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Exercising Your Dog
Best Types of Exercise
Keeping your dog lean and healthy can add years to his life. Changing daily activities is recommended to keep your dog interested in exercise and to prevent boredom. Need ideas? Use the following list of exercise activities to maintain dog health:
Playing at the park is great exercise for your dog and you! Also, time spent exercising together will strengthen the bond between you and your pooch.
Playing catch with your pooch provides great exercise for him. Remember to give him or her praise for his or her accomplishments. Keeping your dog entertained with toys might help cut down on house or lawn damage. Busy dogs are less likely to cause household problems than bored dogs. Dogs love to interact with other dogs and need to have their own time for doggie play.
Swimming is a great activity that will increase your dog's cardiovascular fitness, muscle tone, and strength. Dogs that suffer joint diseases or have injuries also will benefit from this type of low-impact workout.
Daily walks with your dog will get you both moving and offer more time for owner-pet bonding.
Digging is an innate trait in many dogs. Sled dogs such as Huskies and Malamutes dig holes to provide a sheltered place from the wind. Terriers and Daschunds were bred to dig tunnels to flush out prey and to locate rodents. Other dogs simply dig because their acute sense of smell and hearing informs them that there is something interesting beneath the ground. For some dogs, digging may be a form of boredom when left alone for long periods of time. Consult your veteriarian if it becomes a problem to find out if your dog may have separation anxiety.
"A dog is not almost-human, and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such." - John Holmes
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