Dog Exercises

Exercising and playing

All dogs need exercise daily. Regardless of the breed, or the size, they need to get out and run or at minimum a good walk. This is for a few reasons. One is that dogs were bred to perform a function. Many are bred to hunt and retrieve. Don’t assume because “Jake” is a small breed that his ancestors didn’t have a purpose other than being cute and part of a family.

For instance Jack Russell Terriers are hyper for a reason. They were bred to be “ratters”. While cats may be quite adept at hunting mice, something as formidable as a rat is too much for little fluffy. Dogs that were bred for shepherding – Australians, German Shepherds, etc. need to run a lot.

If Jake has short legs, walk slowly with him. If you live in the suburbs or the city, at a minimum, Jake should be walked twice a day. Preferably this means walking him up to two or three blocks and back. Ideally you have a park nearby and you can take him there to get his “ya yas out”. Dogs, if they’re in good shape, will not tire easily. In fact, given the opportunity, they’ll be happy to run and chase one another, lie down and do it all over again five minutes later. Small and large breeds alike were born to exercise and although our busy lifestyles don’t always allow for them to get exercise, it just isn’t fair to Jake.

Dogs fortunate enough to live in the country or on a farm are more likely to get an ideal amount of exercise. Ideal though this may be, those of you living in the city or the suburbs can exercise your dogs regularly.

Consequences of not exercising Jake regularly:

Bored barking – incessant barking day and night that will annoy both your neighbors and you
Chasing one’s own tail – yes this is a symptom of pent up frustration the inability to exercise regularly
Aggression – how else can Jake get all his frustrations out?
Running from one end of the apartment or house to another, over and over and over again – another sign of pent up energy
Chasing objects in the house as you are trying to clean
- To clarify, it is normal for Jake to chase the family cat. It is not healthy if Jake is chasing and growling at the vacuum cleaner.

Dog trainer, both famous and those living in your town or city address this as being one of the reasons for dogs’ aggression. Not allowing Jake an avenue to get his “ya yas” out is just asking to be visited by problems immediately and in the future. All too often dog owners put their dogs on “doggy Prozac” when all he needed was to get out and run.

Photo Credits: Lachlan Hardy

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