Exercising with pets

I have a pit bull that I rescued. He takes me on walks instead of me taking him on walks!

30 Min walk a night for my Old English Bulldog

I've got an adolescent Rottweiler puppy--He loves to go walking and hiking with me, especially if it's quiet enough to take him off his leash. (I've managed to train him out of enthusiastically trying to great other walkers, runners, and chasing people on bikes--He loves to run--but children and other dogs are proving a challenge. He just wants to play!)

But when I take him out on a run, it's like I can't go fast enough for him. We start the run with him bouncing and prancing ahead of me, grabbing his leash in his mouth and pulling as if he were chanting "Faster! Faster!" and then when I can't run as fast as he can, he settles into a kind of sulky slow trot a little behind me, as if he were saying "If we can't run as fast as I want, we can't run as fast as you want, either!"

We're working on it.

I haven't started doing actual workout routines in my apartment, but I imagine he'd want to "help" as much as all the other dogs in this thread. "Tug is a great workout, Mom!" "So is fetch!" "Hey, I've got a great idea! Do those push-ups with me on your back! That's like an extra hundred pounds of resistence!" "I'm gonna shake this rope toy around until it hits you in the face, 'kay? ... Hey, is that blood I smell?"(Yes, this has happened before. He's also smashed his big clumsy skull into my lip, splitting it and making me explain to my supervisor that no one at home is hitting me except my enthusiastic puppy.)

I may throw him upstairs and lock the babygate separating up from downstairs, or I may toss him in his kennel with a chewtoys or some peanut butter.

i just recently started taking my dogs on walks with me. took me a while to find a park that wasn't crazy crowded. they have always been my little helpers though. sitting on my back when i attempt to do a push up., showing me how downward dog is really done, running up way past our apartments floor and refusing to come back down. you know good stuff like that lol

I do some cardio workout videos in my living room, and my shepherd/lab mix (85lb dog) thinks it is playtime, every time. He brings me toys and places them strategically in my way. It's turned into a game - I toss his toy, and he fetches while I do some cardio, when we transition to the next move, I toss it again... It makes for a good workout for both of us.

I've just started doing some weight lifting at home, and he thinks the barbell is for him to jump over / walk under. I don't want to hurt him by dropping the heavy weights on him, so I started locking him out of our basement where the weight room is. When I come upstairs, he is laying by the door and pouting because I left him out of something fun.

That's my experience, too. They think yoga workouts mean cuddle and puppy play.
We walk the dogs for 30-35 minutes twice a day. These little walks are good for all. My dogs are trained to be under control off-leash and wear a beeper on their neck that I can beep if they accidently do something wrong. We have so many bunnies and cats in our neighborhood but my dogs, who love to chase, don't do it when they have their beepers on.
The beepers are actually a Tri-tec electric collar but I never use the shock. I can have as many as three dogs with one remote, although my old dog passed away last year.
By having the collars on, it also meets our leash law.
I have a papillon ( 7 pound dog) and a large Doberman. ( 90 lbs) both have been to agility and obedience classes. Btw, agility is a workout, once you get past the early slow exercises. Eve watch the trainers on the televised competitions? The good ones are always ultra-fit.

My dog nearly killed me one day. I was working out in the spare bedroom. He was laying on the bed watching. I started doing pushups. As I was coming up from the bottom of one pushup, he jumped off the bed onto the back of my head. I guess he thought it was a game. He was about 15kg at the time (33 lbs). He's a lot larger now.

As it was, it was bad. My face slammed into the carpet and I was knocked senseless for a second or two. My nose, while not broken, was bleeding profusely. My neck and head hurt for days.

The end result is, he's not allowed to work out with me anymore. The only time we exercise together is his daily walks.

I have two kitties who like to help me with awareness of my surroundings when I exercise. One cat likes to run back and forth from the living room chairs to the window, but she runs in front of me where I can kick or step on her if I'm not watching... I haven't gotten her yet, though! My other cat likes to burrow under my yoga mat when I'm not using it. She'll be feeling extra snuggly sometimes and will burrow under the back of it when I'm only sitting/standing at the front. So I have to watch her, too.

I had a cat once who would climb up on my chest or back when I was laying down for Pilates. I'd make him get down, but he'd get right back up again.

Ive got a big (70 pound) 10 yr old Belgian Tervuren, Very intelligent dog but If he doesn't get at least an hour walking daily (when HE wants it.. not on my schedule) he morphs into the most annoying creature on the face of the earth. He will sit next to my desk chair and just stare.... and the make that "huffing" noise if I ignore him. They were bred for heading, so if I get up for any reason and dont lace up my shoes and grabbed the leash quick enough to suit him he will "herd" me... nudging my legs with his body, (darn near knocking me over) and plant himself in front of me to prevent forward movement.

So yea, he gets his walk...now granted.. we dont walk real fast.... lets face it when a 70 pound dog HAS to check his "P-mail" and sniff every bush. tree, blade of grass within a 2 mile radius, your walk isnt going to be swift. (sigh) I love him tho, and he does force me to get the exercise I need.