The Multiple Health Benefits Associated With Exercise
Exercise provides a variety of benefits, from physical to mental wellbeing, weight management, as well as engaging your pet’s curiosity and socialization. Additionally, a daily routine is something that you and your pet companion can look forward to and is a great way to build on the rapport and bonds you share while reinforcing the hierarchy with each other.
Benefits to regular exercise include:
Digestion: Daily exercise helps with waste production and weight management. The added benefit of exercise also comes with appetite control, which correlates with weight management.
Negative Behaviors: Dog’s distress, the type of negative stress damaging from mental wellness, can act out or misbehave. One of the best ways to alleviate these issues is with regular exercise. Post-exercise, powerful neurochemicals released in the brain elevate moods and regulate the negative emotions that lead to anxiety and agitation.
Enhanced Cognitive Function: Boxers that tend to be anxious or aggressive develop stubbornness, anxiety, lack of focus, and become unresponsive to commands. Regular exercise helps mitigate these negative behavioral traits and strengthens the bonds between pet and pet parent.
Strengthens Cardiovascular Performance: Vigorous activity stresses the heart and cardiovascular system of your Boxer, improving your pet’s heart health.
Increased Flexibility: Injury prevention includes improved flexibility. Regular activity helps keep muscles stretched and joints flexible. As your dog ages, joints and muscles become tighter, so regular movement is crucial for joint health.
Maintain Its Skeletal-Muscle System and Bones: Regular exercise builds and strengthens its skeletal-muscle system, which is crucial for overall health. Additionally, stronger muscles tax the cardiovascular system, making it work long after the exercise concludes, adding to the benefits derived from vigorous exercise.
One of the significant concerns with sedentary dogs is similar to humans. There are substantial ramifications from not getting enough exercise.
Dogs that suffer from weight issues are more susceptible to injury and chronic illness such as:
High-Blood Pressure
Type-2 Diabetes
Heart Disease and Congestive Heart Failure
Osteoarthritis and/or Hip Damage
Labored Breathing and Respiratory Issues
Shortened Life-Expectancy (by as much as 2-3 years)
To ward off these issues, a combination of exercise and nutrition is the best strategy. If you need suggestions of ways to engage your Boxer, below we have a list of some great ideas such as walking, hikes, and agility drills to help you provide enough exercise, reinforce proper behaviors, and build upon the bonds between you both.
Walking: Dogs love exploring their surroundings through their sense of smell and are the primary way they experience their world. Developing a daily routine, especially for older Boxers, to go for a walk gets your dog some exercise with the bonus of engaging their curiosity. As your Boxer becomes fatigued, a calmer mindset set’s in, allowing you the opportunity to train and reinforce good behaviors.
