Dog Exercise - The Role of Exercise in Dog Health

It depends on the age of your dog, the breed of your dog and if your dog is currently in shape or not, but we want your dog to be up and active on a daily basis. Usually several times a day will be best. Even just a small, short walk can be what some smaller dogs need, but more active dogs, especially those that are a bit larger and younger, can have more need for longer walks or more intense types of exercise.

Dr. Sarah Crank
Advanced Animal Care - Waco

It's the same as with us where you need to exercise and remain healthy as far as your cardiovascular system and your respiratory system goes. All of it relies on the shape that you are in regarding your oxygen levels, your muscle tone, and even your fat and calorie burning. Exercise is a great way to keep your dog in shape and healthy for several years.

You can overexert your dog. There are certain hunting dogs and agility dogs that can, at certain times, be overburdened. Those dogs have to be conditioned to get to a level where they are able to exercise like that on a daily basis.

Outside, there are many options. You can go on a hike, go for a run, or have your dog go for a nice swim or a lap in the pond or the pool. You can throw the ball and definitely work on agility training. Anything that will get your dog up and moving.

Regarding exercise inside, things like tug of war, that can get them to interact with you, are good. If you can, toss the ball inside.

Obesity is the number one problem. It's something that occurs far too often, and it's generally due to a few too many calories because of treats in the diet. But, many times it is due to a lack of the dog being up and active. We can also see things like the dog being predisposed to certain types of things like diabetes and arthritis that are a little bit harder to manage.

Some dogs are food-motivated, and so, by having them getting up and active to come after a treat or to go find their food, almost like a hunting type of a thing, is a good idea. Even just you getting up and being active yourself also helps.

If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (859) 369-5678, you can email us, or you can reach out on social media. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can.

Dog Exercise - FAQs

Dr. Sarah Crank
Advanced Animal Care - Waco

Just like in humans, you need to have them be up and active to keep everything going. You're going to help strengthen their muscles, especially for when they're getting a little bit older and cannot use them as well. Their joints will be healthier and you're preventing obesity problems, such as buildup of cholesterol, that are just down the road.

You're going to have them feeling better, looking better and extending their life by quite a while by keeping them active throughout the years.

When they're a puppy, they're going to be more active and want to be bouncing around, but then kind of crash after a little while. They have those bursts of energy. As an adult dog or young adult dog, they're going to be more active, requiring more energy release. As they get into their senior years, they're going to start slowing down again, but it's up to you to encourage them to keep being active.

Slow and steady. Work with your veterinarian and talk about a diet plan for your dog. Also work on an exercise routine that includes short walks that keep getting longer and longer and more frequent, until you get to the point where they can do a bit more aggressive types of exercise, such as running and jumping, because you don't want to hurt their joints by having too much poundage on them.

If you still have other questions and you'd like to reach out to us, you can call us directly at (859) 369-5678, you can email us, or you can reach out on social media. But please do reach out, and we'll get back to you as fast as we can.