FitDog Friday- What Activities do you do with your Pet?

Do you have a special activity you enjoy doing with your dog? That's what the folks at Healthy Paws Pet Insurance and Foundation, a pet insurance company who also supports pet rescues across the country, wanted to know. And to discover some great ideas, they went right to the source...pet bloggers. We are honored to be featured in their recent article, Favorite Pet Activities.

8 Active Pet Parents. Dozens More Fun Outdoor Pet Activities.

Peggy’s Pet Place - peggyfrezon.blogspot.com



we even got a badge for contributing!



The post includes some of Kelly and my favorite activities, and other great bloggers with their favorite things to do, such as
Bike Riding with Poochie Project,
Dancing with Peaceful Dog,
Weave poles with Two Collies and a Mutt,
Geocaching with Terrier Torrent,
or Hide and Seek with Miley's Daily Scoop!

Is your favorite activity included?

**Don't forget, K9 Kamp continues this week. Check out last week's exercise to do with your dog from our K9 Kamp Fitness Trainer, K9 Fit Club! And this week's exercise, on Kol's Notes!And don't forget to enter our Rafflecopter for a prize package valued at $200!


FitDog Friday- cohosted by Peggy's Pet Place, Slimdoggy and To Dog with Love, is a great way to highlight positive activities you're doing with your dog. Join the blog hop!







Want PAWsitive pet tips, good news and special bonuses? Content not already on the blog? Fetch our free newsletter! Kelly and I can't wait to see you there!

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FitDog Friday- Yardwork Fail

Today is FitDog Friday, co-hosted by Peggy's Pet Place, Slimdoggy and To Dog with Love, highlighting ways we all get healthy, fit and active with our dogs!

 We love involving Kelly in our activities. Last weekend we had a lot of yard work to do. What a perfect opportunity to get out and get some exercise with my dog! I was in charge of ripping out a brick walkway that we are replacing with slate.

Kelly insisted on lying down on the job....precisely where I needed to work.

Okay, well ONE of us got a decent workout!

FitDog Friday Giveaway--Link up to the blog hop, or leave a comment on this blog or one of the other two host blogs, and you'll be entered into our giveaway for one of these FitDog Friday prizes:
1. Dieting with my Dog bookmark and refrigerator magnet
2. Slimdoggy dog food scoop
3. Pruven by 3M waste bag dispenser with refill rolls and pet bandana



Want more, pawsitive pet tips, good news, and special bonuses? Content not already on the blog? Subscribe to my free newsletter.  Kelly and I can't wait to see you there!

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FitDog Friday--How author Patti Lawson and her dog Sadie stay fit

Today is FitDog Friday, sponsored by Peggy's Pet Place, SlimDoggy and To Dog With Love. Join in every Friday by linking up or visiting the blogs in the hop, and be sure to comment and you'll be entered into a giveaway for great FitDog prizes.

Today please welcom Patti Lawson, the author of a fantastic book, The Dog Diet. How much do I love this book! Patti's experiences are different from mine in Dieting with my Dog, yet our conclusions are the same: dogs make great weight loss buddies!

I had the opportunity to ask Patti about getting fit with her dog:

1. How do you keep your dog fit and healthy?

PL: As with people, there are two parts to dog fitness. 1. Diet   2. Exercise

DIET
Sadie eats a grain free except for quinoa and brown rice organic diet. Sometimes I cook for her and other times I use two human grade foods made in the United States. Lucky Dog Cuisine and Honest Kitchen. She gets natural jerky treats...mainly salmon. Sadie has several food allergies so we take that into consideration when choosing her food.

Sadie and Patti preparing the SALAD BOX...a staple of the DOG DIET.

EXERCISE--We DOGERCISE...walking and incorporating play time with exercise. Sadie likes tug of war and running after her many stuffed animals. She is a sprinter...sprints off the deck chasing squirrels in our yard. We live in the woods so we have plenty of squirrels for her to chase. Our subdivision is very hilly...we live in WV so it's no surprise...and we walk it every day possible and on weekends twice a day. I believe part of exercise is also mental. I challenge Sadie with little games...I read to her...she has a puzzle ball from Planet Dog I recommend for all dogs. You place small treats in it and then your dog has to figure out how to get them out. Very mentally challenging. Maybe I wouldn't eat so much chocolate if I had to get it out of the puzzle ball! Sadie also goes to daycare because she doesn't like to stay alone and I am convinced this is good for her. She is active with the staff and other dogs all day instead of sleeping and waiting for me to come home.

