Exercise is one of the main way in which dogs keep their muscle tone, bones, joints, and mind healthy, there are plenty of ways in which to exercise your dog. Some exercises are good for keeping you healthy as well, and others are more relaxed and effort free for those times when you get back from work and your dog is staring at you all excited and ready to play.

Some breeds of dogs are more active and need more exercise than others, and sometimes more than a lot of owners think they can give them due to other commitments like work and there not being enough hours in the day. But this doesn't have to be the case as many professional dog trainers will tell you, and keeping your dog in shape can be fun and rewarding for both parties.

Here are some of the exercises that are popular in the dog community and reasons why they have become popular and widely used around the world -

Fetch

Starting off with the most well known of exercises, the fetch game involves you throwing a ball and your dog running after it and returning it to you. This can be little exercise for you and a lot for your dog if you use any throwing enhancing products that are on the market today.

Tug

The tug game involves both you and your dog pulling on either end of a tugging toy, this requires little effort on your behalf and can be played while you sit and watch telly or between breaks of other activities, great to keep your dog amused when you don't feel like entertaining you dog in other more exhausting ways.

Jogging

Jogging is a highly active sport and helps keep your health up as well as your dogs well being, your dog will love to run along side you and they will find much enjoyment in this activity and it will ensure a healthy and happy dog.

Cycling

Although cycling may seem like a difficult exercise for your dog to follow and keep an interest in, there are special leashes and leads for you to use on your dog to maintain hands free control over your dog giving you a more subtle form of exercise which is similar to jogging. Care may be needed and basic dog training should be given to make sure your dog will be in no harm during the task.