Exercise, its not only important for your dogs physical health!

Exercise, its not only important for your dogs physical health! but for its mental health as well!

It’s amazing how many clients come to us with a dog having general behavioral issues and ask us for obedience training. Most of the common complaints are:

• Our dog is restless and always bouncing off the walls!
• Our dog is chewing up everything it can find!
• Our dog does not behave either on or off leash!

The usual response from the owner when questioned “How much exercise does the dog get?”

• Not a whole lot, we walk it from time to time and sometimes play ball in the back yard.

Dogs are born to work for a living. Weather that’s hunting, herding livestock, or providing protection. They’ve live with us or alongside us as long as we can remember and most have been specifically bred for purpose. The most common job for “man’s best friend” today is lying on the couch believe it or not! Because of this, our customers are commonly complaining of behavioral issues with their companions. The underlying issue here is the lack of stimulation from a sedentary lifestyle with said companion. who has bounds and bounds of energy dying to be released. We all know just how important from a physical health prospective that exercise is. Helping with weight loss, reduced joint and muscle stiffness, heart health, etc. Exercise plays just as an important of a role in your dog’s mental health as well.

Exercising your dog helps build trust, confidence, reduces boredom, reduces hyperactivity and ends up with an overall happier companion. Getting your dog exercised can be done quite easily.

• Find a new trail to take your dog for a walk on.
• Take your dog to the dog park.
• Encourage sniffing when out walking, letting them sniff their surroundings when walking adds a lot of sensory stimulation to the walk itself.
• Change up how you walk, go jogging, use roller-blades, a bicycle, take them to a fenced-in area for off-leash running!
• Add stimulation to your fetch games by hiding toys along the walk so your dog can find them on the return route with their nose.

Finally, explore the use of a treadmill. Here at KrimsonKennels we love having the ability to use a treadmill for canine exercise when the weather is not cooperating.