Category: Fit Dog Friday

In The Shadow of A 3,741 Meter Mountain & 103 Other Reasons To Walk The Dog #DogWalkingWeek {52 Snapshots of Life Week 39}

10/2/2015

Three dogs, Cardigan Welsh Corgi dog Brychwyn, miniature dachshund dog Wilhelm and rough collie dog Huxley, enjoy the morning sunshine on a morning walk in the shadow of Mount Adams, Trout Lake, Washington, Cascadia.

Mount Adams from Trout Lake, Washington, Cascadia.

It's National Walk Your Dog Week but why walk the dog? Here's some reasons:

1. Nature
2. Exercise
3. Color
4. Fresh Air
5. Trees
6. Flexibility
7. Socialization
8. Movement
9. Bonding
10. Training
11. Heart Health
12. Beauty
13. Happiness
14. Grass
15. Calm
16. Change
17. Mood
18. Strength
19. Posture
20. Fun
21. Sunshine
22. Photo
23. Opportunities
24. Joint Health
25. Love
26. Scenery
27. Moonlight
28. Smells
29. Visit
30. Brain Health
31. Exploration
32. Art
33. Flowers
34. Desensitization
35. Surfaces

36. Togetherness
37. Smiles
38. Behavior
39. Fondness
40. Wildlife
41. Seasons
42. Joy
43. Decorations
44. Outdoors
45. Sky
46. Lung Health
47. Beach
48. Shadows
49. Cuteness
50. Mountains
51. Fire Hydrants
52. Healthy
53. Muscle Tone
54. Water
55. Camaraderie
56. Circulation
57. Investigate
58. Trails
59. Marking
60. Safety
61. Exhaustion
62. Stars
63. Houses
64. Relief
65. Memory Boost
66. Caring
67. Neighbors
68. Terrain
69. Shopping
70. Bone Health

71. Light
72. Comfort
73. Friends
74. Foot and Paw Health
75. Appetite
76. Practice
77. Travel
78. Patience
79. Blood Sugar
80. Observing
81. Pleasant
82. Refreshing
83. Wonderful
84. Adventure
85. Forest
86. Present
87. Field
88. Show-off
89. Breeze
90. Rhythm
91. Treat
92. Inspiration
93. Stretching
94. Break
95. Healthy Weight
96. Fitness
97. Gardens
98. Free
99. Stress Reduction
100. Self-Esteem
101. Energy
102. Clouds
103. Easy
104. Longevity
105. Blood Pressure

What's your favorite reason for dog walks?

105 Reasons to Walk Your Dog, National Walk Your Dog Week #DogWalkingWeek

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Pets Deserve To Be Given The Gift Of Amazing Experiences

12/19/2014

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Typist: Bethany
Earlier this week, the dogs and I were on a holiday decoration viewing walk in a near by Seattle neighborhood and we came across a fun light display that had an interactive aspect. I pushed a button to make a snowman inside the homes front window dance in a stream of bubbles. As I watched the fun, the festive display's home owner came onto the porch to invite the dogs and I up to see the tree and his famous collection of holiday toys. After a jubilant (read: loud) greeting the dogs sat politely at the threshold while the sweet retiree showed off his parachuting Santa Claus, a Deck The Halls Singing flamingo, dancing reindeer and more. I was incredibly happy to have had such a delightful only-in-Seattle holiday experience and I looked down at my three respectfully well-behaved dogs thinking what fantastic exposure this was for them too. Moments like that are such a wonderful gift for my happy, social, and fit dogs (and cat and cockatoo too) and I want to give them more.

Three dogs and a cat pose for a picture with an inflated holiday snowman.

So yesterday, I sat down and made holiday coupon book gifts for all of my pets. No, I do not plan on teaching them to read. I just want to commit to giving them more marvelous experiences and these gifts of social, mental and physical experiences serve as a reminder of that commitment. A few of the things I wrote on the holiday coupons are:

A Walk: I faithfully walk the dogs almost everyday and Amelia and Leo join us whenever possible. Gifting the pets a longer walk, a walk on a new route or in another neighborhood is something we can all benefit from.
A New Trick: All of my pets love training because they are very intelligent and because they love the individual time with me. Giving the dogs, cat and cockatoo a coupon for training time is equivalent to giving them a pass for staring in a center stage production where exuberantly cheering me is the audience. Encore!
A New Game: I admit that I get stuck in the same old, same old routines with treat and training games. I need to branch out, The pets would benefit from me branching out. It is possible to teach an old human new games, er, a not-too-old human new games to share with her pets.
A Massage: At one time or another, all of the pets are in the mood for a massage. However, their moods don't always mesh with my schedule. I need to do a better job of making the necessary medical once overs of all the pets more pleasant massage time for them. The coupons are an excellent reminder of that as well as to just to more healthy, fit dog, cat and cockatoo massaging. Who doesn't love an occasional massage?
A Trip: We all love being on the road and all of our trips are very pet-centric. My hope is that a travel experience gift will mean Jason and I do a better job of taking one-on-one half or full day trips with each pet or that we'll just travel all together more.
A Moment: It's the time of year that the movie "White Christmas" is played on our TV at least once a day. Having watched the film as much as I have, it is clear that the entire plot is based on one busy mans desire for "45 minutes all to myself." Every active, fit dog, cat, cockatoo or person needs me time and I want to give my pets more of their very own time to do what they want.

