Question:
Stress And Exercise ?
Answer:
Stress, no matter how it originates (happy excitement or fearful
anxiety) produces chemical changes in the body, including an elevated
level of adrenaline. Adrenaline stays in the body for days.
Turid says that the more she works with dogs, the more she is
convinced that people exercise their dogs TOO much. She's critical of
activities like agility, and says that many agility dogs have stomach
problems. She's also critical of games like fetch and frisbee,
because dogs tend to get obsessive about it (which means the level of
stimulation is too high). One woman on the list was informed that 20
minutes of ball play with her ball-obsessed golden was too much.
The result of too much exercise without enough down time can be
increased reactivity and physical problems.
This topic has been so controversial that she's on her second round
trying to explain it. But it's making sense to me. Dogs need down
time for that adrenaline to dissipate. If they're constantly being
engaged in activities that raise it, it can be doing a lot of harm
that we can't see (because the dog acts like he's having FUN) until
the damage is done (such as ulcers).
As a chronic fatigue sufferer - which is a result of long periods of
low-level stress without relief, according to my doctor - I can
certainly grok this concept.
This boggles the mind. Your average pet dog has plenty of down time
during the 8-10 hours during the day while their owners are at work, and
another 8 or so hours when everyone is asleep. I don't know very many
people who keep their dogs going 5 or 6 hours a day, do you?
Besides, this does fly in the face of what dogs were originally meant to
do. Many, many dogs were developed specifically for the purpose of
working all day, and I don't see how any of these dogs would have
physical problems resulting from their work. They wouldn't be very good
at it in the long run if that were the case. Anyway, since most people
don't use their dogs for the purpose they were originally intended for,
IMO, the dogs get far less exercise than they were built for.
You're missing a "different opinion". Whether that opinion has any
basis for it or not, a lot of people strive to be unique - doesn't
matter if they're RIGHT!
I really disagree with her obviously. I don't think dog sports are
evil, cause physical problems or psycho dogs. My dogs get plenty of
down time (where they have earned their SD titles (slug dog)).
Actually SDX for sure. But they can still (and need to) run, play,
exercise, and keep fit, mentally and physically. What exactly does
she suggest dogs DO, if they aren't supposed to be exercised as much
as a whopping 20 minutes?
Actually, my dogs eat like horses (carnivorous horses, that
is) when they're working and when they're not getting enough
exercise (bad Melinda! bad!) Cinder loses her appetite and
Emmett gets fussy about his food. It's purely anecdotal but
my experience has been the opposite of what Leah says Rugaas
said.
Some dogs working insanely crazy amounts (like sleddogs in
1,000 mile races) sometimes have indigestion, just as human
endurance athletes do, but the "average dog" under
discussion doesn't work nearly that hard.
