playing fetch with dog

spottedlee

I don't see it anywhere in the forum. Surely I should be able to count calories burned at park when I play fetch with my dog, but I don't see any of sort under cardio. The nearest I can find to it would be baseball/softball... To me, this means throwing back to back.

How we we figure on time as I wait for my dog to come back with ball then I toss again? He's the kind of dog,, he chases, pick ups, brings it right up to me, drops his tennis ball at my feet and DEMAND throw it now! He is not one of those dog who would wander aimlessly before going back to owner,, he get and come right back if you know what I mean.

Any idea what i can do in this case?

mermx

IMHO I would not see it as an exercise per se, maybe log it as walking the dog in the `walking` section you can add it as light, medium, fast walking. Maybe log it a s fast walking?

Srbrosseau

I would not count it at all because it won't really burn that many calories. Similarly I don't count house cleaning, short walks, etc. To see the most progress in your goals only count legitimate, uninterrupted exercise.

cmriverside

Yeah, I agree. Don't log that as exercise. The only one getting exercise is the dog. :laugh:

spottedlee

I would not count it at all because it won't really burn that many calories. Similarly I don't count house cleaning, short walks, etc. To see the most progress in your goals only count legitimate, uninterrupted exercise.

Yeah, I agree. Don't log that as exercise. The only one getting exercise is the dog. :laugh:

Thank you for the good point! I guess it's better to have underestimate calories burn than going over.

Cmriverside, you are right about dog getting the exercise, but heck,, he DEMANDS that I throw the ball 30-50 feet! Might as well think of it as strengh training for my arm,, oh how I wish I am as thin as he is,, he's 11 y.o and still play like a puppy. No one believe me when I say he's 11. For your info,, he's a cross breed -- German shepard with austrilian cattledog (red heeler).

jessicamckay13

I have one of those thrower things for my dog, we go to the park, I toss in a few times and then about 90% of the time some kid will come over and ask if they can play with her. So I set them up throwing the ball for her and go play with my kids

I ran her 9 miles this morning and she was begging me to go throw the ball out back. I don't know how she does it!

I don't count things like playing with the kids (even if we're running around playing soccer), cleaning, walks, etc. in my calories.

20dee

I guess if you wanted to log it you could log it as throwing a frisbee. I have a lab and she never gets tired of me throwing a duck decoy for her, either in the yard or in our lake. It doesn't matter if you log it or not, it's good for you and good for your dog. Keep moving:)

spottedlee

mermx,,

is that your dog I am seeing here on your picture? Now i wonder,, is that the GS in our dogs that won't give up playing? I know that the heelers are known for "demand to play",, I don't think we can post pictures in here except on siggie...... but you can see him at
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e189/spottedlee/Tanner.jpg

pipperf14

According to the Tooele County Health Department (www.tooelehealth.org), playing fetch with your dog burns approximately 115 calories per hour.

appygirl84

I am gearing up for a fetch session, tried to find it on mfp, no go, then decided to trust google. I am visiting family so this isn't a regular activity for me. This is a once in a while fun activity, so I am going to count it. If I get my own dog, I would count walking the dog... so why not count playing with Star and Cammie?

2. Get outside with Rex: If you live in a region of the country that has very hot summers fall offers a much needed reprieve. With the weather cooling and leaves changing it may be a perfect time to get outside and go for a walk and take the dog. Fall offers a beautiful visual treat for the eyes with a multitude of colors only seen in nature and seeing them from your car window as you whiz by at 45 just doesn't do it justice. Just walking will net you 287 calories an hour, but play fetch or tug of war with your dog and it will grab you another 115 per hour. And since these activities can be done simultaneously an hour of walk and play could burn off 402 calories. You'll enjoy it and I bet rex with have a blast as well.

wilsoje74

You don't count it. That 115 per hr seems very generous.

cwolfman13

I personally would just chalk it up to a little extra activity that you otherwise wouldn't have had. When I was doing MFP and logging and eating back exercise calories, etc...I pretty much only ate back those calories from deliberate exercise and exercise that was of at least moderate intensity. I didn't even count walking even though I walked at least 30 minutes daily.

