02/21/2024
This can make such a big impact
“Duck Tollers need 2 hours of exercise a day.”
“American Cockers need 1 hour of exercise a day.”
“She needs more exercise.”
Here’s the problem with these statements: exercise isn’t one thing.
One hour of leash walking is not one hour of hiking. One hour of bikejoring is not one hour of fetch. One hour of a sniffy walk is not one hour at the dog park. Different activities produce different results for the dog.
By lumping everything together in just “exercise”, we really do ourselves, each other, and the dogs a disservice. Almost every dog who comes into my coaching program has some exercise issues. Maybe they can’t stop/won’t stop around toys or water. They bolt as soon as they go off leash. They get hours of exercise but they’re constantly squirrely. So often, the issue is that the type of exercise isn’t serving them. Not the amount.
If the dog needs more freedom of movement, just adding more fetch isn’t going to help! If they need to stretch their body and go hard and fast, a long line sniffy walk isn’t the answer. And if all they do is physical exercise with little to no learning and problem solving, well there’s a gap there too.
I challenge you to think hard about what you mean when you say “exercise”.
If you want to learn all about exercise, how we can better conceptualize it and why it’s important, check out my webinar Understanding Exercise. Not only does Understanding Exercise break down exercise into more easily communicated elements, it teaches how to meet a dogs’ needs in a way that works for them and is conducive for our busy lives.
