It’s certainly been a while! Things have been so hectic around here that I had absolutely no time to write any updates. By “hectic” I mean quitting-my-job-and-starting-my-own-web-consulting-business hectic.

Here’s an update on where Keeda and I are at with our dog fitness:

Keeda’s now been living with us at our rental for a few months. She previously lived with family as the agent did not allow dogs. My mom overfed her greatly and no amount of exercise I gave her each week when I came to visit would successfully make her lose weight – each time she started getting skinnier, my mom would feed her more!

Keeda’s gone from a diet of dry kibble in the morning and 4 Legs at night (too much of each) to one of a chicken neck in the morning and a B.A.R.F. patty at night (She goes nuts the rabbit patties). Over the past few months she’s lost weight, going from 19.6kg to 16.2kg and she is now officially not overweight!

I have to admit I’ve been slacking on exercise for myself, which means she’s been slacking a bit as well. It’s been cold and rainy and I couldn’t force myself to go for runs, so we’ve just been taking walks and visiting the regional park for Keeda to run around every weekend. Now that it’s starting to get a bit warmer it’s time to get the ol’ running shoes out of the closet again. I think the best way for us to stick to a regime is to have a schedule. I’ll ramp it up gradually. Starting next week, we will do the following:

Monday: walk
Tuesday: bike ride
Wednesday: walk
Thursday: run
Friday: walk
Saturday/Sunday: regional park

I apologise to everyone who’s submitted directory listings – I now have the time to go through them and will gradually be sifting through and getting back to you.

I’ll post some before and after photos of Keeda soon.

Set up plastic cones in a row and get your dog to weave through them. Or do the same with vertical poles, like they do in dog agility. As your dog gets more and more flexible and gets better at weaving through the cones, place them closer together to make it more challenging.

Jumps

Make some jumps out of PVC pipe and teach your dog to go over them. I wouldn’t recommend doing this until your dog is at least 1 year old (or sometimes even older, depending on the breed). If you have a puppy, you can put pipe or bits of wood onto the ground and get your pup to step over them.

Crawl

Get your dog to crawl under instead of over a jump. See how low it can go!

Balance ball

Get a balance ball for your dog (the kind that sits flat on the ground with a spherical upper side). Teach your dog to stand on it. It’ll improve their balance and strengthen their legs.

Walking across a plank

Teach your dog to walk across a plank. When your dog is still a puppy you can teach them by getting a solid wooden bar and placing it on the ground like you might do with a jump (except it’ll probably need to be a bit wider). Teach your dog to walk across the bar. As your dog gets older, you can raise the bar and teach your dog to jump up or down to walk across the plank.

These are just some dog exercise ideas to mix things up a bit. Sometimes a dog exercise routine can get boring for you and your dog – trying new things can rekindle your interest.

SUPER FIT FIDO CLUB UNLEASHES NEW FITNESS PROGRAM FOR CANINE COUCH POTATOES

NEW YORK, NY, April 14, 2010 – Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions among the human population, and our four-legged friends are right next to us on the fat couch. Super Fit Fido Club™ (SFFC), a new canine fitness program, is offering New York City dogs a great workout in a fun, energetic setting, using controlled exercises that are easy for dogs, and their owners, to follow.

SFFC Founder Gail Miller Bisher designed the program using the same principles seen in the world of competitive dog sports fitness training, canine sports medicine and veterinary physical therapy/rehabilitation. The training curriculum was developed to help dogs lose weight, improve overall heart health, flexibility, increase endurance and provide mental stimulation. Proper physical conditioning is a key component to achieving a Healthy Canine Lifestyle™.

“Super Fit Fido Club was created to encourage dog lovers to help their pets live longer, healthier and happier lives through fun, low-impact canine fitness programs,” said SFFC founder Gail Miller Bisher. “The choices we make directly affect the quality of life our dogs enjoy. If we choose to get our dogs the exercise they need to stay healthy, their quality of life improves exponentially.”

With 77 million canine pets in the U.S. today, 45 percent are suffering from being overweight or obese. The consequences of leading such an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle are the same as they are for humans, ranging from lack of energy to more serious complications such as shorter life expectancy and debilitating and costly health issues, including arthritis, heart disease, respiratory problems and diabetes.

Bisher, a skilled dog trainer and handler with more than 30 years of experience has seen firsthand the benefits to having a healthy dog. “I’ve physically conditioned top winning dogs my entire life. It only seemed natural to use that passion and knowledge to help other owners give their pets the best gift of all – a longer, healthier life,” Bisher added.

