An Active Dog Is a Happy Dog: 6 Benefits of Dog Exercise

A dog’s life is full of a lot of lying around, eating, relaxing, getting belly rubs, sleeping, chewing, and pooping. After a stressful day or week of work, our dog’s life can look pretty enticing. Yet, a sedentary lifestyle is just as unhealthy for our pooches’ bodies as it is for our bodies. In fact, one of the best aspects of being a dog owner is the “two for one” bonus that comes from combining human exercise with dog exercise!

At Okoa Pet, we know exercise needs to be part of our furry friends’ daily lives the same way it needs to be part of our daily lives. Research shows that dog owners are more likely to stick with an exercise plan if they exercise with their dog. This might be a result of the fact that sometimes we treat our fur babies better than we treat ourselves.

An active dog is a happy dog, but regular exercise sessions provide many other benefits for our cuddly canines, too. Keep reading to learn more about the many reasons you should get your pooch out of the dog bed and get those paws pumping!

1. Dog Exercise Prevents Obesity

We’ve all done it—grabbed our pup’s jowls and in our best baby talk voice said: “Zsa-zsa-boo-boo, look at those cute little chubby puppy cheeks!” We’ve even done it to our aging dogs. Chubby dogs are cute and cuddly, but it’s simply not healthy for them to be overweight. Unfortunately (and consistent with human statistics), at least 50 percent of our canine friends in the United States are obese.

Exercising your dog prevents obesity and the negative impact it can have on the systems in their bodies. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, cancer, depression, dementia, chronic inflammation, bone diseases, and more. Regular activity allows your pup to maintain a healthy weight or shed extra weight to start reversing any obesity-related issues. Our pooches are only with us for a comparatively short time, and eliminating obesity truly extends their life.

2. Dog Exercise Curbs Naughty Behavior

Dogs can have behavioral issues for various reasons, with anxiety and boredom at the top of the list. Not only does regular exercise help decrease anxiety, but it also takes care of boredom. When you exercise your dog, you create a stronger bond and help them release stress, much the same way humans release stress during exercise. Similarly, exercise tires your dog and encourages a little restful downtime so boredom doesn’t creep in.

When your pooch is bored, your lawn, your furniture, your shoes, and anything else in reach can fall victim to Fluffy’s chompers. Bored dogs also bark a lot, at absolutely nothing. Bark. Bark. Bark-bark. Bark-bark-bark, until you go crazy. Do your yard, your personal belongings, and your ears a favor; make sure to get some exercise in every day.

3. Dog Exercise Maintains Strong Bones and Joints

dog and owner jogging on a footpath in the woods

Canines, like humans, maintain strong bones when they exercise regularly. Your dog’s muscles work directly with bone mass to promote healthy bone density. Specifically, physical activity activates special cells that improve bone mass. Your dog’s muscles work like an organ to the extent that the muscle tissues are what the body falls back on when your pooch has a health emergency. Additionally, exercise creates lubrication around your dog’s joints, promoting mobility and keeping joints healthy.

4. Dog Exercise Supports Healthy Aging

Dog owners of a certain age know that simply getting out of bed in the morning can create an orchestra of squeaks, creaks, cracks, and other weird noises because of aging joints. Aging dogs can suffer the same fate. But dog exercise keeps joints mobile and healthy, reduces arthritis, and prevents premature aging. You might think that your aging dog shouldn’t exercise because the movement causes pain, especially if arthritis is a factor. Yet, quite the opposite is true.

Exercise releases endorphins into your dog’s body and helps alleviate arthritic pain. When older dogs who suffer from arthritis remain sedentary, it’s far more likely that further degeneration of muscles and other tissues will occur. Sedentary dogs develop fatty tissue, which increases inflammation and potentially worsens arthritis.

5. Dog Exercise Promotes Happiness

Like humans, our dogs can feel depressed if they lose another furry friend, their routine changes, a baby arrives, or you move to a new home. Regular exercise promotes happiness and helps combat some situational depression. Simple, relaxing walks give your dog the opportunity to take in smells, sights, and sounds that get them to focus on things that make them happy: food, birds, squirrels, other dogs, food, grass, and more food. Additionally, our fur babies like spending time with us. When we exercise with them, we promote happiness as we increase their feeling of security.

6. Dog Exercise Promotes Better Health Overall

Many of the benefits of exercising your dog are intertwined because the systems in their bodies, like ours, are all connected. Some other general health benefits that pet experts associate with exercise include:

Lowered blood pressure
A healthy circulatory system
A healthy digestive system

In fact, walking your dog helps your dog poop more regularly and provides an opportunity for them to pee everywhere but your yard (an especially fun time for our male pooches). This regularity prevents constipation and urinary tract infections, neither of which are enjoyable scenarios. Your carpeting and floors will thank you if you take your dog for regular walks.

Support Your Pooch’s Exercise Routine with “Happy-Go-Puppy” Mobility Soft Chews

Whether your four-legged friend is recovering from an injury or slowing down because of aging, Okoa Pet’s “Happy-Go-Puppy” Mobility Soft Chews can help your pup keep moving. “Happy-Go-Puppy” Mobility Soft Chews are all-natural supplements with broad-spectrum CBD oil to support healthy joints. Additionally, the chews contain Green-Lipped Mussel and Wild New Zealand Roe Oil. The combination of the ingredients was formulated by a veterinarian to help relieve stiffness, promote healthy joints and hips, and make sure your pup has a healthy dog exercise regimen without discomfort or difficulty.