A Guide To Pet Fitness: 3 Best Tips And Tricks To Keep Your Dog In Shape

Getting to the gym is a major challenge for people. However, it’s a bit tougher for dogs since they can’t drive, don’t have opposable thumbs, and can only “sit,” “stay,” and follow the commands their owners teach them.

Still, your canine friend needs to get fit, too. Besides topping off his essential dog supplies regularly, you also need to ensure that he stays fit and active.

Since dogs require regular exercise to stay in shape and feel their best, you have to make sure that your canine friend has every opportunity to do so. To help you out, here are some tips and tricks that can help you ensure your pet’s fitness:

1.Add a twist to your daily jog

When you’ve travelled the same route many times, you and your dog’s footsteps can become automatic. However, running on autopilot isn’t as great for your pet as he may already be tired of smelling the same scents of grass while treading the same path.

As a pet owner, going on walks in the same path every single day may be your way of giving your dog some exercise and an outlet for his pent-up energy. But sometimes, doing the same thing over and over can leave your pet bored.

Besides that, there is more to physical conditioning that just routine walks in the park.

To overcome you or your pet’s boredom from doing the same activities daily, below are some twists you can try to make your daily jog more interesting:

Switch places

A simple change of place can do wonders for your dog’s daily routine. Switching places during a jog is one of them.

Instead of walking your canine pal, have him walk you.

Allow him to lead you to an unknown destination, much like some sort of four-legged, walking GPS. You’ll be surprised where his nose will bring both of you.

Get him to jump

Besides running, another effective way to get your dog in his ideal shape and weight is to incorporate jumps in his fitness exercises.

One activity that can help you achieve this is with flyball. This high-energy activity entails teams of dogs racing down a course in a relay, so you may need to tap on the local pet owners’ group for this activity.

A flyball course normally includes four hurdles. On the end of the first leg, place a box of tennis balls. Each of the participating dogs would jump the hurdles to the box of balls, take one, and bring it back to the starting line.

The goal is to finish first without incurring penalties (e.g., running off course, taking off too soon from the starting line, or dropping the ball).

2.Consider hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy, which means using water to improve health, is an effective method of treatment for both humans and animals.

For people, it entails swimming, water aerobics, and sedentary activities like mineral baths, whirlpool baths, and saunas. But for dogs, it usually consists of walking or swimming in water. This can be done along the beach or on an underwater treadmill.

While considered recreational at times, water exercises can also do wonders for your pet’s health. Since water provides both resistance and buoyancy, it helps strengthen and condition your dog’s muscles without putting too much stress on the joints.

Canine hydrotherapy is known to aid in treating a lot of health conditions and injuries. It can also be beneficial for dogs, particularly in:

• Overcoming neurological problems
• Healing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries (i.e., knee injuries)
• Solving orthopaedic conditions
• Post-surgical healing and recovery
• Losing weight; and
• Managing metabolic conditions, such as diabetes and Cushing’s syndrome that may lead to muscle atrophy.

3.Keep the exercise age-appropriate

Both dogs and people need to follow exercises to stay healthy and strong. This becomes more important with every passing year, especially for senior dogs.

However, not all exercises are appropriate for older dogs because of the changes they experience in their body. Many of them gradually become weaker, particularly in their rear limbs. Others also lose their proprioception and fail to know where their feet are.

That said, there are several skill- and age-appropriate activities they can try to stay fit and active. Leash walks, swimming, and a couple of gentle games of fetch are excellent. However, you can also try making him do flexibility and strength moves such as:

Power posing

This activity entails doing basic obedience moves on several different surfaces. When done correctly, it can help tone your pet’s spine, shoulders, abdominal wall, and hips.

To begin, have your dog stand on all fours on a surface of your choice. Then, have him do the following positions in one complete cycle or repetition: sit, down, sit, down, stand, down, stand.

If he doesn’t know how to perform those moves on cue, you can use treats to lure him into doing them.

Lateral walking

Essentially, lateral walking is just you and your dog stepping sideways simultaneously. It helps stabilise the shoulder and knee muscles through the sideways motion. This will allow him to be better at changing direction when romping, regaining his balance following a misstep, and getting on and off a high place safely.

To do lateral walking, select a place with enough space for the movement. If the area has a slippery or glossy flooring, you can use a textured surface, like two yoga mats set side-by-side lengthwise under your dog’s feet. This way, your dog can sense a specific “target” for the movement.

Now, begin in a heel position where your pet’s right shoulder is next to your left knee. As always, you will need treats to reward your canine friend as he does every step correctly. You can buy dog treats online that you know your dog likes to do the job.

Take a treat in your right hand. Turn in a 90-degree angle in such a way that, if you take a step, you’d be walking directly into your dog’s shoulder.

With the treats in hand, place them in front of your pet’s nose using your right hand. Then, move two inches with each of your legs towards your dog without actually touching him.

The movement should make your pet take a lateral step to keep a good distance from you and alleviate the spatial pressure. When he takes the step, praise him and offer him a treat.

Repeat this several times: put spatial pressure and give a treat when he does a side-step.

Keep your pet fit

Maintaining your dog’s physical fitness is one of your responsibilities as a pet parent. Make exercise fun and effective with the help of the tips and tricks listed in this article.

AUTHOR BIO

Farah Al-Khojai is the Managing Partner of Pet's Delight. A passionate entrepreneur, Farah holds a Bsc in Government from the London School of Economics. She is always on the lookout for new opportunities to develop and grow the pet and equestrian retail and wholesale market in the UAE and beyond, and is proud to be at the helm of the first and the largest pet care provider in the market representing world-class brands including Orijen, Applaws, Hunter, Savic, Flamingo, Ruffwear and Rogz.