Days Off With Your Dog

Photo Credit : Chance Gardener

Many times taking time off can seem complicated. Strange isn't it? The very thing that is supposed to gain us restorative peace causes a lot of stress. For many of us the days before the vacation can be the worst days. Sticking to your routine with your family and pet makes taking a vacation seem like a sheer impossibility.

Doggie Sensei has heard that many people will kennel their dogs, since taking a pet along can add complications. While there are times when taking your dog can be inappropriate, having your pet on vacation can be THE reason why you stick to your exercise routines. Think about the walks you can take like the one pictured above. When you do this early in the morning, you have that quiet time to reset your mind and get a fresh outlook before taking your kids or wife on a hike or other activities. You stick to your routine, and prevent those extra pounds that can creep up on you when you can get off schedule.

For those of us who have young children, having the pet along can also act as a point of focus for the kids that can limit sibling squabbling. Having the dog there means that thethere is less time to pick at each other. In some cases the young ones like the familiar comfort of your dog in a new setting.

Once you return from your getaway, your morning Doggie Weight routine will still be on track and your transition back to your work schedule will not be as difficult. This makes the effort of taking your deserved vacation well worth it.

Lazy Motivation

If you think about, sometimes motivation gets in the way. Bear with me on this: how many times have you not performed your routine because conditions were sub-optimal? When you adhere to the definition "I am motivated when I am doing X on a Y basis", it can be easy to fool yourself to NOT to proceed because you won't get the optimal benefit, so you wait until conditions are right.
Guess what - you've just taken a step backwards, as your ideal of motivation stalled you out.

With external sources of motivation, sometimes you are forced to roll, to go for it, get it out of the way. Hence your doggie is a good source of motivation. Do it for her / him, as they need to get outside and stretch. When they are the focus, then your goals are also achieved, even when conditions are not optimal. De-motivate to get it done.

The Story of Missy and the Secret of Consistency

This is Missy, a dog that we adopted from a local shelter. She was with a marvelous foster family who could now longer keep her, and had been in and out of several shelters. When the foster family took her in, she was schedule to be destroyed that very week. They cared for her for several months before we found her at Petfinder.com.

Missy had never been walked on a regular basis, and as you can see, she is a very strong pitbull. You can imagine what energy she has and there were times when she could become too energetic for our kids. While she never was aggressive with the children, she could cause a real ruckus if she got running around in the house.

What many people do not realize when they get their pets is that the new pet need a schedule of exercise just a hyperactive like a child. Obedience school, while a good thing for people who have never had a dog, is not the critical element for a well balanced dog. Simply said, the dog needs to see you as the leader. The fastest and most effective way to achieve this is to walk, walk, walk your dog. We started Missy on a program of daily walks that lasted for 1 hour. During these walks Missy had to learn how to stay by my side. Within a few weeks we noticed a huge difference in her behavior. We also noticed that we started to lose pounds as we spent our free time making sure Missy got her exercise. A year later Missy is the gentlest, well behaved dog who interacts well with other dogs and loves children. What a story!

What's Up with Doggie Weight?

What's Doggie Weight? It's the pounds you can shed along with your pets hair. Before I quote a study, I am going to quote common sense from the Doggie Sensei: If you're active with your dog, you're active period.

The easiest activity is to walk, walk walk. Your dog craves this avenue of output. For those of us who live in confined spaces, walking will the surest method to keep your dog happy and well behaved. You'll shed that weight with your doggie as you round the corner and put on the miles.

This blog will be about the ways you can set goals for weight loss and exercise with your dog. You get fit, and your dog will be a wonderful, well behaved companion for you.

Take a look at this fellow who posted his photos on Flickr: