Fitness is just as important for your dog as it is for you. Regular exercise is an important factor in keeping both you and your dog healthy and physically fit.
What is Fitness?
Fitness is sometimes described as the physical ability to perform a function. There are varying degrees of fitness so your dog doesn’t have to be a competing athlete like the agility dogs or the Iditarod sled dogs to enjoy a happier healthier life. A few minutes of activity done every day can greatly improve your dog’s health and fitness levels.
Benefits of Fitness
Being active and fit improves quality of life and delays the effects of aging. Regular activity improves muscle tone, bone density, joint flexibility, and heart health, reducing the risk and impact of many diseases. Physical activity helps control weight by burning calories and helping the body continue to burn calories even when at rest. Exercise also gets the endorphins flowing and keeps your dog happy and less stressed. Physically fit dogs will enjoy:
- Better sleep and fewer behavior problems due to less stress
- Greater flexibility for getting around, with a lower risk of arthritis, obesity, and injuries
- Reduced risk of dying early from illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.
Dangers of Obesity
The dangers of obesity include a greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, joint pain and inflammation, heat intolerance, weakened immune system, and breathing difficulties. Obesity also aggravates diseases such as hypothyroidism and Cushing’s disease. In summary, obesity can shorten your dog’s life and reduce the quality of his life. With a large percentage of dogs overweight, bear in mind that it is easier to prevent your dog from getting fat in the first place than it is to help him lose weight.
Ideas for Keeping You and Your Dog Fit
Keeping your dog fit can be an opportunity for fun and building the bond you share. Dogs make great exercise partners. After discussing your dog's fitness levels and exercise tolerance with your veterinarian, appoint a few minutes each day to some fun activity with your best friend.
- Climb the stairs several times with your dog
- Play a game of fetch or Frisbee
- Set up a make-shift agility course of jumps, tunnels, and weave cones and then run it with your dog several times a day
- Take your dog for a brisk walk or jog
- Take your dog for a swim
- Do some doggy freestyle dancing to some peppy music
- Get involved in one of the canine harness activities such as cani-cross or carting
Getting fit with your dog will improve your and your dog’s health and allow you both a longer and more enriched life.
Joy Butler - Writer, retired lab tech, mom, and animal lover with over 20 years' experience rescuing, kenneling, training and showing dogs.
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