Can you imagine being at home everyday, sitting around with nothing to do?! I bet you would feel frustrated after a while. The same happens with your dog. Dogs need exercise to maintain their physical health, to stimulate their brain and to prevent frustration and boredom.
The amount of exercise a dog needs depends on breed, age, health and individual needs but ALL dogs need it! Small Breeds don’t usually get enough exercise because they are small and people assume it’s not needed. It is important to do some research and find out what is the correct amount of exercise for your dog.
Here’s some signs your Dog needs more:
1. Excessive Barking
Excessive barking can be one of the many signs of lack of exercise. If your dog is FRUSTRATED and bored then barking is probably one of the best ways for them to let you know that. Remember, dogs can’t talk so they will bark to get your attention.
Also, lack of exercise can lead to a much more ANXIOUS dog. The dog will be more aware of every single noise outside, therefore it is likely your dog will bark excessively.
2. Asking for attention
The correct amount of exercise will tire your dog both physical and mentally. By having that time to sniff, run, chase, your friend will be exhausted and more than happy to go home and settle. “A tired dog is a good dog”.
3. Destructive Behaviour
If your dog is feeling bored with nothing to do and energy to burn it’s likely you will find some chewed shoes, holes in your garden, destroyed furniture, etc. Anything more fun than sitting around will do for them! Enough exercise will help your dog to lower his energy levels and this DESTRUCTIVE behaviour is more unlikely to occur. Also, give your dog appropriate chew toys. This will help if unwanted chewing is an issue.
4. Obesity
Just like humans, lack of exercise can lead to obesity. If you realise your dog is putting weight on then he’s probably not getting enough exercise. It’s important your dog has a healthy weight. Overweight causes a lot of HEALTH PROBLEMS such as diabetes, heat intolerance, liver dysfunction, damage to joints, heart disease and much more.
5. Socialisation issues
If your dog is not getting enough exercise is most likely to get easily over excited. High energy levels will make it hard for your dog to read other dog’s body language. They are so excited they just want to play! ROUGH PLAY tends to happen when a dog has a lot of ” bottled up ” energy. They won’t have the self control to play nicely with other dogs, they won’t know when to stop and play can quickly escalate to a fight.
