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.