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trainingformordor
trainingformordor Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When I can't get to the gym, or just for the fun, one of my favorite things to keep active is taking my dog for long walks/hikes. Its great for both of us.

I'd love to hear and share tips from other dog Lovers who incorporate them into their fitness.

One of the nest things I did was get a walking harness for my dog(a rescue mutt lab mix 4 years old), one of those big padded ones. He's a very good boy but very excitable. The harness helps keep control if he sees a squirrel or another dog, the only times he really pulls. Our walks have been so much better and can go on longer when he's not pulling at his throat or slipping out of his collar like he did as a puppy.
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  • HayleyAnne012911
    HayleyAnne012911 Posts: 79 Member
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    I also take my curr/pit mix on walks with me. We do two miles around my neighborhood the nights I don't feel like going to the gym. Sadly weather permits that though, in florida it rains a lot in the summer so we are gonna have to work around it.
  • lisalewis7588
    lisalewis7588 Posts: 76 Member
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    My dog is a rescue as well, looks like a lab mixed with a hundred other things :smile: She LOVES to run. Absolutely loves it. So I got a running leash (wraps around my waist so I'm hands-free) and go on runs with her. She makes me run farther and faster than I would otherwise! :smiley: She loves walks and hikes too, but her favorite thing is running. Keeping me on track for running more this year, for sure!
  • Eaglesfanintn
    Eaglesfanintn Posts: 813 Member
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    <---My three walking companions.
    I work from home most of the time so I get them for 4 walks/day. We probably do about 2 or 3 miles on normal days, sometimes a bit more. I'm a runner, but there's no way I could run with this pack, they're all over the place. But, our morning walks are good for me to wake up and stretch my legs a bit before I drop them off at home and go for a run.
  • crazymama2both
    crazymama2both Posts: 195 Member
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    My chi/terrier is a rescue and she's ridiculous on walks so taking her to hiking trails is more of a frustration for me because she tries to eat allllll of the dogs. I know she's a rescue saved from down south where she was left pregnant and beaten and dying so I try to remember that my poor girl probably has good reason to behave the way she does. But I DO completely use her to get myself moving a little extra bit that I can and especially since it's getting nicer out now. I love taking her out at around 9/10 at night during the summer when it's nice and dark and can't see alllll of the squirrels and creatures :)
  • cadpro78
    cadpro78 Posts: 125 Member
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    lisalewis7588 wrote: »
    My dog is a rescue as well, looks like a lab mixed with a hundred other things :smile: She LOVES to run. Absolutely loves it. So I got a running leash (wraps around my waist so I'm hands-free) and go on runs with her. She makes me run farther and faster than I would otherwise! :smiley: She loves walks and hikes too, but her favorite thing is running. Keeping me on track for running more this year, for sure!

    I need that running leash? How much it cost? My lab/beagle mix loves to run, run and run some more.
  • kayjay71
    kayjay71 Posts: 2 Member
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    I have to take mine on multiple mini walks a day-I have one that doesn't like to stand in the wet woodchips and one that only likes to pee where the other one pees (they have issues...LOL) downfall they go crazy when they see other dogs and tend to attack each other (good times) one day when my husband is home we can take them on longer walks since it's good for them and us!
  • trainingformordor
    trainingformordor Posts: 11 Member
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    Wow, you are motivated! My pup gets probably 4 walks a week lol but we try to hit 3 miles. It's been tough since I moved to a new town, I used to have walking trails in the woods. Now I am still trying to find a good route in the average suburbs.
  • cadpro78
    cadpro78 Posts: 125 Member
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    My lab/beagle is almost 7 years and very very active! She loves the "W" word when I say it...loves it soo much that she won't even wait for to open the door to let her out too.
  • trainingformordor
    trainingformordor Posts: 11 Member
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    crazymama2both wrote: »
    My chi/terrier is a rescue and she's ridiculous on walks so taking her to hiking trails is more of a frustration for me because she tries to eat allllll of the dogs. I know she's a rescue saved from down south where she was left pregnant and beaten and dying so I try to remember that my poor girl probably has good reason to behave the way she does. But I DO completely use her to get myself moving a little extra bit that I can and especially since it's getting nicer out now. I love taking her out at around 9/10 at night during the summer when it's nice and dark and can't see alllll of the squirrels and creatures :)

    I hear you! How wonderful that she has a loving home now. They can't all be the perfect fitness companions :)
  • trainingformordor
    trainingformordor Posts: 11 Member
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    cadpro78 wrote: »
    My lab/beagle is almost 7 years and very very active! She loves the "W" word when I say it...loves it soo much that she won't even wait for to open the door to let her out too.

