This is a question that weighs on many dog owners' minds, especially if you have an active dog that you are hoping the more you exercise them the better they will be. Well . . . this may or may not be true. There are several factors involved in the truth behind the power of exercise.Exercise is definitely a necessity to your dog's life. It is beneficial and highly recommended that you do indeed walk the dog on a regular basis, for at least 15-30 minutes each walk. However, there is a twist to this.
If you have a dog that is high energy or one that you feel *has* to have lots of exercise you probably are not going to make the dog much better by physical exercise alone. The problem lies in that most dogs that are stimulated solely with physical exercise and no mental exercise run on adrenaline and can actually be just as hyper or obnoxious as before they had their walk.
Dogs have to have an equal balance of mental and physical exercise. Often, more mental exercise is better to
tire the brain and have a calm and relaxed dog. Also, if you are doing mental exercises you are probably doing physical exercises as well and are knocking out two birds with one stone.A good example is a group class on a weekly (or more often) basis. This exercises the dog both physically and mentally. This could be any group class, even just obedience work. However we offer lots of classes that also have a bunch of physical activity involved as well. These are ideal and also great fun!
If you aren't sure exactly how to stimulate your dog mentally, ask us. We can help and you will notice a huge change in your dog almost immediately!