Dogs dogs dogs + fitness

tennileb

My running dog and I (lab Aussie shepherd cross) also do canacross racing. I have a great belt from canadog supplies , they also get me set up for skijoring in the winter.

gsdz4me

I have two German shepherds. They are walked separatley because the area I live in has dogs that can come off sections so safer just to have to manage one dog at a time. Bonus is means i am out walking twice as much. The dogs were what got me into walking first and then looking into diet came after. They give a real purpose to get out there and do it. And I love the companionship they give me.

mego07

I have 300lbs of stupid that keeps me moving.

I walk two of them most days, and run with the third one as he needs more of a energy burn. He is the best running partner except he shoulder checks me (in my shoulder) as he jumps with excitement when we start running, he looks like a furry helium ballon he's in the air so much. , and barks at me when I slow down.

lol I love this. I use to have an american bulldog who i had to walk daily or she would become utterly destructive. As others said i had to use a chest harness and she did well after that. If i tried running she would take off like a bat out of hell and kill my shoulder. She would jump a lot too or run into my hip. So we stuck with a speed walk.

Hrl1993

I love running with my dog! 1, he's a ball of energy and needs the exercise. 2, I am a ball of fluff and I need the exercise And 3, seeing him enjoying himself on our runs makes it so much easier to keep going than to head home!

I use a Halti-Collar on him while we run, otherwise he is just dragging me behind him as he romps through the neighborhood lol. I definitely recommend it; he always tries to take it off for the first 5 minutes, but he gets over it pretty quickly and just enjoys himself. He's a golden, FWIW.

Only annoying thing is that his biggest fear is balloons. Whenever we pass a mailbox with one of those "It's a Boy" balloons...yeah, he puts on the brakes and we have to cross the street.

Just a note, if you're going on long runs, make sure your pooch can handle it! I have read before that domestic dogs are not all great for running long distances. Something to remember, especially heading into these hot summer months. Don't go out during those peak sun hours with your pup (a fur coat isn't exactly Nike DriFit!) and make sure to keep an eye on him/her. If he/she starts slowing down a lot, make sure you do too, even if it means not as great of a workout for you. Dogs can't say "when" and you wouldn't want your canine companion in distress

This is my little/really large nugget, Charlie. He likes to be close...haha

katy_trail

I have a husky puppy. so far the only improved fitness she's helped with is improving my grip strength, but i hope to be walking or running with her in the park more often soon.

sheri02r

I have a 3 yr old Lab/ Weim mix. He's a ball of energy! An hour walk every morning and a long run on Saturday. <--- this in addition to his 'other' activities (playing fetch, taking him to the dog park etc.)

mego07

my pup at 5 months old. gosh do i miss her.

DewlyNoted

I have a 3 y.o., very energetic boxer/pit rescue. A typical day in crappy weather wewalk about 3 mi or take 4 walks. Nicer days, I'll take him on a longer hour walk for another 3 miles. We avg about 4 miles a day. Wears me out, but he could go all day. Took him to training so he'd stop pulling and it was a lot of hard work outs, but helped.

I like sleeping with my personal trainer who will jump on me and lick me til I get my lazy butt outta bed! Lol :laugh:

Mavrick_RN

We used to walk around Green Lake in Seattle approx 2.2 miles. Well, Pete, our old beagle could do 2.0 miles. Pretty much within sight of the car he would get slower and slower until we had to drag or carry him back. So do watch for them as they may not be in as good a shape as you think.

jaz050465

When I looked teach obedience training, I recommend "being a tree". You do not move until the dog gives you slack in the leash. This does not burn many calories, but it works. Other wise using a pinch collar also works well and is less damaging to the dog than choke collars. More questions, write me I am happy to help.

Please do t recommend pinch or choke collars. Reward based training is the answer- stick to being a tree. Far kinder. Would you put something like that on your child, so why is it ok to put it on a dog?

Mavrick_RN

I took the family dog to obedience school, but he bugs out too much, and wants to smell all the bushes and stuff...I still take him "walking" but basically he is out of control the whole time we are out. I have to hold the leash really tightly, and close to my knees for him to have some semblance of following my steps.

Have you tried the Gentle Leader harness? Not the muzzle thing, but the harness. Some of my friends have had great success with it.

My dogs are pretty darn good on leashes. Unless there is a cat or a squirrel involved, and then they strangle themselves running in that direction. Sometimes other dogs really upset them. Working with highly reactive dogs is tough, but walking is so important to me that I make it work.

I tried the Easy Walk (chest) harness and my dog does better with the Gentle Leader (face halter) harness. It's not a muzzle, just put slight pressure on the face to turn the dog's back to you to get them to slow down... I highly recommend it for a dog who struggles to focus or wants to pull on a walk.