Super Fit Fido Club currently offers two classes, depending on your dog’s level of fitness:

Fit Fundamentals is the beginner class, which includes low-impact, medium-energy exercises to safely start your dog on a path toward a healthier body type.

Super Fit is for intermediate dogs with at least a moderate level of fitness. The emphasis is on maintaining fitness and stimulating your dog’s mind and body in a fun, participatory group workout.

Classes being Tuesday, May 4, 2010, and will be held Tuesday-Saturday each week. Early morning and evening classes are offered to accommodate working dog owners and to ensure the safety of class participants. Dogs should be at least 6 months of age and generally under 7 years of age or in good physical condition. Dogs do not need special training to enjoy and benefit from Super Fit Fido Club, only a willingness and commitment towards getting healthy. SFFC strongly recommends dogs be examined by their veterinarians before beginning any physical regimen.

To learn more about Super Fit Fido Club or to register for classes, please visit www.superfitfidoclub.com.

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Super Fit Fido Club was established in 2009 with classes beginning in 2010. SFFC has developed fitness programs and classes that teach dog owners how to become their dog’s personal trainer for life. The mission is to help dogs live longer, healthier lives by recognizing the importance of regular exercise and fitness training. SFFC is a sole proprietorship and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Do you often take your dogs into new environments?

This also goes for dogs. Dogs who are mentally so engrossed in what they’re doing may not even realize that they’re hurt until after the activity. The same holds true for the opposite – a dog may look absolutely and utterly exhausted while you’re out doing some sort of activity with it, but as soon as it sees something it’s more interested in (like another dog, for example), it will suddenly feel all better and race full speed ahead at the object of its desire.

Knowing that your dog may not acknowledge pain or an injury if it’s so single-mindedly focused on whatever it’s doing means that you need to make sure you watch your dog closely during exercise. If your dog falls, twists its paw, or if anything that you think could have hurt it happens, examine your dog before continuing. Your dog might be hurt without even realizing it.

If you’re finding that your dog acts more tired during your exercise sessions and “magically” recovers when it sees another dog or something else that it’s very interested in, work on making your sessions more interesting and enjoyable. If your dog is just as excited about your run, bike ride, agility session, or whatever it is that you’re doing as it is about the things that would normally catch her attention it might be able to mentally last longer during your session.

Keep in mind that just because your dog can suddenly find more energy to do things it’s more interested in, this does not mean that you can push your dog further during your exercise sessions. You might think “Well, she looks tired, but I know she’s really not”. No – if your dog looks like it has reached its limit, you don’t push it past its breaking point. You will need to work on increasing your dog’s endurance and making your sessions more mentally enjoyable and stimulating for your dog.

Yesterday my boyfriend and I found our first cache. We were so excited! We looked through the logbook signatures and they dated all the way back from 2006! I thought about how fun it would be to start going geocaching with Keeda. She’d get to go on nice hikes in different environments and we’d hunt for treasure. We’ll definitely start doing this when I start driving.

Have you ever gone geocaching?

Don’t Chain Your Dog Up

If you’re going to keep your dog outside, don’t chain it up to its kennel and expect it to be ok. Dogs need to have space to move, run, play. If you’re going to keep an outside dog, make sure you have a fenced yard that’s big enough for your dog’s roaming needs. How much space your dog needs to roam will depend on its breed, size, and overall energy levels.

Give Your Dog Attention

Your outside dog will need plenty of attention from you and other members of your family. You may need to dedicate even more “strictly dog time” than you would if your dog was an inside pet. Inside dogs often get human contact throughout the day even when their owners aren’t directly playing with or paying attention to them as they go about their chores. No such luck with outside dogs, unless you’re gardening all day. Dogs are social animals. Your dog needs to know that it’s part of your pack/family and to do this, it needs to get attention from its pack-mates.

Make sure your dog has shelter

Your dog will need to stay cool in the heat of summer and warm in the cold winter. It will need to stay in the shade when it’s scorching and stay dry when it’s raining. Never keep a dog outside without sufficient shelter. Get a high quality dog house and furnish it with warm, comfortable blankets. Make sure your yard always gets enough shade throughout the day. Also make sure that there is more cover in your yard than just the dog house. If it’s raining all day, your dog will get either bored being stuck in its dog house all day or sick staying out in the rain.

