The importance of a healthy outlet

When it comes to exercising our dogs, most of my clients measure satisfactory exercise as a measurement of time. I exercise my dog for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours – once twice, three times a day. We very rarely talk about what that exercise looks like, what it teaches, or the needs that it fulfils.

When I speak to clients about exercise, I want them to think about exercise in terms of purpose – that sense of purpose that a dog receives when they are practicing an activity that they were bred for, or taught to do. Purpose is essential for mental wellbeing in humans, and the same is true for dogs. Having a job to do, even if that job is retrieving games with a ball, or running an agility circuit – or evening something more mundane like going for a walk in a busy place with lots of new and challenging forms of stimulation for the brain – having purpose is a much better way of fulfilling our dogs, than looking at exercise on its own.

You may exercise your dogs for 4 hours a day – but what purpose are your dogs being given in that time – what are you teaching them? How much of that time is dedicated to their relationship with you? What about time dedicated to practicing natural behaviours? Do they practice a little, or maybe too much? How much do you think about what a healthy outlet for your dogs instinctual and genetic needs looks like?

Is there a chance that the outlet you are providing could be having a negative consequence? If you have a particularly prey driven dog, and you let that dog run across country fields for hours every day, how is that going to develop over time, and how might that be detrimental in a human world?

What if your dog plays ball for hours every day? Do you have a limit on that behaviour? Can you stop your dog chasing the ball, or ask them to do other things when playing with the ball? Or do they just obsess and fixate on it for hours on end?

I teach my clients to think about exercising their dog for 10% of their dogs day, and providing purpose for 20% of your dogs day. That purpose can take many different forms – from the most mundane activities like chewing on a yak bar, or sniffing about in the garden – to structured activities like frisbee or a ball, obedience skills – or taking your dog with you on your errands. Being part of life, and draining energy come hand in hand, but don’t need to mutually exclusive.  In simple terms – get involved with your dog. Do more, take them to more places. Practice different skills. Develop healthy habits.