Welcome to the walking dogs for Weight Loss group

Welcome! We would love get to know you and your furry friends so please tell us a little bit about yourself. You can choose any format you'd like, but most of us here share some or all of the following details:

1. How you and your walking partner (furry friend) met:
2. How you and Fido keep the pounds off and keep each other smiling :
3. Reason for joining this group:
4. Some interesting details about yourself and Fluffy such as your job, breed, favorite toys and your interests:

So POST NOW so we can be encouraged by you and your fluffy friend walking stories!

I have spent the last year and a half working on losing about 50 pounds with 10 more to go. CC and all the people here have been a huge help along with all the dogs in my life! Until 3 weeks ago I owned only two cats,..that weren't very much of a weight loss motivator,..seeing as they just lay around and eat all day. One of my 1st exercise routines was to go to the local shelter and walk the dogs on my lunch hour. It was good for me and good for them. They became a willing walking partner and their needs became a great motivator to get me out and walking. Finally, after a year and a half, with no intention of adopting a dog, I ended up taking one home. We walk every morning and evening. He always makes me smile and always ready to get out and exercise!

Hi Beach and Everyone,

My name is Lisa and I live in NH with my husband and 3 dogs.  One is a 16 year old Yorkie, Max, the other is a 4 year old Yellow Lab, Sunny, and our newest member is Leah and she is a 8 month old AmStaff pup with congenital Megaesophogus.  I was there for the birth of my Yorkie and he was given to me as a BDay gift and Sunny and Leah were rescued.  I currently work full-time and I am a college student as well.  I am working on my bachelors degree in Accounting/Finance at SNHU.  I walk my dogs for them and for me!!!  I do not however walk them as much as a should and would like to change that especially before the weather turns nasty.  Max does not go out for our mile long walks he is way to elderly and is happy just hangin.  Leah goes to work with daddy and Sunny, the Lab, goes for the trooper walks with "the mummy".  I would really like to increase my walks with sunny to every night after work for at least a half hour long tromps and also keep up with the 4 day mornings that we are currently already doing.  I also like to workout with the equipment I have accumulated through out the years so I have to find the time to do that in between the walks.  And I can't forget my studies!!  Don't ask how I do it!!  Good luck everyone with their goals and enjoy your furry family friends.

Lisa

 

 

Hi Lisa,

Welcome to the group!  Sounds like you have a great set of furry friends!  My dog is a bully breed mix rescue too.  Vet says he is probably about a year.  I didn'tknow what the mrgaesophogus was,..had to google..man i hope things are going okay with leah,..she is a gorgeous dog.  Sounds like you guys have a pretty good walkig routine.  I don't have a yard, which seems like a horrible thing for a dog, but it makes us walk every morning and every eveining which like you said, is good for both of us.  Tonight we are meeting up with a fellow furry friend and her human :)  We are going to walk at the park and then maybe venture over to the dog park(depending on the number of dogs there).  Well it sound like you have a good goal for walking every night, you are sure to increase your burn meter with that and no doubt that Sunny will love it!  Maybe you can start this week!  have a great day!

Hi Beach and thank you for the warm welcome!!  We have a yard but honestly if you don't use it than it doesn't really mean to much now does it :)  Sunny and all the rest just need the time, attention, love, and exercise no matter how its done.  I think its great that you volunteer your time and affection at the shelter and I think it's a wonderful idea to walk the dogs.  Maybe when things slow down for me, graduation from school, I could do something like that.  I admire people like you that do good things!!  I noticed also that you have lost quite a bit of weight and congrats on that.  How far do you walk twice a day?  I can only get a mile in or so and sometimes on the w/e I will do 2 or 3 miles.  I love walking and I find it very relaxing.  Leah is doing well, btw, with her ME.  It takes a lot of dedication and thank god she ran into my husband and I because I don't know if she would have ever been rescued.  She is under weight and a little boney but she is holding her own and we are still trying to figure what works best for her as far as food consistency, amount, and timing.  She is up to about 2 cups of food a day which isn't bad but for a pup I would really like to see another cup going down but I can't push it so....  we do what we can.  I'm interested to know how far you go a day and how quick, let me know.

