Doggy Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘dog exercise’

Dog Walking is work our that everyone can do. What’s superb about it is that you can do it by yourself or with a friend. If you do not have anyone, the dog provides great company. It’s pretty easy to do, and needs nothing, apart from a dog, a lead and comfortable shoes. It also costs nothing, in fact you can make money out of it. In addition it can be done just about anywhere, even in London dog walking is well liked.
Dog walking has multiple benefits. It is the key element of dog care. It uses calories, it is a weight loss aid. An hour or so of dog walking (you as well) will use between 200 and 300 calories, depending on your mass. The heavier you are, the more calories you use. Walking does not strain your legs and ankles, unlike running, which can injure your joints and bones.
In fact it truly helps the knees. The dead of dog walking encourages cartilage growth and the flow of synovial fluid inside the knee. It also strengthens the muscles that protect the knee.
Because dog walking is weight-bearing it also helps strengthens the muscles that protect the hips. At the same time it strengthens bones therefore minimising the likelihood of bone splintering due to osteoporosis. By building the main muscles of the spine and abdomen, dog walking helps reduce the possibility of getting low back pain.
The raised effort required for dog walking helps the heart to pump more strongly. This helps reduce blood pressure with the subsequent reduced risk for stroke and heart attack.
Dog walking increases the respiratory rate (breathing rate), promotes increased flow of oxygen to the rest of the body and also helps eliminate the build up of carbon dioxide. A major plus for you and the dog is improved energy.
There is some evidence that exercise such as dog walking raises endorphin levels which helps reduce pain, reduces serum cortisol levels which helps relieve stress (as does having animals around, so a double benefit), and may also reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
So how do I {kick off with} start dog walking.
Pretty easy. The first thing is to make sure you have a good pair of walking shoes. If you have a history of flat feet, you should use orthotics.
Do not try to do too much at the very beginning. Build up gradually increasing the amount you walk. A good target is 10,000 steps per day, which is roughly 5 miles. Don’t worry it is not that far, note, most people already walk about 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day during the course of a normal day. Please note that many dogs, who evolved from wolves still have the same behaviours, require to walk over 5 miles a day. Many have the strength for fifteen or more miles a day.
Depending on your fitness, you can start from low levels. Only one problem, No dog. Not a problem, enquire around, there are many people who do not have ~sufficient time for walking their dog. Increasingly, during this credit crunch period, dogs are being given to into dog charities, so either volunteer to become a dog walker or why not take a dog home with you.
Strapped for cash, why not help out people who do not have time for dog walking and set up a business walking their dog.
How fast for your dog walking will depend on you and your dog. Start slowly. A moderate pace, you can walk up to about 2-3 miles an hour. A good rule of thumb is that you should be breathing more rapidly and feel your heart rate going up but still be able to carry on a conversation. You need to make sure that the dog is not pulling you, its not good for him and it is more exhausting for you.
Remember, it’s important to keep up your dog walking routine, for both you and the dog! Enjoy it.

The most wonderful thing about having a dog is that they can cure just about any problem or issue that you may have. If you’re sad, a dog is happy to comfort you, and let you rattle off all your problems to their ever available ears. If you’re full of energy, a dog is happy to take you for a run or walk, granted you bring travel dog water bowls with you, speeding up or slowing town to your pace at any given moment. Though dogs are content to be alone most of the time, if you get lonely, your dog will be more than willing to play. There is a reason why a canine is known to be man’s best friend – they will always be there for you when you need them. Dogs are great for everyone – from children to the elderly to disabled people.

When my husband gets home from the office, the dog is more than likely to make him happy, even more so than my meatloaf. We have a beautiful Great Dane by the name of Cody. His beautiful face seems to smile all the time, and his coat is so soft I will lay next to him on any one of the great dane dog beds we got for him. You can tell he has more energy than even I can believe, just by watching how much his tail wags. Cody can seem like a lot of work from time to time, since we have to brush him and feed him and make sure he has plenty of exercise, but he loves to ride in the car so he’s easy to take with us on trips to the mountains or to the beach.

It’s strange sometimes to think of how much a part of the family Cody is, but I suppose it doesn’t matter if we treat him better than some of our friends – after all, he’s our responsibility, and he repays us with joy and love that’s hard to get anywhere else.

Does your dog’s energy outlast yours when you are playing fetch?  And as a result, is your dog not running enough to make it a good exercise session?  I cannot count the number of times that I overused my arm and shoulder playing fetch.  I noticed as I got more tired, my throws would get sloppier and sometimes I almost overextended my elbow or my shoulder.  I look forward to playing golf on the weekends, and I did not want to risk getting injured by playing too much fetch with my dog.  I needed to find a better way for us to play fetch.

Then one day I was throwing the tennis ball for my dog, and I was getting tired and wondering how I could throw it farther so he would be the one getting the workout, and it finally occurred to me how to throw a tennis ball farther… by not throwing it!  I ran into my garage and grabbed an old tennis racquet and started to lob the ball for my dog to catch.  And our game of fetch was instantly transformed.  Why didn’t I think of this before?!  Within minutes, I was offering him a medley of ball distances, speeds and trajectories, all with less effort on my part.  I could alternate the arc of the ball depending on how much I wanted him to run, and I was astounded at how far I could hit the ball with just a gentle underhand stroke.  It was also amusing to launch the ball high and watch him try to figure out where it was going to land.  And I always get a kick out of him trying to catch a high-bouncing ball.

To my dog’s delight, we are now playing fetch for as long as he has the energy.  This kinder, gentler way of playing fetch has preserved my arm and shoulder integrity so my golf game is no longer in peril.  And it has added the variety necessary to keep our fetch playing interesting and fun.

So go grab a tennis racquet and some balls and begin putting a new spin on playing fetch with your dog.  And if tennis isn’t your game, then grab your baseball bat, your racquetball racquet or anything that will launch a ball will less strain from you.  Your dog will love this!

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