Tailored Canine Fitness: Happy Paws Rehab's Progressive Exercise Program

There are many potential benefits that can be associated with dog exercise. It’s easy enough to go through day-to-day life without thinking much about the amount of activity that your dog needs to remain healthy. This is especially true during periods when you are busy personally – you’ll get your dog outside to go to the bathroom, of course, but you might not fit in much more activity than that.

Unfortunately, remaining sedentary is harmful to your pet’s health. By getting your dog on a regular exercise program, you can help deliver benefits such as:

• Maintaining healthy weight. Even if you manage your dog’s diet properly, it will be hard to keep him or her at a healthy weight without some consistent exercise. And, as you might guess, maintaining a healthy weight is vital for your dog to avoid countless negative health consequences that can stem from obesity.
• Improved behavior. If you are dealing with behavioral issues with your dog, such as chewing on things around the house, that might be a function of not getting enough exercise. By creating a schedule of regular activity, you may see some of those bad habits fade away.
• Joint health. Given how much jumping dogs tend to do, healthy joints are critical for a good quality of life. And again, it’s exercise that comes to the rescue when thinking about maintaining joint health.

There is no way to overstate the importance of exercise for dogs. But it’s important not to go into this process in a random, haphazard manner – you want to use a carefully designed exercise program to build up your dog’s health without pushing too far. Contact Happy Paws today to work with a professional who will customize a plan that is ideal for your pet.

If you are picturing dogs in a gym trying to lift weights or use the stair machine, that’s not exactly what we are talking about here, although would be very interesting to see. Instead, we are talking about exercises that have been designed specifically for canines to address their common health issues and limit the likelihood of injuries in the future. Here are some of the many possibilities:

• Balance exercises. It’s important for a dog to have, and maintain, good balance. Loss of balance is something that is relatively common with aging, so working on balance movements to retain this ability for as many years as possible is crucial.
• Stretching. Just like in people, it’s important to keep your dog’s muscles as supple and flexible as possible. This will go a long way toward avoiding injury and maintaining the flexibility required to jump, run, play, and more.
• Strengthening. Building strength, along with promoting flexibility, is helpful to keep your dog fit as the years pass. We are always careful to choose strengthening exercises that are appropriate for your pet based on any existing health issues or past injury history.

As you might imagine, it can be difficult to get dogs to perform certain exercises or to cooperate with a routine that has been designed. Beyond going for a walk or jog with your dog, you might not be able to imagine getting him or her to exercise more intentionally. This is where professional help becomes so important. At Happy Paws, we understand how to help dogs through this process, and we know how they are likely to respond in certain situations. We’ll work hard to get the best results while making sure your pet is happy and having fun throughout.

Also, it’s the designing of these progressive workouts that is best handled by an experienced professional. You might be able to learn some basic dog exercises on your own that you could try to lead your pet through, but that’s not the same as a custom-designed plan by an expert in this field. Lean on our knowledge and experience to make sure you’re getting the best results in both the short- and long-term.