If your dog is sick or if the weather conditions are unsafe, bring it inside

I know, I know, your rental doesn’t allow indoor dogs, your partner is allergic, your cat doesn’t get along with your dog – everyone has their own reasons for keeping a dog outside. But if your pet gets sick or if the weather is extreme enough to cause potential illness or harm to your dog, find a way to bring it inside no matter what your reasons. Assign a room for your dog to stay in and stay there with it if you must, but get your dog into the house where it’s safe. Your partner can stay in a different part of the house for a while, you can vacuum up the fur and get the carpets cleaned if it’s a rental issue. Whatever it is, your first priority is taking care of your pet. There is no excuse to leave a sick dog out in the cold on its own.

Go for daily walks, runs, or bike rides

Go for a walk, run, or cycle with your dog every day. This will get your dogs some exercise and allow the two of you to spend some much needed time together.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy from Backyard Breeders

I define “backyard breeders” as dog owners who throw a couple of dogs together and make them pop out some babies to make a bit of cash. What puppy buyers need to realize is that this is not an acceptable way to breed dogs. Responsible breeders would never breed two dogs without conducting necessary health tests (and no, a vet checkup isn’t enough) including testing for various genetic diseases that some breeds are predisposed to, temperament testing, etc. Not only do backyard breeders not do the necessary health testing to ensure that their puppies are healthy, but they often don’t know and/or don’t care to learn about how to properly take care of a newborn puppy. This includes handling, socialization, and other factors necessary to ensure a happy, healthy, socialized pup.

How to Spot Backyard Breeders

Backyard breeders are usually not too difficult to spot. Here are some telltale signs of a backyard breeder:

2)     Advertising “Cavoodles”, “Choodles”, “Spoodles”, or other “Designer” breeds. I’m of the opinion that not all breeders of mixed breeds are irresponsible backyard breeders. After all, there’s an entire organization promoting responsible breeding and a breed standard of “Labradoodles”. But let’s be honest: most breeders of mixed breeds are backyard breeders. Backyard breeders will often try to pass off mixed breed dogs (or mutts) as some sort of fancy designer breed and charge a small fortune for them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with mutts – Keeda is a mutt and she is the best dog I could ever ask for. But trying to pass off a mutt as some sort of fancy breed is irresponsible of the breeders and is one sign of a backyard breeder.

3)     Advertising in newspapers or online classifieds. The majority of breeders advertising puppies in newspaper listings or on websites like Gumtree or Tradesales are backyard breeders. Granted, there are some responsible breeders who advertise on these websites, but you’ll have to do a lot of wading through the junk to find them.

4)     Breeders without waiting lists. Responsible breeders do not breed puppies whom they don’t have homes for. There are some breeders who have people on waiting lists for months or sometimes even years! It’s worth waiting on a list for a few months and getting a well bred, healthy, socialized puppy.

5)     Breeders separating puppies from their mothers before they are 8 weeks old. A puppy should never be taken away from its mother if it is under 8 weeks old. Some breeders wait even longer. In the state of California it’s even a misdemeanour to give a puppy away before it reaches 8 weeks of age. Puppies are mentally and physically not prepared to be weaned at 7 weeks or younger and can develop separation anxiety and other problems.

Why You Shouldn’t Buy From Puppy Mills

Puppy Mill

You will probably never see an actual puppy mill in your life, but if you buy from a pet shop or from one of those websites that advertises dozens of different breeds of puppies and always has plenty “in stock”, you are likely buying from one. Puppy mills are horrible establishments where dogs are kept in cages for the sole purpose of breeding. You can find hundreds of malnourished dogs in barns, in horrible conditions, just breeding all the time.

By buying from pet shops you are not only likely contributing to this problem of dog abuse, but also potentially purchasing a sick dog. Not only are puppy mill dogs not health tested, but they are often mistreated and get sick after they’re born. Sometimes puppies are separated from their mothers straight away, and the crowded conditions inside puppy mills mean that puppies can get all kinds of diseases in that kind of environment. You can end up with a puppy with kennel cough, Parvo, or countless other health issues.

Where to Buy a Healthy Puppy

Your best bet of finding a healthy puppy is to buy from a registered breeder and to go on a waiting list. When selecting your breeder, keep the following in mind:

1)     The breeder should let you see the parents. If for some reason you can’t view your puppy’s parents, that’s cause for suspicion. Granted, breeders may sometimes own just one of the parents, just the mother for example. This does not mean that they’re irresponsible. They should still be able to give you details about the sire of the puppies – his name, lineage, assure you that both dogs have had all of the necessary health tests, etc.

2)     The breeder should have a waiting list. Responsible breeders don’t bring puppies into the world without having homes for them to go to. Sometimes plans fall through or a person on the waiting list backs out or is unable to take the puppy anymore. In this case they may find a suitable home for the puppy after it’s been born.