2. How does your dog help you get fit and healthy?

PL: I know that Sadie's health depends on me so I challenge myself to do the best I can for her. In doing so, I am eating better and exercising. Yes...we have the occasional McDonald's treat and squirt of whipped cream. I want Sadie to be with me as long as possible and I want to be here for her as long as possible so she is my inspiration. If I don't feel like walking, I know she NEEDS to walk and so we go out the door and just do it. It always turns into a great time.

Sadie is practicing for beach trips with a tennis ball and a water frisbee!

3. What is Sadie's favorite activity?

PL: At risk of sounding narcissist I believe her favorite activity is being with me. No matter what we do...she enjoys it. She also loves to travel, likes sniffing out leftovers on room service trays in hotels and riding in the big convertible her "Dad" owns.

4. What is one unhealthy food Sadie would eat all day if you let her?

PL:  Hamburgers....hands down. She LOVES hamburgers...sniffs them all the way home in the bag!

What is Sadie's favorite healthy food?

PL: Sadie loves salmon which is very good for her.


BIO: Sadie Lawson was born in Putnam County, West Virginia to a Cocker Spaniel Mom and a German Shepherd Dad. After one appearance at PetSmart in Charleston, WV she decided to give Patti a chance at being her Mom and after a few rough patches, they became inseparable. She has traveled to over 30 cities on the Dog Diet book tour. She was an integral partner in Family Law/Divorce Mediations Patti conducted. , Kiawah Island is her favorite vacation spot, but she loves all beaches. Sadie enjoys chasing squirrels, long walks, naps on her king-sized feather beds, and convertible rides. She has one sister, AbiGal, a rescued Cockatiel.

 Patti Lawson is an award winning author, blogger, and attorney. She lives in the West Virginia woods

with her beloved canine companion, Sadie; has a day job as a Special Prosecutor, and anticipates the release of her new book: What Happens to Rover When the Marriage is Over? And Other Doggone Legal Dilemmas!
Connect with Patti at:

http://www.thedogdiet.com/

http://blogs.dailymail.com/petcity/

http://redroom.com/member/patti-lawson

* FitDog Friday Giveaways-

Our FitDog Friday co-hosts have been hosting giveaways for all Blog Hop participants the past few weeks. Now even more folks can join the fun! For a chance to be entered into our weekly FitDog Friday giveaway,  you can still link your FitDog Friday post to our Blog Hop.  Or, just leave a comment on one or all of our co-hosts posts -- SlimDoggy, Peggy's Pet Place and To Dog With Love.  Each comment (one each per co-host post) and each Blog Hop link counts as one entry. Winners will be chosen at random.

This weeks prizes are a SlimDoggy food scoop, Dieting with my Dog bookmark, and Patti Lawson has kindly donated a copy of her book The Dog Diet, and a bag of Hill's All Natural Sweet Potato and Pumpkin treats.   

Want more, pawsitive pet tips, good news, and special bonuses? Content not already on the blog? Subscribe to my free newsletter.  Kelly and I can't wait to see you there! 

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Kelly Plays with New Toy, while Brooks....

Tennis balls, flying discs, rope toys, stuffies. Kelly and Brooks have plenty to play with. And now they have one more great toy: the Bow Wow Flirt Pole by Squishy Face Studio.To demonstrate, I'm debuting my very first blog video, starring Kelly and Brooks.



As you can see, Kelly loved the Flirt Pole! She especially loved tugging. The super strong bungee cord made the tugging fun for her, while I didn't have to break my arms. She also liked jumping after it. This is a toy Kelly will have fun with any time! Now Brooks, on the other hand...well as you can see, he only has eyes (and teeth) for his beloved tennis ball.

The flirt toy is part of HollyWOOF gift bags by Distinctive Assets. The bags full of awesome dog products such as toys, snacks, art and more were given to 25 celebs! I was lucky enough to receive a fantastic bag of products to sample and review. I'll be sharing more information about the rest of the contents of the HollyWOOF bag in the future.

Now, I want to tell you more about the Bow Wow Flirt Pole.




I totally recommend the Flirt Pole. It's super well-made, strong, of quality material and a unique toy for your dog. I have to add, the toy arrived packaged in an attractive blue sleeve, wrapped with an additional fleece tug toy, a bandana for Kelly and a Squishy Face t-shirt for me! This is a company who pays attention to details. I hope you'll check Squishy Face Studio.

