What type of exercise should my dog do?

Question

I adopted my dog last month and it has not been exercising, even when I take it out. It hardy cooperates when it's time for a walk, and it doesn't want to chase anything except cats and anything in the water. What should I do?

Answer 1

well u cud buy him a rubber fish!!! lol i think you should persevere and perhaps take him swimming.. he may like that...

Answer 2

If your dog isn't cooperative during walks, it may be suffering from lethargy, a result of some adjustment depression or of illness. You should probably have it checked. If it is a young dog, it 's surprising its not pulling you along on the leash, hurried to get to the next tree or post. Older dogs can be less active but do like certain kind of exercise. It seems that any exercise that you participate in with your dog would be good for both of you. Ask your vet what he recommends for your dog. Is it overweight? How many cats has it caught? (Little cat humor, sorry.) My last dog loved to chase cats until he had one chase him, in circles, clinging to his back. It so startled my dog that he yelped in fright as he made smaller and smaller circles until the cat's owner got the angry feline off. It was kind of funny. But you wouldn't want that kind of exercise for your dog, so check with your vet.

Answer 3

Take your newly adopted dog to obedience training, it can help you have a deeper bond. We had a full grown, active dog decide to adopt us. At first he didn't cooperate with us, but he loved dog school and the treat he got after every class; and his cooperation for exercise, traveling, and playing grew tremendously over eight weeks. This experience taught us well that every new puppy likes special attention, so our newest addition was immediately enrolled in puppy school. She loves school, exercise, traveling, playing with other dogs, and friends often mistake her for a full grown dog because she is well socialized. Try it out. By the way, our dogs special treat--a plain hamburger from the drive-thru.

Answer 4

You could take him to a local pond or river and throw balls for him. My German Shepherd loves that.
Have you thought about obedience training to get him to like walks more?
And if you've been in one of the areas hit by excessive heat lately, you may in fact not want to exercise your dog - my greyhound hasn't been on a walk in a week and a half because he can't tolerate the heat. From the way your dog likes the water, that may be the reason. To make a walk in the heat more fun for him, bring along a spray bottle and squirt his bosy with it at regular intervals. That'll help keep him cool enough - and make sure you bring along plenty of water!

Answer 5

Teach him to play tennis!

I am just joking,he likes the water,thats good,incorporate tossing
items into or around water. Even if it's just the sprinkler on the lawn.
There are some "HAM" sented bones and frisbes at the larger pet centers that are good.
Also check on line.
You can always put on some shorts turn on the hose and make
a big "fun time" in the yard!

Answer 6

Well, if he's a small dog, he will get excersise running in your home. If he's larger like a Cocker, slowly and gradually take him out on walk. Before you go to work, take him out side on his leash walking about 50 steps with a treat in your hand. If he follows that, keep on doing it until he walks without needing the treat.

Answer 7

Few dogs exercise themselves voluntarily when they are turned loose in a yard, even though regular exercise is mandatory for their health. Your dog's lack of enthusiasm for walks could stem from a previous bad experience, previous and/or current harsh treatment on walks, or lack of training on walks. All of these are fixable by training proper leash manners, most notably HEEL by your side and EASY (don't pull). In your case, KEEP UP could be helpful in keeping the dog from lagging.

The amount of exercise a dog needs depends on its overall health, its breed, and individuality. Breed is the most important of the three since a dog's exercise requirements are largely dictated by what job it was originally bred for. Since you didn't metion you dog's breed, I can't give any specific recommendations for your dog, but in general: herding breeds, sporting breeds, and northern breeds need heavy exercise (so that they flop down panting) two to three times daily, hunting breeds, terriers, and protection breeds need about 20-30 minutes of vigorous exercise daily, rescue and draft breeds need 20-30 minutes of moderate, low-stress exercise daily, and toys usually only need an active game or two each day.

In terms of what type of exercse your dog should do, you could try walking him again using the techniques I mentioning in the first paragraph. You would also probably be very successful in getting him engaged in exercise by selcting a dog sport that fits his interests and bred-in tendencies. Try flyball, agility, or sheepdog trials for a herding or sporting breed, carting or skijoring for a northern breed, draft breed, or rescue breed, and tracking, hiking, or geocaching with a hunting breed or terrier. Since your dog seems to enjoy water, you might try surfing (yes!) or dock-diving, if you have immediate access to water. You can research one or more of these doggie sports on Wikipedia or Google.

Finally, try arranging a doggie playdate for your dog with a friend or neighbor's well-trained and gentle dog. Few dogs can resist a play-fight with a canine friend, and this will provide fun exercise for both. If this isn't possible, you could try taking your dog to a dog park, but you MUST ensure that your dog has received all the vaccinations appropriate to your area and that he has a rock-solid COME.

Good luck, and hope this helps!

Answer 8

You need to attend obedience training with the dog. Also, if the dog is older this might be difficult as the older the dog, the more set in its ways.

Answer 9

Leash the dog and take it for walks. Teach it some tricks.

Answer 10

You should continue taking it out for walks and playing games with it. Reward it with treats to make it more motivated if you have to. Just not too much treats though.

Answer 11

you should walk them 3 times a day.