Teach your dog tricks for fitness
I was watching my girlfriend playing with her dog Jerry (a cute little Terrier mix) and she’s been teaching him this cute trick, jumping over her outstretched leg. She had been working on this trick with him for a few weeks, starting with her leg low, almost parallel to the ground and coaxing him over. Gradually, she has been raising her leg and he has been making the jumps. And that little guy can leap! It’s not long before the little guy is panting. These are the evenings, she says, that he is usually content to lay on the sofa with her instead of bark at every noise that goes past the house.
This also shows that canine fitness does not always have to entail running several miles a week. Even training your dog to do tricks can help keep him or her fit. Obviously, the trick needs to make your dog jump or dash or something physical. But as you see, it doesn’t take a lot of space for your dog to get a little workout.
Plus there are bonuses. Bonus number 1, you can show off your dog with a cute trick. Bonus 2, this type of exercise is good for the very clever dogs since it gives them a little mental workout (timing, distance, yes little doggie brains work on that). Bonus 3, tricks are a form of discipline which is good for all of us, dogs too. Disciplining your dog enough to perform a trick makes other training easier.
Here are a few tricks you could teach:
- jump over your leg
- Jumping on your back (while you are bent over)
- fetch (even in the house, just a little more mild mannered version)
- weaving (the dog walks in and out through your legs while you walk)
And remember, if it is fun, your dog will respond much more quickly. Repeat these exercises a few times a day, every day, until your dog is trained.
What tricks do you use for play with your dog?
Tagged with: canine health • dog exercise • dog exercises • dog training • dog tricks
Filed under: Games and Exercises
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Good Article. I grew up in a house full of dogs, 4 to be exact !!!. My dog was a king german shepherd named cody. The types of tricks I would do with him were related to his breed, hunting and searching type tricks. Id put his dog toys someplace in the house or in the yard and slowly teach him to find them, until after about 3 months (im slow)All I had to do was show him the toy let him smell it and give him a find it command.
I really should have shown him to do this with house keys and the remote control for the TV
PS I found your blog on Aarons blog Im a member there as well
Now finding the remote–that’s a cool trick to work on!
Thanks for reading and thanks Aaron!
We have a high energy medium size dog, and he loves to jump up and down on a 2 foot tall retaining wall along where we walk. We encourage this because it helps tire him out.
Boy, Michele, your dog has some ups! I love little stuff like that you can incorporate in the dog’s day that helps wear him or her out.