Ask Crystal: Ways to Exercise Your Dog

Welcome to “Ask Crystal,” where you can ask your pet behavior questions! You can submit your question for Crystal at the bottom of the page!

Dear Crystal, 

I have a 2-year old dog. I have recently started working late. When I get home it is already dark outside and my neighborhood is not the safest so I don’t feel comfortable in the dark. Some of my friends said that I am being lazy and that I should figure out a way to walk him more. Am I a bad dog parent? I want my dog to be happy and I am not sure what to do. Thanks in advance! 

Sincerely, 

Working Late 

Dear Working, 

It is really sad to me how judgmental animal lovers can be. People feel that they know what makes a good dog parent and if you don’t fit that small description, they will let you know without hesitation. The reality is that what makes a good pet parent varies a lot from family to family. Different dogs need different things and sometimes the things that supposedly make you a good dog parent aren’t right for a particular dog. 

How do you know if your dog is getting enough exercise? If your dog is displaying destructive behavior, barking a lot or constantly trying to get you to play with him, he may need more exercise. Is he always getting into something or up at night? These are indications that he needs more activity.  

However, how much he needs is going to depend on your dog. There is a lot of variable from dog to dog in what type and amount of exercise is needed. A 12-year old dog most likely doesn’t need the same amount of exercise as a 2-year old dog. Breed often plays a role in the amount of exercise needed. Certain herding breeds, terriers and working dogs have a higher energy requirement than dogs that were bred to be purely companion animals. Figuring out the right amount for your dog is going to be trial and error. 

Walks around the neighborhood are not generally a great way to exercise a dog. Most dogs stop and sniff every few feet. For people that do take walks with their dogs, I suggest taking different kinds of walks. There is your leisurely walk where the dog can sniff to their heart’s content. Try saying a cue such as “You decide” and start with a leisurely pace. Then maybe you take workout walks where you say something different such as “Workout time” and start off at a fast pace. Cueing your dog about what type of walk it is can create expectations for them and help cut down on frustration. It may help to always take a certain type of walk at certain times so they have that routine. I personally enjoy the decompression walk the most. This walk is done on a long line in a quiet location and the dog is given the choice to sniff as much as they want. Sniffing burns a lot of energy and is a calming activity. 

If your dog really loves getting walks and you can afford it, why not hire a pet sitter to come mid-day? It usually costs around fifteen dollars and they come hang out, walk him for usually 45 minutes to an hour. Or if your dog loves playing with other dogs, consider a dog daycare for play time. Playing with other dogs really tires most dogs out. 

If you have a dog that is dog reactive or fearful of new people or things, walking may be too triggering for your dog. A lot of people live in areas that have no safe place to walk except for the parks. If you get home after dark, you often can’t go to the park because its closed.  You may have to be creative to get your dog proper exercise but it can be done. 

Depending on your dog and what he enjoys doing, there are a lot of alternative ways to exercise him. My personal favorites with my dogs are fetch, tug and flirt pole. Some dogs don’t really know how to fetch or play with toys so sometimes there is a learning curve. My new dog didn’t really grasp fetching or tug at first. I worked at making it seem like a lot of fun and teaching her the rules and now she is really into both.  

The other great thing about these games is that you can incorporate training to teach impulse control. For tug, I teach my dog take it so they don’t grab it until they have permission. I then tug and get the dog a little worked up. I ask them to drop it and then after a moment they can take it again. Flirt pole training usually involves asking the dog to sit, wait to chase the toy and then drop it when asked. Fetch training usually involves teaching the dog to drop the ball and to sit or do some other behavior in between. This training teaches dogs to wait in high arousal situations and to do something you want to get something they want. 

Another fantastic way to exercise your dog is through nose work. This goes back to really getting a dog engaged in sniffing and how tiring that can be for them. There are a lot of ways to play nose work games. You can teach your dog a Find It cue first. Then let the dog see you place treats in various places and tell him “find it” while you have him wait. Then you can increase the difficulty by hiding treats out of sight. You can also hide toys or hide treats in boxes that the dog has to search. You can hide boxes in your yard or scatter treats in the grass. My dogs could spend hours just searching the grass for treats. 

Training is always a great way to tire your dog out. Training uses mental energy which will expend physical energy. I also like playing training games that use physical energy as well. I like tossing a treat away from me and then calling the dog back to practice recalls. Play hide and seek by having your dog sit and then release them to come find you. You could set up a make shift agility course inside your house for a lot of fun and great exercise. 

A really easy thing to do to provide entertainment is feeding from enrichment toys. You can make your own or purchase them. I firmly believe that feeding your dog from a bowl is a wasted opportunity to enrich their life. In the wild, dogs would have to work for their food and most dogs seem to enjoy activities surrounding obtaining food. If you have bowl fed for a while it might take some time to transition him.  You could also use his meals to train him so that he isn’t getting too many treats and he still has to work for his food. 

Experiment with a combination of enrichment feeding, activities, training and exercise to see what works for your dog. If there aren’t any behavior problems and he seems relaxed, then you know you are on the right track. I have occasionally found with some dogs that less is more so you really have to find what works for him. Ultimately, if you are both happy then it doesn’t really matter what other people think and they don’t get to decide if you are a good pet parent. Walks are not the be all end all of a dog’s happiness. Just the fact that you are asking makes me feel pretty sure that you love your dog and are doing the best for him that you can. 

Until next time, 

Crystal