LePar Animal Hospital   

Exercise for Dogs

An extra 20 minutes of exercise per day will help your dog lose weight and feel great.

Whatever your dog's prior level of exercise, increasing it will be important to weight control. Adding one extra 20 minute walk a day can significantly increase your dog's calorie burning and assist in weight loss.

Exercise is very important to our dogs in many ways and is especially important in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Exercise burns calories, increases muscle mass, combats ill effects of aging such as arthritis and it even makes your dog happy and better behaved.

Exercise will help your dog take the pounds off by increasing calorie burning. Increasing muscle mass through exercise can also raise your dog's metabolic rate so that he or she continues to burn off more calories all the time, even while resting.

The minimum recommended exercise plan is to increase structured, supervised exercise by 20 minutes per day or more.

All forms of exercise can help.  Don't forget to count all the treats and food provided towards the daily diet. Ideas include:

• Walk, jog or hike with your dog on a leash

• Play fetch or Frisbee.

• Underwater treadmill exercise sessions are available at Chicago Animal Rehab in Chicago Ridge.

• Participate in an active obedience or agility class.

• Practice active obedience or agility work.

• Doggie Day Care = a full day of exercise!

• Create an obstacle course for your dog to climb over, under and through.

• Have a play date with a doggy friend in a fenced and safe play enclosure. Encourage intense activity with games of fetch, chase and pull toys.

* Free time in the yard is great but is generally not active enough for weight loss.

Injury Prevention . . .

Start Slow & Stop if it Hurts. If you are introducing your dog to a new form of exercise, such as jogging, be cautious about the length and intensity of sessions as you and your dog become accustomed to the routine. Hard surfaces can be hard on your pet's paws and joints. Frequent over-use injuries include paw abrasions or pad tenderness. Stop exercise and contact our office if you notice any signs of pain or other injury.

Dog Park Alert: Dog parks can be lots of fun and a great place to exercise and meet friends. But, any place where unknown dogs gather can be a high risk area for contagious illness, parasites and dog fights. Make sure your dog is up to date on his Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccines and parasite control before going to the dog park or other similar places. Always use caution when deciding who your dog will play with and steer clear of aggressive dogs. Hang back and watch dogs before you allow your dog to interact with them. Use caution introducing dogs. If a dog shows any signs of overly aggressive or unpredictable behavior, leave right away. It is not worth risking your dog's safety to stay in a possibly dangerous situation. Serious injuries are not uncommon in these circumstances. 

Don't forget that feeding the right amount of a good quality food is the first key to weight loss!