The 10 Best Activities for Healthy Pets
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Healthy pets require both a quality diet and adequate exercise. For the nutritional component, we recommend Pet Plate for dogs, because it takes the guesswork out of healthy eating. Each meal is pre-portioned, made with human-grade ingredients and delivered straight to your door! But sometimes you’re at a loss as to how you can get your pet motivated to move more. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of our favorite ways to exercise with our animals. Here are our 10 best activities for healthy pets!
Fetch
Fetch is a classic for a reason! Dogs (and some cats) love it and it doesn’t even require you to work up a sweat. Feeling especially lazy? We recommend the All for Paws Hyperfetch Ultimate Throwing Toy because it does all the work for you!
Laser Pointer
Ah, the age-old battle of cat versus laser pointer. This activity is also perfect if you don’t feel like getting off the couch, but still want your chubby kitty to burn some calories. The CA&T Diamond Laser Cat Toy is fully automated for hours of entertainment!
Tug-of-War
Tug-of-war is a fun and engaging way to play with your dog. Whether it’s with a plushie or a rope toy, this is a great game that helps burn off excess energy. We love Tether Tugs because they require absolutely zero work from pet owners.
Scenting
Scenting is a great activity if you have a high-energy dog or a pup who spends a lot of time home alone. Your pooch gets to hunt for various hidden objects using their super sensitive sniffer!
Walks and Runs
Runs are great exercise for energetic or big dogs. To prevent injury, start with a short and slow jog. If your dog seems energetic afterward, slowly increase the length and pace of your jogs, and provide lots of water for hydration. We love using dog harnesses since they provide less of a choking effect than clipping a leash to a collar. You can even keep tabs on your pet’s progress with a dog activity tracker like Whistle!
Even some cats love to go on walks. Simply outfit them with a cat harness and let them choose where the walk takes you. Cats are more independent than dogs and should be allowed to wander and sniff things, not necessarily stick to just the sidewalk.
Hikes
Why not take the scenic route? Hiking along a gorgeous path is a lovely way to change your environment, lower your stress level and enjoy some one-on-one time with your pet. If your animal is exercising a lot, ask your vet if they would benefit from a join supplement like Flexpet.
Doga
The pose is called “Downward Dog” for a reason. Dogs love getting all up in our business when we’re doing yoga and that why we love dog yoga or doga. Sometimes they “help” us stretch and other times they even strike some interesting poses of their own! We love how the presence of our pooches calms us and makes us more mindful as we work our way through a yoga flow.
Meowga
Yup, they have cat yoga, or meowga, too! This is a must for any yoga or cat lover. Some cats even jump on our backs when we strike a pose.
Urban Herding
Working dogs stay in excellent shape because they always have a job to do. Urban herding taps into this benefit. It’s basically sheep herding without the sheep. Instead of herding livestock, your pooch “herds” giant exercise balls.
Agility
Staying mentally fit, as well as physically fit, is important. Agility classes are great for both. They work your dog’s brain just as hard as their muscles as they learn basic commands and how to weave around cones, scale bridges, dive through tunnels and much more.
