Let’s face it: although some dogs are definitely more athletically inclined than others, all dogs need some form of an exercise. Whether you work from home all day, or spend most of the afternoon and evening in the office – you’ve got to find a way to ensure that your dog receives the mental and physical stimulation which derives from exercising.
With your busy schedule, this isn’t always easy, and there are days when you just don’t feel like it. This is where a device, the PetSafe Automatic Ball Launcher comes into play – literally. It effectively launches tennis balls (or balls of your choosing, as long as they fit the launch tunnel) several dozen yards away for your all-too-exuberant pup to chase down and happily bring back to you.
The PetSafe Automatic Ball Launcher device and its variants have multiple settings, giving you control over the flight range and angles at which the tennis balls are launched. Additionally, the device is portable, which means you can take it to the nearby park and provide your dog with that sense of unadulterated freedom.
Most owners already know how important is to make sure their furry little friend works out everyday. In the following text we’ll provide some additional ideas on how switch up the workouts and perhaps even get yourself in shape.
Flyball Tournaments for the Motivated Dog Owner
Needless to say – this requires a bit more than your average level of commitment. If you’ve got one of the especially athletic dog breeds, then this organized, high-energy tournament style exercise may be for the two of you.
It’s a glorified obstacle course, in which you and your dog compete against other pet-owner teams to see who will be the fastest while chasing a released tennis ball and bringing it back to the starting position. Some obstacle courses consist of hurdles to make the competition even more fierce.
Similarly, you can find an agility class at a nearby community college or business center. You’ll realize that dogs with high-energy absolutely love these kinds of activities, and will be itching to return week-after-week.
Find Other Dogs to Play With
This is as natural of an activity as it gets. In the wild, animals constantly interact to sharpen their reflexes for an eventual hunt. Although your domesticated pet doesn’t hunt much; the effects of playing with other friendly dogs does wonders for its mental and physical health. Find a group at a dog park or any other establishment and your work is done. The dogs will naturally make packs and devise games to play that will burn off some of their prodigious energy.
Tracking Tasks
For most dogs, if there’s one thing they do far better than humans – it’s using their sense of smell. For a creed such as a bloodhound, this sense is flat-out incredible. Although other dogs can’t smell quite as well, they can nonetheless do so much better than people can. Help your dog engage its tracking skills by playing games with household items.
For example, you can grab your favorite shawl and hide it somewhere around your property. Then, let the dog find it using its nose. Similarly, if you prefer the outdoors, do the same thing in a neighborhood park. The latter will let you also get some physical exercise that day.
Walking Your Dog in Winter?
In the infographic below you can see eight basic steps to walking your dog in the winter.
