Thursday, June 16, 2011

exercise: with you and your pup

I have this dilemma every morning. We have two very active dogs that need a walk, so while I'm walking them, I might as well get some exercise too. Up until this point, it's mainly been just going running. But, for my own sake, I need to be pushing my workout more.

I recently started something new though to spice things up and keep my workout changing. And I think it helps with the loose leash walking training (which is ongoing).

Lunges.

High Knees.

Butt Kicks.

Sprints.

So, now once or twice a week, I'll do a run where on one block I'll do walking lunges and then I'll run a couple blocks. Then, I'll do a block of high knees or butt kicks, etc and go back to running. Alternating this in with my running helps keep my heart rate up while still using different muscles than in just plain old jogging.

Now, how does this help with leash training? My dogs know the routes we go on, they know the smells, they know the pace. They're smart dogs. So when I switch it up on them, they are forced to follow me and pay attention more. Doing lunges down a block takes a lot longer than sprinting, and that ever changing pace keeps dogs like mine alert. A similar thing has been recommended to me in the past regarding changing things up, and that is to keep changing directions if your dog likes to pull.

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