Puppy Playtime: How to Keep Your Pet Active and Engaged

Dog Activities

June Blog

The First 48 Hours

Welcoming a new puppy can be both exhilarating and chaotic. In the first 48 hours, you can expect to clean up many accidents, but there will also be plenty of opportunities for napping and snuggling with your new furry friend. You will want to contact your veterinarian to schedule a first check-up, where you can discuss your puppy’s nutrition, grooming, parasite prevention, and vaccination requirements. It’s crucial to choose activities that are best suited to your puppy’s needs. Training, exercise, and social stimulation are essential for your puppy’s development, especially since puppies are most receptive to new experiences such as sounds, smells, and other animals, and learning good behaviors before they reach three months old.

Unique Considerations for Puppy Training & Exercise

When creating a training and exercise plan for puppies, consider their unique needs and circumstances such as body condition, health status, breed, environment, and schedule. It’s not surprising that smaller dog breeds generally require less physical activity than larger ones. Indoor exercise can be enough for smaller breeds like poodles, pugs, and Maltese puppies. Still, owners should be careful not to neglect their exercise needs. Overweight issues are common in smaller breeds, so keeping them active is essential. On the other hand, larger dogs and working breeds like Australian Shepherds need more vigorous exercise to stimulate their bodies and brains. When puppies are bored or have excess energy, they may resort to destructive behavior, such as digging or barking incessantly for attention. Providing chew toys like a Nylabone or Kong stuffed with kibble can be a helpful outlet for teething puppies in addition to regular playtime and walks.

Keeping Puppies Engaged and Mentally Stimulated

Because puppies have shorter attention spans than their older counterparts, breaking up their playtime and training sessions into shorter blocks is essential. You can consider 10-15 minute sessions or stop when your puppy becomes distracted. Add variety to your activities to keep your puppy engaged and mentally stimulated. Rotating through their toys and finding new places to play is a good idea. For example, a wooded trail offers new smells and exploration. Likewise, beach play can expose your pup to the texture of sand, some seagulls to chase, and water for splashing.

Indoor Puppy Playtime

If the temperature outside is too hot or cold, consider indoor dog parks and daycares specifically for puppies. Before joining a group, ensure your puppy has a clean bill of health from a veterinarian since puppies are more likely to get transmissible intestinal parasites due to their immature immune systems. Vaccines are essential; dogs are typically fully vaccinated by 4-5 months. While some retail stores are pet-friendly, call ahead before taking your puppy with you. If you have a neighbor with a well-behaved and healthy pet, you can plan fun games like tug-of-war or zoomies with them in your living room.

Protecting Your Puppy’s Growing Bones

As young puppies, especially those of larger breeds, have bones like the femur and radius in a state of rapid growth and development, high-impact exercises performed over a long period can cause orthopedic issues. It would help if you conditioned your puppy to longer hikes and light jogging gradually. While playing ball or running after a friend is acceptable, it is important to let your puppy decide when to rest and respect that. While you may look forward to going for a run with your dog, saving endurance sports for when your pup has completed most of its growth is best. Puppies and young dogs who limp may have overexerted themselves at the dog park or have developmental issues such as hypertrophic osteodystrophy or cartilage defects. If this lasts more than a day after exercise and despite rest, it is time to contact your veterinarian.

Starting Off Right: Puppy Obedience Training

Starting obedience training as soon as you bring your puppy home is crucial. Use training treats sparingly and maintain consistency with commands and cues. Consistent practice is the key. A well-trained pet is safer and more enjoyable. The importance of early training cannot be overstated, as it will help build your puppy’s confidence and strengthen your bond. It also forms the foundation for future training. Once your puppy is old enough for obedience classes, word of mouth, breed clubs, and your veterinarian’s office are great resources for finding a trainer or a class. Group training classes offer an excellent opportunity for your puppy to socialize and learn crucial non-verbal communication skills, such as bite inhibition, in a safe, supervised environment. With these efforts, your furry friend will soon be delightful.

At Pet Butler, we want you and your pet to live your best and healthiest lives, which is why we offer pet waste removal and other services year-round. We offer weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and one-time clean-up services to work with your schedule and needs.

How Much Exercise Does a Dog Need?

