Physical therapy for your dog? It’s a great way to help your four-legged friend quickly get back on all fours, especially after surgery. In everyday life, not only professionals, whether a veterinarian or a recognized animal physiotherapist, can contribute to maintaining or improving your dog’s mobility. You can also make a significant impact with simple exercises at home!
To keep your dog agile and fit
Even the fittest furry friend can experience an injury, accident, or sudden illness. As a dog owner, in such cases, you want one thing above all: your four-legged companion to quickly recover and frolic around as before.
But what if thoughts of high veterinary costs for treatment, life-saving surgery, pain-relieving medications, and other medically necessary measures keep you, as a dog owner, awake at night? A dog health insurance policy can alleviate this concern, allowing you to sleep soundly and focus on your beloved pet’s recovery.
What can you do yourself to keep your dog fit and agile? To help your furry friend “spring into action” every day, here are some practical exercises to try at home!
Muscle Massage for Dogs
Introductory and concluding strokes on a dog are a good way to loosen tension in the muscles throughout the body. Close skin contact is also beneficial for your four-legged friend and promotes your bond.
Important: Never massage on bony surfaces, only on the muscles.
Pay special attention to the long back muscle that runs on either side of the spine. Form a roof shape with your hands for the massage, keeping the spine excluded. Now stroke the muscles on the left and right with pressure. Take your time for this long, often particularly stressed muscle—about ten minutes of massage is excellent!
Paw-Giving Exercise
Not only is it fun, but it also promotes the musculoskeletal system and keeps your dog’s muscles in motion: the tried-and-true paw-giving exercise. This applies to other simple commands like the “lie down” or “sit” command.
So, give me five, favorite dog! Feel free to do it more often…
Dog Slalom Running
How about incorporating a small course into your walking route and letting your dog run back and forth and all around? Curved running—around tree trunks or sticks, for example—is sure to be fun for your dog and, at the same time, automatically trains its mobility and coordination.
Running on Different Surfaces
Soft forest ground, wobbly tree trunks, damp grass, or loose sand: Walking on different surfaces allows various sensitive sensations on your dog’s paws and promotes your dog’s attention and coordination.
Good reasons to make the walking route varied and exciting!
Exercise on the Balance and Rocking Board
Balance or rocking boards are a popular tool for strengthening canine muscles, especially those of the hind legs. They can be purchased ready-made, but with little time and material effort, you can also build your own dog balance board.
For this, you need a sufficiently wide and long board equipped with an anti-slip surface. Place a folded towel or a slightly inflated water ball underneath it, and the animal rocking party can begin!
To make the training fun for your four-legged friend, it’s important not to overwhelm them right from the start. So, initially, the board shouldn’t wobble too much.
When the dog is on the board, reward them with a few treats. You can place them on the board or feed them from your hand. This way, your pet learns that the rocking and bouncing are something great, and there’s something delicious to eat while doing it. Rock and roll, hooray!
Gradually, you can increase the rocking and bouncing intensity.
Well Protected for Emergencies with Dog Health Insurance
If your dog is injured, has an accident, or needs surgery for other reasons, a dog health insurance policy is like the proverbial lifesaving parachute.
It protects you from expensive veterinary bills and ensures that your furry friend receives the necessary procedure. The fees for this are lower compared to full health coverage.
