How Much Exercise Does A Dog Need?

That’s it, you just adopted a dog, and you already have your pet for many years and a faithful friend who will never let you down.

You already know what you have to feed him, you already know where he is going to sleep and you have already bought everything the dog needs to be able to live in your house happily with you.

However, there is still one small thing missing, that is, you still don’t know how much daily exercise your dog needs to be happy. You notice how sometimes he asks you for a lot of walks and you notice how other times he doesn’t even want to leave the house, which makes it very difficult to know how much exercise time a dog needs.

A dog that does not exercise enough has the big problem that it can suffer from diseases such as animal obesity due to a sedentary lifestyle, since they have to burn the calories they consume. In addition they will feel with too much energy and they will be very excited.

If, on the other hand, you go too far with the exercise, you will have a tired dog, without strength and who may even suffer lower defenses, because nothing in excess is good.  Another bad news is that we depend a lot on the breed and age of the dog to know how much exercise the dog needs.

If you want to know how much exercise dogs need, you are in the right place, I am going to offer you step by step how much exercise they need , differentiating breeds, ages and other factors.

Instructions

Types of exercise:

Like everything in this life, exercise is not limited to just one type, since there are several types of exercise that you can do with your dog and they are done in different ways.  Today I am going to explain the two most common types of exercise to do with your favorite pet.

1. 1. Alone: ​​​​By alone I mean the exercise that dogs do by themselves, which includes taking a walk and running a bit after a lizard when you release them in the field. This is the basic exercise that dogs do and it is the one they need the most to burn calories and expend all their energy.
   2. With the master: We call exercise with the master exercises in which the dog and the master interact. We have as examples when you play with the dog and his toys from him, when you chase him or when you throw a stick at him to bring it to you. Normally if the dog has not had enough exercise alone, he will ask you to do this exercise so that he spends all the energy he has left.
2. Exercise in puppies: Puppies are dogs between the age of 1 month and a year and a half. Dogs, like young children, have their growth period, in which they have much more energy than when they are adults. A baby dog ​​should be walked longer than an adult dog, with 4 daily walks of 1 hour each, so that they do their business well and come home calm. Calmness is important in puppies, since puppies when they have too much energy will destroy your house, believe me I say this from my own experience of the dogs I have had.
3. Exercise in calm dogs: There are certain breeds of dogs, such as English bulldogs, which are much calmer dogs than other breeds. These dogs not only do not need to walk as much, but many times they have to be forced to do so because they are too lazy to do so. For these dogs, 4 walks a day of 20 minutes each are enough for them to spend all their energy but not to get too tired, since it is not convenient for them. Try to make the walk calm, without running and without frights, since these friendly dogs are not very fond of running either.
4. Exercise in large pack dogs: Large pack dogs or shepherds also need a good amount of exercise. These dogs are naturally accustomed to herding sheep, carrying weight and being outside for a long time, so they will ask you to leave the house a lot to be comfortable. A pack dog needs 4 walks, of at least 40 minutes each. On at least 1 walk a day, you should try to let him loose somewhere where it is legal, so that he runs a little and spends all his energy from him, although these dogs are more for long walks than short walks. If you take a walk longer than 40 minutes, nothing happens, since they are dogs that are quite resistant to cold and fatigue.
5. Exercise in running dogs: Finally we have the dogs that need the most exercise that is, racing dogs or runners. Among which we have as the greatest exponents the greyhounds and the Podenco, elongated and very fast dogs full of energy that need more exercise than the others due to their nature. These dogs need 4 hours of walking a day, divided into 4 daily walks. From my own experience (I have a Podenco/greyhound); I must say that these dogs need to run, since they have a lot of energy. If you can’t let them go, they will give you a lot of trouble at home to play with them, since they are full of energy. So if you have an area where you can release them, do not hesitate to do so, since the dog will thank you.

Tips

• Replace walks with exercise at home: When you read this article you may be thinking that I have a little too far on walks, since you are surely a hard-working person who needs time for you and cannot take the dog out 4 hours a day. I understand you perfectly and for this I tell you that there are ways to replace walks (partially, they should never be eliminated so that the dog relieves himself calmly). The best way is to exercise at home, playing with the dog with toys so that it tires itself out, since that way it will not have as much energy and with a walk of half the time it will be worth it. You can also redistribute the time of each ride, but never by deleting rides. For example, if you only have 10 minutes to walk in the morning because you work, then you should take a longer walk after lunch. You can also give him a very long walk of 3 hours every day and then another 3 short walks of less time so that he does his things about him and little else, since in the end the exercise quota is met.
• It also depends on the habit: Dogs are not stupid and they educate themselves, for that reason, they will adapt a little to what you ask of them on a walk. A dog that you walk a little will learn to relieve itself quickly and a dog that is used to a lot of walking will want to walk more and more. My advice is that you look at both the needs of the dog and yours, trying to find a schedule and walk time that both of you like, since I see people who give 2-minute walks to those who take it just as badly. They give 5 hours.