Pet exercise?

[trillionaire]

How much exercise does your furry friend get? Anyone can reply, I do know someone who walks his cat! lol

My gal and I get to the dog park a few times a week, and walk a few days a week. I want to be better about being consistent, but I hate the heat in the summer, and she can''t handle the heat at the dog park... so it''s a juggling act of me carving out time to ''exercise her'' everyday! Not complaining, I just wonder what others do? Our walks are usually 40-60 minutes, or if we run, then 25-35mins.

 

[brooklyngirl]

We try to get to the dog run once or twice a week, and stay 1-2 hours at a time. I walk Bender twice a day, and try to give him 30 minutes per walk. Since I''m home now, I try to play with him during the day. We either play fetch or tug of war, but I think tug of war is more exercise for me than the dog

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My cats do not get any exercise! Every day they both sit in front of the door asking to go outside, and when I do let them out, each goes and sits in their favorite spots and falls asleep under Japanese maples until they are called back inside. They each burn about 10 calories per day!

 

[klewis]

During the week we take Balu & Rafi out every night for brisk 20-25minute walk. Halfway we stop at the horse paddock and hope the horses are at our end of their paddock so we can chat with them. Balu & Rafi love the interesting scents. During our weekends we have long leisurely riverside walks of an hour or two.

 

[Sabine]

My dog goes on 3-4 walks a day...2 short ones and at least one long one in the afternoon. And then she will want to play maybe once every 3 nights or so, so we will throw a toy for her and wrestle with her until she stops. Although she loves to walk, if we try to take too many long walks she''ll get to the point where she''ll just stop and not want to go any further and needs to be coaxed back home. She''s really happiest laying/sleeping on the couch next to us.

 

[whitby_2773]

my dogs get 30-60 minutes a day. on weekends they get an off-lead run, and of course they play together a great deal, so there''s much jumping and chasing which goes on outside. they also go out with us pretty regularly in the car as we''re aware they get bored like anyone else. sometimes they''ll get a second walk if they seem restless. they also go out for shows, lessons, training, and if we go away for the weekend, we always try to go places where they can go with us.

all in all, their lives are very full. and i''m home with them during the day too, so they have company and cuddles on demand.

 

[Maisie]

Blossom gets an hour each day. I must be honest and say I sometimes miss her walk if its pouring with rain. She doesn''t like it when its wet anyway so she would probably refuse to go out!

 

[bee*]

Amber gets a 30 min walk about 5 times a week and then a really long walk up the mountains usually on Saturdays. Manolo tears around the house all day but he also goes on a lead out to the back garden.

 

[Haven]

We've realized that Bailee needs at least two hours of exercise a day. She gets at least an hour and a half every day during the week, but sometimes were bad and we don't get that last half hour in. The weekends are great, we definitely get two hour a day with her, then.

We run, walk, bike, skate, plat fetch, etc. She's a super high energy dog, it's been a great influence on us.

ETA: Our three kitties get some exercise by chasing each other and the dog around every day, but we don't organize that. They just get the crazies and start romping around.

And when it's too cold to go outside with Bailee, we chase her around the house. It's so funny, we just have to stand a certain way and she knows it's on!

 

[whitby_2773]

Date: 6/7/2009 3:23:00 PM
Author: Haven
We''ve realized that Bailee needs at least two hours of exercise a day. She gets at least an hour and a half every day during the week, but sometimes were bad and we don''t get that last half hour in. The weekends are great, we definitely get two hour a day with her, then.


We run, walk, bike, skate, plat fetch, etc. She''s a super high energy dog, it''s been a great influence on us.


ETA: Our three kitties get some exercise by chasing each other and the dog around every day, but we don''t organize that. They just get the crazies and start romping around.


