Are Long Walks at Weekends Damaging Your Dog’s Health?
Don’t turn him into a Weekend Warrior!
(A Weekend Warior is a dog that gets virtually no exercise during the week and is then given excessive exercise during the weekend)
by Friendsofthedog.co.za
As our lives seems to get busier and busier, many of us just don’t have the change of walking our dogs at any other times other than weekends. We may then take them on long walks, hikes or jogs, really believing that we are doing the best for them – they are getting out after all!
Think about this in human terms – you live a sedately life during the week, a lot of which may be sitting behind a computer, driving back and forward to work sitting reading the paper or watching TV, then at the weekends you go out for a long walk, hike or jog with your dog – not only is this putting a huge amount of strain on our own bodies, it is also doing damage to your dog!
Some results may be stiff or torn muscles, arthritic flare-ups, and possible tendon and ligament injuries.
If we ourselves work out during the week with short jogs, going to gym etc, we may then be putting even more stress on our dogs bodies – they have been living a sedate life at home during the week, and the excessive exercise at weekends can cause serious damage – we are totally abusing our dogs fitness levels and not even realizing it.
What we often see is owners that have been told their dogs are overweight and will immediately start to exercise them not taking into account their fitness level.
Another problem we often see, is where pups and adolescent dogs are concerned when it comes to excessive exercise – they are still growing and the excessive exercise could cause damage to growing bones, tendons, muscles etc.
Dogs are not like us either, we will tend to rest if we are tired, stiff or sore, whereas many dogs will literally run till they drop, ignoring the strain on their bodies. Remember, that dogs on average do not show signs of pain unless very sore, so we may not even pick up that the excessive exercise is doing damage, until the dog starts to show signs of pain, and then the damage has already been done.
How can we prevent damage when on walks?
Think about this in human terms – you live a sedately life during the week, a lot of which may be sitting behind a computer, driving back and forward to work sitting reading the paper or watching TV, then at the weekends you go out for a long walk, hike or jog with your dog – not only is this putting a huge amount of strain on our own bodies, it is also doing damage to your dog!
Some results may be stiff or torn muscles, arthritic flare-ups, and possible tendon and ligament injuries.
If we ourselves work out during the week with short jogs, going to gym etc, we may then be putting even more stress on our dogs bodies – they have been living a sedate life at home during the week, and the excessive exercise at weekends can cause serious damage – we are totally abusing our dogs fitness levels and not even realizing it.
What we often see is owners that have been told their dogs are overweight and will immediately start to exercise them not taking into account their fitness level.
Another problem we often see, is where pups and adolescent dogs are concerned when it comes to excessive exercise – they are still growing and the excessive exercise could cause damage to growing bones, tendons, muscles etc.
Dogs are not like us either, we will tend to rest if we are tired, stiff or sore, whereas many dogs will literally run till they drop, ignoring the strain on their bodies. Remember, that dogs on average do not show signs of pain unless very sore, so we may not even pick up that the excessive exercise is doing damage, until the dog starts to show signs of pain, and then the damage has already been done.
How can we prevent damage when on walks?
- When you do go for your weekend walk, don’t immediately go into fast mode – start of slowly with at least a 10-minute warm up. This will gradually increase both the heart rate and circulation, which will loosen the joints and increase the blood flow to the muscles. This will result in reducing both your own and your dog’s chance of injury - think about it, athletes take the time to warm up properly before a race.
- During your walk, take a few minutes break every so often and ‘smell the roses’ as the saying goes – this will give both of you a bit of a break.
- About ten minutes before your walk, jog or hike is ending, slow down and allow both you and your dog to cool down. The National Academy of Sports Medicine says that people do not always realize the importance of having a ‘cool down’ stage when it comes to exercise. They say that a cool-down provides the body with a smooth transition from exercise back to a state of rest, and results in a reduction of heart and breathing rates, cools body temperature, returns muscles to their optimal length-tension relationship, prevents venous pooling of blood in lower extremities and restores physiologic systems close to baseline.
- Watch the surface you are walking on. We don’t all have the opportunity to walk on grass, the beach etc and in some cases only have the option of walking/running on concrete or hard surfaces. Running on substances such as these is more invasive and can be very tough on cartilage and ligaments and can ultimately affect joints and cause inflammation and stiffness over time. Try to vary the surfaces your dog is walking on to prevent this happening. Also be aware of the temperature of the surface – we have shoes, but dogs don’t! Remember also to take water with you and offer it often, and even have a few minutes of a break on occasion on your walks.
How do we build our dog's stamina and fitness at home?