    Mine is like that too! I have to wait til the last second to grab his leash or I get practically tackled with excitement.
  • crazymama2both
    crazymama2both Posts: 195 Member
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    trainingformordor wrote: »
    crazymama2both wrote: »
    My chi/terrier is a rescue and she's ridiculous on walks so taking her to hiking trails is more of a frustration for me because she tries to eat allllll of the dogs. I know she's a rescue saved from down south where she was left pregnant and beaten and dying so I try to remember that my poor girl probably has good reason to behave the way she does. But I DO completely use her to get myself moving a little extra bit that I can and especially since it's getting nicer out now. I love taking her out at around 9/10 at night during the summer when it's nice and dark and can't see alllll of the squirrels and creatures :)

    I hear you! How wonderful that she has a loving home now. They can't all be the perfect fitness companions :)

    HA Agreed. She's pretty awesome. I just wish she would be nicer because she would get more love from strangers on our walks :)
  • cadpro78
    cadpro78 Posts: 125 Member
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    trainingformordor wrote: »
    cadpro78 wrote: »
    My lab/beagle is almost 7 years and very very active! She loves the "W" word when I say it...loves it soo much that she won't even wait for to open the door to let her out too.

    Mine is like that too! I have to wait til the last second to grab his leash or I get practically tackled with excitement.

    Every day when I come home...she wants out to socialize with other breeds..lol
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    i've worked with my dog a lot on her walking. i have a halti harness. so when she pulls, she gets turned around. i also worked on her so when she pulled we turned around into the other direction, and if she did it again, we turned around again.

    we are currently working on heel without a leash. it's hard for her because she wants to be patrolling (border collie mix)

    We used to run together. i'm not sure she enjoyed the long runs.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    This is one of my personal goals for the month of May - to take my dogs on walks more often.
  • cookma423
    cookma423 Posts: 62 Member
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    Half of my runs incorporate my mutt. She's getting better, but still wears herself out early. She isn't good at distance yet.
  • Poweredbycoffee06
    Poweredbycoffee06 Posts: 39 Member
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    My husky/border collie mix has become my jogging buddy. I have a band I wear around my waist to keep my phone. All I have to do is pick it up and she goes running to the cabinet her harness is in. She has come a long away, but we have to jog when the park is not busy. She has very strong herding instincts, especially with kids lol.

  • shrcpr
    shrcpr Posts: 885 Member
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    My poor little old doggies (Shih-Tzu and Yorkie) can't walk so much anymore so I get them out first thing in the am but the Shih-Tzu can only go around the block now and the Yorkie around a couple times. They used to go for miles - my husband told me I need to get a stroller for them so I can take them when I walk myself but I can't bring myself to do it!!
  • ubermofish
    ubermofish Posts: 102 Member
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    crazymama2both wrote: »
    My chi/terrier is a rescue and she's ridiculous on walks so taking her to hiking trails is more of a frustration for me because she tries to eat allllll of the dogs. I know she's a rescue saved from down south where she was left pregnant and beaten and dying so I try to remember that my poor girl probably has good reason to behave the way she does. But I DO completely use her to get myself moving a little extra bit that I can and especially since it's getting nicer out now. I love taking her out at around 9/10 at night during the summer when it's nice and dark and can't see alllll of the squirrels and creatures :)

    My dogs are both rescues as well and had some trouble with leash aggression, but working hard on the "leave it" command and using an easy walk harness has made a world of difference with them. The harness especially, makes it so they can't tug.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,020 Member
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    Walking my dog is my main form of exercise. We usually walk 3.5-4 miles per day and we've started adding in some intervals of jogging. My dog is really well behaved and walks well on her leash. She is much better than some of the other dogs we see at the park. I sometimes do a yoga dvd but I usually put her in the other room because if I don't she sits with her paws on the edge of the yoga mat and watches me while I do it.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    edited April 2016
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    I have a pitbull/weimaraner mix who is TERRIBLE on a leash. (also a rescue with some anxiety issues) Despite working on leash training for nearly a year, he still sucks when he sees other dogs, squirrels, rabbits and birds. I use a gentle leader, it makes him much easier to control (he's strong) and we get our daily walks in. Took him awhile to get used to it, but it's made walks more pleasant for both of us.

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