Samstan101

Unless the dog is doing the throwing and you're doing the fetching then its not worth logging IMO.

just_Jennie1

I wouldn't count it. I play fetch with my dog and he's the only one who's getting any exercise from it.

LCol2206

I realize this is an old post but would like to point out that if you are marked as sedentary activity, it is recommended that you log anything out of the ordinary like taking a walk or house work. I work in an office all day with a long commute so I log all items, including fetch or a walk. I am meeting my weight loss goal every week by doing this. If you are marked as active, mfp assumes that these activities are a part of everyday life and should not be logged.

GiddyupTim

I'm with those who say don't bother logging it.
Log the walk over to the park where you play.
Log the walk back.
But, throwing a tennis ball or a frisbee? My dog drops the frisbee right at our feet. I bend over and pick it up. I would guess that I throw it 20-30 times on a good day before I lose interest and she plops down on the ground, panting. (She still go chase it, but only because sheep dogs don't give up -- if it kills them.)
There is not much exercise in that. Most of the exercise is in the short walk to the park.

Sued0nim

this thread was made in 2011

GiddyupTim

Dogs have stopped playing fetch since 2011?
Next time she barks to go, she's gonna get: 'Bad dog! You gotta get current. You're too old school.'
(Teasing, Sue.)

Sued0nim

tufel wrote: »

Dogs have stopped playing fetch since 2011?
Next time she barks to go, she's gonna get: 'Bad dog! You gotta get current. You're too old school.'
(Teasing, Sue.)

Wolfena

Sued0nim wrote: »

this thread was made in 2011

That probably means that somebody was searching the forums about that and pulled the thread back up... what's the big deal?

Looks like it has comments in years to follow so obviously more than one person has looked into it

Carlos_421

Wolfena wrote: »

Sued0nim wrote: »

this thread was made in 2011

That probably means that somebody was searching the forums about that and pulled the thread back up... what's the big deal?

Looks like it has comments in years to follow so obviously more than one person has looked into it

The person who looked it up would be the person who bumped it. The person who bumped it didn't ask for further input or clarification. They offered their input.
Answering five year old questions doesn't help anyone and confuses other users who won't notice that the bumped conversation is already dead.

Numberwang22

They had me at playing fetch!

emeidemiller1

I, too, like "spottedlee" at the beginning of this thread way back in 2011, was looking for calories burned playing fetch with my dog. She is a Jack Russell Terrier and obsessed with her ball. In the house I don't count all the time I spend playing fetch with her, but when outside, I am at it constantly. I throw close, far, up in the air, all which ways. She is on a long lead tied to a tree stick since her nose would distract her and take her into the woods where I fear for her life with coyotes, etc. I go throughout the large yard and fields we have playing fetch with her. I am not still at all.
So I looked up "playing fetch with dog" online and came back with some great websites. Here is one that would be informative for those who were talking about playing fetch with their dogs - http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/calories-burned-playing-with-dog
I have added "Playing fetch with dogs" to "MyExercises" giving me 30 calories for 30 minutes. Considering I may do this many times a day, especially in nice weather, I feel it counts for something.
I log walking with my dog separately - I have bad ankles and very flat arches, so walking with the dogs, or any kind of walking for that matter, is a feat in itself. I count my "Walking with dogs" as walking at a slow pace - yes I am slow, but because of navigating with the pain in my ankle (despite a brace) and traversing nonlevel driveway with stones and fields with uneveness, I exert quite a bit of energy just staying on my feet and keeping up with the dogs.
Hope somebody finds the website above of use. I thought it was.

SCoil123

I don't count playing with my dog. I only count workouts. And I wouldn't trust a random number from the internet about how many calories you will burn. Did the site that came up with 115 cals per hour ask anything about gender, age, weight, or fitness level when arriving at that number? Because all of those things will affect someone's calorie burn for a particular activity.

SCoil123

Whoa didn't check the dates ooops lol old thread