considering a labrador is your next canine companion but want to make sure you will be able to give this energetic breed the physical stimulation it needs stick around as in today’s article we will cover everything you could ever want to know about the labrador’s exercise needs.
the lab is an incredibly demanding breed in terms of exercise even if you go for more pets or show lines for this breed expending all of their physical energy can still be something of a task generally a labrador will not be happy with a stroll around the neighborhood or a romp in the backyard while they do really enjoy a good game of fetch if you are solely relying on this odds are you’ll tire out before they will the lab needs real intensive activity to really drain its energy levels such as hiking swimming joining your bike rides or something of that caliber and they’re going to need this level of exercise daily given the labs incredible intelligence it should also come as no surprise that the breed also requires a heft amount of mental stimulation if they aren’t working their bodies they need to be working their minds sleep falls somewhere in between so thankfully mental stimulation for this breed is also easily easy to achieve you can do obedience work with them to help drain this incredible need or better yet kill two birds with one stone and play obedience games with them as this will deplete both their need for physical and mental stimulation you can also invest in things like a foraging mat or a puzzle ball this will allow you to hide food inside and make the dog think and test how to get the food contained within which can be an excellent hands-off way to get them on the right foot to drain the need for mental activity even if you don’t have either of these things you can achieve something close to the same result by spreading some kibble around in a little grassy area which will also require the dog to work their nose to hunt down all of the little pieces.
there are a lot of behavioral outcomes that can arise when a dog doesn’t get physical or mental stimulation they need this is also very true for labs an undirect lab is a destructive force to be reckoned with they will get into all manners of things you’d rather not have them like in your trash can they can also take to chewing on things like furniture or anything they can get hold of other issues can include things such as digging um fence hopping and going to explore the neighborhood to find their own entertainment which nobody wants at the end of the day the lab is one of the friendliest breeds out there which attributes to their popularity but unless you’re an active person that can meet the high demands of this breed it probably isn’t the breed for you.
