By Heidi Clayton
Helping your dog lose weight is a process that involves first finding the right diet and then formulating an exercise plan that will take the weight off of them. In the world of show dogs, we call walking our dogs to get them fit “roadwork.” Roadwork is how I keep all of my dogs fit for not just the show ring but also to prevent them from gaining weight.
If your dog is obese or heavy, you are going to want to make sure that you start slow and that they do not have any orthopedic issues as a result of their weight gain. Also, if you have an overweight dog that is under 18 months of age, you should remember that their growth plates and ligaments in the legs are not fully formed yet. For that reason, you won’t want to work them hard on the pavement. Just as humans need to ease into working out at the gym, your out-of-shape dog will need to be eased into being conditioned.
Walks are a great way to start taking weight off of your dog. However, it’s the actual pace at which you walk that will ultimately make the difference. Just walking at a meandering pace will not do much to shed pounds. Most of the people I know simply put their dogs on a leash and the dog walks in front of them, sniffing and moseying along. While sniffing is important for dogs, movement and pace will be the difference in roadwork walks.
When moving with the dog, your pace will depend on how large both the dog and you are in relation to each other. Most of the time, the human won’t be running with the dog but will do more of a speed walk, taking longer strides.
Your dog’s fitness level will determine how far you walk initially. If your dog is really overweight, you are going to want to walk them at a slower pace for longer times to start to build up their stamina. Try to go a little further on each walk. Gradually pick up the pace at which you walk.
When starting road work with a young dog, I do interval training on walks. This gives the dog a chance to sniff and mixes in actually moving them at a brisk pace, which is called a trot. A trot is when the front leg and the opposite rear leg move forward at the same time. A trotting pace is the pace that engages every single one of the dog’s muscles. The dog reaches with the front leg while driving off the rear leg. If you want to see a trot in motion, videos of dog shows are a great reference. You can see dogs of every make, shape and size moving at the trot.
Trotting is hard work for an out-of-shape dog. Try starting with interval training with maybe as low as two to three minutes of a trot and then five minutes of a walk. My dogs walk about 1.5 miles daily. More than half of that walk is done at the trot. The trot will start to help with muscling up their rear ends and start to give them the tuck-up underneath that you are looking for as a sign of improved fitness.
When trotting a dog, the surface matters as well. I prefer to walk my dogs on trails and paths as I feel the ground is more giving, which is better for their joint health. Bike paths are a great option as well. Again, just be sure that your dog is over 18 months of age so that their joints can stand the pounding on the pavement.
I don’t use a set amount of miles for my dogs because they are all fairly fit and can trot for as long as I want them to. For novice dogs that are getting fit, you need to be in tune with your dogs. Look for when they are getting winded and how fast they start to recover from being winded. Consider starting to walk in your neighborhood where maybe you walk for the length of one block and do the next one at a trot, building up the duration that your dog can last at the trot.
If you are looking to take some weight off of your dog, try giving roadwork a try. It is a great way for both you and your dog to get into shape.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net.
Heidi Clayton started Four On the Floor Dog Training to provide positive, reward-based dog training in South Jersey. She breeds, trains and shows bull terriers under the SoraBully’s Bull Terriers kennel name. Email questions to heidi@fouronthefloordogtraining.net or learn more at https://fouronthefloordogtraining.net
