’s definitely “Move it, or lose it.”

For more information on dog joint pain, click on the picture below:

Helping your dog with joint pain
Helping Your Dog with Joint Pain

Mental health benefits of dog exercise

Helps prevent unwanted behavior Exercise for your dog provides health benefits. But exercise also gives your dog mental stimulation. Without this stimulation, your dog could become bored. This boredom often leads to unwanted behaviors, such as being destructive, excessive digging in the yard, hyperactivity, jumping, rough play and maybe even biting.

If you are seeing any of these unwanted behaviors in your dog, you should first ask yourself, “Is my dog getting enough exercise?” Try increasing the amount of exercise, while also providing variety, to see if there is an improvement in these behaviors.

How much exercise does my dog need?

So you know exercise is important for your dog’s physical and mental health. But how much exercise does your dog need? There are many factors that need to be taken into account when determining the amount of exercise your dog needs.

Breed of dog Different breeds of dogs require different amounts of daily exercise. Smaller breeds of dogs need less exercise, 20-30 min./day may be enough. Larger working breeds may benefit from 2 hours of exercise per day.

Health condition of your dog If your dog already has health issues, exercise is still important and may even relieve or improve some health issues. To start, exercise should be in shorter intervals and built up slowly for these dogs.

Before starting any new exercise routines, you should always check with your vet.

Age of your dog No surprise, puppies need more exercise than senior dogs. Puppies need to burn off all their excessive energy. Without, those destructive behaviors are frequently seen. But don’t think just because your dog is a senior, exercise isn’t important. Because it is. They just may require less of it and maybe at a slower rate.

For more information on how to care for senior dogs, click on the picture below:

How to care for your senior dog
How to Care for Your Senior Dog

Ways to exercise your dog

Taking your dog for a walk

Although this seems like the most basic form of exercise, walking your dog should not be overlooked as being important. Walking your dog exposes your dog to different scents and sights they can not get from just being in your yard. It can also allow for socialization with people and other pets in your neighborhood.

Swimming is a great exercise for dogs

If your dog has joint problems, swimming can provide a great low-impact exercise for your dog. There are many beaches that are dog-friendly. Pools can also provide a place for your dogs to get swimming exercise. Many larger cities have aquatic centers that are just for dogs.

Always rinse, and if possible, wash your dog after swimming. Lakes can have unseen bacteria and pools have chemicals that can be harmful to dogs if not washed off.

Take your dog to a dog park

Dog parks are becoming more and more common in cities. Taking your dog to a dog park can provide off-leash exercise for your dog. It can also provide more scents and socialization opportunities for your dog than your backyard does.

Arrange doggie play dates

Do you have friends or family members with dogs? If your dog plays well with others, arrange a play date with your dog. Alternate locations to provide additional stimulation.

If you don’t know anyone with a dog, look into Facebook groups in your area. You could find other dog lovers in your area that would love to meet up to let your dogs play together.

Playing fetch with your dog

Like walking, fetch might seem like a basic activity to do with your dog. However, there are things that you can do to bump it up to provide great exercise for your dog. If stuck indoors, move the furniture to provide more room for a more aggressive game of fetch.

If outdoors, put some distance in your fetch game. When my son was in little league, he would practice by hitting baseballs. My dog Copper thought this was a great game of fetch. Although, Copper didn’t always like giving the balls back.

Playing chase with your dog

Playing chase can tire out your dog, but also whoever your dog is chasing. When my son was little, he thought it was a blast to have our puppies chase him. This provided exercise for our puppies but also tired out my kid. The giggles were non-stop.

Use the stairs in your home to provide exercise for your dog

Depending on where you live, there could be times of the year that you are stuck in the house for days. During these times, uses your stairs to give your dog an opportunity to exercise. Try playing fetch or chase up and down the stairs. You will be surprised how fast your dog will be worn out. Always practice stair safety.

Blowing bubbles can provide doggie exercise

My little dog Cookie loved to play with blowing bubbles. She loved to bite and jump at bubbles when someone was blowing them. Use your kids to turn this into a game of chase as they blow the bubbles.

They now make peanut butter scented dog bubbles and bacon bubble machines for dogs. My girl Cookies would have loved these!

Work with your dog on an agility course

Dog agility courses give your dog physical and mental stimulation. You may be able to find centers in your area that have dog agility courses. The campground we frequent has a doggie agility course. You can also make your own DIY agility course for your dog to use outdoors and even indoors.

Build your dog a play structure for your yard

In my yard, my kids had a swing set and my dogs have their own play structure. It is a raised platform with ramps on both sides. Our dogs love to chase each other up, down, and around. It also provides shade under the platform. It was easy to make and my dogs still use it even after several years (unlike my kids and their swing set).

Doggie Daycare may be an option

Many people love dogs but know they don’t have the time to give them the attention they require. If you find yourself in this situation, you may want to look into doggie daycare. With their increased popularity, there is bound to be one in your area.

While there, your dog is sure to get the physical and mental stimulation they need. Just like taking your child to daycare, many people drop their dogs off at doggie daycare before work and pick them up afterward. They can provide activities, socialization and even nap time to give your dog the best care when you can’t be there.

Take your dog to exercise or activity classes

There has been a huge increase in services for dogs, especially in larger cities. With a little research, you may be surprised to find how many activities and classes there are for dogs in your area.

Professional intervention may be required-doggie physical therapy, orthopedics, and/or a chiropractor

As with anything health-related, you should always check with your vet. Your dog may benefit from more specialized services. My friend takes her dogs to a doggie chiropractor that she swears by. She said it made a tremendous improvement in her dog’s mobility.

Even though I live in a rural area, there are dog chiropractors within an hour of me. So if this is a service your dog requires, there is sure to be one in your area that is not too far.

The vet office that does our dogs OFA’s has a full physical therapy center. If your dog needs any type of rehabilitation, this would be a good place to start.

It’s never too early or too late to start exercising with your dog. Keeping your dog active will keep them healthy, mentally stimulated, prevent unwanted behaviors and hopefully, help them live long happy lives.

What ways do you exercise your dog? You can leave your comments below.

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