Exercise for Valentines!

Monday February 13, 2012 08:27am

Valentine's Day is here, and it makes me think about how much we love our dogs!!!  I started out wanting write a blog about "Why we love our dogs" but the more I thought about it the plan changed to how we love our dogs.  Many of us show love to our dogs by buying them fancy dog beds, and giving them lots of treats!  While dog beds and treats are nice as a dog trainer and dog owner I can tell you that what your dog really wants is EXERCISE!!!  So instead of writing a new blog I just updated one of my popular blogs "A Tired Dog is a Happy Dog!"  Keep reading to find many ways to exercise your dog for Valentine's Day or any day!  Not all involve being out in the cold and rain.

Winter is here! For some of your dogs that means bird hunting, for other dogs it means not as much time outside exercising.  I believe that, "A tired dog is a Happy Dog"...and a Happy Owner!  I am often asked how to "fix" certain issues dogs have.  Most people want a quick fix and are upset when I tell them they NEED to walk/exercise their dog!  A lot of issues/problems with dogs can be solved by more EXERCISE. 

I was once called to help with a, "Crazy" dog.  The owners described the dog as out of control, crazy, barked all the time, etc...  I was up for the challenge "Crazy" dogs are my favorite to work with.  So I went to owner's home. The dog (lets call her Maggie) was barking and literally running circles around the house.  I asked them what they did to exercise Maggie, they said that they threw the ball for in her in the backyard and pointed outside.  I looked out the window to the postage stamp backyard.  There was no way that Maggie was getting enough exercise in the tiny backyard with a few throws of the ball.  I told the owner that they needed to walk Maggie MUCH more and we worked on some dog obedience so that Maggie would be easier to walk on a leash.  As far as I know Maggie gets walked all the time and is doing well. 

There are many things you can do with your dog for exercise!

Get Them out!

Take a walk, hike, or jog!  If you live in the Columbia County Area McCormick Park has a very nice trail to walk and they have an off leash area too.  You could also take your dog to the new dog park in Scappoose,  If you live in the Portland Metro area you have many options for walking your dog like Forest Park.  For those of you who hate the rain check out Fidos.  Fido's is an indoor dog park...my dogs LOVE it!

If you can't make time to exercise your dog, a dog daycare like Just Dogs will do the trick.  Or look into a dog walker such as Fur the Love of Dogs.

Take a Class!

Taking a class with your dog is also a great way to exercise your dogs body and mind.  There are a lot of options for this.  You could take NoseWork Class, Agility Class, an AKC Rally class or take a Canine Conditioning Class (you can even do some of them online). 

However you choose to exercise your dog this Valentine's Day...

Your dog will thank you for it!

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