Our busy lives do not always allow us the time to take our dogs out for daily walks, however, just taking 10 minutes our of our busy lives daily, to help our dogs get fitter can go a long way to avoid damage to their bodies - regular short bursts of activity will help to keep your dogs muscles ready for the weekend outings which can then be enjoyed by both of your and prevent damage.
Here are a few ideas:
Where shelter dogs are concerened, the Weekend Warrior syndrome does concern us. What often happens, is that well meaning volunteers (we love them!) will take the dog straight out of its kennel for what is often a fast run, with both human and dog exhasusted! Rather they take the dogs on a warm up, have a good run, and then a cool down before bringing them back to their runs. During the warmup and cool-down, the dog can have a good sniff around which will help to supply mental stimulation. If you do know any wonderful volunteers who give their time to exercising shelter dogs, do mention the above to them to avoid injury to the dogs body. Enjoy your walks!
Our busy lives do not always allow us the time to take our dogs out for daily walks, however, just taking 10 minutes our of our busy lives daily, to help our dogs get fitter can go a long way to avoid damage to their bodies - regular short bursts of activity will help to keep your dogs muscles ready for the weekend outings which can then be enjoyed by both of your and prevent damage.
Here are a few ideas:
- No matter which method you choose, don’t just dive straight into it and ask your dog to run flat out – rather take him for a slow jog around the swimming pool or garden, gradually warming up muscles before going into full blown exercise.
- Get into the habit of having a game of ball a few times a week, gradually building up.
- A flirt pole as in the picture is a wonderful way to build up stamina. It can be built up slowly, and you can even have a bit of training built in by asking the dog to Wait, Drop It etc at the same time. As this stimulates the prey instinct, is greally enjoyed by dogs, but do keep the 'prey' close to the floor and avoid having the dog jumping into the air to catch the 'prey' which can impact on their bodies.
- Try to have a ten-minute walk once a day, starting slowly, building up and then with the slow down. During the warmup and cool down, you can let your dog have a good sniff around which will stimulate him mentally as well. Owners do not always realize that a ten-minute walk will supply their dogs with the mental and physical stimulation that is so important to them, plus, goes a long way to preventing behaviour problems. If time allows, then do try to include at least one longer walk during the week.
- According to Dr. St Clair, Swimming is one of the best, most complete forms of exercise for your dog. Just one minute of swimming equates to four minutes of running! It provides numerous health benefits, including strengthening the heart and lungs, decreasing inflammation, increasing metabolism, and improving circulation which helps keep the skin and coat healthy. Plus, moving their limbs against the resistance of the water uses every major muscle group, improving overall tone and strength. All this adds up to a healthy, happy dog who can run, play, and have fun for longer with less risk of injury.
- If you have carpeted stairs in your home, after your warmup, have a game of tossing a ball up the stairs for your dog to fetch and return.
- If you don’t have the time, try bribing you children to exercise your dog, or else do consider the services of a dog walker who can take your dog out about twice a week.
- If you have children, show them how to have a great game of agility with the dog, using household items such as buckets with a pole over them as jumps, and even a large sized box as a tunnel. Do explain the importance of a warmup to them beforehand. Not only with dog and kids have a great time, this will cement the bonds between children and dog.
- Treadmills - fine for helping to build up your dogs stamina in very limited amounts, however the dog has to be correctly desensitized to using one, and not just put on it, and tied by a lead so it can't get off! A treadmill does not supply the mental stimulation that a walk supplies for a dog either - if you have ever tried one, you will know how boring just walking with no scenary in front of you can be, and bearing in mind that a dogs sense of smell is over 45 times stronger than ours, must be even more boring! Additionally, if using one of these to build up your dogs stamina, it must be done slowly, gradually building up the speed and taking into consideration the cool down period.
- Prevent your dog becoming overweight as this will put even more strain on the body. If your dog is a bit overweight, have a word with you vet regarding current feeding and how you can bring in a bit of daily exercise to get the weight down.
- Ensure your dog is eating the very best food you can afford - just like humans, we are what we eat and diet can greatly affect health.
Where shelter dogs are concerened, the Weekend Warrior syndrome does concern us. What often happens, is that well meaning volunteers (we love them!) will take the dog straight out of its kennel for what is often a fast run, with both human and dog exhasusted! Rather they take the dogs on a warm up, have a good run, and then a cool down before bringing them back to their runs. During the warmup and cool-down, the dog can have a good sniff around which will help to supply mental stimulation. If you do know any wonderful volunteers who give their time to exercising shelter dogs, do mention the above to them to avoid injury to the dogs body. Enjoy your walks!
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