An alternative, my wife the dog trainer, prefers is a Run-devue leash http://www.run-devue.com/ There is a YouTube video to show how it works.

Keep at it. Dogs need exercise too!

hbfirstlady

My golden retriever passed just after Thanksgiving of last year. It took me a while to be ready to welcome a new member of the family but did so a couple of months ago. The black lab that is my profile photo is finally four months now and has all his shots. I've been walking him about a half-hour every evening for the past week and a half. He loves it and looks forward to it. The workout with my puppy is in addition to my normal gym time.

KyliAnne26

Hank - Aussie - 7 years old now (5 in this pic) but still as active as ever When I started grad school I gained weight and he did too, so now we're doing MFP together lol

KyliAnne26

Sorry, still learning on the image posting thing....


Hank - Aussie - 7 years old now (5 in this pic) but still as active as ever When I started grad school I gained weight and he did too, so now we're doing MFP together lol

Hrl1993

(removed pic to save room)

Hank - Aussie - 7 years old now (5 in this pic) but still as active as ever When I started grad school I gained weight and he did too, so now we're doing MFP together lol

This made me LOL.

I actually have 4 dogs - the golden I mentioned before, 2 14+ year olds so no long runs for them, and 1 chunky little Morkie that can't go too far, so he's impractical to take on rungs. The last of those pups gets a nice little walk on the treadmill every now and then...lol the vet said it's actually a good option for out of shape/chunky pups.

BTW your dog is GORGEOUS!

Mavrick_RN

Ditto the gorgeous dog! I kept the picture and removed the text cuz I wanted to see it again. sorry.

HonuNui

Ewalani (heavenly woman) the Jack Russell/Lab mix and Akamai (wise one) the Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix run (each on his/her own retractable leash (which I lash together with twine) with me at least 5 days a week: 2 miles on work days and 5ks on non-work days.
I credit them with at least half of my 74lb weight loss!

Doing_me

I have a very active terrier mix who keeps me on my toes! I just recently got a running leash and love taking him out on a run. I get my workout in and he is exhausted and quiet for at least 20 min

jaz050465

I took the family dog to obedience school, but he bugs out too much, and wants to smell all the bushes and stuff...I still take him "walking" but basically he is out of control the whole time we are out. I have to hold the leash really tightly, and close to my knees for him to have some semblance of following my steps.

Have you tried the Gentle Leader harness? Not the muzzle thing, but the harness. Some of my friends have had great success with it.

My dogs are pretty darn good on leashes. Unless there is a cat or a squirrel involved, and then they strangle themselves running in that direction. Sometimes other dogs really upset them. Working with highly reactive dogs is tough, but walking is so important to me that I make it work.

I tried the Easy Walk (chest) harness and my dog does better with the Gentle Leader (face halter) harness. It's not a muzzle, just put slight pressure on the face to turn the dog's back to you to get them to slow down... I highly recommend it for a dog who struggles to focus or wants to pull on a walk.

An alternative, my wife the dog trainer, prefers is a Run-devue leash http://www.run-devue.com/ There is a YouTube video to show how it works.

Keep at it. Dogs need exercise too!

Just googled it- not sure about that. The dogs natural gait is seriously restricted. I can imagine that could cause major anxiety- especially in fearful dogs.

PLEASE people, just go to a reputable trainer who uses reward based training, not the old-fashioned pack leader Cesar Milan type rubbish and put in the time to,TRAIN your dog to walk well on a lead. How are they supposed to know what to do if you don't train them properly. I dog does not instinctively know how to walk on a lead!

Froody2

I have two dogs, a chow chow cross and a fox terrier bit-of-everything. They get walked twice a week, more depending on what exercise I feel like doing. They seem to know when I'm going to run - I can put on my shoes without them seeng me and the big one will start banging on the door and the little one will do excited 360s continuously.

Once we're on the road, the chow chow (Dave) quickly drops his pace and lags behind. Randy, the foxy, can outrun me any day, even though he's fourteen - he's the Peter Pan of the dog world.

Love my dogs, there's nothing better than giving them pleasure

Netwalks

I have a border terrier who goes out for a walk in the morning and in the evening. When she decides she has gone far enough she just stops walking and there is no moving her. We have to pick her up and carry her home! So I suppose I get a little bit of cardio and sometimes I get a bit of weight lifting too!

