Walking Your Dog Is Not Exercise

One of the biggest problems with the world today is that everyone is very self-centered. This does not necessarily mean that they are selfish, but instead that they only see things from their own perspective. If something is being observed that is not exactly like their situation, many times they will react negatively or be critical of it. A perfect example is that when people see dogs being exercised on treadmills, they immediately assume that this is the only exercise that the dog is getting. They may say things like “the owner is lazy and does not walk the dog.” Unfortunately, they will make this assumption without knowing any of the facts surrounding the situation. Maybe the owner cannot walk the dog because they have a disability. Maybe they have been injured, and cannot talk long walks or hikes. Another possible situation is that the owner does take the dog for walks, lots and lots of them. As a matter of fact, they probably take that dog on far more walks than the person criticizing does. That person might now be confused and wonder why a person would use a treadmill to exercise a dog when they walk them as well. The answer is that they love them

Walking a dog at a human pace does almost nothing for them as far as exercise. A typical dog walking pace is easily double the typical human walking pace, if not more. Dogs will walk for hours with you without breaking a sweat, because what is difficult exercise for us is not difficult exercise for them. Their bodies are far more adapted for moving at fast paces than ours are, which is what enables them to catch rabbits and small food in the wild. Some dogs can run more than 30 miles per hour, a speed that humans can only hit in a car. The point is that walking at our pace is convenient for us, and it is good socialization and bonding time for the dog, but it is not exercise for them. Sniffing and peeing on things is not exercise. Looking up at us is not exercise for them. Dogs need to run at fast speeds in order to raise their heart rate to a point where it is actually benefiting them physically. No, walking around the block with you doesn’t even come close. The people saying “all you need to do is walk your dog” are actually doing the bare minimum, and are leaving out the critical exercise that the dog needs in order to live a long and happy life. The people exercising their dogs on treadmills are actually giving the dog the physical exercise it needs so as to walk with their owners for many more years.

Walking on a flat surface at a human pace puts 85% of a dog’s weight on their front paws. They use their back legs to balance and steer, but do not do much with them as far as exercise. The back leg muscles are only built up walking uphill, running or swimming. This is why you see dogs that have muscular front legs and skinny back legs, the muscles have atrophied because the owner is not giving them appropriate physical exercise. This is what treadmill exercise does for them, it gives them the ability to work out their rear end muscles along with their heart and lungs. This gives the dog a more appropriate workout for their bodies, instead of what we believe is appropriate just because it is tiring for us. Walking your dog is not exercise. Running your dog is what they need.