Exercise | eleganser

Work & Play

Our beloved pooches are typically taken outside for three reasons;

Toileting - Toileting is obvious. A dog can learn to toilet anywhere.
Exercise - Crucial, but potentially boring if walking for hours along the same road every day. A short walk or a romp in the yard or local park could be sufficient input in the morning providing that the dog will be exercised later that day. See below for some super ideas.
Quality Time and Bonding - Super Happy Fun Times!

Exercise and Quality Time (puppies)

A Great Dane puppy should not be subjected to intentional exercise, until they are finished their growth and skeletal development. Puppies are very good at self-regulating. They will play for a while, or go for a short walk, but they should not be encouraged to do more than they are happy or willing to do. If they sit or lay down during a walk or play session - leave it at that. Never exercise a puppy because it is chubby, or to make it fit. If your puppy is chubby, you are either feeding too much, or playing with it too little.

This does not by any means indicate that you need to restict your puppy to boring stuff contained in your yard or just toilet training. Teach them basic obedience, teach them how to walk on a lead, how to play fetch (I have had no luck with this BTW), teach tricks, play with toys, go to puppy school, organise play dates with suitable furry friends, take them to the beach, take them to public places to socialise with strangers. Essentially - lay the foundations of a positive life long relationship and exemplary mental balance in your puppy. This time is gold, and you don't get to do a retake!

Exercise and Quality Time (adult dogs)

Walking is not demanding exercise for a healthy and fit dog. It may be for humans, but not for dogs. Dogs are natural athletes and thrive on jogging, running, jumping and swimming. The following are examples of ways to enjoy your time having fun with your dog - and getting fit yourself at the same time. However, if your dog has a physical condition that affects their ability to exercise comfortably and safely, advise should be sought before commencing a new exercise regime or activity. Any of the following may not be suitable for all dogs or people.

Fun and Healthy Stuff to Do with Your Canine Companion

(i.e. fun alternatives to walking the streets at nights and early morning hours ..)

Off-leash parks & beaches

Local councils reserve spaces for dogs to be off leash. These are great areas for well socialised dogs to explore, play and interact with people and other dogs. It can also be a good outing for owners, as you may meet people with similar interests. Bring good walking shoes, a ball or toy, swimmers (if you are at the beach, you might look silly in the park), and water bottles for both of you. Play with you dog - throw balls, play tag, and make friends, read a book. Some councils provide poop-bags; if they don't or it's your first time; bring some in case. If your dog is not a natural swimmer (some dogs just aren't very aquatic) you can get a floatation vest for your dog to give them extra comfort and security in the water. Go to your local council's website to find out where you and your dog can go to have fun and meet new friends.

Swimming

Swimming is great exercise and fun for most dogs. Fetching balls and sticks, playing with other dogs in the water or swimming alongside you are just some activities you can use as example. Pools, ponds, rivers, beaches can all be used, providing they are safe for your dog and have few hazards such as sharks, boats etc. Again, for added safety, if needed, a floatation vest can be used. Water offer low impact, high resistant exercise and is a suitable activity for most dogs, and is especially valuable to growing dogs, old/arthritic dogs, and recently operated dogs.

Agility

Agility is perhaps the fastest growing dog sport in the world and can be enjoyed by any family member and dog. Agility is a fast, exciting, fun activity, involving competitors directing their dogs through obstacle courses in an attempt to negotiate the obstacles correctly and as fast as possible. The obstacles comprise various types of jumps, ramps, elevated walks, poles that the dogs weave through, different types of tunnels and a see-saw. It is a great way to release the energy of both your pet and yourself, in a way that can be much more interesting and exciting than simply taking your dog for a walk. Agility also helps your pet dog to become more responsive, obedient and under control. It is also a great sport for kids, teaching them team work and how to handle and train a dog. Agility is an exciting way to enhance your leisure time with your dog.

Mushing

Don’t let geographical location or lack of snow stop you. Mushing (bikejoring, skijoring, canicross, dog scootering) is a sport where one or more dogs pulls a cyclist (or skier/sulky/scooter/cart/etc). Equipment with wheels is often used for competitive sled dogs out of season (when there is no snow). Although any breed of dog can be used, larger dogs are probably most popular breeds as they can run faster and have more "horsepower". Any of the above combinations make for a great sport, and are very beneficial to the health and fitness of both dog and owner. You become remarkably fit when you have to run up hills and push your vehicle to help the dog(s) pull. The dog or dogs are fitted with x-back harnesses or other suitable harness for pulling and running. The harnesses are normally attached to a bungee towline, which clips to the front of the vehicle. You can use a prop or plastic pipe to suspend the towline above the any wheels, to prevent tangling.

Obedience Training

A dog can go through obedience training and not be obedient! Obedience training ranges from very basic training, such as teaching the dog to reliably respond to basic commands such as "sit", "down", "come", and "stay", to high level competition within clubs where additional commands, accuracy and performance are scored and judged. Obedience implies compliance with the direction and commands given by its handler. For a dog to be considered obedient rather than simply trained in obedience, it must respond reliably each time the command is given. Obedience can be an ongoing, lengthy, but very rewarding process. Obedience training is also often a prerequisite for, or component of, other training. If your big mutt disregards everything you say; you do not want to put him in a harness and attach it to the bike you are riding – for example… Obedience training can be done by any dog and any person (from family princess Chihuahua, re-homed dogs, disabled people, children, elderly – anyone!), and it will often help settle anxieties and unwanted behaviours.

Dancing Dogs - Musical Canine Freestyle

Musical canine freestyle (musical freestyle, freestyle dance, canine freestyle) is a modern dog sport that is a mixture of obedience, tricks, and dance that allows for creative interaction between dogs and their owners. This is a great way to play and work out with your dog. And anyone can do it! The dog will be able to work on both sides of the handler's body, not just the left side as in standard obedience heeling. You select a short musical piece that you like which reflects the dog's attitude and pace in doing his moves (some dogs are slow, some are fast; just like us), and decide what moves would go best with the music. Break the routine into pieces with only two or three moves linked together, and keep practicing new tricks. The goal is to have fun! The most important thing is that dog and human get to spend time together. There are two types, musical freestyle and freestyle heeling (heelwork to music); the difference being that freestyle heeling focuses on a dog's ability to stay in variations of the heel position while the handler moves to music, whereas musical freestyle demands that the dog performs a variety of tricks and other obedience components.

Flyball

Flyball is a dog sport in which teams of dogs race against each other from a start/finish line, over a line of hurdles to a box that releases a tennis ball to be caught when the dog presses the spring loaded pad, then back to their handlers while carrying the ball. This is a great sport for those dogs who just love catching flying objects. You do not have to compete; you just have to have fun. This may also be a sport well suited for those with a handicap or movement restriction, but who have an energetic dog. Competition wise; Flyball is run in teams of four dogs, as a relay. The first team to have all four dogs across the finish line error free wins the heat. Penalties are applied to teams if the ball is dropped or if the next relay dog is released early. A great part of Flyball's popularity stems from the fact that it is available to mixed-breed dogs, allowing rescued mutts to shine along side their purebred canine friends.

FINAL WORD

Don't let competitive sports put you off. If you find an activity that both you and your dog enjoy - go for it! You can modify almost any activity to suit yourself and your dog, and just have fun with and enjoy the fact that you are at least doing something. Not everyone is a winner - or want to be...