Keeping your dogs active is important for their physical and mental heath just like us but dogs also need mental enrichment and a good walk can easily encompass both. It is important to realise that we can over exercise our dogs if we focus too much on tiring them out physically. So a combination of activities is important for all round health and fitness.
If you work full time and have dogs it is very easy to do routine walks in the week and then head out for a much longer one at the weekend but this could be causing problems for your dogs both short term and long- term- let me explain.
Imagine a fairly routine activity level for yourself and then you go off and run a 10K with no warm up or cool down how will you feel later later? Achey? Uncomfortable? Incredibly sore ? It can be just the same for your dogs.
So we do need to be mindful of how we exercise them so here are my top tips to keep your dogs active and happy and mentally enriched.
Always warm up whether you are heading off for a walk or a cani-cross give your dog at least a 5 minute on-lead warm up and involving some figure of 8 movements will help to ensure all muscles are eased. If I am going out for a run I also add in some gentle massage movements for them too along with Aromatouch the massage blend essential oil diluted for their use. I did a little video starring Bambi where you can learn more about an easy technique
For off-lead walks I love woodland as it provides a good lot of enrichment opportunities for all my guys to enjoy, although I try and find places with some open space so Inka, my blind dog, can have some off-lead play too! We do stick to paths so the boys on wheels can enjoy themselves too but woodland allows a lot of fun with scent and obstacles to engage with.
Now if you have a ball fan - this may not be popular with you but do consider it …..repetitive play with a ball can be over-stimulating and can cause injury (acute and repetitive strain) from the repetitive movement and jumps and rapid stops and changes of direction etc.
Always be mindful of where you throw the ball - and not in woodland - the danger of impalement on a stick is very real it is far better to engage with them on a walk and leave the ball chucker at home - why not hide the ball instead and have them search for it. This uses their natural skill of scentwork and involves mental stimulation too!
By all means play ball with them but in short sessions and please be mindful as my 2 ball loving springers get some ball play but only at certain safe places on a walk and only a couple of times a week and in between throws I like to add in a few training opportunities and cue them to sit or down or whatever I might like. Sessions are no more than 5 mins and then balls away and we walk on as I want them to have enrichment from the environment and interaction with me.
Recall your dog frequently to ensure it remains strong, and make sure you can see them, vital in this day of dog theft as well as the opportunity to interact with them and make sure they are not lost or getting into difficulty. Check ins are a great thing to train - basically rewarding your dog for returning to you without a recall and “checking in”, once they realise the value in proximity to you this will be a regular thing they do naturally and also help reinforce your recall.
Using natural obstacles to create some interactive play is great fun for you both from hide and seek, to paws on and weaving in and out of trees to name just a few. I also often hide dummies for some searching opportunities too.
Put your phone away my is out purely for photos as I want to enjoy my time with them and be aware of where they are and what they are doing for their safety and to be responsible with other walks or cyclists or runners or those with children.
For the last 5 to 10 minutes it is leads on as we do a cool down so no tight muscles for them when they get back out the van (think back to that 10K run and how you feel after sitting down) and then baths when home and a nice little chill out and more massage with either their own blend or the lovely Aromatouch to keep their muscles soothed.
We have dogs for such a short period of time so do actually be present with them in mind and body so make your walks fully engaging and interactive with them and enjoy that precious time with them.
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