Exercise Ideas To Try With Your Dog

Sweat It Out With Your Pooch: Exercise Ideas To Try With Your Dog

Are you looking to get fit this summer? Whether you want to improve your overall fitness, tone your body, or just burn off some calories, your dog might be the answer. Dogs make great workout buddies, they help you keep a positive attitude, have fun during workouts, and the best part - you get cuddles at the end! If you’re not sure about how to get started, try these simple workouts with your pup:

1. Relax with Dog Yoga 

Yoga or Doga (Dog Yoga) is a low-intensity exercise that offers many health benefits, including improved strength and flexibility. It helps create a strong bond between you and your pooch and it’s a great way to help stretch and relax. Try yoga with your pup within the comfort of your home, and start off with simple poses like Downward facing dog, Chaturanga, Heart to Hound Mudra, Puppy Paw Mudra, Savasana and the Chair Pose.    

2. Go for a Swim

Swimming  will help you and your pup build endurance, muscle, and cardiovascular fitness. On a hot day, your dog will happily jump in the water with you, while you do laps.

However, if you want to work your dog into the routine, you can swim a lap and call your dog to come to you. We recommend a dog life jacket like our Ruffwear Float Coat is worn during all water exercises.

3. Dance It Out

We’d bet that you’ve probably done this one already...But did you know dancing together is a great way for you both to improve your aerobic fitness and muscle tone? Start forming a routine to your favourite music by working with the tricks your dog already knows (commands like sit, return, shake, roll over, etc.) before introducing new ones.

4. Engage in Agility Training

If you are looking for an intense workout for you and your dog, agility training is the answer. While your pup will be running through tunnels and jumping over bars, you will have to keep up  with him and issue commands along the way. You will have to train your dog on how to interact with each obstacle which is a  workout in itself.

5. Play A Game of Fetch

Does your pup love to play fetch? Then you probably already spend hours a week throwing a ball for your pup. With a little modification, you can turn a game of fetch into the perfect workout. Instead of just throwing a ball, attempt to do a  lunge or some crunches while you are at it. Using a ball launcher like our Chuckit Pro or Sport can help throw the ball quite far, so you can fit in more exercises before your dog comes racing back.