Pitbulls are naturally intimidating dogs due to their appearance. Their muscular build not only shows the beauty and physical capabilities of the breed but also reflects the capacity of the owner to maintain their overall health.
Building your Pitbull’s muscles is more than doing physical exercise alone. There are many ways you can approach this and introduce an effective workout and diet routine for your dog. Like with a lot of things in this world, it’s important not to overdo it.
If you’re looking for a helpful guide in making your Pitbull more muscular, you’re on the right page. This article will make your mission a success story!
Why Are Pitbulls So Muscular?
Pitbulls are naturally built more muscular than other breeds because they have both bulldogs and terriers lineage. These breeds are known for their stocky and solid build.
Out of all the Pitbull breeds, the American Pit Bull Terrier is considered the most muscular.
At first glance, you can already tell that these dogs showcase strength and power. Their shoulder blades and forelegs feature well-defined muscles.
Back then, many breeders and owners took advantage of the Pitbull’s athletic ability by subjecting them to bloody dog fights and bull baiting.
Now that these practices are banned, Pitbull’s sporting abilities are used in dock jumping and weight pulling.
How to Make Your Pitbull More Muscular
As promised, this guide details all the ways your Pitbull can build more muscles. You can try all of these on your pet, but always proceed with caution as each Pitbull is unique, especially in its anatomy.
Without further ado, here are five proven ways to make your Pitbull more muscular:
1. Provide your Pitbull with the proper diet and meal plan
The first step towards building your dog’s muscles is ensuring that they get enough nutrients.
Whether your Pitbull appears too skinny or overweight, your goal should be to feed them food promoting muscle development. After all, diet plays a vital role in building muscle mass.
While store-bought dog food can keep your Pitbull full, they usually don’t contain enough nutritional value.
If you want to make your dog more lean or muscular, you should introduce a muscle-building diet. This means giving a well-proportioned meal consisting of essential protein, carbs, and fats.
Let’s discuss how each of these critical nutrients helps build muscle in Pitbulls:
- Protein: Your dog’s diet should consist of at least 40% protein. Aside from building muscle, this compound also strengthens the immune system. A high protein diet consisting of boiled chicken, pork, beef, or fish should be included in every meal.
- Carbohydrates: Carbs are your dog’s primary energy source. Your dog’s daily diet should consist of around 40% carbs to promote the development of brain and body cells. Foods such as brown rice, whole wheat, corn, and potato are rich in carbs.
- Fat: Lastly, your dog’s meal plan should consist of 20% fat. This is needed to fuel the muscles and have enough capacity to perform. Raw eggs are a good source of fat that should be included in each meal.
An ideal meal plan consists of six small meals a day to encourage an anabolic muscle-building state. To achieve this, stick to a scheduled feeding routine every day.
2. Include exercise in your dog’s routine
Having the right diet for your Pitbull works wonders, but it’s only a tiny part of the process.
Exercise is another essential component in building muscle. Start off with simple routines like walking and running.
After getting used to this routine, you can try other activities like weight pulling, tugging spring poles, and even running uphill.
Introducing weight sleds and weight vests also aid in maximum muscle workout. However, it’s essential to consider your dog’s enjoyment so they won’t get easily bored.
By doing these exercises, your dog’s muscles will tear apart. As scary as it sounds, this will actually allow the repair and rebuild process that results in muscle gain. This is also why it’s vital to start the diet plan prior to doing intense exercise.
3. Focus on high-intensity cardio training
Once you see the exercise routine paying off, it’s time to level up with some cardio training.
Because cardio activities are more intense, they should be done in short periods, preferably 10 to 15 minutes a day. High-intensity cardio exercises include sprinting or running up bleachers or hills.
Depending on your vet’s recommendation, you can also put a weight vest on your Pitbull to increase the intensity of the workout. However, it remains crucial not to push your dog’s limit to avoid doing more harm than good.
4. Give your Pitbull dietary supplements
Because of the intense exercise and muscle workout, your Pitbull might lose or have lower levels of necessary body nutrients.
Aside from giving the recommended amount of food, you should add dietary supplements to their daily meals.
Vitamin supplements, as well as protein, omega, and antioxidants, help repair and build muscles. Omega fatty acids, in particular, reduce muscle pain and swelling to keep your dog active.
Take note that these will only aid or support muscle growth but not guarantee it.
5. Do weight training activities
The last step in making your Pitbull muscular is by doing weight exercises alongside cardio activities.
