How to Exercise a Pit Bull

All working dog breeds need a lot of exercise. Both to keep them healthy but also to tire them out. This is especially true of Pit Bulls, as the saying goes "A Tired Pit Bull is a Good Pit Bull". If your dog isn't getting enough exercise, the excess energy that he or she has will likely be spent chewing your new couch or jumping on every visitor to your home.

Everyone when they get a new dog is told to take it on long walks. Personally, I don't think walking is enough. Pit bulls were bread to be active working dogs. If you notice when you walk your dog that it never runs. The dog's were breed to run. Walking just doesn't get a dog's activity level high enough to drain much energy. You need to find another way to increase your dogs exercise.

You may be able to jog with your dog, however even at normal jogging paces the dog just isn't really exerting himself. The object of exercising your dog much like a human is to get it to run for a solid 20 to 30 minutes. I find that adding a intense game of fetch at the local park gets my dogs running at the best pace for a good amount of time.

I have a park close by that is quite open and rarely has other people (or dogs for that matter). I normally walk my dog to this park on his leash and then once at the park, I pull out his favorite ball and we play a intense game of fetch. No short passes here, I throw as far as I am able and my dog runs as fast as possible to fetch the ball and return it to me. My dog gets a lot of pleasure out of this game.

I only suggest you take your dog to an open park if it is well trained. If you dog doesn't return unquestioned to the "recall" command you probably need to work with the dog some more before thinking about taking the dog off of leash at a park. This is especially important for the Pit Bull, due both to the breeds tendency to be dog aggressive you may find yourself in a bad situation if your dog decides to be unruly.

Even if you don't have access to a vacant park or have a dog that isn't quite trained enough to be allowed off leash. There are several things you can still do. I use a Flirt pole with younger dogs to tire them out. This can be done in a normal sized back yard. Also, you could hang a spring pole from a tree or other structure and train your dog to use it. I have also read about people that have trained their dogs to use a treadmill.

Exercise should be an important part of your dogs daily routine. I have yet to have behavior problems with any dog that has been properly exercised.

Dave M. Russell is an advocate for the true conforming pit bull breed. Visit his site and learn valuable tips about Pit Bulls.

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