Lazy Owners, Lazy Dogs

By Karen Pryor, Clicker Training authority and author of several books on animal training

"The key to a well behaved dog is exercise," Marc Street, noted dog trainer and owner of The Happy Dog on Martha's Vineyard, states emphatically. "Ninety percent of all dogs need a good 20 to 30 minutes a day of serious aerobic-style exercise - not just a walk around the block."

This may be bad news for couch potatoes, but it's up to owners to carve out meaningful exercise time for their pets. As the trend toward pet pampering with luxury spas proliferates, too many canines are living far too sheltered lives.

Dogs can't join health clubs like humans do. Yet they need vigorous workouts, all the same. Designated dog runs in New York City provide a safe place for off lead running, but they exist infrequently in other metropolitan centers. In suburban and rural areas, electronic pet containment is the solution.

"It's been a godsend in providing a safe play space for not only my 3 dogs and 3 cats, but for many of my training clients as well," says Street. "My pets love the freedom it offers - they can get a great workout by running and playing, with or without me."

But if you don't have multiple companion animals to play with each other, it's important for the owner to create the stimulus that makes the animal run, fetch and frolic. "It's also a great way of bonding with your pets. Dogs are like people - they need human interaction to make them enjoy daily exercise," Street reminds. Just as humans need the social rewards of exercising with others that health clubs bring, pets should not be left in isolation.

Training provides an important way to bond and interact with your dog. Puppy kindergarten or an obedience class teaches simple exercises for both owner and dog to learn, and the social aspect of being introduced to other dogs and humans is invaluable. Then when the dogs are exposed to visitors or other companion animals, they're more likely to be properly behaved.

"So many dogs and cats are sacrificed needlessly by owners who can't handle poorly behaved pets," worries Dr. Peter Eeg, nationally renowned doctor of veterinary medicine. "It's not the dog's fault he has not been properly trained. With today's medical advances, there are fewer and fewer reasons to resort to early euthanasia."

Dr. Eeg sees tangible results from an aerobically sound regime. Dogs have better skeletal and muscular structure, more flexible joints. They're less likely to succumb to senior diseases like arthritis, which just as in people, becomes debilitating and a source of chronic pain. "Lack of exercise leads to a multitude of physical problems mirroring human ailments. Obesity, of course, goes hand in hand with lethargy. Cardio-vascular ailments, circulatory and respiratory failures, metabolic disturbances are significantly increased. When your pet maintains vitality and good general body chemistry, it is able to fight off infection," the doctor points out.

Equally important is the impact on your pet's mental well being. Poor health manifests itself in poor behavior. A dog that's not well does not respond well to commands. "Keep your dog busy, even in inclement weather. Play hide and seek indoors, secreting a favorite treat, for rainy day exercise," Peter advises. "When a dog suffers from boredom, with nothing to do, it finds something to do - and it's usually bad."

In the Poolesville, Maryland farm community across the Potomac where Dr. Eeg has practiced veterinary medicine for the past thirteen years, limited traffic and rolling hills make for perfect dog runs. Peter, too, relies on electronic containment, knowing he can entrust his 4 year old daughter to play with their 2 year old Argentinean Dogo. "Stanley won't bolt away when an occasional squirrel or car passes by. This removes one of pet ownership's great stressors," he says.

It's up to pet owners to improve the quality of life for their pets. There's no such thing as a lazy pet, only a lazy pet owner, both Marc Street and Dr. Peter Eeg conclude.