FitDog Friday: Hiking Tyson's Corner

We're in Tyson's Corner for BlogPaws, and it's amazing.  But mom and I still need to have our walking time, and we made the most unexpected discovery -- green space in Tyson's Corner!!!

Yesterday we discovered a greenway, and this morning we explored it some more.

I wonder where this path leads

Not quite the James River

but there are some yummy smells

We followed the greenway as far as we could, and came out to a grassy clearing near some office buildings.

The pointy building in the

distance is our hotel

If we can find a trail in
Tyson's Corner, we can find
one anywhere! 

It's important to get out for walkies, even when traveling.  If you don't know where to walk, look at a satellite view of the area on Google Maps.  We saw what looked like a residential neighborhood, so we headed there for our walk, and that's how we found the greenway.  Take the time to explore -- you might be surprised what you find.

Wordless Tim Day (aka Wednesday)

A Wiener Weekend!

This past weekend, we went to the North Carolina Wiener Roast!  

The N.C. Wiener Roast was started in 2003 as a way for rescue wieners to reconnect with their rescuers and former foster parents.  It's like a big doxie family reunion with contests and prizes and treats and more wiener dogs than I've ever seen in my entire life.  It's also a fundraiser for dachshund rescue.

So how did a lab get involved in a wiener event?  Well, last year the event's organizer contacted my mom and asked if she would be willing to make prizes for this year's event.  She had seen my friend Reuben's prizes from my First Ever Silly Photo Contest and she really liked the idea of unique, hand-crafted prizes.  Mom said sure!  We had never heard of the Wiener Roast, but we learned about it and thought it sounded like a really cool event.  When we heard they were looking for sponsors for this year's event, I told momma I wanted to be a sponsor and she said okay!  (Although I wanted to sponsor them for eleventy-billion dollars, mom said that would not work with our blog budget, so I became a "Cocktail Wiener" sponsor.)

Momma made trophy-shaped ornaments for the prizes for the different doxie contests.

Friday night we drove down to Greensboro, N.C., where we stayed at the official doxie hotel, and Saturday morning we got up and went to a castle!  (Because where else would you hold a wiener event, right?)

Am I allowed to walk over
the drawbridge?

I think I want my own castle now

We had so much fun, and saw more wieners than you can possibly imagine -- all different colors and sizes, all having a great time with their humans and wiener friends!

We met so many nice people and pups, and we met some amazing people who devote a huge amount of time and energy to rescuing wieners.  But the highlight of the day was meeting one of my idols, Reuben of Floppy Tongue Joy!

Reuben!

I even got a pawtographed copy of his new book, A Guide to Braveries for Small Dogs.  (You can learn about his book in his post I is a Published Author Now and you can purchase a copy from West Summit Publishing.)

Now that he's famous and a major big-shot, I thought Reuben might be too important and too busy pawtographing copies of his book to meet me.  But he took the time to say hello!

Um, what are you doing back there little buddy?

Reuben was quite fierce and very intimidating

But it was GREAT to meet him and
his momma and his people sister

Momma volunteered to help clean up after the event was over, then we all went back to the official doxie hotel and napped.  That evening was the celebration dinner, and mom and dad BOTH won door prizes for me -- toys and gift cards!  You KNOW I love winning prizes, but the best part of the weekend was meeting some very cool people and pups, and being able to help out doxies like my pal Reuben find a wonderful forever home, just like Reuben did.

I'm sad that it's over and can't wait 
'til next year to see my new friends

Happy Mommy's Day!

I love my mommy

She takes me on amazing adventures

and to really cool places

she's the BEST snuggle partner

she's pretty okay

Wordless Wednesday

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:  

How to Keep Your Dog Fit and Healthy: Part 1

How to Keep Your Dog Fit and Healthy: Part 2

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!

Wordless Wednesday