Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Winterscizing your Doodle
I got this bit of information from Spash Dogs and thought I would share it with you.
Dogs, like humans are more inclined to gain weight over the winter months due to inactivity and of course those yummy holiday scraps! With the inactivity and extra yummies can come extra weight and a dog who is stressed mentally as well as physically. When winter hits, along with it come the holidays, shorter days and much cooler temperatures. It is hard to find time for yourself, let alone your beloved pet. Take a different approach to excercising and caring for your dog over the winter and think outside of the box.
Below are some great tips to keep your dog happier and healthier over the winter months.
- teach your dog some new tricks; dogs are very intelligent creatures and love to learn new things, pick up a book on tricks or check out the internet and see how many new tricks you and your dog can master over the winter. This will also help build your dog's focus on you, as you are building a stronger working relationship with your dog.
- Cut down on your dog's food intake by 1/4. With less activity your dog may not need the extra calories to fuel themselves. This will help prevent any uneeded weight gain that will eventually have to be taken off in the spring. If you are in a cooler climate your dog may need the extra food to help insulate itself, so it is always best to check with your veterinarian first.
- Set up a mini agility course in your house or garage. Agility equipment is pretty easy to make and you would be surprised what you can come up with around the house. Make a jump or two out of a few chairs and broomsticks, how about makeing a tunnel, same concept as the jumps but place jumps near eachother and drape a blanket over the broomsticks. Be creative.
- Play indoor games with your dog like hide and seek, find the treat, fetch and tug games. Find the treat is similar to the three card monte. Use plastic cups and hide a treat under one and then move the cups around. Then ask the dog to find it, she gets the treat if she's right and sees where the treat was if she is wrong.
- Do you have a treadmill? Teach your dog to walk and trot on the treadmill. For a more vigorous work out try adding a doggy backpack with some water bottles in there for added weight.
- Condition your dogs core by exploring the world of wobble boards, balls and boxes. Core conditioning plays a big part of your dogs overall conditioning. There are several DVDs as well as articles on core conditioning on the internet, check it out and have a BALL!
Dogs, like humans are more inclined to gain weight over the winter months due to inactivity and of course those yummy holiday scraps! With the inactivity and extra yummies can come extra weight and a dog who is stressed mentally as well as physically. When winter hits, along with it come the holidays, shorter days and much cooler temperatures. It is hard to find time for yourself, let alone your beloved pet. Take a different approach to excercising and caring for your dog over the winter and think outside of the box.
Below are some great tips to keep your dog happier and healthier over the winter months.
- teach your dog some new tricks; dogs are very intelligent creatures and love to learn new things, pick up a book on tricks or check out the internet and see how many new tricks you and your dog can master over the winter. This will also help build your dog's focus on you, as you are building a stronger working relationship with your dog.
- Cut down on your dog's food intake by 1/4. With less activity your dog may not need the extra calories to fuel themselves. This will help prevent any uneeded weight gain that will eventually have to be taken off in the spring. If you are in a cooler climate your dog may need the extra food to help insulate itself, so it is always best to check with your veterinarian first.
- Set up a mini agility course in your house or garage. Agility equipment is pretty easy to make and you would be surprised what you can come up with around the house. Make a jump or two out of a few chairs and broomsticks, how about makeing a tunnel, same concept as the jumps but place jumps near eachother and drape a blanket over the broomsticks. Be creative.
- Play indoor games with your dog like hide and seek, find the treat, fetch and tug games. Find the treat is similar to the three card monte. Use plastic cups and hide a treat under one and then move the cups around. Then ask the dog to find it, she gets the treat if she's right and sees where the treat was if she is wrong.
- Do you have a treadmill? Teach your dog to walk and trot on the treadmill. For a more vigorous work out try adding a doggy backpack with some water bottles in there for added weight.
- Condition your dogs core by exploring the world of wobble boards, balls and boxes. Core conditioning plays a big part of your dogs overall conditioning. There are several DVDs as well as articles on core conditioning on the internet, check it out and have a BALL!
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