Mobile Gym For Dogs

Concerned your dog is not getting enough exercise? Fitdogmobile to the rescue!
Picture this: a van pulls up outside your house, and your dog begins to wag her tail in excitement. Inside the van is a mobile dog gym, begun by Travis Sawatzky, who was inspired to start his business after welcoming a Doberman into his life.

“I have a great backyard, but it’s not big enough to run a baby race-horse,” he says. “We exist to make sure your dog can burn off that built-up energy that leads them to get into trouble with negative behaviour. Think of Fitdogmobile as a personal trainer for your dog.”

Sawatzky started accepting clients throughout the Greater Vancouver and Lower Mainland area of British Columbia in October 2022 and currently has a roster of 15 regulars—mainly medium to large breeds, though they have run dogs as small as 12 pounds—plus a host of occasional bookings. His clients swear by him.

“Bailey loves her sessions,” raves Deb Tutt of her Goldendoodle, who enjoys a once-a-week workout. “She greets Travis every week with the kind of excitement reserved for viral tear-jerker reunion videos. She now goes sniffing up to all random vans, thinking inside is another doggy gym heaven and her buddy Travis!”                         

 Tutt says she likes that Bailey can control the pace and duration of her runs on the treadmill. “She doesn’t have the same autonomy on leash walks. On the treadmill, she speeds up and slows down based on her own instincts, and after about 30-45 minutes, she comes to her own natural stop and lets us know she’s finished. Watching her run 25 km—or 10 to 15 km even—made me realize how much capacity she has and how I was doing a disservice to her.” 

The benefits include a better-behaved dog, results Tutt says she has seen firsthand. “The improvement to Bailey’s happiness is clear to see. The investment into activity pays off in spades. Our dog has less inclination to destroy things in the home, is far calmer and settled, and responds to training much better.” fitdogmobile.ca

This article originally appeared in the award-winning Modern Dog magazine. Subscribe today!