October 5, 2021
A fit dog is a happy dog but it's not always easy to give your dog the exercise they need. Bad weather, a dog who isn't great around other dogs, lack of good exercise space - all of these things can be barriers to keeping your dog happy and healthy. Under-exercised dogs can destroy your stuff, suffer health problems, bark at you in the house for a walk, and generally be unhappy.
Don’t worry, the problem can be solved without leaving the house!
It’s actually pretty darn easy to keep your dog in shape inside the house. It doesn’t require a ton of equipment, and you don’t need to buy anything. In this article we’ll give you the basics of dog fitness, in a way you can immediately use.
Your dog will be happy, because he or she has a need to move and be fit, and you’ll be happy knowing you did right by your dog, (and probably have some fun too!).
Let’s dive in. We’re going to look at 4 types of fitness activities for dogs:
Dogs need to move! Here’s two games you can play with your dog. You’ll need to grab a box or laundry hamper. Preferable the edge heights are below the dog’s elbow.
See if you can lure your dog to get in and out of the box. Try other things like: can you get your dog to sit in the box? Lie down and/ or stand? Turn around in it?Try getting your dog to walk through the box in a straight line. Each time they pass an edge, they have to lift all four legs over. One pass by = 2 edges, so 8 leg-lifts!! Give them a treat each time they make it through and aim for 6-12 pass throughs. Phew, they will find it hard work and will be satisfied by all the movements.
Now, let’s try another movement game where you need to be creative with what you can find around the house. Paws Up or Back Feet Up!
Look for items your dog can put their front feet or back feet on. Some ideas include: a chair, a book, stairs, an exercise ball, a pillow, etc. Lure your dog to put their front two paws up on an item and reward them with a treat for doing it. Will they do it with objects of different heights? Try it!
Next step? Try luring your dog to get their back two feet on an object. This one is harder, so choose an item that is stable, like the book. Lure the dog front first across the book and stop them with the treat when their back feet are on the book. If they only stop with one back foot on, reward that and build on success!
Dogs love moving around for treats. Stepping up and down and trying to put their feet on objects creates body awareness. They find it interesting to investigate these different challenges.
Dogs with weak muscles are easily hurt. If your dog has strong muscles, they’re more able to do hard stopping and sprinting movements without being injured. Just like humans, dogs can really benefit from jump ups - they build core and leg strength and apply to many other games and activities that dogs do.
Let’s start with something easy that your dog probably already knows! Sit!
When you get your dog to sit and then call them to come, they have to use their leg muscles to get up and trot to you. We want to use repetition of sitting and running towards you to build your dog’s rear leg muscles! Get your dog to sit, jog backward a bit, and then say “come”. Your dog doesn't have to stay to take advantage of this leg workout, but if they do, you can get further away. Let’s aim for 12 repetitions of “Sit, Come”. Move around the house or choose a hallway/ living room area so you have room to back up.
Jumping up can be a fun way to build leg muscles with your dog. The safest way to do it is to find something stable in your house your dog can jump up onto, and repeat it.
Look for something that is at the height of your dog’s shoulders (or lower). A couch, ottoman, or box are often good choices. Sometimes a bed can be low enough. Double check that the floor is not slippery. If it is tile or hardwood, put a yoga mat down so your dog doesn't slip on jumping up (or down!).
Lure your dog to jump up on the obstacle with a toy, treat, or praise. Repeat this 5 times.
You now have two strength building tasks to do in your house: sit to come and jump up onto something! Repeating these to work your dog’s leg muscles. Your dog will love being stronger and it’s fun to train. Even more fun? Athletic tricks.
Teaching tricks is a great way to entertain your dog and teach them how to use their body. Bored dogs will love the enrichment factor and it improves dog fitness.
Let’s learn the trick “crawl” where the dog crawls across the floor on their belly. This is great for their abs and for body control in general.
Start by asking your dog to lie down. Take a treat to their nose and draw the treat out so they have to stretch their neck out to get it. Give them the treat if they really stretch out their neck, but better yet, if they stretch out a front paw. This is the start of crawling!
Lure your dog again to stretch or paw with their front feet. If at any point your dog stands up to go follow your treat, you’ve made your lure go too far. Keep it closer to their nose, but just out of reach.
The best is if your dog stays down, paws with their front paws AND shuffles with their back legs but they still stay down on the ground. Praise and reward this movement especially.your text in this area
To get your dog really working, we’re going to combine two different games - keep away and find it.
Keep Away - Entice your dog to chase a toy! Make the toy act like a little critter. Jiggle it on the ground and jerk it away from your dog ½ a foot when they are staring at it. Repeat if they need more enticing.
Once engaged, sit on the floor and try circling the toy behind your back, getting the dog to jump over your legs, and teasing them to go under your legs. If you have a large dog, they may push you over while they try to fit under your legs and this is tonnes of fun.
You can throw the toy often and if your dog doesn't like to give the toy back, have a few toys on the go so you don’t have to spend time fighting to get the toy back… just jiggle the next toy and entice them to play the next game!
Find It - Hide toys or treats around the room to get your dog hunting. Searching for items is a big part of being a dog! They love searching for food and will work hard with their noses to find it. A few instructions:
When your dog uses its primal drive to smell and find, it really makes them feel like a dog! It's entertaining and motivating.
Your dog will love the games, they’ll get tired, and, as you play, their fitness grows, making them more able to engage in fun activities like dog sports, long outdoor walks, fetching and more fun activities around the house.
Sarah Giammarino is a Vancouver based dog trainer and the author and host of Dog Agility From Home - an online course for bright, energetic dogs and their owners. She loves helping people develop strong relationships with their family dogs, and teaching them dog sports like Agility, Rally-Obedience, Urban Agility, and more.
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Need help or have a question? Message sarah@dogagilityfromhome.com
