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Exercise For Dogs

Our first priority…

Ruff Breaks are exhilarating experiences for dogs. The Ruff Break comes to your house to give your dog the exercise it needs, with one of the activities listed below, so that it can enjoy the rest of its day in a relaxed state of mind. These activities accomplish the following goals:

  • Allow your dog to burn off excess energy
  • Allow your dog to socialize with other dogs
  • Teach your dog to ignore distractions and reinforce basic obedience
  • Keep your dog looking great, feeling healthy and balanced

Nature provides the gym, we provide the exercise! Ruff Breaks last for an average of 40 minutes and fall under one of the categories listed below. During these activities, dogs learn to ignore distractions such as unfamiliar people, cars, barking dogs, etc. The emphasis during Ruff Breaks is on pack cohesion, which is a primal activity, and one that has been ingrained in them for hundreds of years. The pace of the activity depends on safety, the particular dog’s abilities, and the environment. When we are done exercising, we take a few minutes to reinforce basic obedience commands like sit, stay, leave it, etc.

Walks and Hikes: We seek out new and interesting paths for your dog. Sometimes its a local park, sometimes in your neighborhood, sometimes along a county dirt road. It all depends on the environment, but we like to be creative! This is an all-season activity. Some dogs require more of a challenge from a walk, so occasionally we will use doggy backpacks. This technique essentially doubles the intensity of the walk.
Running: These generally follow the same paths as the walking and hiking activities. The duration is the same, but the pace is much quicker, keeping the dogs more focused on the activity and less on distractions.
Roller Blading: Exhilarating! For the dogs and for us. Similar pace to running, but blades let us go longer distances for high energy dogs. And it looks cool!
Biking: Another one of our all season activities and my personal favorite… For dogs that love to run, and run, and run… this activity will have them saying “ahhhh” after its all done and right before they settle down for a well deserved nap! Although this may look hard, its easier than you think. We’ve been doing this for a long time and have mastered the ins and outs of riding bikes with dogs.
Weight Pulling: Intense exercise for intense dogs! Weight pulling can build confidence, strength and focus in dogs. This is a great activity for dogs that need a “job”.
Treadmill: This is an all season activity so no need to worry about your dog putting on some extra weight during the cold winter months. If its “raining cats and dogs” we’ve got your pet energy needs covered. Because the treadmills are indoors, you can be sure, rain or shine, your dog will get its daily dose of needed exercise. Dogs typically take between 2-5 sessions to get comfortable on a treadmill. The pace is specific to the dog’s energy needs and abilities at the time. If you have a treadmill in your home, we can train your dog(s) to use it. Schedule a treadmill session today!
Swimming: There is no better way to beat the heat than taking a cool refreshing dip into water. Many of the dogs we exercise absolutely love water, especially the hunting breeds like labs and retrievers.
Skijoring: For dogs that love to run in the winter… Their genetic instinct to follow trails really shines during this activity, day or night! Dogs that do this often with us will start to understand basic directional commands like GEE (right) and HAW (left).
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