Dog Exercise: Properly Exercise Your Dog

Similar to humans, lack of exercise in dogs can lead to poor health conditions such as obesity, heart problems, bad bone structure, emotional and behavioral issues.

What are helpful ways to properly exercise your dog and insure a long life?

Here are some suggestions to get your pup active that won’t break the bank.

Get him involved with other dogs. In an earlier blog, we discussed proper etiquette while visiting a dog park. That can be fun activity that also enforces socialization. It can also be as simple as letting them play with the neighbor’s dog or a friend/family member’s friendly pup.

Walking your dog is an excellent dog exercise and a great way for both of you to stay in shape. Let your dog carry something on the walk, even one of his toys. Be loose on the leash during walks. Let him explore other people and other dogs. This is natural way to feel comfortable around others. This also negates "leash aggression." A dog that guards against everything and anything is an anxious dog, which comes with its own set of problems.

Hide his toys around the yard or on your walks. Hide yourself in the same fashion.

Teach him how to retrieve. This is an exciting way to get them running and jumping, to bring you back the object you’ve thrown – a perfect dog exercise! Of course, there are risks of over exerting your dog with this one, as they never know when to quit. Judge this exercise according to your dog’s age and current condition. Throwing a ball too high or letting your dog fetch for way too long can affect the bones and joints in an adverse way.

You can even give your dog a work out in a dark room. Take his favorite toy into one, hide it, and then have them seek it out. This can lead to hours of fun and exercise. Put his favorite treats in an upside down bowl. He will spend lots of time trying to figure out how to get at them. Make mazes in your yard out of old furniture or boxes and have him navigate a specific way through.

A well exercised dog will be more calm and apt to be less nervous about being left alone. It will improve his bones and joints, as well as his heart and lungs. A healthy dog that gets a lot of dog exercise actually looks better too!

As an added bonus, you should look and feel better. Remember that dogs rarely exercise alone. They will often wait for someone or some animal to come along and interact with them.

After a hard day of dog exercise, a great way for your dog to get some rest is to get them their very own dog bed! We offer high quality, low cost, water (and urine) proof dog beds! They are made right here in America and we offer free shipping on everything we sell! dogcheapsleeps.com