Renee Mowatt: Exercise With Your Pooch!

The best therapist has fur and four legs.

Some may call me a fitness freak and they would be absolutely right! I like to think I’m truly blessed that my one and only baby boy (my dog Ralph) is equally obsessed with exercising as I am. When Ralph was a puppy he had endless amounts of energy and I thought to myself in a couple of years surely he will settle down, 3 and a half years later and he is just as energetic as the day I brought him home and I truly wouldn’t have it any other way!

It really is true, dogs do make the best workout buddies. I’d be lost without my little motivator Ralph to push me out of bed on days I just want to sleep.

Do you know what the best part about having your dog as your workout partner?

They can’t call you up last minute and cancel on you and they most certainly don’t complain about the weather even if it’s freezing cold and raining outside! As much as my dog loves his walks there are many other ways you can get your daily dose of exercise in for the day with your pooch if your wanting to mix up both of your workout routines.

These are my top 5 favourite ways to exercise with your dog!

PLAY CATCH

My dog lovesssss to play catch and what better way to try and get some exercise in for you too?

Try throwing the ball and chasing after it yourself that way you and your pooch can chase after the ball together! Don’t want to run? Try doing push ups in between the time your dog cases after the ball!

INTERVAL WALKS

Try breaking up your normal walk routine with interval walks! This is for all those people that sometimes can a get bored of their walking routine.

Try 1-minute walk, 20-second jog, 1-minute walk, 20 second shuffle sideways and finish on a 1-minute walk. Repeat this for 20-30 minutes and you have yourself a new workout!

DOG STAIRS

Find yourself a set of stairs and your both good to go! Climbing steps together is not only a great workout for your pup but helps you tone and sculpt your legs in the process!

GO ON AN ADVENTURE

It’s always nice to change up your pattern and try something different aim to take your dog on a new adventure once a week not only do you get to find new areas to explore together but your pooch gets to socialize with new dogs and you both get a killer workout!

TREATS FOR SQUATS

Why go to the gym and do your squats when you can get your dog to help you at home?

For every 10 squats you do hold a treat for your dog in your hand once your 10 squats are done give him a small treat. Don’t worry he has to work for his treat try throwing it as far as you can whilst he chases after it until he can sniff it down. Repeat this by doing 5 sets of 10 and you have yourself 50 squats and a worn out pup from chasing all there treats!

It’s totally fine if you guys want to stick to your boring walk routine with your pooch, but if you do want to explore new workouts you can both enjoy together I hope some of these tips have been helpful in giving the both of you variety when it comes to exercising because I’m sure your dog will be forever grateful!