Regardless of your dog’s age, movement is crucial to living a happy, healthy life. Movement provides several benefits for our furry friends, and a lack of movement can lead to health issues such as obesity, joint pain, and heart disease. Dogs may also become restless, leading to excessive barking and destructive behavior. Our blog explores why it’s so important to make sure your dog receives enough exercise—because we all want our fur babies to be around for a long, long time.

The Importance of Movement

• Maintain a healthy weight: Exercise can help your dog maintain a healthy weight, which can help avoid issues such as obesity. We want our dogs to live a long life, and being mindful of their weight is a key factor of their lifespan. A healthy weight allows dogs to continue to play, and lowers the chance of diabetes, high blood pressure, and respiratory issues.
• Support joint health: As our dogs age, we may notice a decrease in energy and a slower pace. Keep your dog’s joints strong by incorporating gentle movement into their daily routine. Make sure to choose activities that won’t put too much stress on their joints, regardless of how old they are.
• Manage energy levels: Exercise helps puppies manage their energy levels. There’s nothing like a play session to burn off some energy, reduce boredom, and bring about a nice, long nap. Movement provides both physical and mental enrichment. Without movement and stimulation, you may find your dog displaying poor behavior and a lack of training.
• Strengthen your bond: There’s nothing better than being able to adventure with your pup. By remaining active, you can include your canine companion during hikes, bike rides, and long runs. Spending time with your pup doing activities you both love can strengthen your bond and deepen communication.

Ideas to Get Moving:

• Go for a walk: Sometimes a walk around the neighborhood filled with lots of sniffing can provide enough movement for your dog. Keep in mind the temperature before bringing your dog outside. If the pavement is too hot, your pup could burn their paw pads. If it’s too cold, your dog may not have the tolerance to be outside for extended periods of time.
• Visit the park: Take a trip to a local park and bring toys to play fetch. You may also run into other furry friends that need to burn off some energy.
• Take a swim: If your dog is comfortable in the water, going into a lake or river can provide great stimulation—and provides relief from warmer temperatures.
• Set up indoor enrichment: If the weather doesn’t allow for outdoor play, consider creating some fun puzzle toys to provide mental enrichment for your dog. Mental enrichment can be just as stimulating as physical enrichment, and putting your dog’s brain to work can lead to a tired pup. Hide treats around your home for your dog to find, or put out a puzzle feeder to test your dog’s skills.

At The Canine Culture, we offer enriching dog boarding and dog daycare for our furry guests. If you have a long day of work or a list of errands, consider booking a reservation. Our facility provides a big yard for dogs to run and customizable play sessions with our handlers. If your pup needs some practice walking on a leash, we offer group training sessions or private lessons with our trainer in our climate-controlled training and exercise room.

If you’re noticing that your dog isn’t moving like they used to, or you’re noticing chances in their physical abilities, contact your veterinarian. Now, grab your leash and take your dog for a walk—the benefits are endless.