Category Archives: Exercise For Dogs

Getting exercise for dogs is an important consideration when you have dogs. Here are some options you have if you don’t have a fenced-in yard.

Dogs Without Yards, Exercise For Dogs

Learn Where and How to Let Your Dogs Exercise In Public Places

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There are many ways that you make sure your dogs exercise.

Taking dogs to public places
Taking dogs to public places

Taking us out to public places is one of them.

I really, really like to go places and meet people.   I’ve heard “the humans” talk about how this is really good for our socialization too.

There are a lot of public places that are great places to get exercise for dogs.   However, it’s critical to always, always, always remember that you are in a public place.

Some people (the “good” ones) love dogs and will want to talk to the dogs and pet them, but others will not want anything to do with them.   (Although I can’t possibly figure out why!)

It’s important to be considerate of others and always maintain control of your dog.   Even though “the bad people” don’t want to interact with your dogs, it’s still important to respect their wishes.   They are in a public place too and shouldn’t have to deal with animals if they don’t want to.

Don’t let your dog approach people when they’re in public.   Let the people come to your dog (if they want to).  If you let the dog say Hi to everyone they want to, you’re going to annoy a lot of people.   Some will love it, but some will be annoyed.

The other item is that you need to be ultra-responsible about picking up after your pet.   You absolutely cannot go anywhere without having a full stock of pet poop bags with you.    I would even recommend that when you have to throw your pet waste bag into the trash that you double bag it.   It will help prevent the odor from being bad and it will show people who see you that there really are responsible pet owners out there.

You must, must, must, must pick up after your dog.    (Are you sensing a trend here?)

“Leftovers” are very annoying for non-dog people, but they are also annoying to dog owners.  When we take walks it drives the boss crazy because I have to stop and smell every single dropping that someone very rudely did not pick up.

Where to Take Your Dog

There are a great many pet-friendly places to take your dogs to get exercise.

  • Parks
  • Athletic fields
  • Dog parks
  • Pet stores
  • Soccer games

Parks

Take a long rope with you and look for an unoccupied space.   A long rope allows your dog to roam more freely (and smell all kinds of good stuff) and run after a ball or a frisbee.   If you take a tennis ball with you (and you already taught them to fetch) the dog will be really, really, really happy.

There is a learning curve related to letting your dogs exercise by running on a long rope, check out the related post to help you with it.

A dog poop bag is a must.

Athletic Fields Athletic fields are great too because they usually have fences so you don’t have to use a rope.   However, make sure to check for signs, some fields won’t let you use them for dogs.   I would also recommend that you limit the usage of athletic fields to the off-season because of this.

When we get to run free anywhere when we don’t have a rope, the boss still attaches a short (5-10 feet) leash/rope to us.   I think she does this so that “just in case” she has to chase us down we’ll be easier to catch.

A dog poop bag bag is a must.

Dog Parks

We’ve actually never been to a dog park.   We never get to do anything fun… well… except play ball, and play outside and chase frisbees, and take long walks… ok… I guess we do get to have fun, but we’ve still never been to a dog park.

Our community is building one that will open this summer.  If you subscribe to our newsletter, we’ll tell you all the stuff you don’t know about dog parks after we start going.

Remember… you are still in public and a dog poop bag  is still a must.

Pet Stores

I know, I know… you can’t really get exercise for your dogs in a pet store.   However, there are soooooooo many cool things for me to pay attention to it’s almost like getting some exercise and it’s definitely good for my socialization.

There are other ways to let your dogs exercise that don’t involve public places.   There is more information available on the Exercise For Dogs page.

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What do you think?    What are your favorite public places to get exercise for dogs?

Dogs Without Yards, Exercise For Dogs

Dogs Exercise… With Ropes

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There are a lot of ways you can get exercise for dogs and we’ve talked about several of them here. 

Another option is to use long ropes as a “leash” and go somewhere where we won’t bug people too much.  You can do this just about anywhere.

Using long ropes is an awesome way to get exercise for your dogs. the one showing in the picture is a long leash, but you can also use any kind of a long rope or nylon rope.

You can play fetch or just let them wander.  My favorite thing (I’m a 10 year old yellow lab) is to go to a park or a sports complex and get attached to a long rope.  That way I’m mostly free to chase bugs, smell everything and just generally have a whole lot of fun.

A few notes about using a long rope… surprisingly, there is a learning curve.

Rope burns hurt. We could write a whole book on avoiding rope burns, but it probably won’t sink in until it happens.  The boss got really ugly scars around her ankles and said really bad words several times before she finally figured it out.

Here are a few hints to hopefully ease you into the learning curve:

  • Really work on the “come here” command before doing this.  This can prevent problems because you can get the dogs attention before they see the rabbit, etc.  You don’t want the dogs exercise to come from chasing stuff they’re not supposed to chase.
  • Always, always, always know where the rope is.   This is for both your safety and your dogs.   If the rope gets wrapped around your ankle and the dog runs to chase a ball… it’s going to hurt… a lot.
  • The other thing that can happen is the rope can get wrapped around something that you won’t know about until the dog is jerked to a stop.  This hurts the dog… a lot.
  • Keep the rope wrapped around your hand.   If you just hold it loosely and they run… you won’t be able to grab it firmly to stop them… and it will hurt if you try.
  • Always, always, always be aware of your surroundings.   You need to see the things that will make your dog want to run BEFORE they see it.    Sometimes you can prevent them from running with a quick “no” or “come here”.   Other times you will be able to “brace for impact” and ease into stopping the dog.
  • It’s not fair (or nice) to jerk the dog to a stop when they come to the end of the rope.   Be prepared to take a couple steps in the direction the dog is running to reduce the impact (to both of you).

Other Things To Know

Watch the rope for weathering, chewing, etc.  replace the rope BEFORE it breaks.   You don’t want to find out that the rope needs to be replaced after it breaks and your dog chases a rabbit across the street.

Stay in an isolated area until everyone gets a little more comfortable with this process.   That gives both you and the dog a chance to “learn the ropes” without the additional distractions of other people and animals.

Find additional ways to get exercise for dogs here.

How bad were your rope burns when you first tried to do this?