Designing a Good Fitness Program For Your Dog

A well-planned workout plan is not just important to you; in fact, it’s quite beneficial for your pets. Just like you, your beloved furry friend needs to follow an effective and efficient fitness regime (i.e. exercise program) that should cater your dog’s capabilities and improve its health and fitness levels.

Please note, dog exercise programs should also take account of some key parameters, for example, nutrition, intensity, speed, frequency, duration, and environment. Other than these parameters, you should also focus on your dog’s physiology, anatomy, and physical behavior in order to make the program even more effective.

So, are you now interested in “Designing a Good Fitness Program for Your Dog”? Obviously, good exercise programs for dogs really need to provide a perfect combination of training knowledge, skills, and experience.

The basic motto of this exercise program is to create a methodical plan in order to achieve an intended goal. The purpose of any dog fitness training program should ideally provide a plan that will help dog owners, handlers or trainers to achieve a desired job, fitness, and health goals in a safe manner to promote longevity.

Three Factors of Dog Exercise Program

• Identify the exercises which will be most effective/appropriate for your dogs at various stages
• Identify which exercises your dog should not do
• Focus on the duration, intensity, and frequency for your dog’s exercise program

How to Design a Good Fitness Program for Your Dog? – Seven Tips to Consider

1. Fun Time

During the initial stages, you should focus more on “fun exercises” only. For example, if you start pushing your dog too much for training (at the very beginning), it can eventually demotivate your pet to continue further. That’s why you are recommended to start with some fun and simple exercises at the initial stages.

To start with, you can train your dogs to do some walking. Remember, walking is one of the best everyday workouts. It can benefit your dog both mentally and physically. And, if you can combine it with a high-quality dog food diet, then your pet will enjoy more benefits. If you are thinking of changing your dog’s diet, or you simply just want to see what other sort of food is out there. Since there are so many different varieties of dog food out there for your pet it’s often hard to know what would be best for them especially if you are comparing brands, for example, acana vs orijen. Doing a little research into each brand and what your pet needs to be healthy could be a great way to make sure the food you give to your pet is doing just that – keeping them fit and healthy. Then it is always a good idea to consult with your vet first to just check that you are getting the right sort of food. Another thing that you could do would be to check out something like this Pet Food Exposed website, as this should give you some ideas of what food is good and bad.

2. Alternate the Exercises

You’ll need to alternate the exercises as well. For instance, you can train the hind limbs on one day. On the next day, you can focus on the forelimb and vice-versa. You should mix up the activities for the best possible results. Furthermore, you have got a few options to choose from, such as cavaletti, balance discs, tunnels, and fitness vests etc.

3. Do Not Forget About Cooldown

While you are creating your dog’s exercise program, do not forget to create a cooldown regime. For example, you must include a stretching (as a part of your dog’s cooldown program) as it will help your dog to maintain its inherent resiliency and muscle flexibility. A well-planned cooldown regime (including stretching) will result in a better blood circulation.

Other than that, you can arrange a massage session for your dog as it will accelerate your pet’s muscle recovery process and offer them a comfortable feeling (after a week of thorough exercise programs).

4. Running

Sprinting, jogging, and running are favorites for dogs. These simple exercises will help your dog to get into a great shape. Your dogs may like short runs, others may enjoy long runs. Running is an important part of your dog’s fitness program as it can relieve/release a lot of their excess energy. If running isn’t necessarily your favourite way of exercising, you could look into other ways to make this easier for you and your dog. For example, if you are interested in taking up cycling, looking into safe way to go biking with your dog may benefit you to get in a good amount of exercise for your dog and help burn any excess energy.

5. Training Equipment

Well, using training equipment for dog’s exercise program isn’t an absolute necessity. However, you must note the fact that training equipment can improve overall consistency and enhance the benefits of your dog’s exercise program. While you are purchasing a training equipment for dog’s exercise program, please make sure that the safety of your pet is not compromised.

6. Track Performance

Tracking performance is really important. By measuring current performance of dog’s exercise program, you can find ways to improve it. If you wish to move forward with your dog’s fitness program, then tracking is a must. Tracking performance also provides motivation. It motivates you to move forward and help your dog to accomplish/achieve its intended fitness milestone.

7. Nutrition

To optimize the exercise program of your dog, you can’t simply ignore the importance of nutrition. Please make sure that your dog is fed high-quality dog food so that it gets adequate minerals, vitamins, and nutrition.

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Author Bio: June is the founder of TobysBone, where she shares her passion for writing and love for dogs. She wants to help you deal with your dog’s behavior issues, grooming and health needs, and proper training. Through her blog, you can find informative and reliable posts, tips and tricks, and a lot of interesting reads that will help you maintain a close bond with your furry companion.