Dog walking

Have you tried a Halti or walking collar?

Walking my dogs is one of my favorite exercises! Labs are puppies until about 5 years old...so just think of how buff you'll be by then!!! LOL!!!

I actually do lab rescues too for the Central California Lab Rescue. Those dogs often need a LOT of walking and leash training, so it's great motivation to get myself out for extra walks...plus you know what "they" say..."If your dog is fat, you need to get off the couch!" :laugh:

Enjoy!!!:flowerforyou:

I think I'm getting more strength training than I am cardio when I walk my dogs! My lab(1 yr old, still got that puppy mentality) wants to pulls me every which way possible! By the end of the thirty minute walk, my arms are SORE!

Aww, we're planning on getting a lab when we get a house (if that ever happens), I can't wait to get him. I really want a house, but I'm almost more excited about getting the house to get the dog. My bf so wants one now, but I think it would be too hard in an apartment. Have fun walking him, I am sure it's great exercise!

I just trained my dogs to heel using a choke chain and a few (very few) well placed corrections, and they walk ever so politely on the leash.

what is a gentle leader? is it that device that has a loop over their nose?

I do have a gentle leader, but I haven't tried it on her yet. I've only had her for a couple of weeks so I really wanted to get a feel for how she would do just on the leash. Surprisingly, I've never had a problem with my little one(a three year old JRT/Boston Terrier mix). Maybe I'll give the gentle leader a try tomorrow.

:laugh: I just had the image of you attempting to place a gentle leader on a Boston mix. They have to have a snout for it to work! I know we are talking about your other dog but still....

My cattle dog hates his gentle leader but it works!

I remeber reading somewhere that people with dogs tend to be like 5 pounds lighter than people without dogs because you're supposedly walking and being more active with them cuz they need to go out. YAY for doggies! :bigsmile:

Has anyone had allergy problems with their non-wheat/corn puppy kibble before? We think our newest guy is allergic to this type of food...which is strange because our chocolate lab female actually has an allergy to wheat & corn. UGH!!!!

My boxer had some strange reactions to food when she was a puppy. She seemed to be allergic to wheat/rice/corn and we had a hard time finding pet foods for her. So, for 4 months we fed her a raw homemade diet. She did much better on it, but it was way too expensive for us to keep buying all the organic meat (between the boxer and the pit bull we were buying 40-50lbs of assorted organic raw meats a week...not to mention another 5lbs of vegetables...fish oil & flax supplements...and it was pricey!!).
So, due to lack of funds to keep her on the raw diet, we began a long search for a holistic pet food brand that she could thrive on. We found one at our local grocery co-op. It's made by a local farm and is wheat/gluten/corn/rice free. Just veggies, meats, and even some herbs for taste. They will probably not sell this brand near you because it is very local...but I suggest that you try to find a similar local holistic food. You can try your local grocery co-op, farmers market, or holistic veterinary clinic.

Please tell me more aboutthe "raw diet"---are you talking about ground beef and veggies? That sort of stuff?

Please tell me more aboutthe "raw diet"---are you talking about ground beef and veggies? That sort of stuff?

I did A LOT of reading on dog nutrition before I started her on the raw diet. Each meal for her would include 1 cup of veggies, 2% of her body weight in muscle meats, 1 cup of organ meats, 1 tsp of each of her supplements. All the meats and veggies are absolutely raw, with the bones whole. It is a complete myth that dogs cannot eat chicken bones (or any other bones for that matter). The thing is: dogs cannot eat cooked bones because they splinter.
Basically, I tried to feed her exactly what she would have eaten in the wild.

Veggies: carrots, celery, cabbage, zucchini, bananas (Usually whatever I was buying for myself to eat that week, but of course dogs can only eat certain veggies. It is also important to note that dogs cannot truly digest whole vegetables and fruits. Think about it: wolves aren't exactly digging carrots out of the ground for food. They only get vegetables from eating the stomach contents of herbivores. The fruits and veggies must be completely chopped in the food processor to mush. Otherwise, the veggies will just come out undigested on the other end...)

Muscle Meats: chicken back, turkey thighs, chicken necks, turkey necks, ground beef, ground venison, ground turkey, ground chicken, raw eggs (I suggest only serving raw eggs once a week. It makes their stool loose).

Organ meats: chicken liver, chicken hearts (her favorite), cow liver, turkey giblets

Supplements: flax seed, fish oil, plain yogurt (sometimes), bone dust (I usually made my own bone dust from cleaned and baked egg shells that I then ground in a food processor. I only give the bone dust supplement in meals that did not already include bones in them)

I hope that helps you get a basic idea. If you are seriously considering a raw diet for your dog, you must either do a lot of research or check out some of the pre-made raw food diets out there, such as B.A.R.F. (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food http://www.barfproducts.com/?gclid=CLGeiJvc85kCFQoMDQodmxWoRA )

**edit
LOL, I thought I should note that I am a vegetarian, and I don't actually eat meat. My boyfriend is not a vegetarian, but he has to eat what I cook. The whole time the dogs were on the raw food diet, he would complain that the dogs ate better than he did. Hehe. **

How do you get motivated to walk your dog in the rain????

Heheh... this is my job. I walk dogs for a living. I can definitely agree with the Gentle Leader - many a rambunctious dog has been transformed into a perfect angel with the Leader. Your dog won't get enough exercise (physically and mentally) until you get him under control... Once you do, you'll both be able to enjoy the walk a lot more and you won't be in danger of having your arm ripped out of it's socket!

I can relate. :flowerforyou:

I agree--I think it is especially important that, if you are using the walk as a form of "fitness"--for you, the dog, or both--you need to establish that walk time is not play time. I think it is also a crucial part of establishing the "hierarchy" between the dog and the human.