Is your pup in tip top shape? I have three sisters that keep me hopping, my sports, and a reputation of being a lady’s man with the girls to maintain. For me, looking sharp and feeling good is a top priority. April is Canine Fitness Month, the ideal time to remind everyone about the importance of keeping your dog fit. Being fit is more than exercise, it is a lifestyle.
How is your pup’s figure? Can you feel the rib cage – it should feel like rubbing over the back of your hand. How about a waistline – there should be a distinction between the chest and stomach when looking at him from the side. A dogs dog’s chest should be notably wider than its abdomen, with a tuck-up from the chest to the stomach. Over half the dogs in the USA are overweight and/or obese. Not only is it unhealthy, it will shorten a dog’s lifespan.
The Components Of Canine Fitness
Getting a dog into shape isn’t difficult and it may be something you can do together with your dog. Fitness doesn’t mean a dog needs to run a marathon. There are components to canine fitness.
- diet
- physical exercise
- mental exercise
A Healthy Diet
Mom was never overweight, but with her health issues in 2021, she decided to completely revamp her diet. Most of her favorite foods are now gone, and with time, it doesn’t bother her. Whole foods are the key. Avoid processed foods. She also changed our diet the same way. We eat raw, and our treats are almost exclusively single ingredients. No dog junk food.
Our food is measured out at mealtimes, and we often get veggies or fruit with our meals to “spice” them up a bit. If any of us seem to be gaining weight, food and snacks are reduced. Obviously, for most people and pets this whole idea of food is a bit over the top and not something they want to do.
No matter what you feed your dog, DO NOT overfeed or overdo the snacks. Check their weight regularly. A pound or two may not seem like much but on most dogs it is a lot since we don’t weigh that much. Food is often equated with love, but if you really want to show your pup love, feed them properly and don’t let them be overweight.
Physical Exercise
You don’t need to start taking your dog to the gym. Getting out and walking together on a daily basis is a great way for you to bond and stay fit together. Start small and increase your mileage as fitness levels increase.
If you have more than one dog, or if your dog has friends, playing is great exercise. We all fly around the yard at our house which burns calories and builds muscle. For single dogs, try playing with a tennis ball, Frisbee, or other toy your dog loves.
Check out your local dog schools. Many offer classes for fitness, or different sports. You don’t have to compete in sports like agility to take classes. Just for fun is also welcome.
Mental Exercise
Mental exercise may not keep the body in tip top shape like physical exercise does, but it is necessary for overall fitness. You know we all do nose work. It is so much fun and it really tires us out. If you don’t want to get started with odor and all, try hiding food for your dog around your home or in the yard.
Rather than feeding your dog in his bowl, put his meal in a dog puzzle, slow feeder, or treat ball. Dogs love to hunt for their food, it’s an instinct. You can also hide kibble around the house for your dog to find.
My Conclusions On Getting In Tip Top Shape
Keeping your dog in tip top shape is the most important thing you can do for him. Make fitness a plan for you and your dog, something you can do together. At our house, Mom calls us her fitness buddies because we all stay fit together. Remember for humans and dogs alike, diets don’t work. One needs to adopt a healthy lifestyle that you can live with for the rest of your life.
We are joining our friends at Living Laughing and Barking in Our Backyard for their Nature Friday blog hop.
You are a very handsome boy and fit as a fiddle, Nelson, and you are right about staying in shape and exercising and keeping those treats to a minimum.
Staying fit is pretty easy if you have a good plan and I like the ladies to find me handsome, so it is really important for me to look my best.
that are good way to come in atip top shape… of course… da nelly is a kind of greyhound while I have to look for my bum LOL
You boys get lots of exercise on your adventures in the house and outdoors 🙂
I really didn’t need to read this tips BECAUSE I KNOW FOR CERTAIN each of you are in tip top shape physically and mental and so is mom! I did so love the photos. Per chance do you have a YouTube video on the garden hose thingie. I recently bought a new thingie and will admit to being slack on attaching the hose.
Hugs cecilia
No, we don’t. It is a cheap one Mom bought years ago. We just screw the hose on to the one piece and then the short hose from the reel to the faucet.
This made me feel so guilty. Clover needs to lose weight since she’s paralyzed and I have to Xpress her. But she is so into food. I don’t know what to do. She gets a little bit of kibble every night and morning with a bowl of cucumbers and she gets apples and bananas, but she gets more treats than she needs, and I can’t stop myself from giving them to her, because I feel so guilty that she’s paralyzed.
One thing for humans to remember that is hard for them to comprehend is that size of treats and meals doesn’t matter to us. When we train, we get 1/4 inch pieces of meat. Mom gives us a couple, one by one. So many humans always give big treats, but that isn’t necessary. Even fruits and veggies can be chopped small and given one at a time so we feel like we are getting a lot. Especially since Clover is paralyzed, excess weight isn’t probably a good thing. Can she hunt for her food. You could divide her meals into say 5 pieces of kibble and hide the kibble around your house where she can get it. It will help her get exercise and make her meals last longer, or even a food puzzle or slow feeder bowl. Most slow feeder bowls are washable, so even wet or raw food can be fed in them.
We love all your pictures. We are quite into fitness here – lots of walking (brisk ones) and playing in the backyard, and chasing squirrels in the backyard. We have raw for one meal a day and home (lightly) cooked for the other. Long ago, feeding dogs healthy real food was very difficult. Today there are lots of options and choices; and most important of all is that there is lots of great information for dogs and their people.
Exactly! Everyone has to choose what is right for their lifestyle, kibble, raw, combo, it all works if you do it right. You guys sound a lot like us getting lots of exercise.
Informative post ~ your doggie steals the show, though ~ so sweet and fit too ~
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Thank you. It is a good reminder to people to make sure their pups stay fit and healthy.
You are one fit dude!!!
Thank you. I do my best.
Y’all always seem to be in purrfect shape, but truthfully, y’all always are purrfect!
Just like you kitties 🙂
Wise advice! It’s especially important to remember food does not equal love when it causes ill-health.
Being overweight is never a good thing for humans or pets but for us dogs it is especially harmful.
Excellent reminders!! There are so many reasons why I DO miss Sam, but his compulsion to give the dogs – from Kissy to Zen – food off his own plate is not one of them. The only people food I share with the Z Kids is lightly cooked, unsalted meat/poultry, veggies, and fruit. They both love bananas so I give them each a small piece of mine when I get to the bottom of it. And they both love blueberries, so I give them those too. The 2 of them and Bogie are the only 3 dogs I’ve ever had who would eat a blueberry after playing with it (rolling it on the floor and tossing it in the air). The others had to have theirs mashed and mixed in with yogurt or cream cheese.
These two get lots of exercise playing with each other and me in the house and out in the back yard. I need to find more ways to entertain them inside though for when the weather keeps us inside.
Try hiding food or treats around the house for them to find. It is a good mental exercise and they would love it.