February 28, 2011
Dogs and Exercise
Like humans, dogs need regular exercise to stay healthy. It's critical to keep them living in fact, because a dog's body is made up of almost pure muscle. Even dogs who have extra fat on them have a base body mass of muscle and this muscle requires exercise to maintain full health.
When humans are in excellent physical shape, and they have lots of strong, toned muscle mass, their bodies burn fat at much faster rates. This is because the body needs more energy to maintain muscles, so it burns many more calories with that energy expenditure, and usually the energy burned is in the form of fat.
Dogs are very similar in this regard. Their bodies are made up of almost pure muscle, so they have extremely high metabolisms and they burn a lot of fat every day. Unlike humans though, a dog's body can't metabolize most carbohydrates well. In fact, a diet without enough protein and fats in it can actually make a dog quite sick. So dog's require a lot of high quality protein and fats in their diet, plus they require exercise.
The exercise is required so their bodies are able to maintain what is natural and normal for them. Dogs are naturally very active animals, and this is due to their great muscle mass and high metabolism. Since they eat so much protein and fats, though, they require exercise in order to keep their bodies at optimum health levels. Not getting enough exercise will cause the dog to get fat, yes, but it will also cause many other health problems in the process.
Humans can actually learn a thing or two from their canine companions. Any dog owner knows that once a dog starts getting active, they seem to keep generating more and more energy. If you've tried to tire your dog out with exercise for instance, it may have surprised you to see him simply get more and more energetic as the day wore on. Later in the evening of course, he'll be quite tired and sleep well. But while he's active, he seems as if he'll never stop.
The reason this can be a learning experience for humans is because most people don't seem to believe that exercise can give you energy. When you first start an exercise, activity or fitness program, you feel exhausted all the time, and most give up long before they can start experiencing the benefits of that increased activity. Doing it every day for a long period of time though, actually gives you much more energy on a regular basis.
So, try exercising and playing with your dog more. It will be great fun and excellent health benefits for both of you at the same time. Take your dog for a run, bike ride, hiking, swimming and more. You'll have constant loyal company plus lots of fun, and you'll both be much healthier in the end.
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