Dog walking for weight loss

2

Replies

  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    Yes, walking our dog is good exercise. If the dog pulls, try a head lead it helps a lot. :)
  • Fallfrenzy
    Fallfrenzy Posts: 118 Member
    I look at dog walking as a great opportunity to get out and get active. Once you start that it leads into doing other activities as well.
  • maybe1pe
    maybe1pe Posts: 529 Member
    I love walking and so do my dogs. I take them with me as much as possible. They're quite upset about the cold weather we have been having in our area and I'm right there with them! I miss the time walking with them. I honestly feel like it's kind of a "pack bonding" experience. It's made them better behaved at home because they don't have so much energy and it's helped them lose extra pounds as well!
  • NoxeemaJackson
    NoxeemaJackson Posts: 102 Member
    My neighbor got a dog, walks it every day, sometimes 2x a day, does a bunch of activities with it (catch frisbee, etc). She lost 50 lbs in a year.
  • SarahMacphail1
    SarahMacphail1 Posts: 36 Member
    I used to, not so much now I've got a small child tagging along who generally walks at the speed of a terminally ill snail! Used to do a good 10-12 miles a day out with Spendog, now I'm lucky if we manage half that distance in double the time, normally we do about 3 miles which really isn't much to me. It's more exercise than I'd get without a dog though I guess and I know Tiny Dictator gets a lot of benefit from the freedom to just run around, splash in puddles, paddle in the river and all that so I try not to complain about it lol.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,261 Member
    I've had a bad cold for a week now but still walking my dogs every day. If it weren't for them, I would have goten no exercise this week.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,261 Member
    How old is your child SarahM? I would take mine (& still do it with my grand dtr who's 4) in the jogging stoller with the dogs. She gets out & walks for a little then gets tired & gets a ride
  • MsMaeFlowers
    MsMaeFlowers Posts: 261 Member
    edited January 2018
    Dog walking is pretty much the only cardio I get these days. That's what happens when you have 3 dogs, and 1 will start eating furniture if you don't walk her, and the other 2 can't be walked with the first one as it causes behaviour issues. I have to do 2 dog walks a day minimum. I try to get the first dog out for at least 2 hours a day on the weekends, or any other day I have enough time/daylight.

    I generally burn about 200-300 cals in an hour of walking, so it definitely adds up. Takes my daily burn from 1600 up to 2000+, that's a huge difference.
  • BCxLacedUp
    BCxLacedUp Posts: 2 Member
    I lost over 100 pounds with the help of my 4-legged companion! Ten minute “potty walks” turned into spending a morning off walking for miles with my sweet girl. We’ve explored trails and mountains as well! I recently moved to a location with a yard and stopped walking as much, and have noticed significant weight gain! Walking your dog is absolutely exercise, not only for yourself, but for you dog as well. It is both mentally and physically stimulating, and a tired dog is a happy dog :)
  • trawillcy2018
    trawillcy2018 Posts: 155 Member
    Yes! If I didn't have my little pooch I'd probably get zero exercise. We walk him for around an hour a day & because he's very agile it's quite a brisk walk. I suffer with anxiety issues & don't go far so 'Walkies' helps in that way too :)
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,981 Member
    It depends on how you walk your dog - granted, even a leisurely stroll is better than sitting on the couch, but I wouldn't consider it as being "exercise."

    My last dog, however, our walks were meant to give her a workout, not to get her to go to the bathroom (had a yard for that) and she was a big dog, so walks were definitely a (minor) workout, but I could turn them into legitimate workouts if running, hills, climbing, etc were included.
  • Munchberry
    Munchberry Posts: 172 Member
    If she is pully and it bothers your arm, you might want to try a Gentle Lead. When my dog was young (yet big) she basically made sport of trying to pull my arm from my socket. A gentle lead nipped it. It is this little halter that goes around their muzzle (loosely) and connects to the leash. She tries to veer off straight and it gently annoys her enough to make her stop. Dogs can still pant and drink.

    I think they make for fun walks. Sometimes not too productive since everyone wants to pet... still - you will know your neighbors better!
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,261 Member
    Msmaeflowers, I too have to go on 2 or 3 walks. I take 3 of my younger/faster walkers for the long walk, then 2 slower ones for short walk. Shirley, who can go either way depending on the day will go in one group or the other. It was foggy cold & wet this morning but I took them out at 8:30 before I went to work/church. Really wore me out, being sick & all
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,261 Member
    Do any of you take your dogs out with your bike? I've been doing that for many years, so many that 20+ yrs ago when it wasn't popular, some ppl would yell the word "cruel" when we wizzed by them with my dog pulling me on the bike. Now a days I only take one of my dogs out sometime on bike & I don't let him pull
  • Jaydensmamma
    Jaydensmamma Posts: 41 Member
    Its the best! Especially if you run and play with your pup. I worked as a dog walker with only one or two dogs a day and I lost weight. Before that, I worked with lots of dogs in a daycare, played with them all day and was very skinny no matter what I ate. Children and dogs are the best to chase after in the park and its fun! Lol.
  • lillyblack1982
    lillyblack1982 Posts: 61 Member
    The boy and I got 6 miles in today. Hiking just isn’t as fun without him.
    30h51fr2kv1n.jpeg
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,261 Member
    beautiful dog
  • cenafan
    cenafan Posts: 398 Member
    It's my main form of exercise. We walk/hike between 7-10km a day. The fresh air and walking is great for me and the dogs.

    1xg9s8wtlucg.jpg


  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,261 Member
    Today we walked 1 1/2 hrs, the first 45min was power walking
  • 100_PROOF_
    100_PROOF_ Posts: 1,168 Member
    Yes! I have 2 pitbulls and we walk every night. It's relaxing and gets them ready to settle down for the night. It's great for all of us!
    Someone else recently spoke about this. people in another thread assumed that a member only took her dog outside to use the bathroom once per day because she said she does a walk for 40 minutes per day . I'll say now that my dogs get about 8 bathroom breaks plus a nightly walk just so I don't get accused too! The poor thing never came back to her thread after that.