One of my New Year’s resolutions this year was to be more active. A dog is a great companion for an active life. What is a healthy level of exercising with a dog?
How much exercise a day is optimal for a dog with regard to its size and age? What happens if you exercise a bit too much with your dog? And how to avoid it in a perfect case? A universal manual doesn’t exist, it is based on your and mainly your dog’s physical shape and other factors such as age and weight and its health.
There are some dogs who are able to walk tens of kilometres in the mountains and different dogs which do not like even getting out of a house or flat. You also have to consider this. You won’t make a world-class athlete from a couch potato. You can try smaller steps, one by one. However, you can also tire a dog which is used to physical activities.
But what about the opposite problem? By that, I mean the lack of time. When time is your main enemy (it happens to me a lot recently) and you are very busy during work day, you might be wondering how to compensate for the exercises with your dog. Can I do exercises with a dog at home? Can it be connected to some training for myself?
If you’re dealing with the first or the second problem, a key to a solution is to create a training plan. Don’t get scared, you don’t need a table with a precise time schedule and indicators both of you have to achieve. Doing exercises with a dog regularly is what’s important.
Even a trained dog can get too much tired if you skip training for a month and then go to a dogtrekking race. However, even an untrained dog will enjoy a short run for a couple of hundred metres. It is said that to keep a dog active and healthy, you should devote AT LEAST 20–30 minutes to walking every day. I would multiply it three times with an adult dog.
Some cynologists even say that you should add 5 minutes of walking every month when a puppy grows. So with a three-month old puppy, you should exercise 15 minutes up to twice a day. In six months, it should be 30 minutes. An adult dog should be active between 30 minutes to 2 hours a day. You can walk, run, swim or only play with a ball.
If you and your dog feel that it’s time to take it to the next level, you can start doing some dog sports. Nowadays, running with a dog or dogtrekking is very popular. Also, mushing is a great sport in all its variants. Each breed is good for another type of dog sport, of course. Short-nose breeds tend to suffer from respiration problems more but their body structure is good and therefore they are good at pulling loads, for example.
No matter what dog you have at home, devote it at least an hour a day, so you nor it will get lazy. You’ll definitely enjoy your time together. Let’s exercise with our dogs!
Have you ever watched your cat and asked yourself what it might be thinking? It sometimes seems that these furry friends enjoy situations in which you don’t know if they love your or want to claw your eyes out. They only sit and watch you from a...
These special dogs were bred and raised specifically for hunting of puffins and guillemots (water birds). For this reason, they have several very specific and for their purpose very practical physical deviations. For example, they have extremely...
They say there aren’t many activities as relaxing as fishing. And it’s no longer true that fishing is only for men. When my friend told me she takes her dog for fishing, I was really surprised. And I immediately had to question her about how it...
If you like small dogs, it will be easy for you to fall in love with pomeranians. Not only they look like teddy bears with a nice face and look, they will also impress you with their nature. They belong to sociable dog breeds rightfully. Besides their...
Living with dogs is such a natural thing for us dog lovers that we sometimes treat them more like people. We love them, we nurture them but we may sometimes care a bit too much and unintentionally harm our furry friends. Such cases include wrong fur...
Miniature pinscher is also called min pin or German pinscher. There is a great personality with a big heart inside its little body. It is a big warrior,sports dog and a tourist. Perfect sports for this breed are for example dog dancing or agility where...
Some animals are simply talented for water sports. Already as a puppy, Ricochet grabbed people’s attention for her confidence she jumped into sea waves with. Later on, she became a dog hero helping disabled and a role model for many enthusiasts who...
While in the wildlife, their diet depends on natural instincts, rodents kept by humans and other small animals require a regular and balanced diet. What should rodent’s diet include and what should it avoid? What food is dangerous/safe for it? And what...
If you wish to do sports with your dog, you should at first think about if it’s right for you pet, no matter if you want to do it for leisure or top-level. And not only from the point of view of your pet’s nature but also of its physical predispositions.
Have you ever discussed whether a cat or a dog is more intelligent with your friends? Reportedly, scientists already know the answer. In this article, I mention a few facts and observations from a recently published research paper on this topic.
Cats can handle a new human in your family very badly. They are more sensitive to the changes than dogs. Are you interested in what you can do to enjoy this time and not to deal with the problems with your cat?
Are you considering getting a rodent as your new pet but you are afraid it won’t be doing good with your dog under one roof? Don’t be afraid, dogs and rodents can do great together. It is important to teach your dog from an early age that other animals...