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K9Kamp Challenge 3-- Doggone Minute to Win it

Grabbing a fun fitness moment crawling under a bench in the park.

This past season, the reality TV show The Biggest Loser focused on different excuses for not exercising. The one I related to most was "I don't have time." ie: " I'm too busy to work out." "I can't walk the dog AND get in my own routine as well."


Now we will take a lesson from another TV show, Minute to Win it, which featured quick, fun games using items you could find around the home. That's the idea of our Week 3 challenge. We'll spend the week focusing on quick fun challenges that only take a minute or so each. All those minutes will really add up. Are you ready?

This week, whenever you find a few spare moments, take the opportunity to initiate some fun fitness activity with your dog. Here are some ideas.
A minute of:
1. Fetch-- make sure you get some running in too!
2. Climbing/running stairs
3. Tug of war
4. Keep away
5.  Chasing around the house or yard
6.  You and your dog (along with your husband, child, neighbor or whoever) play monkey in the middle
7. Play roughhousing-- if your dog likes it
8. Walk in place during the TV commercials (bonus points if you actually get your dog to do this with you, lol).
9. Toe touches in between cooking or doing dishes. On your way to touching your toes, be sure to pat your dog!
10. Recall practice. While you have your dog on "stay," sneak in a few jumping jacks or squats for yourself.


Aim for 10 minutes a day. End the day with a cool down and nice belly rub!

I bet you can think up a few more ideas of your own. What activities can you and your dog do in a minute? Check out more really cool ideas from Kol's Notes too. Report back next Thursday for our blog hop too.

And don't forget to check out our prize page. You can enter now to win great prizes like leather collars, plenty of dog toys, fitness toys, and even my book Dieting with my Dog! And if you do all 4 challenges and fill out our Rafflecopter, you will get a free copy of the great summer issue of Modern Dog! There are dozens of great prizes and lots of ways to enter.

Have a fun week. You're doing great, Kampers!

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Real Life Dog and Me Fitness Classes

Brooks likes to help me get fit.

How many times have you said, "I wish I could take my dog to the gym with me."?
or
"I don't have time to get in my own exercise AND exercise the dog every day."

Well believe it or not, there are some real solutions to this problem. Of course, you can walk or jog with your dog. Pooch to 5k is a great place to start. It's not a camp you can go to, but an amazing running program for you and your dog that you can follow along online, get some great tips and encouragement. And who knows, you might soon find yourself and your dog running a 5k!

There are also fitness camps, classes and programs for people AND pets. Kind of like a real life K9Kamp! Check these out:

1. Doggy & Me Fitness, various locations in California.  Workouts include walking, jogging, strength training, hill work, and stair climbing, all with your leashed dog at your side. Sessions end with stretching for you and treats for your pup!

2. Leash Your Fitness also of California, offers cardio, balance, strength, dog yoga, and special fun events. Classes include a boot camp and running club. The website is very well designed and gives answers to all your questions!

Leash Your Fitness

3.  Thank Dog Boot Camp  unites a workout for people along with obedience classes for dogs. Locations in California, Cleveland Ohio, Boston Massachusetts, and Toronto.

4. FitDog in Austin Texas includes cardio, agility, speed, muscular endurance, balance and flexibility. The camp's goal is to increase fitness and strengthen bonds.

When I wrote Dieting with my Dog, I was about as far away from this concept as you could get. I didn't exercise with myself, much less with Kelly.  At first, just short walks around the block were all I could manage. And I wasn't a hundred pounds or more overweight, I was just seriously out of shape. Well, to be honest, I probably never was in shape. At least not since I was in college. And that was...well, a couple few dozen years ago.

After I got active and took off the weight I learned that I had to KEEP active. Yeah, that was a difficult lesson. Classes like these would be a lot of fun. And that's why Koly and Kelly's K9Kamp is a lot of fun too! Getting out and doing something different, knowing others are joining in and blogging about it makes getting fit almost painless!

Have you ever joined a Dog and Me type fitness class? If not, would you join if one was located close by?

**While you're all busy signing up for bootcamp or making plans to do some exercising with your dog, you might need some supplies. Check out Kol's Notes today for Essential Products for Active Pups.

***And, do you know where else you can get some fun toys and supplies for you and your dog? Just follow the link here to go to our k9kamp prize page. It's quick and easy to sign up and you won't believe all the great things you can win....leashes, harness, toys, books and even a Nike+ sports band!

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