Dog Exercise with Super Fit Fido Club
Starting Your Dog on a Trotting Program

First Steps

• Get the green light from your veterinarian to begin an exercise program.

• Determine the proper trotting pace that is best to maximize this exercise for your dog while minimizing risk of injury.

• Review the risks of extensive trotting of large breeds, brachycephalic breeds and young dogs.

Once that is done it’s time to plan your program. As your dog’s Personal Trainer, it’s your job to have a set schedule, route and motivation plan in place before you begin his regular workouts. You will need these to be efficient with your time and to best suit your dog’s needs.

Set Goals For Your Dog

After your vet visit, you should have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish. You may be trying to loose a few pounds, create a visible waist on your dog or just release that wonderful canine energy.

Tip: No matter what the end goal, you must start slowly and ease your dog into a regular exercise program.

If you do want to track results, do the same thing that people do, get the tape measure and scale out. Mark down the date and your dog’s statistics. Then each week follow up with his latest measurements. The first place you will see weight loss is in the waist, then ribs and even his neck.

Measure: Weight / Waist / Ribs / Neck

Week One: 65 lbs. / 20” / 25” / 12”

Week Two: 63 lbs. / 19.5” / 23” / 11”

Set A Schedule

What days are best for your busy schedule? Pick two days that you can dedicate an hour in the early morning or evening and then add a third day. Keep in mind your dog cannot eat for two hours prior to exercising. Give him breakfast or dinner when you get home from your workout and he has had time to settle down.

You may be only exercising 40 or 45 minutes out of the hour but you will need the extra time to make sure your pet has fully eliminated and to do your post-workout cool down. Be sure to include down days in between for recovery. For example, you start with Tuesday and Thursday mornings and then add Saturday.

Tip: Always keep a down day in between when starting a workout program.

Scout A Route

Plan your route in advance. Take a brisk walk of potential routes without your dog.

Try to accomplish the following:

• Make notes about the mileage. Find markers on your way to denote certain distances, ½ mile, 1 mile, 2 miles, etc.
• Time yourself so you know how long / far you will need to go before turning back.
• Make sure there aren’t potential hazards such as extreme traffic, loose dogs, broken glass on ground or a lack of shade.
• Be mindful to select a workout route that will be good for your dog’s feet. Hard surfaces like asphalt and cement will cause wear and flatten their feet. It is best to have a variety of surfaces including gravel pathways, grass, trails and man-made surfaces. (Even though you should only exercise in the early morning be careful to check the heat of asphalt before walking on it. Hot asphalt can burn dogs’ feet.)
• Include a variety of gradual inclines not just flat surfaces.
• You need to make sure there will be water available on your route. If there aren’t water fountains for your collapsible bowl then you will have to carry water for your dog.

Personalize For Your Dog

Think about your pet’s interests. Is he interested in hunting, playing with toys, retrieving, interactive play with you? These are all things to consider when planning routes. As his fitness trainer it is up to you to customize the workout so your dog will have fun, bond with you and get fit all in a planned time period. You can use toys and games to keep our dog interested in the activity.

Did Someone Say Treats?

As this is an exercise program to get your dog fit, treats are only included for a few reasons. When you get your dog moving with you at a good trot and he is behaving and paying attention to you, slip him a small piece of a treat while moving. Don’t stop to give the treat, keep walking while offering the treat. Of course the only treats offered are healthy ones in very small portions such as bits of baby carrot. I only offer these treats at the beginning of the workout so my dog knows that I have them with me. You do not want to feed the dog a lot of treats and make him sick.

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