Every dog needs regular exercise to maintain healthy mental and physical health, regardless of breed, age, or size. Although exercising your dog has more benefits than you would realize, we know that this is something dog owners sign up for.
Dogs must be physically fit to participate in exercises. Dog conditioning is necessary for them to have endurance while partaking in the activity. Maintaining a healthy weight in your pet reduces the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory disease, and other conditions. Being overweight can shorten your pet's lifespan by more than two years. Here are some ways to make your dog fit.
Setting Up a Benchmark
Establishing a dog's current physiological limit is vital before starting a conditioning program.
A dog's physiology is designed for endurance, so it won't take much time for him to attain the conditioning level needed to participate at the level determined to be the optimal amount of exercise. At some point, the dog's physiological limit will be reached, and then it will be time to start setting a new workout distance.
- Robert Gillette, DVM MS, Director of Auburn University's Veterinary Sports Medicine Program
Laying a solid foundation and raising the likelihood of success involves progressively introducing a dog to the ideal training distance and speed over time.
You don't want to introduce the dog to too much exercise too soon. If exercise is introduced properly, the musculoskeletal system will adapt appropriately.
- Robert Gillette, DVM MS, Director of Auburn University's Veterinary Sports Medicine Program
Trainers should choose a new workout distance half as far as the previous increase in the distance if the objective is to develop a dog's endurance over a distance.
The simplest example is muscle. In order to improve muscle fitness, the muscle must adapt, but first, it must be given a reason to adapt, and the clearest reason is fatigue. The muscle needs to be shown that the current level of fitness is insufficient for what it is being asked to do. The biochemical processes of fatigue activate the processes that remodel the muscle, making it better at the activity.
- Michael Davis, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, Professor of Veterinary Physiology at Oklahoma State University
The border between exhaustion that fosters adaptation and fatigue that harms an animal is thin.
It is impossible to dictate a blanket recipe for training if for no other reason than if the initial steps are successful, the level of exercise that results in just a little bit of fatigue is changing as the dog gets more fit.
- Michael Davis, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, Professor of Veterinary Physiology at Oklahoma State University
Canine Conditioning Procedures
A dog must undergo various physical conditioning procedures, including a suitable warm-up, targeted conditioning methods, and a cooling-down phase. Considerations for training a dog are listed below.
Proper Warm-Up
Stretching muscles warms them up and increases blood flow to tendons, ligaments, joints, and muscles. This lessens the chance of injuring muscles or ligaments. A dog won't become exhausted after warming up for five to ten minutes, and it also lessens lactic acid buildup and glycogen loss.
Specific Conditioning Techniques
Cross-training mixes strength and endurance exercises. Long runs that steadily increase in distance and intensity comprise endurance training. For short bursts of time at maximal intensity, road working, pulling, and uphill work is all part of strength or power training.
Remember that dogs should be healthy and powerful before strenuous or prolonged labour. The level of training, along with its duration, frequency, and intensity, determines how hard a dog can work safely. Popular for exercise, treadmills can be inclined up to 25 degrees for uphill work to enhance workload. When using a treadmill, a dog must be constantly watched over. A dog must lean into a harness and pull hard to perform road work while mounted on an all-terrain vehicle or a horse. For safety, careful monitoring is necessary.
Cooling-Down Period
For muscle healing and lactic acid removal, it's crucial to cool down for five to ten minutes after exercise. It aids in the removal of waste products from exercise and guards against delayed-onset muscular pain.