No, it’s not a skipping rope. I am, of course, talking about a DOG. Seriously, a dog is your ticket to incidental exercise. When you make the decision to own a dog, you’re making a commitment of sorts to your health and wellbeing. A dog needs to be walked, he needs to breathe fresh air and other doggie smells and your ‘I’ll start tomorrow’ excuses just won’t cut it with him.
Now I won’t pretend it’s always easy, that I jump out of bed on a Monday morning in July with a smile on my face in anticipation of getting outside in the rain and almost freezing weather. But I guess that’s the whole point… when you’ve got a dog it doesn’t matter, you just have to suck it up and get out there!
My dog, Lou, is an (almost) seven year old English staffy. I got him from a wonderful rescue organisation called Big Dog Rescue just over a year ago. I’m a big believer in rescuing rather than buying from breeders or (most definitely) pet shops. I see no need to have a designer doggy when there are so many gorgeous dogs being put to sleep in pounds throughout Australia literally every day.
Anyway, I digress. I’m not here to preach (today, anyway). My point is, dogs are awesome. I now have a no-excuses reason to get outside and walk every single day. So even on the days I don’t get a workout in, I know I’ve done something. And hey, when you’re a lazy girl, sometimes that’s what it’s all about!
p.s If you’re not ready to adopt, there are plenty of rescue organisations looking for volunteers to walk/cuddle/love their dogs. So if you’re interested in adopting, volunteering or donating, here are a few of my favourites:
Big Dog Rescue – as mentioned, this is where we found (and fell in love with) Lou
Monika’s Doggie Rescue – I badgered my parents until they adopted from here
Animal Welfare League NSW
Fetching Dogs
Greyhounds as Pets – a friend of mine adopted her sweet-natured girl Lucy from here
Greyhound Rescue
absolutely
Oh dogs, couldn’t live without them! Yours are particularly sweet-looking little things and I really enjoy your ‘Understanding Your Dog’ pages – very insightful.
Thank you for your kind comments.
The ‘understanding your dog’ site came about because we learned a lot of very cool stuff and it seemed only fair to share some of it. I only speak one human language well but I am learning to speak ‘dog’ and it is a lot of fun. How frustrating it must be for them when we don’t understand.
I’m very proud of you for walking your wonderful dog every day (even when it is cold) your dog feels very proud to be out ‘hunting’ with it’s pack leader.
You are right about the fitness thing, all you need is a dog. I gave up sport after being involved for more than forty years and my weight ballooned. Along come the dogs and the weight is under control.
Be well.
Terry
Lou looks ADORABLE with the tennis ball! Dogs are good for keeping you active. My cats have nil interest in chasing anything!
I’d love to see you strap on two little harnesses and take the kitties for a stroll!
This is way up there in my reasons to get a doggie woggy. Lou is adorable!
And at the end of every workout you get lots of doggy kisses!
Aw nice to see another fitness person who enjoys their dog as a workout buddy! ? I actually just recently did a post about the health benefits associated with owning a dog and it included a lot of things similar to what you said in this post!
Oh yay! Dog people are the best people in my humble opinion x