And when it''s too cold to go outside with Bailee, we chase her around the house. It''s so funny, we just have to stand a certain way and she knows it''s on!

haven - i know exactly what you mean!

we play ''keeping off'' with our dogs, and we''ll battle over rope toys, empty plastic bottles, stuffed animals - anything that can be tugged HARD. we look at whichever dog we want to play with, sort of crouch forward as tho we''re poised ready to spring forwards or away, then go "oh ho hooooo!" in a ''what''s all this then?!'' kind of tone. as soon as they hear that - it''s ON!

 

[soocool]

I''ve got a 2 yr old mini-schnauzer who gets lots of exercise each day. We take 3 long (1 - 1 1/2 mile walks each day) and then run on the lawn chasing each other, playing fetch, or catching balls. If it rains I have a laser light that he chases around the house.

Twice a year we sign up for Rally or Agility classes at a nearby pet kennel/training school.

 

[rainwood]

Our dog gets at least a 3-mile walk every day and sometimes 2 walks that total about 5 miles. We walk no matter what. With a Labrador, there''s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing choices. If it''s going to be hot, we walk really early because neither of us can take the heat, then again after the sun has started to set and it''s cooling off.

Inside, we often race up and down the stairs and she always wins, plus play ball at various times during the day. She needs quite a bit of exercise. As do I, but for different reasons.

 

[lyra]

Slightly OT, but I''d like to hear about Chihuahuas. Our adoptee is 9 months old now, and is just a bundle of energy from 7 am to midnight!! I walk her on short walks and she hates it if it''s too windy (tends to blow her around a bit), or she just fusses a lot 3/4 of the way through. Other than that, she tears around the house and the yard, and loves to play fetch which is odd, since I don''t think Chihuahua''s are historically known as retrievers. Do they ever settle down?

We''re constantly trying for that "a tired dog is a good dog thing", but she has more energy than we do.

 

[LostSapphire]

Date: 6/7/2009 6:53:03 PM
Author: lyra
Slightly OT, but I'd like to hear about Chihuahuas. Our adoptee is 9 months old now, and is just a bundle of energy from 7 am to midnight!! I walk her on short walks and she hates it if it's too windy (tends to blow her around a bit), or she just fusses a lot 3/4 of the way through. Other than that, she tears around the house and the yard, and loves to play fetch which is odd, since I don't think Chihuahua's are historically known as retrievers. Do they ever settle down?

We're constantly trying for that 'a tired dog is a good dog thing', but she has more energy than we do.

Hi Lyra

I have a couple of Cairn Terriers. The youngest (Robbie Burns) is now 4, but he was totally WIRED FOR SOUND from the minute we got him. I had some very frustrating times with him as it didn't seem he would ever grow up or settle down a bit.

We discovered that he totally LOVES lessons. Of any kind. It challenges his brain and he has changed a lot in about 6 months. I try and teach him tricks, plus do the usual obedience stuff. We hadn't really done much of that with him when he was younger because our first dog didn't seem to need it so we were kind of stupid on that front....

I can say the word "lessons" from anywhere in the house and he comes and sits on the mat at the back door, waiting for them. Such a good little doggie-student he is!!

Yesterday we dropped in to a dog show where they had flyball competitions. Robbie went absolutely nuts for it. He's already quite a runner/speedster. We have noticed on one of the Cairn fun days, he loved doing the races...so tomorrow I'm calling to sign him up for flyball.

There are also agility classes that a lot of dogs enjoy too.

Just a thought....maybe your Chihuahua needs some intellectual stimulation? HTH.

(sorry for the mini threadjack trill!)
LS

 

[soocool]

Date: 6/7/2009 7:14:13 PM
Author: LostSapphire

Hi Lyra

I have a couple of Cairn Terriers. The youngest (Robbie Burns) is now 4, but he was totally WIRED FOR SOUND from the minute we got him. I had some very frustrating times with him as it didn''t seem he would ever grow up or settle down a bit.

We discovered that he totally LOVES lessons. Of any kind. It challenges his brain and he has changed a lot in about 6 months. I try and teach him tricks, plus do the usual obedience stuff. We hadn''t really done much of that with him when he was younger because our first dog didn''t seem to need it so we were kind of stupid on that front....