These involve playing tug of war using a spring pole and playing weighted fetch. However, since each dog has its own weight range, you should be mindful of how much weight your Pitbull can tolerate.
A classic game of tug of war can help significantly in building muscle. It encourages the stretch and tear of muscles.
Following the same concept of the game, you can incorporate a spring pole that will allow your Pitbull to play on its own. Your Pitbull’s body and leg muscles shouldn’t be the sole focus of your routine.
To strengthen the neck and back muscles, you can try playing fetch using a weighted material like a one-liter bottle of water, a small tire, or a light dumbbell. The ideal weight of the item should be relative to your dog’s weight.
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5 Factors Affecting Your Pitbull’s Weight
Before you begin your Pitbull’s muscle-building journey, you should consider some key factors that affect your dog’s weight. This will help you understand what workout strategy you should focus on to help them be beefier.
1. Genetics
Like humans, a Pitbull’s weight and overall body composition are affected by genetics. Studies show that obesity in some dog breeds is caused by inherited genes from their parents. This explains why no two dogs will have the same exact size as adults.
With that being said, you shouldn’t put too much pressure on making your Pitbull gain more muscles.
If they are genetically predisposed to be on the slender side of their parents, then you shouldn’t expect them to be buff or bulky.
2. Poor Nutrition
Regardless of dog breed, weight is directly affected by the amount and quality of the food intake.
For Pitbulls, proteins, carbs, and healthy fats should be included in their diet. Ensuring proper food intake while your dog is still a puppy can help them achieve their ideal weight in adulthood.
Dog treats should only be given during training. When given in excess, though, your Pitbull can become overweight.
3. Lack of Movement or Exercise
Without exercise, your Pitbull is bound to put on some extra weight. As early as puppies, you should train them to go on daily walks. As they grow older, you can do more complex exercise routines.
Maintaining a buff Pitbull is achievable only through an effective exercise or workout routine paired with a proper diet.
4. Stress and Underlying Diseases
Whenever your Pitbull is under stress or depressed, they can lose some weight.
Due to lack of appetite, they will not appear as muscular as they should. Some common causes of depression include neglect, separation anxiety, and sudden change in environment.
Similarly, having an illness can also cause a shift in your Pitbull’s weight. For instance, diabetes and dental problems can cause sudden weight loss. Other health issues that can make your dog lose appetite are liver diseases and cancer.
5. Parasitic Infection
Parasites like roundworms and hookworms can easily enter your Pitbull’s system.
Instead of getting absorbed by your dog’s body, these parasites feed on all the nutrients and minerals they get from eating. Aside from losing weight, your pet can experience other complications.
Moreover, if you have other dogs at home, they might also be infected with these parasites. Seeking the right treatment from your veterinarian should be done at the first symptom.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are Pitbulls Naturally Muscular?
Pitbulls are naturally lean and muscular dog breeds. You can easily see defined muscles on their hind legs, back, and rib cage. Because of their medium build, their muscles only become more obvious.
What Is the Most Muscular Dog?
The American Pit Bull Terrier is known as the most muscular dog. Sitting next to this breed is the American Bully.
Since both are descending from bulldogs and terriers, you can expect nothing less from these two breeds.
Are Muscular Pitbulls Healthy?
A muscular Pitbull is a reflection of a healthy dog. This means that they get a complete package of proper nutrition, exercise, training, and dietary supplements.
On the contrary, a Pitbull without muscles can mean that they have underlying health problems.
How Powerful Is a Pitbull Bite?
On average, a Pitbull’s bite is around 300 pounds of pressure. Compared to the German Shepherd Dog or Rottweiler, this is not the strongest. However, the Pitbull can hold its bite for a very long time.
Final Thoughts
If you want your Pitbull to become more muscular, you should not only focus on giving the right dog food.
The development of your dog’s muscles depends on the training and exercise routine you impose on them. While it’s necessary to be strict, it’s never okay to strain your dog.
Even as a family pet, you shouldn’t treat your Pitbull as a lap dog. To maintain their physique, they should have enough physical activity. When you build your dog’s muscles, you are making an effort to keep them healthy.
Making your Pitbull muscular is a responsibility you should fully embrace when deciding to own this dog breed.
My name is John Carter and I absolutely love pets, especially cats and dogs. I’ve got a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare and have several years’ experience working in animal shelters and rescues. My passion for animals started at a very young age as I grow up on a farm with several horses, cows, cats, chickens, and dogs on our property.