Pet Health

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Humans need regular exercise to maintain optimal health. By moving our bodies, we strengthen bones and joints, manage weight and chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, and improve immune system and cognitive function. Regular exercise also releases hormones that decrease stress.

Surprise! Our dogs are no different. And just like humans, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Because of age, breed and environmental variations, exercise requirements differ from dog to dog.

How Much Exercise Does My Dog Need Each Day?

A good baseline for most canines is one hour of activity per day.

For middle-aged, brachycephalic breeds such as Pugs and Bulldogs, several walks a day for 45-60 minutes cumulatively can be plenty. These dogs have restricted airflow due to their shortened snouts, and more vigorous activity can be harmful to their health, leading to respiratory distress. It’s also best to exercise in cool temperatures as their body heat can rise quickly.

Breeds such as Border Collies are built to sustain high-intensity and a longer duration of activity. These breeds can be active for two or more hours per day, which may include chasing a frisbee, going for a run with their human, practicing flyball and similar activities.

Sighthounds like Whippets and Greyhounds need relatively little exercise to meet their physical and mental needs. Built for speed, they are content with three walks a day, and they thrive when provided a few, safe off-leash opportunities to reach their maximum velocity. They tire easily and aren’t endurance athletes. Many retired sighthounds become excellent apartment-dwelling companions.

How Much Exercise Does a Puppy Need?

Not surprisingly, puppies need more physical activity than most adult or senior pets.

If you have a puppy, you’ve likely experienced the “Zoomies”—that quick sprint around a room or throughout your home. This is evidence of pent-up energy that needs to be expended.

Because of their developing limbs, puppies over four months should be exercised multiple times a day for one to two hours cumulatively. At a very young age, a leashed walk is not needed and is unlikely to be very productive since puppies are so distractable. Although, practicing leash-walking skills and recall exercises, such as “come when called”, constitute physical activity.

Playing with a ball, hide and seek with a toy or treat or playtime with other healthy dogs can be productive. Hiking is also a safe activity you and your pup can enjoy together. New sights, smells and terrain provide lots of opportunities for stimulation. Various muscle groups are utilized which is optimal for injury prevention and building strength. In inclement weather, running the stairs, playing tug-of-war and leveraging puzzle games are activities to enjoy.

How Much Exercise Does My Senior Dog Need?

Older dogs need exercise to maintain muscle mass, control weight and provide enrichment. A good rule of thumb to follow for senior dogs is that they need roughly 30 minutes of exercise per day.

Shorter, slower walks that incorporate hills are very beneficial. Swimming is an ideal exercise for older pets, too. They aren’t as likely to overheat, and the non-weight-bearing exercise is easy on arthritic limbs. It’s important to monitor your pet in the water as exhaustion can occur rapidly; life vests can help maintain buoyancy while allowing your pet to reap the benefits of swimming.

If your senior dog slows down, starts limping or seems otherwise physically stressed, stop exercising and consult your veterinarian.

How Do I Know If My Dog Isn’t Getting Enough Exercise?

Dogs that aren’t receiving enough exercise are relatively easy to identify.

Weight gain, in a general sense, reflects too many calories being consumed and not enough expended. A pet’s ideal weight can be determined by assessing their muscle and body condition. A pet with an abdominal tuck, palpable ribs and an hourglass shape, when seen from above, is at their ideal weight.

AKC breed standards can also be a rough guide as to where your purebred pup should fall on the scale. If your pet is 10% above their ideal weight, they are considered overweight. It’s time to get moving!

Under-exercised dogs can also exhibit a multitude of behavioral problems. Dogs that excessively bark, chew household items or pace around the house may not be receiving enough exercise. Lesions attributed to chronic licking such as lick granulomas on the limbs may be caused by boredom and stress. These lesions can look like red, raised, hairless spots on any or all the legs, especially near the wrists.

Muscle atrophy, or muscle wasting, can be a sign that your pet is too sedentary. Since other metabolic, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases can lead to muscle loss, it’s best to consult your veterinarian if you notice any changes in body condition. It’s also best to check in with the doctor before starting any new exercise routine.

At Pet Butler, we want your pet to feel and be their healthiest and happiest. Free up your time spent doing chores so you can have more quality time with your furry companion. We’ll take care of your dog’s waste removal on a weekly, every other week or monthly basis.

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