The making of holiday gift coupon books for pets.

Click on the photo to download holiday coupon books for dogs, cats or cockatoos and give an amazing experience.

Obviously, these experience coupon books for the pets are also a gift to myself because I get to experience the gift with them. Building wonderful memories with my pets is what I live for. I love exercise and adventure but it is never as fun without a pet or three or five by my side. There is truly no better gift at any time of year than a healthy, happy pet and every fit dog, cat or cockatoo experience we have is the best present ever.

What experience would most like to give to your pet as a gift?

Three dogs and their overflowing basket of Christmas toys.

Three dogs with no more room for toys in the basket... or is there?

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Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful, But Holiday Decoration Admiring Fit Dog Time's Delightful

12/12/2014

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Typist: Bethany
I love everything about this time of year in Cascadia. The natural light (or lack thereof) in the sky seems magical and I especially appreciate the early sunsets. The skeletons of leafless deciduous trees make more obvious the majesty of the Evergreen State's namesake plants. I love the seasons stormy weather. The wind makes massive white caps on Puget Sound that match the fresh snow on the Olympic Mountains. The clouds blow past and make more breathtaking light or dump copious amounts of rain. I even love the rain. Seriously. Everything feels so clean and fresh when showered and blown off by nature's fall festivals. All of these late autumn spectacles are made even more stunning by people's festive holiday decorations. Nothing can keep me inside! Wind, rain, sleet or snow, day or night, I am out with fit dogs Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley seeking fun holiday displays to admire.

I was saddened earlier this week when I read an article about holiday activities to do with dogs that suggested drive through holiday light displays. Road trips are, of course, one of my very favorite things to do ever but why waste time sitting idly in the car to admire holiday decorations when there could instead be much needed fit dog time? I have many, many holiday traditions that I share with my dogs but the one's that involve exercise are all of our favorites. So since the dogs and I spend countless fit dog hours wandering our city from late November to early January seeking fabulous holiday decorations, I thought perhaps we could inspire others to get out and do some holiday walking. Here are season display seeking tips to help get out for fit dog time and enjoy the seasons spectacles despite the weather:

You Would Even Say It Glows
When going out seeking holiday light displays, be sure to bring plenty of light. I am always sorry when I forget to put clip on collar lights on the dogs. Particularly if we happen upon a popular, crowded holiday display, the dogs are much safer when well lit. It is especially inconvenient when I forget a flashlight or headlamp and have to clean up dog poop by iPhone flash. In an effort to never forget light essentials, I keep the clip on collar lights and a flashlight with the leashes and poop bags. Speaking of poop bags...

He Only Paused A Moment When He Heard Him Holler "STOP"
The weather is awful. It is dark. The walk is going to be short. But none of these things excuses not being prepared for the possibility of dog poop happening. Absolutely nothing spoils a lovely holiday display more than a left behind pile of dog poop. So remember poop bags and never, ever. ever fail to stop, stoop and scoop!

City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks, Dressed In Holiday Cheer
There are also a lot of dangerous chemicals on the decorated roads and sidewalks for holiday fit dog walking. I prepare the dogs for inevitable tracking through dangerous deicing pellets by putting a paw balm on them before we leave the house.

Don We Now Our Gay Apparel
If it is forty degrees Fahrenheit or below, Wilhelm has to wear a coat. He hates it but it keeps him happily trotting along on holiday decoration seeking outings. Since we never know what weather might blow through, Jason and I always prepare for cold and possible precipitation. Although it is very un-Seattle but I have even been known to carry an umbrella.

The World Is Your Snowball, See How It Grows
Not only is it wise to be prepared for anything while out for fit dog decoration seeking but it is also best to have the house prepared for when you return. If it is cold out, I set the thermostat to heat up the house a bit more around the time I expect the dogs and I will return home. If there is even a slight chance of rain or the ground is wet, I place a stack of rags just at the inside of the door so I am set up to dry wet, muddy dogs. I also get the bathroom ready to have a paw rinsing session if we happen to walk through a lot of dangerous winter street chemicals.

