Top 5 Exercises to Strengthen a Dog’s Hind Legs

Every dog owner out there knows just how vital regular exercise is to your pup’s overall health and happiness. Regular exercise can help keep your dog fit and healthy, improve their coordination, and reduce some destructive behaviors.

In this post, we’ll share five of the best exercises to help strengthen your dog’s hind legs and keep them happy and healthy. We’ve included exercises that should be easy to perform at home and can be done with minimal equipment. We’ll also go ahead and discuss the benefits of each of these exercises and how to properly execute them for maximum impact.

Exercise One: Standing on a Step

One of the best exercises for strengthening your pup’s hind legs is simply standing on a step or other elevated platform. Dogs naturally enjoy basking in the sunshine or looking out the window, so getting them accustomed to standing on a step should be fairly easy. Simply place a step near a window or sunny area, encourage your dog to step up with verbal or food rewards and keep them there for about 10 seconds before allowing them back down. Each training session should gradually increase in duration as your pup becomes more comfortable with standing on the step.

Exercise Two: Balance Discs

For an extra challenge, try placing balance discs underneath your pup’s feet while they stand on the step. The instability created by these discs provides more of an engaging workout for your pup’s hind legs while they hone their balance skills. As with the first exercise, start out with short-duration sessions and slowly increase their length as your pup becomes more comfortable with standing on the discs.

Exercise Three: Carpet Sled Pull

For smaller dogs that struggle to stand up on steps or discs, you can opt for a carpet sled pull instead. Start by attaching one end of a small carpet runner to your pup’s harness or collar and hold the other end yourself. Alternatively, you can attach both ends to two stationary objects such as chairs or cabinets and adjust the length to accommodate your pup’s size. Then, slowly pull them back while they take small steps forward with their hind legs engaged. As they get better at this exercise, you can increase the resistance and speed of pulls. Make this exercise even more fun by offering treats as rewards throughout the session!

Exercise Four: Swimming

Swimming is one of the most effective ways to build muscle strength in any animal’s hind limbs without putting too much stress on them in the process. If you have access to a pool or lake with easy access for dogs, you can simply let them go head around and splash in the water and enjoy themselves! You can also use underwater treadmills designed specifically for dogs if you have access to them at your local vet clinic or animal rehabilitation facility. The goal here is to let your pup move around freely and build strength in their hind limbs as they go! The benefits of exercising while swimming also include increased joint flexibility due to low-impact movements that occur underwater when swimming. If you find that after weeks of swimming or training, your pup is limping around, you may want to incorporate a joint supplement into their diet, such as glucosamine for dogs.

Exercise Five: Walking

The simplest exercise you can do with your pup is taking them on regular walks. This low-impact exercise is not only beneficial for you dog, but you as well! Just be sure you don’t overdo it and consider going on walks on softer ground (like grass) rather than on hard pavement. These walks can help strengthen their muscles over time, decrease stress, promote cardiovascular health and more. Plus, walking also offers an opportunity for socialization with other dogs!

Final Thoughts!

Your dog’s hind legs are an important aspect of their overall health and fitness and should be cared for accordingly. Regular exercise, veterinary care and supplementation with glucosamine for dogs can help keep your pup fit and help to prevent painful joint problems in the future. With regular exercise, your pup can have strong and healthy hind legs for years to come!