Lotta people probably think smaller dog,
they don't really need much exercise.
So let's get to our pet questions.
The first one today, first up on Zoom,
is Stella in Kansas City.
Stella, oh, there she is! Hi, babe. (laughs)
Hi. (laughs)
Take it away.
She is with her dog. Is it Mosby?
It's Mosby, like Ted Mosby from "How I Met Your Mother."
Aw! (claps)
Yeah, I have a lotta questions about this little cutie.
He is five years old, but I adopted him two months ago.
And he is just about eight pounds, little Chihuahua mix,
and I'm really curious, like, how often I should walk him,
'cause I live in an apartment,
and I don't know how much exercise he should get.
I really wanna make sure that he is healthy and happy.
(laughs) He is adorable! I love that.
And congratulations. What a cute family you make!
Doc, take it away. Thank you.
What do you say, Court?
Well, no, listen, look how cute Mosby is,
and it just reminds me when I think about exercise,
I think about movement is life,
and nothing could be more true when it comes to dogs
and cats, and just pets at home.
So I will say bare minimum, bare minimum exercise for dogs,
I would say at least two 20-minute walks a day.
And if a dog cannot do those two 20-minute walks,
you need to talk with your doctor, with your veterinarian,
to re-evaluate what's going on.
Now, to be clear, there are some dogs
who would not be able to complete those two 20-minute walks,
either those smush-face breeds, we call 'em brachycephalics,
or maybe there's a dog who has underlying medical problems.
But I'd say for a healthy dog,
those two 20-minute walks are so enriching,
and really important, obviously physically,
but mentally as well.
I do wanna make one distinguishing group,
and that is puppies.
Puppies in general, they have the energy and the vitality
to exercise, but they don't have the sense yet.
They don't have the cognitive ability yet to say,
"Let me turn it off."
I kinda want pet parents to think about it this way.
A five to six-month-old puppy
is like an eight to 12-year-old person,
and their bones are not skeletally mature.
So forced exercise, or going beyond
what a puppy wants to do, running, jumping, playing,
I think is a little bit tough, but for Mosby there,
I'd say two 20-minute walks a day are great.
There is one little wrinkle
that I want everybody to think about,
and that is a Chihuahua actually may need more exercise.
Now, here's why.
Mosby's legs are short, your legs are long,
and when you pick up a Chihuahua or any small-breed dog,
their body is dense, I mean, solid, really good muscle,
and that's because they gotta keep up with you, right?
And so if we wanna keep them in great cardiovascular shape,
we definitely want to exercise 'em.
So the little are actually the mighty.
They're strong, stronger than you might think, and-
Yeah, absolutely! Long walks.
Absolutely, and I love that point
because a lotta people probably think, well,
a smaller dog, they don't really need much exercise
and a big dog does.
To be clear, they probably need either the same
or a little bit more, and when it comes to exercise,
really quickly, I'll just put it into three categories:
walk, run, stay.
Walking exercise, exactly what it sounds like,
walking, hiking.
I love soft sand on the beach
because it activates their core.
It's gentle on their joints.
A run activity, playing catch, high sprinting,
wrestling with other dogs, even agility trials or flyball.
And then finally, the stay exercise,
and that is you've got these interactive treats here,
and they can kick this all around the house.
We even have little chew toys here.
These are what I call- Oh!
Bella loves that one! Stay exercise.
She has that one! (laughs) Absolutely.
Absolutely, tug of war, hide and seek,
these are great what I call stay exercises,
because you can do them in a small apartment.
Or let's say your dog's not interested in exercising
that particular day.
You can fall into any of those three categories,
walk, run, or stay.
(chimes tinkling)