As the mercury rises in these dog days of summer, being outside can be exhausting and downright dangerous, for humans and dogs alike. Early morning and late evening will be the best times for outdoor activities, when the heat has subsided a bit. However, you’ll be happy to hear that there’s plenty you can do inside by way of exercise, as some common everyday tricks make for a great workout!
“Take a Bow” or “Downward Dog” (a “doga” pose)
The bow (front legs on the floor, standing on back legs) is a natural stretch, one that dogs will often do when they first rise from a nap. It’s a great way to start out an exercise session. Some dogs will easily go into a bow position by luring as if for a “down” but doing it from a stand rather than from a sit. Other dogs go directly to the down, whether from sit or stand. If this is the case, then you’ll have to shape the behavior. Starting from a stand, take the lure just a few inches below your dog’s nose level, so that he has to tuck his neck down a bit to follow the lure. Say “Yes!” and treat. When this is repeatable, try moving your hand a few inches lower but still not entirely to the ground. Again your dog will hopefully tuck his head even lower but remain standing. If he flops down to the floor, then go back to your previous stage and inch down the hand signal more gradually. At each stage where he’s tucking his head, maybe even bending the front legs, but remain on his back legs, say “Yes!” and give a treat. Even jackpot him for each new criteria he achieves. Before you know it, your dog will be bowing pretty as can be!
Tug
Tug is no doubt one of your dog’s favorite pastimes! Fortunately, it’s a great strength-building exercise as well as a fun bonding activity that we can do with our dogs. By holding the tug at head level, your dog is working out his rear legs. By tugging at ground level, he’s working out his front legs. Caution: It’s important that you do not jerk the tug toy quickly from side to side or up and down, as this can cause injury.
Shake
Shake is more than just a trick. It helps your dog get more comfortable with people touching his paws. It’s also a great strengthening exercise for your dog’s shoulders. With your dog in a sit, hold a treat above his head and off to one side. By rocking him to the side, often he will pick up the opposite front paw to reach for it. Mark it with a happy “yes!”, grab the paw with your other hand, and open the treat hand to reveal the treat. After he is consistently offering a paw, say the verbal command “shake” or “give paw” in front of it. By switching sides, you can train a “left paw” and “right paw” behavior.
Strength training: Once your dog has gained fluency, give the hand cue from higher up so that he has to lift his paw higher. Start with 5 repetitions each side and gradually increase to 20 repetitions, cuing from both the front and the side. Do this exercise every other day, with the day off in between to allow the muscles to mend.
On Wednesday, there will be a follow-up article on more ways of exercising our dogs inside. So give a peek back!
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