August 27th, 2010
By Eric Letendre
“Well, now that we understand management of behavior and how to use confinement to get good results we need to move on to step two. This is an extremely important topic, exercise.
“Now, the second step in my Reverse Dog Training Method is to give your dog enough exercise. Obedience training can not overcome pent up energy. Many dogs suffer from not receiving enough stimulation.” Eric went on to add, “There are two forms of exercise that every dog needs. Your dog needs a good dose of both physical and mental stimulation. Let’s talk about physical exercise first.
“When you physically exercise your dog you need to think aerobic exercise. We need to get Peanut’s heart rate up and keep it up. This does two things. First it will keep him in good physical shape. Obesity in dogs is becoming a problem in the United States. Second, by giving Peanuts sustained aerobic exercise, you allow him to burn off the energy that he’s been building up all day.”
“What about taking him for a walk?” I asked, even though walking him wasn’t a very pleasant experience, it’s what I had heard you were supposed do with your dog for exercise.
“Yes, of course walking your dog is important, but at least four to five times a week you need to let your dog stretch his legs and run,” Eric answered.
“Now some other ways to physically exercise Peanuts are to play retrieving games, tug-o-war, hiking, swimming and jogging. One of the very best ways to exercise your dog is to let him play with other dogs. If you have a friend that has a dog and Peanuts gets along with him, set up some time so they can play together.
Dog daycare is also becoming very popular. Most dog daycares are set up to let a number of dogs play in controlled and supervised play sessions,” Eric added.
He continued, “Everyone knows that taking your dog for a walk is a good thing, but taking your dog for a run is even better. When you exercise Peanuts, focus on increasing his heart rate. You really want to get the blood pumping. You want your dog to go aerobic.”
At the look on my face he quickly added, “This doesn’t require you to become an athlete. If you are, great, but if you are like me, I try to make things as easy as possible. Retrieving games are my favorite way to exercise my dogs. I can stand in one spot and have my dogs do all the work.
“Here’s a funny little story for you. My Shetland sheepdog, Sammi, does not like to retrieve but she loves to herd and chase. I can still exercise her with retrieving games though, because she will chase the other dogs when I am throwing the ball for them.
“When it comes to mental activities for Peanuts, there are a number of ways to accomplish this. Doing obedience and teaching him how to do tricks is a great way for you to interact, and at the same time give him a mental workout. There are also some toys that you can leave for Peanuts that will keep him occupied when no one is home.
As I said earlier, Kong toys are a great toy to leave behind. Stuff three or four Kong toys and leave them in the crate. Once Peanuts is out of the crate and allowed some freedom in the house, you can leave the stuffed Kong toys hidden all around.
“Remember, your dog needs both physical and mental exercise. If you do both forms of exercise, you can eliminate sixty to seventy five percent of your problem behaviors. Dogs were bred to perform certain tasks. Many of those activities required the dog to use a lot of physical energy.
Herding, hunting, and chasing were common activities for the dog to perform. As we moved from the agriculture age into the industrial age, the role of working dogs was greatly reduced. One hundred years ago, a dog was required to work. Today, most dogs will never do the tasks or activities that they were bred for.
“Like I said before, I have a Shetland sheepdog. She was bred to herd sheep and livestock. Right now she is about fifteen years old. She has never herded a single sheep, and I doubt that she ever will. It is my job to make sure that she gets enough exercise.
If she receives enough stimulation, she will be able to live in the house with me. If she doesn’t get enough stimulation, then there is a good chance that she will find activities to do on her own like chewing on the furniture, digging holes, ripping the shingles off the house, you get the picture.
“If your dog gets enough physical and mental stimulation you will see many of the behavior problems disappear. Usually, when I have to go to someone’s home to help them with their dog, I can tell within three minutes that the dog doesn’t have a behavior problem, he has an exercise problem.”
“Those all sound like a great ideas,” I said, relieved that walking Peanuts wasn’t the only way to exercise him.
“The other toy that I like to use is a buster cube. A buster cube can be found at most pet stores. If they don’t have them in stock, they can usually order one for you. A buster cube is a square cube that has a hollow center with some compartments on the inside.
You can pour Peanut’s food into the cube and shake it up. The food becomes trapped inside. When you put it on the ground, Peanuts will smell his food in the cube. As he starts to paw at it, some of the food will fall out. This will motivate him to push it some more. It will also keep him occupied and give him a mental workout.”
“Do you know where I can get one of those?” I asked. I definitely would be heading to the pet store today.
“Any pet store should carry them or you can even check on-line,” Eric answered. He added, “Always remember that it is your responsibility to provide Peanuts with enough physical and mental stimulation. If he is bouncing off the walls, there is a good chance that you need to exercise him.”
“I understand,” I replied. I realized that Peanuts had not been getting enough exercise before and made a silent promise to myself to do everything possible, even bring Peanuts to…what was it called…a dog daycare…or whatever Eric had said to solve this problem.
“Okay,” said Eric, eager to get onto the next step, but needing to be sure that I had understood everything so far. “Let’s do a quick recap. So far we have talked about two of the steps that you need to know in order to become a good dog owner. You need to effectively manage Peanut’s behavior and you need to give him enough exercise. Got it?” Eric asked.
“Yes” I answered.
Chapter 4 is the last chapter I am sharing on my blog. To get the other 11 dog training, information packed chapters go to Amazing Dog Training Man Book.
Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States and has been training dogs for over 20 years, teaching regular, average, every-day owners all over the world how to get the training results they want as fast as possible. Eric is also the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Improve Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States. For more than 20 years, he has been developing dog training "hacks" that have worked for dog owners all over the world. Eric operates from a home office or a laptop while traveling and draws on his experience and passion for dog training to show others how to develop a dog that is truly “Man’s Best Friend”.
Eric is the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Hack Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
