How much exercise does my dog really need?

There’s no better way to show him you care

Exercise is not one bit less important for dogs as it is for humans. The right amount of activity keeps your dog in great shape, and wards off illness and disease. It’s a fantastic way to help prevent diabetes, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure and various forms of cancer. It helps extend your dog’s life expectancy as well as drastically reduce vet bills.

But there’s more. Not only are long walks good for the body, but also for the soul! Playtime helps avoid hyperactive, destructive, unruly and attention seeking behaviors, and leads to a strong, trusting relationship while you get more active as well. It’s a win-win!

So how much activity is just right for your dog? An active lifestyle is great, but every pet is unique. What it means to be healthy is different for a Border Collie puppy and a St. Bernard. This is where we can help. With real time comparisons between dogs of similar age, weight and breeds across the world, FitBark gives you baselines that help you put activity, sleep, health and behavior in perspective. Even better, wearing his FitBark, your dog contributes to creating these baselines and advancing science for the greater good of all dogs.

When you set up your FitBark, we ask you what lifestyle you would like for your dog. This can either be typical (50th percentile), active (75th percentile) or Olympian (90th percentile). If your dog has a medical problem that prevents him from being more active, try a lower percentile.

To monitor your dog’s progress while you help him reach his goals, just head over to the daily, weekly, monthly activity screens or the historical views.