Adopting an energetic pet is a beautiful way to save a furry life, but it requires careful thought – after all, you’re bringing a furry athlete home! These pets need more than just food, routine walks, and a place to sleep – they want to run, play, and learn all the time. This often means adjusting your own routines and lifestyle to accommodate your new hyperactive housemate and their unique temperament.
Before adopting a high-energy pet, it's vital to assess how their needs will fit into your life. Join us in a comprehensive look at everything you need to know about owning a high-energy pet.
The Realities of Adopting a High-Energy Pet
Adopting a pet has its pros and cons – it’s an affordable and humane way to save an animal's life while gaining companionship, but they may not be trained, purebred, or come with health/behavioral issues. These pets need a significant amount of dedicated physical activity, time, and diligence to stay healthy and happy. Here’s more on what types of pets are the most high-energy, exercise requirements, and the importance of mental stimulation.
Pet Types
Some pets are natural athletes, like dogs, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, birds, and some cats. As far as dogs, there are plenty of breeds out there. Breeds like the Belgian Malinois, Border Collie, Labrador Retriever, and German Shepherd are among the most active dogs, while Bengal and Abyssinian cats are near doglike in their energy levels as well.
Estimating Exercise Needs
Before adopting, you should know how much exercise your pet will need. Large dog breeds like the Siberian Husky need at least 2 hours of vigorous exercise every day, while some less active breeds like Greyhounds need an hour or less. Walks can suffice for much of this, but try mixing things up with fetch, frisbees, tug of war, agility, or exciting toys. Strive to match your pet’s energy levels as you mix and match activities to keep them interested.
Importance of Mental Stimulation
Keeping your dog’s brain engaged will reduce boredom, anxiety, and the likelihood of destructive chewing. Training sessions, games, and puzzle toys like snuffle mats or Kongs are just a few great ways to provide mental exercise. Working breeds especially benefit from having a job to do, such as agility or advanced obedience.
Is Your Life & Fitness Compatible with a High-Energy Pet?
After learning a bit about pets, it’s time to assess your lifestyle’s compatibility with your desired pet. Do you have the time and physical fitness to keep up? Is your living space suitable for the pet you want? Do you know the best ways to keep your body in shape? Let’s explore how each of these questions impacts your decision to get a high-energy pet below.
Assess Your Lifestyle for Pet Compatibility
Get a rough idea of what pets are most compatible with your lifestyle with a quick list of the major pet activity levels. These are just rough estimates – adjust exercise up or down as needed and make sure you have enough time to fit exercise into your routine.
- 30 minutes per day: French Bulldogs, Pomeranians, senior dogs of all breeds, and many small breeds are best suited for less active owners and/or apartment dwellers.
- 1 hour per day: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, and most medium-sized breeds require moderate to high activity and stimulation, but can adapt to different living situations.
- 2 hours per day: Border Collies, Australian Shepherds, and Huskies (along with others) require the most exercise and mental stimulation - best suited for active people with time and space.
Living Space Compatibility
Larger dogs such as Labs do best in spacious homes with secure yards for convenience, while breeds like Yorkies are perfectly suited to apartment life. This isn’t to say you can’t own a large dog in a small living space – it’ll simply require more work to get them the exercise they need to thrive.
The Body Mechanics of Pet Parenting
Pet parents should learn how to keep their bodies in shape so you can keep up with your pet’s whirlwind of energy. Small things like emphasizing good posture, using your core, keeping objects close to your body, and knowing your physical limitations build a strong foundation for proper body mechanics.
Strategies & Tips for Owning a High-Energy Pet
Owning a high-energy pet requires a mix of consistency, commitment, and more than a fair share of creativity in dealing with your pet's unique personality. Review some key strategies to help you manage your high-energy pet below and adapt them into your routine for a more stable lifestyle.
Useful Strategies for Owning a High-Energy Pet:
- Positive reinforcement: all types of pets benefit from positive reinforcement, which involves praising desirable behavior and ignoring bad behavior – for example, showering a dog with praise and a treat for performing a trick or going potty outside.
- Set a routine: high-energy pets come to learn & anticipate predictable daily routines, which soothes anxiety and reduces the likelihood of mischief.
- Stay active: it’s essential to keep up your energy levels when you own high-energy pets – exercise together daily with your furry workout partner to bond and build fitness.
- Strict boundaries: maintain firm boundaries by consistently enforcing rules for jumping on houseguests, chewing on household items, nuisance barking, and other problematic behavior.
- Crate training: crates give high-energy dogs a private safe space to relax during downtime, travel, naps, bedtime, and when you can’t directly supervise them – best introduced early on with ample encouragement and treats.
Wrapping Up
Whether adopting a high-energy pet is a good fit for your life depends on your activity level, time commitments, living space, and a willingness to adapt. Adopted pets with lots of energy need a lot of attention, dedication, and a lot of physical activity. We suggest taking a critical look at whether your lifestyle is compatible and that you’re willing to put in the work along with other life obligations.
