Exercise

Exercise is an essential part of your pet's everyday life - whether your pet is a dog, cat, rabbit, ferret or any other pet, they all need exercise to keep them active, prevent boredom and help to prevent obesity.

Exercise tips

Let your pet warm up and increase exercise gradually as fitness improves.

Try exercising your pet with other pets (species dependent!)

Remember exercise should be fun for both of you.

Exercise is great bonding time with your pet.

If you can't exercise your dog, ask a family member or friend to help you.

Remember that each pet will have his/her limits - don't expect old arthritic dogs to do too much - joints may be further damaged by too much exercise.

Exercise for your dog

Regular walks - your dog should be walked at least twice daily for a minimum of 20-30 minutes - many dogs will need more than this!

Resistance walks - different surfaces such as sand, shallow water, snow, rough surfaces such as recently ploughed field.

Enhanced walks - use natural obstacles such as benches, trees, ditches etc as a natural obstacle course to jump over, crawl under or balance on.

Fetch - throw a ball or toy for your dog - fun for them and not too strenuous for you (as long as they know how to give it back…) Please do not throw sticks for your dog as they can splinter and cause serious injuries.

Hide and seek - hide a toy and let your dog find it.

Jogging / cycling - take your dog with you and you can both get fit!

Swimming or hydrotherapy - ideal for all dogs, especially those with arthritis or back problems. There are heated indoor pools available for dogs, usually with buoyancy aids if necessary, and some where you can swim with your dog!

Massage and stretching - warms up muscles and stimulates blood circulation.

Join a pet activity club

Obedience - essential skill for all dogs and a great place to start.

Agility - tests the animal's fitness and the owner's ability to direct the dog over and through various obstacles against the clock. Any dog can participate.

Flyball - the dog jumps 4 hurdles, presses a pedal to release a tennis ball into the air, catches the ball and goes back over the hurdles to hand over to another team mate.

Heelwork to music - a new competition where the competitor designs a routine with their dog to suit a piece of music.

Field Trials and gundog working tests - resemble a day's shooting in the field, only open to certain breeds.

Working trials - the civilian equivalent of police dog work, open to any breed but very demanding, including nosework (track and search), agility and control sections. Showing - the formal "beauty contests" for purebred dogs. Ringcraft classes teach skills to help in the show ring. Local shows may also have fun showing classes for non pedigree dogs.

Exercise for your cat

Fun and games

Toys - use commercial or home made cat toys to encourage active play

"Catch the light" - shine a white light torch on the walls and let your cat play (do not use a red light laser as it may damage your cat's eyes)

"Hunting" - feed your catin different areas each day to make him hunt for it. Make him work harder by using obstacles or feeding from tall furniture or shelves.

Massage and stretching - warms up muscles, releases tension, stimulates blood circulation. Frequent grooming may also help.

Walking / outdoor exercise

Walking on a harness - will take some getting used to, but may enable you to walk with your cat safely.

Enhanced walk - encourage jumping and active play using natural toys out in the garden such as leafy twigs and piles of leaves.

Exercise for your rabbit / guinea pig

Encourage your rabbit / guinea pig to practise its natural behaviour. A pipe in its hutch can act as a burrow, or a box filled with shredded paper can encourage digging - include some root vegetables to nibble on as a treat.

A secure run is the best way of giving an outdoor rabbit exercise. It should have both a lid and, if on grass, something to stop a fox digging in or a rabbit digging out. Use weld mesh instead of chicken wire. This is stronger as it is welded at each join rather than being twisted together. Never let your rabbit or guinea pig outside unsupervised - all too often local cats or foxes are watching and will take advantage of an unsuspecting pet.

Many rabbits will also play with toys such as balls - especially if introduced at a young age.

Exercise for your ferret

Ferrets spend a great deal of the day sleeping, but when they are awake they are very active and play intensely. They are most active during dawn and dusk.

Ferrets need plenty of exercise outside of their hutch/cage (about 2 hours a day). Try taking your ferret for a walk with a ferret harness (better than a collar and lead as harnesses are more comfortable and secure). Ferrets need exercise to control their weight, maintain joint mobility and muscle tone, and to prevent stress and boredom.

Ferret Toys

A ferret toy should be entertaining for your pet, without endangering its life. A ferret will happily play with cardboard boxes, empty paper bags, old shoes or slippers, tennis and golf balls. You ferret should also enjoy hammocks and tunnels. Cat and rabbit toys are also suitable stimulation and entertainment for your ferret. Avoid toys made of foam or with foam stuffing as the stuffing may cause a blockage in the ferret's digestive tract if eaten. Hard, durable toys are best. Also avoid toys that can break easily, and that have small bells or balls inside them as these toys can be broken and the inside parts swallowed.

Exercise for small rodents

Rats, hamsters, gerbils, mice, degus, chinchillas and other small furries also need exercise to prevent them from becoming bored. Always ensure that if you are taking them outside of the cage to play there is nowhere for them to get stuck in / escape to. The larger the cage the better for all these species. Rats enjoy hammocks like ferrets do, and are generally very keen to play. Wheels can be useful in some species, but avoid those with open rungs as feet can get trapped causing broken limbs.

Tunnels (toilet roll inners), burrowing material and things to climb on or under all add encouragement to play and explore. Change things in the cage to add variety. Regular dust baths are essential for chinchillas.