A dog is a man’s best friend and one of the most loyal animals. This is highly dependent on the health of your dog. You can do this by ensuring your dog isn’t obese, and by ensuring the dog does regular exercise. Using the body condition score chart is one of the best ways to ascertain this. The scale ranges from one to five, where 1 represents thinness, 5 represents maximum obesity, and 3 is the preferable scale. Here are some ideal dog exercises.
1. Swimming
Dogs love water, too, and it’s the perfect exercise for dogs suffering from arthritis. You can take your dog along to a public or private pool. If it’s your first time taking your dog swimming, accompany them during the initial stages until they gets used to swimming on their own. Not all dogs love swimming, and if your dog doesn’t like the activity, it’s wise to find a more suitable exercise.
2. Using an Interactive Toy
Interactive toys not only make your dog healthy but also promote mental stimulation. Interactive toys can yield the best results when you have a yard. If you lack a yard, consider visiting a dog park with an extensive playing area. Rochester, New York, features numerous dog parks where your dog can interact with others.
To thrill the experience, you can contemplate a treat-dispensing ball. Hiding the ball and allowing your dog to search for it is the best way of improving your dog’s focus.
3. Having an Obstacle Course
An obstacle course in your yard is the best way to improve your dog’s agility. However, this is dependent on the yard space you have. More than 90% of homeowners believe in the essence of having a well-maintained yard. This will eradicate any materials that may distort your dog’s focus as it goes through the obstacle course.
When creating the obstacle course, you don’t need to spend much on buying professional equipment. Consider soft and readily available items. Ensure you have a soft cushion to facilitate a safe landing while your dog jumps over an obstacle.
4. Playing Hide and Seek
Hide and seek will improve your dog’s obedience skills. You can instruct it to stay in a room as you hide, then, later on, call it. Your dog will use its senses to find you. Once it does, you can give it some treats as a reward.
5. Stair Climbing
Stair climbing goes a long way in aiding mental stimulation, weight loss, and promoting a sense of balance. If it’s your first time trying out this, you can go climb the stairs with your dog or consider throwing a treat or toy on the stairs. You should avoid exercise if your dog has health issues or if it’s prone to back injuries.
6. Obedience Training
It is ideal for enabling your pet to exercise and follow instructions simultaneously. Train your dogs to receive commands that will be useful in outdoor or indoor games. To keep your dog happy, give it little cuddles upon any achievement. You can conduct the training either in your yard or indoors.
7. Taking Them for a Walk
This is the easiest dog exercise you can conduct. In the initial stages, maintain the walk duration to 20 minutes, then increase it as your dog gets used to it. You can consider changing the routine by running or jogging with your dog if you think it is comfortable walking. If your dog isn’t involved in other exercises, the walking sessions should last between 45 and 60 minutes.
8. Consider a Stroll
To break the walking monotony, allow your dog to lead as you follow them. Often or not, dogs love nature, and you will find yourself attracted to areas with trees, which is why over 82,000 businesses are active in the tree service. To keep your dog motivated, ensure you stop if your dog wants to stop.
For the best results, choose an exercise that will suit your dog. Besides this, ensure you don’t strain your dog while exercising it.
