Everyday exercises for every dog
Water adventures sound great, but you’d rather stay on dry land? Or does swimming not sound very appealing now that it’s getting colder? No problem: That’s precisely why I’m presenting these everyday exercises for every dog today! With these, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to have fun together on your walks or at home while simultaneously practicing necessary commands and exercises. And the best part: Once you’ve practiced these, you can use them again and again in everyday life – even in stressful situations!
Everyday exercises for every dog – even mine?
Absolutely! Whether your four-legged friend is a young pup or an old hand, energetic or more laid-back, family dog, sporting dog, or hunting dog, the exercises I’m presenting today are suitable for every dog.
“Okay, but what about me?” you might be thinking. These everyday exercises for every dog are also for every person. Your age doesn’t matter, and even back or knee problems won’t stop you from trying these exercises with your dog.
Why are everyday exercises even functional?
Every day life is the keyword
As the name suggests, you can easily and stress-free integrate these exercises into your daily routine. Whether at home or on your walks, you can practice them anywhere and then use them later. You don’t need to go out and buy training equipment – you most likely already have what you need at home.
Relaxation
Exercises for everyday life help you master the challenges of daily living: no matter who you encounter on your walk – cats, mail carriers, or joggers – what your dog finds on the ground, or how many visitors you have. With these exercises, you have the tools you need to create relaxation for yourself and your dog, even in stressful situations.
Clear communication
And everyday exercises improve the communication between you and your dog. Often, signals are interpreted very differently by your dog than intended: By practicing these everyday exercises, you can eliminate some of these misunderstandings, because the meaning of each signal is clear.
Skills from dummy training:
With these exercises, which are also used in dummy training, you’re training much more than just everyday tasks. You’re also teaching your dog other essential things that will make training and everyday life easier for both of you: focusing on you, impulse control, and the right amount of independence.
Your Start to Training:
Do you want to try some everyday exercises right away, but don’t know where or how to begin? Just try the following exercises! The order isn’t fixed – you can adapt it flexibly to your needs and wishes.
1. Dead Mouse – Fun while playing and shutting down
Every day exercises for every dog. Having fun and playing together with your dog is a real highlight, especially in our stressful everyday lives. If you can combine the game with an exercise that teaches your dog how to calm down actively, that’s even better. The dead mouse game is perfect for this.
Take a toy your dog likes to put in its mouth – may I introduce you to the mouse!
Now quickly move the toy away from your dog. Make the mouse come to life, running around, hiding, and fleeing from your dog.
Tip: If your dog gets excited at the mere sight of the toy, take it a little slower at first. This way, you can play and still master the next step.
In the middle of the game, the mouse suddenly dies, or rather, you pause, exhale audibly, and slowly let the toy fall to the ground. Your dog will realize that he no longer has the lively, playful mouse in front of him. This gives him the impulse to calm down actively. If he lets go of the toy, praise him calmly and quietly. As soon as the mouse has become uninteresting to your dog, the game can continue: “Surprise! The mouse is still alive!”
Make sure you never end the game with a simple “no,” but always with a swap. Give your dog a toy he can keep, or a treat, so that even the end is associated with fun.
2. The release command – a clear signal instead of guesswork.
With the release command – such as “free” or “run” – you signal to your dog that the exercise is over. It’s a valuable tool not only for dummy training but also in everyday life, because the more precise the communication between you and your dog, the better he can understand you and follow your signals.
Fun Fact: “Stay” is a signal for various actions. Whether your dog is supposed to sit, lie down, or stand, the signal is always “Stay!” That’s why it’s so difficult for the dog to understand, and he always comes along instead of staying. In contrast, the release command is much easier for your dog to understand because it always requires the same action. He knows: “Free” means the exercise is over, and he can run off.
Especially when combined with static commands – including “sit” and “down” – the release command brings clarity. Perhaps you’ve already encountered the following situation: You wanted your dog to stay sitting, but he felt he’d sat around enough and thought, “The training session must be over by now, I’ll just get up and leave.”
Once you have introduced the release command, your dog no longer has to guess; it understands: “The exercise is not over yet because I haven’t heard ‘release’ yet.”
3. The “Stay” Place – with a Relaxation Spot:
The “Stay” place is a relaxed “spot” where you can send your dog whenever you want to tell him, “It’s not your turn right now, and you can relax for a bit.” This is helpful not only for you, because you don’t have to constantly focus on your dog, but also for your dog himself. The “Stay” place becomes an “off switch” for him. He no longer needs to be alert and excited, but can enjoy lying down.
Here’s how to train the “down” command: First, train your dog to “down” without distractions. Have him hold the command for about 10 seconds at first, then 30, then 1 minute, and so on, before giving the release command. If this goes well, you can increase the difficulty and, for example, move the training from the living room to the garden. Initially, reduce the time your dog is supposed to hold the “down” position, as he will be much more distracted there. If you notice that he can maintain the command for increasingly longer periods despite distractions, you can increase the distractions again. Continue this alternating pattern until you can send your dog into the down position (and he stays there), no matter how chaotic things get around you.
This is an absolute game-changer for your everyday life: for example, you can send your dog to lie down and then calmly collect his business without being dragged around the next corner.
Practicing the “down” command is also worthwhile for dummy training. If you’re alone, you’ll have to lay out all the dummies yourself. This is much easier if you send your dog into the down position and then restart the exercise from the basic position – the dog sitting to the left of the person – after laying out the dummies.
But be careful! Make sure that not every “down” command is followed by training. If your dog learns that “down” means work, he won’t be able to relax during it anymore.
4. Send on – past all distractions.
How often has your dog found something exciting on the street: a bush? “I’m going to disappear into that!” Half a bread roll? “Great, I’ll bite into that!” This command is perfect for preventing your dog from sniffing ( or even eating) everything that comes his way.
Your dog learns that it’s not so bad to ignore something exciting. This not only increases his frustration tolerance but is also practical for everyday life.
Here’s how to train your dog to go: Put your dog down and pretend to put something on the ground. When you return to him, give the command and play with him or reward him while you move away from where you put something down. For your dog, this is a clear signal: “If I ignore something exciting, I get something much better!”
If that goes well, you can gradually increase the difficulty of the training. Start by placing moderately interesting things like stones, sticks, or leaves on the ground, and then move on to fascinating things – such as toys or dummies. Of course, you have to take these things away again at the end.
Tip: If you use the same word for sending your dog on as for the release command, your dog can easily misunderstand. The release command means to him that he no longer has to obey the previous command. He is free and can do what he wants, such as retrieve the object he put down. If you teach him a new signal word like “on,” it will be much clearer to your dog what you are trying to tell him.
In conclusion,
Everyday exercises are genuinely suitable for every dog and every person, and if you feel like it, you can start right away with your four-legged friend and try out a few exercises!
Because everyday exercises can be easily integrated into your daily routine – without any extra equipment – and quickly become a natural part of your day. They shouldn’t be a chore you’d rather avoid. They’re a fun activity for you and your dog that makes your life more relaxed and safer. You’ll not only have a great time together, but you’ll also improve your communication and train skills that are essential in your daily life.
As far as everyday exercises are concerned, you’ve already learned a lot. But what if you want to get out into nature to really have fun with your dog? To tire him out and wear him out so much that he lies contentedly snoring on the sofa?
If you immediately picture your ball launcher and a large field for your dog to race across, you should definitely wait for the next post before you start. There, I’ll introduce you to critical basic rules to ensure that nothing goes wrong when playing fetch!
Until then: Have fun with your training!