Do you give your pet exercise?

[EdwardCharet]

I have a pet and he loves playing in the pool. Its good in many ways since swimming has many health benefits. It is known to provide him stimulation,cardiovascular exercise and entertainment and thus very beneficial. But I restrict his time to avoid too much exposure to chlorine and such treating/sanitizing chemicals. Check this article on harmful effects of chemicals http://www.soldapools.com/blog/safet...icals-harmful/ . Another interesting brain exercise for dogs is watching TV. I happened to read that flipping on the channel while we are out would keep our pet stimulated, entertained and relaxed. Further ideas are all appreciated.

[paiceman]

Our two English Labradors love to walk. We walk them about four miles a day. They rest up a bit after and then in the afternoon we take them out to play, all play is also training of some sort.

I've trained them as Certified Therapy Dogs, so, three afternoons a week we take them to nursing homes, schools etc. They can only do about an hour before they are exhausted, they know what they are doing and it tires them quickly.

One of them loves golf on TV and Hockey. The other does not seem to care at all, but will perk up when an animal is on and makes a noise.

They both love to travel and go with us everyplace.

Enjoy

Bud

[Wayne&Sam]

Physical and mental exercise is mandatory- particularly in our herding breeds.

[streaminwild]

My 17lb shih tzu, Izzy walks me. I'm the one wearing the collar. That dog has me wrapped around her little dewclaw. Animals give us so many benefits, exercise, lower stress levels, and most of all unconditional love...or is it? I wonder if she loves the treats, or me?

[McDave]

Other border collie owners will relate, I'm sure, but the shoe is really on the other foot. Border collies require a certain amount of play/exercise every day. So do old men, but border collies are more persistent about it than we are. She is good about playing the guilt card, by dropping her frisbee on my feet, trying to herd me toward the door, etc. Guilt because she is trying to get me to play with her when I'd really rather read my newspaper and drink my coffee, and guilt because I know she is trying, albeit unknowingly, to get me to do the best thing for myself. Her actual exercise involves tugging, running, swimming, fetching, playing keep away, herding, and digging. My exercise involves trying to keep up with her as she does these things. I'm not sure what she does to exercise her brain, not watch TV, but from close observation I'm sure something pretty active is going on in there.


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[jwill]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

Physical and mental exercise is mandatory- particularly in our herding breeds.

Absolutely! I second this! I couldn't imagine what (or who) my Rough Collie would become without it lol.

[EdwardCharet]

There are some fun ways too like following your dog or running with your dog. This is kind of multitasking. Another is high energy activity Flyball.

[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by McDave

Other border collie owners will relate, I'm sure, but the shoe is really on the other foot. Border collies require a certain amount of play/exercise every day. So do old men, but border collies are more persistent about it than we are. She is good about playing the guilt card, by dropping her frisbee on my feet, trying to herd me toward the door, etc. Guilt because she is trying to get me to play with her when I'd really rather read my newspaper and drink my coffee, and guilt because I know she is trying, albeit unknowingly, to get me to do the best thing for myself. Her actual exercise involves tugging, running, swimming, fetching, playing keep away, herding, and digging. My exercise involves trying to keep up with her as she does these things. I'm not sure what she does to exercise her brain, not watch TV, but from close observation I'm sure something pretty active is going on in there.

I resemble that remark

[LifeIsRiveting]

We have a couple Siberian Huskies and typically walk or run a few miles each day. Occasionally we go on longer hikes. Mowgli will play fetch in the back yard (or in the house if you let him!) and of course they run around and play together. But overall they seem to be quite chilled out for Huskies.

They definitely get us outside and active, even in the dead of winter with negative wind chills. I think there's a lot still to learn about life from dogs. Or any other animal really.

[FCStreamer]

I used to. But he's 16 now. He sleeps 22 hours a day now. Seems happy.

[EdwardCharet]

Originally Posted by FCStreamer

I used to. But he's 16 now. He sleeps 22 hours a day now. Seems happy.

I understand he is very old for exercise but experts say swimming is the ideal form for exercise for dogs of all ages. For seniors it is suitable simply because it is low-impact and easy on their weakening joints and muscles. It gives them strength and is good for overall conditioning,relaxing and comforting

[SteveSueMac]

We have an app called Dog Parks that lets us locate nearby off leash parks wherever we're camping. We love to get her time to run around with other pooches. We also like to camp near trails or other hiking spots. As a Bloodhound, she just loves trotting along the trails and trying to decide who (or what) else has been there before. A third option if rain has kept us more cooped up than we planned or if we are going away from the campsite for a while is to take her to a local Camp Bow Wow or other dog sitting service where she can have some fun with other pooches and get nice and tired 😀

Those are a few exercise options for her. If we're luck enough to be at a location where she can swim (especially with other dogs) that's a bonus but we've never put her in a campground pool....

[68 Overlander]

Ole Sirius (Si) the rescue dog doesn't know come here from sick em but he's a good boy and we let him decide. He has 40 acres and when we travel, he pretty much hangs by the grill hoping it's that day where the grease drips on the ground. Best one I've ever had but no exercise routine yet since he's as fit as he can be and jumps in the back of the truck a lot better than I do #X7