Top Activities For American Bull Danes

Introduction

As implied by their cleverly put together name, American Bull Danes are a type of hybrid dog that results from mixing an American Bull Dog with a Great Dane. American Bull Danes are slightly smaller than their Great Dane parents but are also much more sturdy and rough-and-tumble as a result. Many people might think that an American Bull Dog and a Great Dane are vastly different types of dogs, but this couldn't be further from the truth; both American Bull Dogs and Great Danes love to be really active and are incredibly friendly to humans once properly socialized. The American Bull Dane has inherited the energy from both of the parents, needing to be just as active to stay fit and strong.

Cardio Exercises

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Free

Easy

15 - 60 min

Items needed

Water

Dog Weighted Vest

Dog Backpack

Activity description

We feel that we can't stress how energetic American Bull Danes are enough! These dogs have tons of fuel in the tank and can become very restless if they aren't allowed to burn it off. To that end, we suggest you and your dog engage in a number of cardiovascular exercises (or cardio exercises for short) to help ease both of your minds and train both of your bodies. A cardio workout can be as low impact or intense as you'd like; you and your Bull Dane can go for walks around the block on a regular basis or you two can run around an open track field. Below, we'll list a few ways how you can modify these deceptively simple exercises.

Step

1

Weighted walking

For those of you looking to make your routine walks a bit more challenging, consider adding a bit of weight into the equation. You can do this for yourself by getting a hold of some lightweight dumbbells and holding on to them during your walk or you can get a backpack, load it up with books and workout gear, and wear it over both of your arms during the walk as well.

Step

2

Don't forget about the dog

If you decide to add some weight to your walk, consider doing the same thing for your pup so that the both of you can try this new exercise out at the same time. Your dog won't benefit from carrying a dumbbell in their mouth throughout the walk, but you could always get a weighted dog vest for them instead. You could also replicate the backpack technique using a dog backpack.

Step

3

HIIT Cardio

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training and these sorts of cardio workouts absolutely melt fat and disintegrate calories! HIIT Cardio workouts consist of exercises like sprinting, running on an inclined surface, and swimming. Give them a try with your Bull Dane and see which activities they seem to like the most.

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Power Chewer Toys

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Moderate

Easy

30 min

Items needed

Power Chewer Dog Toys

Activity description

For those of you who don't know, the term Power Chewer refers to dogs with tremendous jaw strength who have a tendency to reduce the average dog toy to ribbons. American Bulldogs and Great Danes both just so happen to fit into the aforementioned category, as both breeds tend to rend normal dog toys to pieces, leaving quite the mess behind in the process. The American Bull Dane has inherited the jaw strength of both of their parents so before you get your Bull Dane a gift that they might accidentally tear to shreds, consider getting them a Power Chewer proof dog toy.

Step

1

Find the right toy

Power Chewer proof dog toys come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, so it's important to keep the needs of your dog in mind; try to avoid getting any toys that might be too small or which are made of flimsy material. Most Power Chewer proof toys can be bought for around $20 USD but higher quality ones tend to run for a bit more than that.

Step

2

Introduce the fun

If your Bull Dane has been playing with regular toys for a long time, you might need to gradually help them get used to their new toy; your Bull Dane may try to tear this toy apart when they're first introduced to it, so be sure to help them understand, over a period of time, that their Power Chewer proof toys aren't meant to (and won't) be reduced to ribbons. When your dog has finished with the toy, wash it and put it away for another day.

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Strength Training

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Expensive

Hard

45 - 60 min

Items needed

Dog Weight Sled

Dog Harness

Weights

Activity description

American Bull Dogs and Great Danes are two of the physically strongest, most muscular dog breeds out there. Naturally, American Bull Danes have retained a lot of their parents' combined strength which mean that they'd benefit greatly from trying their hands (or, more accurately, paws) at strength training. Humans who lift, squat, bench and pull weights benefit from building up their muscles and testing their limits so consider strength training with your Bull Dane to help them reap the same rewards human strength trainers do. There are special pieces of equipment that can help your dog become much stronger in ways you likely have never thought they could.

Step

1

Find your dog's limit

When you first start strength training with your dog, it's important to figure out how strong they are initially. Equip the harness around your dog's body, hook it up to the weight sled, and then encourage your dog to pull it around without adding any additional weight. Have your dog pull the weightless sled to a certain distance a few times, then add a few pounds of weight every time they complete a rep. Stop adding weight once you begin to see that your dog is slowing down. Be careful though, you do not want to injure your companion.

Step

2

Repetition and encouragement

Those are the two main ingredients that will help your dog get much stronger over time. Let your dog continue training with a certain amount of weight for a set period of time and once they seem to be able to pull that amount of weight around with a great deal of ease, add on a little more weight to keep this activity challenging but safe.

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More Fun Ideas...

Ball Dog Training

If you're an avid fan of tennis, you may be delighted to learn that American Bull Danes can learn to become some of the best "ball dogs" out there. For those of you who don't know, a ball dog is a lot like a ball boy in a typical tennis match; they go and retrieve tennis balls and bring them back to players.

Trekking

Trekking, often referred to as backpacking, is a very fun way for you and your Bull Dane to get in touch with nature and, quite literally, take a walk on the wild side. American Bull Danes were partially bred to assist with hunting trips, so your's will be able to adjust to the great outdoors just fine.

Conclusion

American Bull Danes truly are remarkable creatures who are steadily making a name for themselves as great companions and loyal friends. The activities listed above were partially created with the intention of helping your Bull Dane become acclimated to new and exciting ways to burn off of all of their inborn energy, but the other reason we decided to list the activities we did is for posterity in a manner of speaking; hybrid dogs, in general, are sometimes not treated the same as older breeds due to being new and different. We hope that by going out and completing activities like those listed above with your Bull Dane, people will see that hybrid dogs aren't so different from purebred dogs.