I can say the word ''lessons'' from anywhere in the house and he comes and sits on the mat at the back door, waiting for them. Such a good little doggie-student he is!!

Yesterday we dropped in to a dog show where they had flyball competitions. Robbie went absolutely nuts for it. He''s already quite a runner/speedster. We have noticed on one of the Cairn fun days, he loved doing the races...so tomorrow I''m calling to sign him up for flyball.

There are also agility classes that a lot of dogs enjoy too.

Just a thought....maybe your Chihuahua needs some intellectual stimulation? HTH.

(sorry for the mini threadjack trill!)
LS

My dog did Flyball last year and absolutely loved it. However, I guess there wasn''t enough interest after that so they don''t offer it anymore where we go for lessons. We do Agility for Fun (no competition) and Rally now.

 

[Dannielle]

Nothing!

But I need to because my cat has the biggest pooch! FI feeds her constantly.. chicken, bacon, steak.. fatty!

 

[mia1181]

<---------------------------------------- This guy gets zero exercise. It''s so interesting to read how much exercise you guys are giving your pets. We used to do daily walks for him and now that he isn''t walking so well, the only exercise he gets is around the house. And we can only use his wheelchair once in a while. This thread made me realize how much I miss our long walks and how they were such a nice chance for DH and I to talk (even though we ended up carrying him on the way home anyway). We''d love to get another dog soon, but I think I''d feel bad leaving him home while we take the other dog out.

 

[elrohwen]

I have a bunny, but he needs exercise too!

He used to run around in his enclosure a bit, but wouldn''t come out at all and I worried he wasn''t getting enough exercise (he mostly lounged). He''s just recently got the guts to explore our house and now it''s a fight to get the little bugger back in his cage

I would say he gets a few hours of run around the house time each day.

I adore dogs and want one some day, but I''ll admit it''s nice to have a pet that can exercise inside. I''m not looking forward to cold and rainy walks for a dog.

 

[princesss]

I try to play with the cats each day, but Lola doesn''t deign to play back most of the time. She kind of watches me play and laughs at me.

Ezra LOVES to play. He runs, he jumps, he swats...he''s a very entertaining cat.

Bodhi (BF''s dog) goes to the dog park almost daily, and he lives with 2 other dogs, so he''s always running and playing. Added to that, BF takes him on 2 long walks a day, usually between 1 and 3 miles each. On weekends when we have time and the weather is good, we take him on short hikes with us (under 5 miles). I think he''s about to grow a lot, though, because he''s pretty calm right now and sleeping a lot (he''s 6 months old). But he''s always willing to go on a walk, he just doesn''t play with the other dogs at the dog park very much. It''s honestly like he looks at them playing in the mud and looks at them going, "You idiots, you''ll get DIRTY if you do that!"

 

[ursulawrite]

We live in a Manhattan apartment, so I''m very aware of giving my dog enough exercise. Mornings she either gets 60 minutes at the dog park or an off-leash romp in Central Park, 45-60 minutes of on-leash walking in the afternoon, and a short walk at night. We also hike outside the city most weekends.

 

[musey]

The nice thing about our little guy is that just throwing a ball across the apartment gets him CRAZY tired! He''s so small that back and forth across the 500sf apt. is actually quite exerting.

He is strangely athletic for his size, though, and can handle a couple hours of rigorous hiking. I try to take him running with me, but he''s too easily distracted and can''t handle a running pace for more than 10 minutes or so. Oh well.


Anyway, to answer your question, we''re not structured as far as scheduling exercise time, but he does get in at least 1 mile 3x per week, on average.

 

[musey]

Date: 6/7/2009 3:23:00 PM
Author: Haven

And when it''s too cold to go outside with Bailee, we chase her around the house. It''s so funny, we just have to stand a certain way and she knows it''s on!

LOL - I know this stance exactly!! I can just look at our dog in an excited way and he gets SO pumped up, starts grumbling and quiet barking, running around like crazy. He''s so excitable!