3)     The breeder should take responsibility for their puppies. Responsible breeders will take dogs they’ve produced back in or work to find them another good home should their family not be able to keep them anymore.

4)     Responsible breeders screen their potential owners. A responsible breeder may ask you about your family, your home, if you have any other pets, and even information about your income to make sure that you are able to give the puppy the care it requires.

5)     Responsible breeders give you information about your new puppy. Many responsible breeders compile puppy packs to give to their new puppy owners. These packs may include information leaflets, food rations, even toys for the puppy. Responsible breeders will make sure that you have their contact details should you need to contact them for advice or in an urgent situation.

6)     Responsible breeders will encourage spaying or neutering your pet.

As you can see, responsible breeders take a lot of precautions to make sure that their puppies go to good homes and are happy and healthy. After they go through all of the necessary steps, tests, etc. they are lucky to break even after their puppies have been sold. Responsible breeders do not breed to make a profit. They breed to better the breed they are passionate about and promote responsible ownership of dogs.

Sometimes screening for a good nreeder may seem like more trouble than it’s worth, but there are plenty of responsible breeders out there. By doing so you are promoting responsible ownership and breeding of dogs and greatly increasing your chances of having a strong, healthy dog.

Another option when buying your dog is to go to a dog shelter or rescue organization and save a dog’s life. Most of the dogs you see in pounds come from irresponsible owners and breeders. Breeders who care about their puppies will not let their puppy go to a pound if they can help it. Backyard breeders and puppy millers, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about what happens to the puppies they brought into the world after they got their wad of cash for it. It’s important to remember that dogs aren’t like furniture – to be created, sold off, and then forgotten. Please do your research before buying or breeding a dog.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to be at the awards presentation in Sydney (and I’m jealous of everyone who was!), I so wish I could’ve made it. Thanks to everyone who’s visited the site, provided feedback and encouragement, and to the MDBA judges who reviewed and chose 1 Fit Mutt for the award. There is one main person who inspired me to actually take my dog fitness project idea and start building it and there is no way 1 Fit Mutt would even be here, much less be nominated for an MDBA award, without him. He probably won’t read this, but I really can’t thank him enough for inspiring me – his excitement was contagious and I’ll always be grateful.

Anyway, I’ve been working on some pretty big ideas for the site. The immediate task is to start get the 1 Fit Mutt dog fitness newsletter sorted out and send out the first installment. I’ve also gotten a few enquiries about laws regarding cycling with dogs and am planning on putting together an online tool telling people all about the laws of cycling with their dogs in their areas. Lots of research and hours involved in this one, but we’ll get there.

There are some even bigger plans in the works, but I don’t want to spill the beans too soon.

About halfway into our visit, two women with three gorgeous dogs came to the stretch of beach we were on. Two of the dogs were enormous! One was obviously a Rottweiler cross and the third was a little puppy staffy mix, still in her awkward stages. They were all adorable (I especially loved the awkward puppy, she was too shy to go into the water as the other two swam out far after the huge stick their owners were throwing for them).

The three dogs and Keeda went up to each other to sniff. Keeda was obviously wary of the big Rottweiler cross, I kept a close eye on her. I saw her tail tucking between her legs slightly and when the big dog snapped at her silently Keeda jumped away, but then emitted a bit of a bare-tooth growl. The bigger dog immediately backed off and walked away and that was the end of the encounter – just a regular dog-meets-dog interaction. What surprised me was what happened after!

Keeda is a very well behaved and trained dog, but no dog is perfect and she tends to be very excitable when she meets other dogs. If she’s off lead she will often run at another dog to play and her recall isn’t great at all when she’s preoccupied by another dog. I’ve been working with her to correct this potentially dangerous habit. Well, after sniffing the other dogs for a few minutes, Keeda promptly came up to where we were sitting, plomped herself down in front of our mat, and completely ignored the other dogs! This was amazing – normally she would bolt straight at a dog whether it looks like it wants to play or not. This time she was more than happy to stick with us and chase after sticks instead of tails.

The other dogs came up to her a few times to sniff and she was very friendly and polite, but didn’t run after them when they retreated back to their own games. The little puppy bolted at her and ran circles around her a few times and Keeda played with her a bit, but was very gentle and careful (before she would have just forgotten that the other dog is…well…alive and would often be a bit too rough with her playmates).

As we were leaving I overheard one woman make a comment to the other: “Now that’s a well behaved dog.”

You guys have no idea how proud I was . Keeda got called a well behaved dog! She’s been called well behaved and well trained before, but never about her interactions with other dogs. It feels great to make progress.