By Minou Tpain

Exercise

Dogs were made to move…a lot!
When we think about the many jobs our dogs were designed to do, being sedentary isn’t typically one of them.

Unfortunately many humans spend more than half of the day in a sedentary state, we just don’t move much anymore, therefore our dogs don’t either.

Exercise has huge benefits for our dog’s health though. For one, it can lower their risk for diseases, premature aging, as well as depression, aggression and anxiety. It also can rewire the flight or fight stress response. Exercise changes the chemistry of the brain to help create a calmer state, protecting our dogs from the effects of stress.

I’m sure if we were to ask our dogs how much time they would like to spend being active, sniffing, playing, running, they would choose way more time than what we provide for them.

A study was done with lab rats where the results showed that the rats would voluntarily choose to exercise on a running wheel whenever one was provided. Exercise releases endorphins which helps to reduce pain and increase good, happy feelings. These endorphins last for many hours after an exercise session has ended.

Even a short exercise session can improve the quality of life for both you and your dog. Exercising allows our dogs to feel good! But it must be daily. We cannot wait until the weekend to make up for what we lost during the week, in fact that can cause injuries to a body that is not conditioned to daily outbursts of activity.

So the question here is, are we giving our dogs enough opportunities to be active and happy?

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