You probably realize that your dog, just like us, needs regular exercise to be healthy. Getting some physical activity in each day is good for your canine’s cardiovascular health, keeping their bones and muscles strong, joints supple and very importantly, their weight under control. This is essential since gaining excessive amounts of weight can cause your pet to experience significant health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, arthritis and diabetes. However, exercise isn’t only necessary for your pet’s physical health. It also has a significant impact on your pet’s day to day behavior too. This is because canines, and specifically young dogs, have a great deal of energy that they need to expel. If they don’t, it can lead to them developing destructive and undesirable behaviors such as chewing things that they shouldn’t, scratching and shredding furniture and making excessive noise.
Ensuring that your dog gets enough exercise every day is vitally important for their physical and emotional health, but how do you know how much your particular canine companion needs? Read on to find out.
The factors that influence how much exercise your dog needs
Several different factors will influence how much exercise is enough for your dog each day. These are:
- Age. As we know, younger dogs need more exercise to burn off their excess energy.
- Breed. Some dog breeds are well known for needing more exercise than others. See below.
- Health. Unsurprisingly, pets in poor health are unable and ill-advised to do as much exercise as a healthier dog.
Guidelines for exercise requirements for your dog by breed
Although this list is by no means definitive, it does give you a broad idea as to the exercise recommendations for each of the following breeds. However, bear in mind that this doesn’t take age or health into account and you should always speak to your veterinarian for specific recommendations based on your animal.
Dog breeds that should get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day
- Bichon Frise
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Miniature Dachshund
- Kind Charles Spaniel
- Chihuahua
- Pekingese
- Pomeranian
- Maltese
- Miniature Pinscher
Dog breeds that should get at least 60 minutes of exercise each day
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- Border Terrier
- Saint Bernard
- Bassett Hound
- West Highland Terrier
- Whippet
- Pug
- Cocker Spaniel
- Shetland Sheepdog
- Shih Tzu
- English Bulldog
Dog breeds that should get at least 2 hours of exercise each day
- Siberian Husky
- Golden Retriever
- Alaskan Malamute
- Border Collie
- Dalmatian
- Boxer
- Labrador Retriever
- Weimaraner
- German Shepherd
- Springer Spaniel
What sort of exercise does my dog need?
Exercising your dog doesn’t just mean walking. It is better to try and mix up the exercise that you offer so that your canine pal doesn’t get bored. There are lots of different forms of physical activity that your furbaby can enjoy, many of which you can even do with them. These include jogging/running, hiking, swimming, flyball, agility courses, fetch and hide and seek. Our veterinary team will also be happy to advise you of other activities you can do with your dog to ensure that they get enough exercise, particularly if they have mobility issues that may mean that conventional methods aren’t possible.
To obtain more information about the exercise requirements of dogs, or to get specific guidance based on your pet, please contact our animal clinic.
