20 Exercises That Help Your Dog Live Longer: Start Today! #317
Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett
DogsThat
4.8 • 679 Ratings
🗓️ 19 November 2025
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Visit us at shapedbydog.com
Your dog's movement can reveal a lot about their long-term comfort and health. That's why I'm sharing more than 20 simple fitness exercises to help support your dog at every stage of their life, so they can move better, stay strong, and age with confidence. You'll discover the four key categories of canine fitness and how each one builds strength, balance, flexibility, and awareness in ways that support your dog's lifelong mobility.
In this episode, you'll hear:
• Why your dog's movement reveals so much about their long-term health.
• The 20 simple exercises I use with all my dogs from puppyhood to senior years.
• The prerequisites that make fitness exercises easier and safer (Nail Trims, ItsYerChoice, Crate Games).
• The four key categories of canine fitness (Proprioception, Strength and Stability, Flexibility, and Conditioning) and why each one matters.
• The importance of a vet check and establishing a baseline before starting any fitness plan.
• A special opportunity to join Home School the Dog and Wag Nation for more step-by-step support.
Join Wag Nation + Home School the Dog:
Write to us at wag@dogsthat.com with the subject line "Home School and Wag Bundle Please" for a very special opportunity to join us in Wag Nation and Home School the Dog.
ItsYerChoice Summit:
Learn How to Play ItsYerChoice - https://recallers.com/iycsummit-join/
Get Crate Games Online:
Crate Games Online - https://get.crategames.com/
Resources:
1. Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog: Cutting Your Dog's Nails: How Important Is It Really? - https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2013/08/cutting-your-dogs-nails-how-important-is-it-really/
2. Podcast Episode 266: Hot Zone And Stays – How One Dog Training Nuance Can Fix Anxiety And Duration - https://dogsthat.com/podcast/266/
3. YouTube Playlist: Target Training for Dogs with Susan Garrett - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy3ylCyQ2bJQSCwo_ERiVHj3&si=Pe6C9uZGvjlzoolB
4. YouTube Video: Susan Garrett's Perch Work Dog Tricks (Pivots and Spins) - https://youtu.be/O6sj6fTJnFc
5. Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog: How to Train Your Dog to Stand on Cue - https://susangarrettdogagility.com/2020/10/train-your-dog-to-stand-on-cue/
6. Dogs That YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@DogsThat
7. YouTube Playlist: Sit, Down, Stand, Stay! Dog Training Duration Behaviors with Susan Garrett - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLphRRSxcMHy2cY7Fg3MLUaobkSdnVx0jt&si=b_kVPMzPxg5jffFX
8. Watch this Episode of Shaped by Dog on YouTube - https://youtu.be/vMkEJo5zfLM
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Whether your dog is eight months old or 18 years old, the way your dog moves tells a lot about |
| 0:06.1 | their longevity. In today's episode, I'm going to share more than 20 different exercises that I |
| 0:11.7 | teach to my puppies and continue to use as my dogs grow up. So I have a baseline of what that |
| 0:18.3 | movement looks like and I can spot the earliest signs of trouble. |
| 0:23.2 | Hi, I'm Susan Garrett. Welcome to Shape by Dog. You know, they say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, |
| 0:39.8 | and the next best time is today. So today I'm going to give you the opportunity to start your dog or puppy |
| 0:46.5 | on a pre-planned fitness program. Now, to some of you, the word fitness conjures, you knowures a lot of discomfort and pain, but put aside your |
| 0:56.7 | own personal feelings because we can create fitness for the dog in the form of a game that |
| 1:01.3 | they're going to love to play. As a matter of fact, your dog's joy is the number one factor |
| 1:06.8 | that determines whether we move forward with any exercise. |
| 1:11.5 | Okay, I have divided the exercises that I use for my dogs into four categories. |
| 1:16.1 | Number one, being pro preception, their ability to know how to move their paws in space, |
| 1:21.5 | strength and stability. Number two, flexibility and conditioning. |
| 1:25.6 | But before we jump into those exercises, let me share with you that I |
| 1:28.8 | strongly encourage you get a complete physical for your dog before you start any kind of a fitness |
| 1:34.1 | program. Talk to your veterinarian bonus points. If you have a rehab veterinarian, I get my dogs |
| 1:39.9 | into a rehab veterinarian once a year just for baseline measurements. And if you want a fitness program |
| 1:45.2 | specific for your dog, there's so many qualified, certified online practitioners that can help you |
| 1:52.1 | with that. I find the prerequisites that really help my dog with their fitness. Number one, |
| 1:56.8 | nail trim. So if you're a regular listener to Shapeba dog, you know that I like a nice, |
| 2:00.9 | tight nail trim. So, I'll give you a link in the show notes to show you exactly how I like to |
| 2:08.1 | cut my own dog's nails and more importantly, the length because the longer the dog's nails are, |
... |
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