Excercise

Exercising Your Dog

Exercise is an essential part of keeping your dog healthy and mentally and physically stimulated. Dogs need exercise every day although the amount of exercise necessary varies from dog to dog and is often dependent on the breed type, age and health. Providing enough exercise will improve your dog's health and prevent household destruction and other behaviour problems common in under exercised dogs. Taking your dog for regular and frequent walks is an excellent way to bond with your dog and meet both the dog's and your exercise needs.

A dog should ideally have somewhere to play around the house like a fenced in garden where it can run around without a lead. However, your dog should never be left outside alone for extended periods of time. Even if your dog has the run of the garden he will also need a regular walk for social interaction and stimulation.

When taking your dog for a walk it should always be under control, leashed and, if necessary, muzzled unless in a designated unleashed area. A well trained dog should always come back to you when called, even when out playing in large open spaces. A great way to get your dog to run around is to play fetch with balls or Frisbees. You can play on land or in the water.

A new puppy will take some time to get used to a leash. Let him drag it around for a few days. Then, pick up the end of it and walk with him slowly so he gets the idea. If your dog continues to pull on the lead you could go to obedience training together or you could teach the dog to learn how to "heel," which would allow you to make him walk at a steady pace on your left-hand side while you take your walk.

When taking your dog out always ensure your dog has a collar on with identification if he is not micro chipped. To find the correct size collar for your dog, add two inches to his neck measurement. When fitting the collar on your dog you should be able to slide two fingers under it to ensure that it is not too tight. If you have a puppy make sure that as he grows, you lengthen the collar.

Steps to Introducing a Treadmill to Small Dogs.

Day 1 - 2: Do not put your dog on the treadmill the very day you bought the treadmill. Let it sits around for a couple days. Don’t make a big deal about it, treat it like a new piece of furniture you just bought. If he decided to investigate the treadmill, let him be. Again don’t make a fuss about it. Don’t bother to sweet talk to him about it either. Simply go on with your normal daily lifestyle.

Day 2 – 3: Let your dog sees you exercising on the treadmill. It would help greatly if you are actually enjoying it by starting it slow—brisk walking. While your dog isn’t watching, you may go ahead with your regular workout routine and sweating it out. Reason is simple, when your dog who never exercises in his entire life sees you pounding the mill and gasping for air, sends him an unpleasant and threatening message. Remember we’re dealing with pampered pet dogs.

Day 4 - 5: Carry your dog while you are brisk walking on the treadmill. This is only possible if you have small dogs less than 8 lbs. If you have no problem carrying your 10 to 15 lbs dog and brisk walking for 10 minutes, then go ahead with this method. Do this two to three times a day. (No worries, ladies, you won’t build any arm muscles by carrying your heavy pooch. It takes a whole lot more strength training exercises to build some defined muscles.) The reason for doing this is to get him accustomed to moving motions without diminishing or magnifying the surroundings in any way.

Day 6 – 7: Put your dog on the mill and stay a step behind him while both you and your dog walk on a very slow pace. You might be walking at the very edge of the belt if you have a very small treadmill. Just be careful and bear with it a little for your focus is more on the comfort and safety of your dog. If this is not possible, you might have to spread your legs and put your feet on the sides on the treadmill next to the moving belt.

Day 7 – 8: Put your dog on the mill on a slow pace. Remain close beside him and continue to “walk” (walking on the spot) on ground. Do this for 10 minutes or so. Gradually shorten the time as you back away a little but never out of sight. Again, do this two to three a day.

Once he gets the idea of walking on treadmill, you want to stay close to him until he finishes his 20 minutes walk. Many had asked me if it really takes a week for dogs to get used to treadmill exercising. In most cases, Yes! When I first introduced treadmill exercise to my Golden Retrievers, they were very cautious of the machine despite the fact that it was only a couple square feet larger than them. So looking from your little Fido’s viewpoint, wouldn’t it be scary for him to get on a moving object that’s twelve times his size.

Benefits of using the Dog Jogger.
End unruly behavior: Reduce risk of serious injury: Provide versatility in exercise: Develop muscle strength & stamina: Control your dog's exercise regimen: Provide exercise in adverse weather: Prevent obesity & associated problems: Improve health, well-being & longevity: Correct faults in movement on-the-fly: Exercise many dogs quickly & effortlessly: Condition muscles to show ring speed: Maintain a vibrant coat year-round.