Sometimes I plan fit dog holiday decoration outings for specific neighborhood displays. Other times I make a sort of treasure hunt out of our decoration seeking walk (like the day we sought out as many Bumble's as possible, pictured above.) Most of the time, the dogs, Jason and I just weave through the streets searching for hidden gem holiday decoration wonderlands. The dogs not only get much needed exercise but they get to sniff out strange new streets as well as enjoy mental stimulation while posing for photos. Even if I didn't like the weather, how could I deny my dogs much needed exercise and bonding time? Fit dog time should be a year round tradition and holiday decoration display adventures are just one more way to keep our healthy pet commitment going year round. No matter what the weather is like or what kinds of holiday decorations we find, fit dogs are beautiful.

What fit dog holiday traditions do you have? Do you enjoy dog friendly holiday lighting and decoration walks?

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Fearless In Seattle: Changing How Dogs Feel About Something Scary

10/31/2014

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Fearless in Seattle.

This spooky scene had a real black cat.

Enjoying a haunted house's pirate graveyard.

Typist: Bethany
As it gets darker, wetter and colder in Cascadia, it gets more difficult to find fit dog adventure inspiration. Even the dogs would sometimes rather play inside or just lay around. We'd all always rather be traveling. Even if we're stuck in our neighborhood in the chilly, rainy, gray I know it's healthy for us, humans and pets, to get outside for exercise. Besides enjoying all of the gorgeous colors of autumn, the pets and I have been getting fit time in while combing West Seattle for festive Halloween decoration displays. We have had some wonderful dog walks, in the rain, wind and sunshine.

Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley are rarely scared by the spooky holiday decor we've been out admiring but the other day an animated inflatable spider caused unruly barking. Aborting the photo opportunity, I rushed the dogs away from the moving spider but the barking continued in front of the next house. I decided to use this frightening opportunity to practice "quiet" and "chill" cues as well as desensitize the dogs to what scared them. It is important for dogs that travel, get out and about often and are exposed to a mass of varied situations to master self control. So I asked all of the dogs to lay down on the grass a safe distance from the spider's yard but where they could still see the Halloween decoration. The dogs received treats for focusing on me quietly instead of looking back at the spider and barking.

This took what seemed like forever. When dealing patently with three wildly barking dogs a trainers sense of time can get skewed. In reality, Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley calmed down quite quickly. Once the dogs were unflustered and staying focused on me, we continued with our walk.

The next day, we returned to the scary spider scene. Luckily, the spider that spooked the dogs was not inflated so I had a great opportunity to practice more focus cue training distraction free. I took pictures, the dogs favorite "trick" and job. They all got lots and lots of treats. When we walked past the moving arachnid a third time which was again inflated. I wanted to test the desensitization training we had done but had to avoid allowing the dogs to be spooked into another barking frenzy. I picked up the walking pace and I praised and treated the quiet dogs as we passed. Before clearing the decorated yard, the dogs noticed the animated spider's head turn. Each dog barked one or two times then regained self-control and focus. This felt like an amazing, fear conquering success.

The offending spider deflated.

Ideally we will have an opportunity to pass the spider again and the dogs will stay focused on me. I had originally wanted to pose the dogs for a picture with the giant spider but I will not push them that far. It is enough that what once frightened them into a frenzy, quickly became a minor irritation on an otherwise fun fit dog outing. Rain or shine, wherever we roam, I always want to get outside with my pets for healthy fit time. What a comfort to know that whatever spooky scenes we encounter, whether they are decorative or real, I can help my dogs to keep intelligently composed.

Brychwyn

Huxley

What scares your fit dog and how do you deal with it?

Wilhelm

What scary ghost?

Want to learn more about positive pet training? Have positive reinforcement dog, cat or other pet training tips or tricks to share? Join Dachshund Nola, Tenacious Little Terrier and us this Monday for the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop! The November theme is rear end awareness but any and all blogger posts and reader/follower stories about positive reinforcement training are always welcome.

Happy Halloween!

Check out our other awesome fit dog Halloween adventures:

The Devil Went Down To Green Lake: A Seattle Urban Hike With Costumed Corgis

West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival Special: A Collie Dog, Corgi Ketchup & Dachshund Mustard

And if you're looking for haunted Halloween fun to have with your pets, here's a great list of Halloween movies with dog and cat co-stars: Scaredy Cats & Spooky Dogs: 13 Movies For Halloween With Dog & Cat Co-Stars

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Cascadian Nomads
Pet Adventurers

Cascadian Nomads adventurous dogs and parrot with pet and travel blogger, Bethany Clochard.

Cascadian Nomads canines and psittacine on a road trip with blogger Bethany Clochard.

Pet travel blogger Bethany Clochard shares a lifetime of budget travel experience, camping, and enjoying outdoors & Pacific NW adventures with pets. She currently hits the road with three dogs, a cockatoo & a cat.

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