So you already take your pets on walks or let them play in the backyard. What’s next to make sure they are getting enough exercise?
Daily Walks are Best
Keep going on walks at least 3-5 times a week (more if you can). It is ideal that a dog go on a 30-45 minute walk several times a week. If they are doing less time, then work them up to this.
Interval Training, not just for Humans
Once your dog is able to consistently do 30-45 minute walks several times a day, try to start doing some interval training with them.
Apps like Couch to 5K are great to start doing intervals, but you can also keep it simple and just do a 5 minute warm up walk at a slow pace and then increase your pace for 2 minutes and back to normal for 2 minutes for the entirety of the walk.
Make sure to do a 5-minute cool down at the end of your walk if you start doing interval training.
The concept of interval training is the same for dogs as it is in humans – you can get more out of your workout by keeping your heart rate higher for a longer period of time than you do at a slow walk.
Even by just increasing your pace for a block, every other block can start to receive the benefits of interval training.
