Friday, April 5, 2013

FitDog Friday



My friends at Slimdoggy.com and Peggy's Pet Place teamed up to create the FitDog Friday blog hop, and we're participating because we want to help educate humans about the importance of keeping their doggies fit.  Doggies who maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly live longer and have fewer health problems.  A few months ago, mom wrote an article that has some great tips on how to help your dog become and stay fit:  



You may now admire my physique

People and doggies often admire my physique and ask how I stay so fit.  
My Baywatch bod




Doing Zumba in the back yard

Well, mom and I walk every day and play frequent games of fetch, and we go hiking every weekend and sometimes after work.  I also go on an Adventure Hike every Wednesday with my buddies Tim and Nicky while mom is at work.

Hiking with Nicky
Photo by Tim Kondas of Canine Adventure

Hiking is a GREAT way to exercise because it's fun for humans and doggies, especially when we get a group together for a hike.  

Because mom and I love to hike, and we love to give other dogs an opportunity to get out and hike too, we lead hikes for our local Dog Scout troop and a local Meetup group called Canine Adventure's Human Adventure.  

Dog Scout hikes are REALLY fun, says Ruckus

Hiking with my Human Adventure 
buds Enzo & Choco

If you live in or near Richmond, Virginia, and you'd like to go hiking with other people and dogs, check out Human Adventure.  If you don't live near us, you can steal our idea and create your own dog hiking group!  

Taking a dip during a hike last Friday
(This trail is within our city limits)

We have been amazed at the wonderful trails we have in our own city.  Get out and explore your local parks and see what you find!

We led a sunset hike on Monday
(This is less than a mile from downtown Richmond)

Need some help getting your dog fit?  There are lots of resources available:

Slimdoggy.com makes an app that helps you help your dog lose weight.  They also offer email consultations and one-on-one consultations.

K9 Fit Club offers fitness classes for humans and dogs.

You can purchase Dieting with My Dog, written by Peggy of Peggy's Pet Place from Amazon.

Fit With Fido offers exercise classes for humans and dogs.

Thank Dog! Bootcamp offers fitness classes.

Thank Dog! Mobile is available at the Apple App Store.

Fur Fitness is a 501(c)(3) organization that educates humans about pet obesity and assists pet parents in helping their pets achieve and maintain optimal weight.


Association for Pet Obesity Prevention has weight loss tools and other great information on their website.


My buddy Choco is 11 years old, and he's a GREAT example of how staying active and fit keeps you healthy and young - he's one of the older dogs in our hiking group, but he still leads the pack!