Let's Get Ready To Run!

Here we are headed out for our run....lol

I am currently working with an animal behaviorist with my dog Daisy.  As you know I have a passion about keeping pets at a healthy weight and active.  I run and walk with Daisy on a regular basis but I have trouble with her lunging at objects such as well almost everything!  She doesn't seem to like people when they say hello, bikes, skateboards, runners, motorcycles, kids and the list goes on.  One thing that has worked is feeding her lots of treats to distract her form these objects as they come up.  So how do I keep her at a healthy weight while feeding her so much?  Well its simple when its her meal time I feed her much less food.  This is very important to keep her at her healthy weight.  She is highly motivated with yummy treats such as hotdogs and peanut butter.  When I run with her I need to keep running when I see things that she lunges at.  Its tough to keep running while trying to feed her and distract her with food.  I have found using a hotdog works great because I can hold it and only give her a little at a time but still keep her attention.  It has worked great and hopefully we get to a point where she is distracted enough by just me talking to her and I don't need to use treats as a reward.  

The bottom line is when you are training your dog and you have to use treats as a reward then you really need to limit the real food you feed them.  Keep an eye on your dogs weight and if they look like they are gaining weight then make adjustments as needed.  Read the label on your dog food to make sure you are feeding them the appropriate amount of food to begin with.  It's a balancing act and you need to find the right balance for you and your mutt.  Keeping your dog at a healthy weight will keep him healthy and fit for a long time!

If you are looking for a great animal behaviorist I work with Crista Coppola and her website is www.dogandco.com.  

Keeping Fido Fit - It Just Might Keep You Fit Too!

King is available for adoption at the NSPCA
and he is a great runner!

I have always enjoyed staying fit and keeping my three mutts fit.  We do this by exercising every day and not over eating.  Its simple math for both animals and humans.  If you take in more than you burn off you will become overweight.

With people and pets weight gain can creep up and before you know it you or your dog can be obese!  Make sure you read the labels on your dogs food to make sure you are feeding them the appropriate amount of food each day.  Treats quickly add up the calories just like with humans who nibble on things throughout the day.  A pigs ear can add up to 600 calories depending on the size.  Find other ways to keep your mutt happy.  A simple game of tug-o-war can be fun for them.  Dogs get pleasure from licking and you can put chicken broth (low sodium) in a kong and freeze it.  Licking will keep them busy for quite some time.

Dogs can bring you so much joy but if they are overweight their lifespan may be shortened.  There life is so much shorter than ours don't shorten it even more by over feeding them.  Keep them healthy and happy.  A bonus of keeping your mutt fit is that you just might be burning more calories too!

I recently started running shelter dogs at the Nevada SPCA.  People always say to me that I am such a good person because I do this.  Little do they know that I am the one getting the most out of it.  Seeing those dogs excited to go for a run and hanging with them for a few hours brings me so much happiness. Its even better when they eventually find a home and I have to find a new shelter dog to run! I have so much fun I have actually doubled my running distance each week and I don't even feel like I am exercising that much more.  When I go to the shelter I always run more than I plan.  I have lost a few pounds in the process.  To say that I am a good person to go to the shelter is great but little does everyone know its the dogs that bring me joy each time I go run with them.

I thought this was pretty cute!

If you live in Las Vegas and want to run with me at the shelter you can.  Contact me for details.

www.coachcyndee.com
trainwithcyndee@yahoo.com
702-373-8269