Really though, how often do you exercise your dog? Are you exercising them enough?
I recently read an article from the UK that half of the dogs in Britain are overweight. Half!
Fat dogs are now such a common sight that many owners have forgotten what a healthy animal even looks like…
How can you know if your dog is getting enough exercise? First you need to assess your dogs energy needs. All breeds do not require the same amount of exercise, what kind of dog do you have? For instance a German Shepherd, Border Collie, or any kind of retriever are going to require a lot more walking then say a Pug, Bull Dog or even a Greyhound (Greyhounds have short speed bursts, but are not considered high energy).
Not only do dogs need physical exercise but they also need to be mentally stimulated. A general rule of thumb is that:
1. Dogs need at least 60 minutes of physical exercise
2. 15 minutes of mental exercise
Of course it depends on your dog, but 60 minutes should be the bare minimum of physical activity.
Your pet might not be the only one overweight in your family. Studies have shown that dogs can provide a support system for their owners to help motivate them to exercise daily. Get outside and have some fun with your dogs and shed a few pounds yourself!
Dogs that don’t get enough exercise, can turn that energy into bad behavior out of boredom. If you are trying to decide on a breed for your family and you do decide to get a high energy dog, I hope you have or are prepared to have a very active lifestyle.
How often do you exercise your dog? Physically and Mentally? Leave a comment!
Welcome! My name is Jason and I am a first time dog owner as of September 2010. I have been doing extensive research on dog training/behavior, and I hope you will follow me through this amazing journey of raising a dog.
My dog and I both needed to lose a bit of weight, so now we get out for walks together. Keeping her fit and healthy helps motivate me! As you say, it is healthy for our dogs not only physically but emotionally. We walk once a day and–because we don’t have another dog to play and roughhouse with her–we throw her tennis balls and get on the floor and play with her too.
With any kind of exercise program, it’s always easier to follow it if you have a friend to motivate you
We try to walk our dogs 2 miles in morning and again at night. During the day, we are interacting with people and situations and use those chances to work in the mental training exercise.
Great article. I take my 12 wk lab puppy out daily for an hour at least. Not necessarily running around or exercising, sometimes socializing, being out there, smelling, sniffing, chewing stuff (of course I try not to let her). Dogs are not meant to be couch potatoes.
Lola is becoming quite a pretty girl! For puppies pretty much all activities become exercise