Weighinginwithmy02

I have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Scooter, that LOVES to be outside and chase a ball. His legs are super short so long walks really wear him out and we sometimes have to take a rest inbetween. What he likes best is to run after a ball a few times, lay down and catch his breath and then do it again. This guy could chase a ball or run on the beach all day long, as long as he can lay down and rest and drink when he needs to. He doesn't go far in the warm weather either, but luckily in the Netherlands, that's a rarity! LOL

Now that he's eight, he's experiencing some joint issues and can't play ball as much, or at least he shouldn't. If you'd let him, he's still play but then he will limp for a day or two afterwards. It makes me feel horrible for him. It's also causing him to gain weight so we're trying to take longer walks more often through the day but he's really pooped out afterwards.

ShaniWulffe

I've got a lazy whippet lol. She's the smaller one in my ticker picture. Whippets are sprinters by nature, so she'll immediately want to start running when we get to the bike path by my house, but after about a half mile, she's all but making me drag her. What a crazy little fur baby

Pookylou

I have a jack russell shiz hu cross, she is very small and annoying :laugh: I take her out for walks twice a day, and she comes running with me (though I do have to be careful she gets under my feet), she has very little feet but runs super fast!

KeithChanning

Who out there has a dog that helps them keep fit? How much do you walk/run with them every day?

I have 2 small mutts. We walk at least 3 miles every day. They get me out of the house and moving every day, rain or shine, and I am so much healthier and happier because of it.

This exactly - two small dogs (Wire Fox Terrier and Jack Russell Terrorist) plus, temporarily, a little ****su. Just over three miles on hilly terrain every day without fail. Don't know about us, but the dogs, especially Trevor (JRT) are supremely fit.

upsidedownjelly

Please do t recommend pinch or choke collars. Reward based training is the answer- stick to being a tree. Far kinder. Would you put something like that on your child, so why is it ok to put it on a dog?

I use a pinch collar for my dog because it is literally the only thing that works. I use it properly, and reward based. Most trainers will tell you to "pop" the collar as a correction... But I work with a trainer who has an entirely different way of working with it, which involves the being a tree method and the dog self correcting.
I would say a large portion of the people using prong or choke collars are using them wrong, so I think it'd be far more fair to say, if you're going to use one of these tools, use it with the guidance of a trainer with whom you feel comfortable.
Rambo still loves his walks with his prong collar (after that stupid easywalk gave him harness-burn) and hopefully one day we'll be able to graduate to flat collar walking... Or not.

GKoz004

I took the family dog to obedience school, but he bugs out too much, and wants to smell all the bushes and stuff...I still take him "walking" but basically he is out of control the whole time we are out. I have to hold the leash really tightly, and close to my knees for him to have some semblance of following my steps.

Buy a harness! It's not a solve-all, but it is SO much easier to control our dog (he's a boxer/pitbull mix, so he's all muscle and energy haha). I've found that some basic training also does help. When he's pulling, don't pull back because that encourages pulling. Try a "when I go, you go". The minute he pulls, stop. When he's calm and ready, start up again. Every time he pulls, stop. It takes forever, but eventually, he'll get the picture. We're still working on it, but my dog has improved from pulling until he was blue in the face and gagging, to just tugging when he sees other dogs.

kerricus

Thanks, everyone, for the great replies! Keep 'em coming. If you want to post photos, I would love to see them.

Last fall, I decided that I wanted to walk 1000 miles in one year. My dogs start going nuts when they see me lace up my shoes, so it looks like they're going to walk 1000 miles, too. They are definitely the ones that will see that I reach my goal. Not bad for 2 dogs both under 20lbs.

3dogsrunning

Please do t recommend pinch or choke collars. Reward based training is the answer- stick to being a tree. Far kinder. Would you put something like that on your child, so why is it ok to put it on a dog?

I use a pinch collar for my dog because it is literally the only thing that works. I use it properly, and reward based. Most trainers will tell you to "pop" the collar as a correction... But I work with a trainer who has an entirely different way of working with it, which involves the being a tree method and the dog self correcting.
I would say a large portion of the people using prong or choke collars are using them wrong, so I think it'd be far more fair to say, if you're going to use one of these tools, use it with the guidance of a trainer with whom you feel comfortable.
Rambo still loves his walks with his prong collar (after that stupid easywalk gave him harness-burn) and hopefully one day we'll be able to graduate to flat collar walking... Or not.

I really dont want to change the topic to a training debate but i have to throw out there - Dogs are not children. It does neither the dog or us any good when we view them as human.
Nor is every dog the same. My lab does not need a correction, he is extremely reward motivated. My working like German Shepherd - not so much.

My boys


Eta - I apparently have tiny pics or super huge ones.

gsdz4me

Beautiful dogs 3dogs running. My two are with me in my profile pic. I forgot to mention one gets walked at least an hour a day (young and very energetic) and the older one half an hour. Most of my exercise thus far is walking and most of it with my dogs. We are coming into winter so looks like we will be walking in all weathers soon. They never let me forget that they want a walk.