If one of your New Year resolutions was to lose some weight you gained during Christmas and get fit, your dog companion may help you with that. Also, dog obesity is one of the issues vets have to deal with the most in recent years. What to do for a proper winter exercise?
January is the month full of ambitious resolutions. Most of us wish to get in shape and feel great in the new year if we enjoyed the food at Christmas. It is similar with our dogs as we – let’s be honest – didn’t pay as much attention as they deserve to them during the chaos before Christmans and shopping for presents and they might use some extra exercise as well. :) How to do that so you both enjoy winter exercising and successfully achieve your goal?
Set realistic objectives
There’s nothing worse than to start with too much exercise. Therefore, it is important to set objective you can really achieve. And by that you won’t be tired or stressed out that you couldn’t stick to it. It’s perfect to start with easy walks. Pick various routes and choose another one for every walk so you still enjoy it. It should be at least for 20–30 minutes. And you can add more kilometres every week. Your furry friend will definitely appreciate that. If you feel well enough, you can start with level 2 – running with a dog, i.e. canicross (you can read more about this sport in one of our older articles).
Get yourself and your dog proper equipment
Doing sports with a dog in winter is something different from other seasons. Proper equipment is important in winter more than in any other season as it has to protect you as well as your buddy from cold. If you live in a city where the pavements are treated with salt or you have to walk on an icy road on your walk, you also shouldn’t forget about the protection of your dog’s paws. Therefore, I recommend getting dog shoes you can also use in the mountains both in winter and summer. Suitable clothes is definitely one of the most important things from the equipment. For a four-legged companion, a dog vest that covers the most sensitive parts of its body might be a good choice.. And you also can't make excuses when it’s raining outside and have to train in all kinds of weather. :)
Adjust nutrition to your training
With regular exercising, the need for regular diet comes. You shouldn’t take nutrition lightly in this case. If you increase the burden of your dog, even if it’s only a bit, you also need to adjust its feeding to it. And also in the case you want it to get fit again. There’s nothing worse than letting your dog starve. For example meat cans belong to great nutritional supplements and provide your dog enough energy it uses when walking with you. If you are not sure how to adjust daily food portions when under load, you can talk to your vet or a nutrition specialist, for example. There are also online advisory services which are for free.
Consult specialists or train with them
You can also get advice about training. There are many interest groups. You can get in touch with them not only through social networks. You can join some of their regular meetings these sporty dog owners organize for canicross beginners, for example. It was always the best option for us. It’s better for your motivation to be a part of a group.
And what is your experience with getting rid of the kilograms you gained during Christmas? Is your January also active or would you rather stay on the sofa under your blanket with your dog?
Did you know that the domestic cat which is now kept as a pet all over the world, is probably a domesticated form of the wild cat, specifically of its subspecies the African wildcat, European wildcat and Asiatic wildcat?
Apart from regular care for the fur and dog’s teeth we should include also the inspection and cleaning of the eyes and ear inspection in the list of everyday tasks. Even though the cats are rather known for cleanliness, it’s important also for a...
Cat is a perfect tool for hunting. It owes it to the dozens of years of evolution. While in dogs, their physical signs have been emphasised or suppressed, cats got to keep, apart from several exceptions, their main anatomical features unchanged. In...
According to various statistics, the number of cats in our country is increasing. Not only dogs, but also cats belong to increasingly more common pets. So, it can happen to us more often, that we'll meet an abandoned cat in the street and we're...
Some dogs take the arrival of a new family member in a hard way. Previously, we described how to prepare them for this situation already before the baby even arrives home and today, we will take a look at the introduction itself.
It's no longer a strange thing when a municipality sets up a dog park or a dog playground. Due to frequent regulation of off-leash movement of dogs, this should, however, often be obligatory. Do you know how to behave in such places so that you...
Another possible sport at which you can play with your dog and exercise with them at the same time, is the Dog Puller. You can practice it with all the dog breeds, no matter the size or age.
Nowadays, cats are increasingly more often becoming members of our households. Cat toilets producers are adapting to this trend as well. They can provide cats with a greater comfort in their daily need. From the perspective of the owners, the producers...
Vacation time is finally here and many of us are planning where they will be headed this year. If you decide to go for an adventure by car and to take your dog friend with you as well, a bit of advice might come in handy on how to provide safety for...
Of course that we won’t talk about how to teach a dog the swimming technique. We want to talk about how to teach the dog to get used to water and how to make swimming a positive experience for it. Since not every one of them trusts water and some are...
If you’re planning to bring a new addition home and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a kitten or an adult cat, it is necessary to prepare the flat for it as well. Do you know what will the animal need and what you shouldn’t forget about or how to choose...
No matter how thorough we are with the prevention, a situation might come up when a dog or a cat will get to a poisonous thing, whether it’s by our inattention or it's somebody else’s fault. That’s why it’s not off-topic to prepare yourself for the...
