Your dog has physical and health needs like yours. Dogs need to move in order to stay healthy. Canine exercise benefits our beloved companions in many ways: both physically and mentally. Regular exercise for your dog helps to maintain your furry friend’s cardiovascular health, help them maintain a healthy weight, stay happy, relieve stress and anxiety, and helps keep your dog from being bored and getting into trouble (or being destructive to your home)! So far as we know, there hasn’t yet been invented a digital fitness watch for dogs, but we can still help our dogs meet their daily activity move rings . Here are some exercise ideas to help your dog stay healthy, live longer and be the best dog they can be!
1. Many of us have treadmills that have dust sitting on them. Consider using this unused equipment with your dog. Make sure you understand the proper way to supervise your dog’s walk-through training videos and other educational materials. You may need a fence and harness. Pro tip: Teach them to walk and stay on the track with a smear peanut butter at the front. This will keep them interested while keeping them moving!
2. Bring them to a local Tennis court. Shut all the tennis court gates and let them run or throw them a ball. The court acts like a big dog pen where that they can’t hurt anything or get away from you. Be sure to clean up any accidents after!
3. Take your dog for a walk outside. So good for them (and your soul!).
4. Take your dog swimming at a dog friendly still pond or lake. Be sure you understand the body of water in which they will be swimming and any hidden dangers.
5. Find a local pet aqua fitness center for them to use an underwater treadmill. This is a great option if your dog has any type of arthritis as it is low stress on their joints. For more information on dog physical therapy, see our article here.
6. If you are going up and down the stairs in your house, call them to follow you.
7. Encourage them to follow you around the house as you clean, vacuum, or undertake other chores inside or out.
8. Sneak away when they are not looking and call them, so they come running to find you in a fun game of hide-and-seek
9. Have a friend or family member sit on one side of the yard and another person on the other side of the yard, call the dog back and forth between the 2 people. Make sure you give good scratches and love between visits. Your dog will get exercise and love.
10. Get together with another dog lover and their dog to have a play date.
11. Have your dog run through hose or sprinkler on a hot day.
12. Take your dog to a dog park for important socialization and exercise. Remember, you are responsible for the conduct and safety or your dog. “Off leash” doesn’t mean “off supervision.”
13. Take your dog along with you as you shop when you are going to a dog friendly store, being sure to check their websites prior to leaving.
14. Play tug of war with your dog. Contrary to some popular views on the subject, tug of wat can be a useful, fun, and educational activity. See the American Kennel Club’s excellent article on this subject. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/is-tug-of-war-bad-for-dogs/
15. Play fetch with your dog- If you have arm or shoulder issues or just can’t throw a ball too well, use devices that assist you to throw ball further without hurting your shoulder/arm. For example, we like the following assist device.
16. Teach them to do an Agility course. See YouTube for DYI projects to make your own. For example, here’s a fun one.
17. Have them chase a flashlight beam on the floor- be sure to not flash the bright light in their eyes. Some pet owners use laser pointers for this activity, but we don’t like the devices for that purpose – the light from a laser may cause serious damage, if it inadvertently makes contact with your dog’s eye.
We’ll add to this list from time to time.But that’s enough to get you started.Enjoy – you and your dog will feel better and be stronger because of it!.
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