Proper exercise is an important part of helping dogs with behavior issues such as aggression and separation anxiety. It’s also quite beneficial for a dog’s mental health even if he or she doesn’t have behavior issues.
Your dog may appear to be very active when he first enters your backyard. After all, he does have canine chores to perform, like patrolling the perimeter and sniffing his turf for signs of intruders. He may also need to do a thorough inspection of the barbeque and, of course, he must very carefully select just the right spot to relieve himself. Heck, he might even stalk a bird or run back and forth along the fence for a bit.
But once he’s checked off all the items on his To Do list, you’ll find him standing at the door waiting to be let back in. If you don’t immediately comply, chances are his next move – especially if the weather is nice – will be to lie down for a nap
Wild dogs spend most of their time resting to conserve energy for hunting, and because they don’t know how long it will be until they eat again. Domesticated dogs evolved in a similar fashion. Research has shown that when a pet dog has no other dogs around and no humans encouraging her to be active, she will spend 80 percent of her time resting. A pet dog who has other dogs around for company spends a little less time resting — about 60 percent.
So, does letting your dog out in the back lawn to “run around” provide adequate and proper exercise? No.
The truth is that most dogs lie down a few minutes after you let them out in the back lawn. And if they get involved in some type of exercise on their own it is frequently not ideal (e.g., barking, digging, compulsive prey chasing, etc.). Last, and probably most importantly, there is no relationship building going on between owner and dog in this context.
Dogs need about 30 minutes each day of mental and physical exercise. Taking your dog out to eliminate does not count as exercise!
Much like us, dogs need motivation and a reason to exercise. But, unlike us, your canine best buddy won’t look at his waistline and think he needs to run off those few extra centimeters on his waist. Similarly, he doesn’t think seriously about his future health and longevity, and decide he needs a lifestyle change. Your dog thrives on social interaction with his pack-mates, both canine and human, and this is what gets him moving.
While having a canine playmate does encourage more activity, most dogs still need help from their owners to ensure that they get enough exercise each day. This means that no matter what size your back yard, you still need to go for walks and runs.
Instead of thinking that a dog needs a big back yard, or he’s getting enough exercise on his own out there, look at how much time an owner can spend exercising him.
Keep on loving life with your best friend!