Thanks Lisa

 

Hey everyone, Im Laura and kind of new to the group =)

I have two dogs (both King Charles Cavaliers), ones about 10 (hes feeling the age and doesnt like long walks anymore), and the other is 5. The younger is my personal best friend, while the elder belongs to the family. Theo (the younger) and I walk for about 3 hours 3 times a week, and we absolutely love it. Hes so well behaved and willing to do whatever i say to him that hes the best walking partner ever. We have the best time when I take him to the school and let him off the lead, and we have races around the playground (though im sure he lets me win everytime!). We met when I was about 12, and at that age i was silly enough to demand a puppy for a christmas present. Next thing I know we've got another dog! Hes been my best friend ever since, and we cant stand to be parted for more than a few days.

So yeah, thats my story!

Hi X,

It sounds like you have a great partner!!  Its nice to have that unconditional love and inspiration isn't it?  I have a elder at home as well; he is 16 and he is still full of him self but he stays at home, also when Sunny and I go out for our journeys.  I read your Bio and I was wondering how your recovery was going?  I hope well and my understanding is that's a tough disease to conquer.  Well I have to say myself that I am back to it this week from a long vacation and I really would like to get out there every night after work.  That is going to take a lot since I also started back to college this week too.  2 classes this time around and intense ones as well.  Wish me luck!!

Hi Laura,..welcome...so glad you joined us!

isn't it amazing the companionship you can find with a dog.  Plus it is always nice when they want to do what you want them to do!  

i have been a slacker this week and not got very many good walks in with Bogart.  I can't seem to get this schedule thing worked out with school starting back and it not getting light out in the morning until later.  Speaking of which, what do you guys do for safety when needing to walk your dogs in the dark?

I have a goal to walk Bogart for at least one hour every day, either in the morning or evening, in addition to potty times for 7 days straight,...hoping to cover 2.5 miles.....anyone else want to join in?  If not,..what's your goal for the next 7 days?

Lisa,..I really haven't tried to go a specific distance, just a steady pace with good dog manners,..not much sniffing, no pulling, etc.  I initially was doing 1 hour in the morning and on ea t night,..I am guessing about 2 miles,..I will map it and see and let you know for sure,...it was enough to get my heart rate up and to get Bogart in the focused mode.

Hi Beach and Laura,

I'm not doing so hot either.  I'm back to school and I have walked Sunny once which was Tuesday sadly enough.  We go out for at least 45 minutes each time we make it out and I think its at least 1.5 miles.  I usually go out with him on my "off" days when I'm taking a break from the workout equipment I have at home.  But I really want to push myself to walk him every night after work for at least a half hour to start.  But I just need to get back into a good school/work schedule.  I am going to shoot for my start date on Monday the 8th.  I don't know what I'm going to do about when it gets dark I haven't thought about it.  The time change will really screw me up for sure and I might be stuck with morning walks.

hey guys,...

so I am checking in to see how everyone is doing.  Sorry i have not been around much but Bogart hasn't had the best digestion action going on the last couple weeks if you know what I mean,....so I have been spending extra time preparing a bland meals and getting in more frequent shorter walks.  The good news,..He is doing much better and the whole thing offered me the chance to switch his food. 

Well,..how is everyone's dog walking going?  Are you getting them in?  I had a hard time this morning at 6:15am b/c of th elack of light,...just makes me feel vulnerable.  I got a little light with a safety siren button but it doesn't really make me feel much safer.  This morning was the first cool morning....it was nice but made me realize there are going to be some chilly winter morning walks.

If you have buddies that have dogs invit them to join the group,...themore the merrier!

so i just joined this group today, and my name is stephanie. i live in brookfield mass with my boyfriend and our 8 month old rottweiler. im trying to lose about 40-50 pounds, and im looking forward to meeting my thinner self. my dog loves to go outside and sniff everything out, and run around like crazy. he did chew through his leash though, so i think i need to get a new one before atempting to walk him! lol. i find exercise to be very difficult for me to stick to. i have tried a lot of things, the gym, jogging, walking and the like. i wasnt able to stick to any of them. i get really bored after a while with the same routine. any suggestions??

Hi Stephanie - I work in MA.  Where's Brookfield?  Out west? I work in Acton and my husband grew up in Boxboro.  We currently live in southern NH.  Long commute.  So it sounds like you got your hands full!!  A good friend of mine has a rotties actually 4 she rescues them.  Walking your new family member will help with the obedience plus help you as well.  Your new addition will look up to you more and more every time you take her or him (?) for a walk.  It's a good thing all the way around.  As far as routines go I just switch them around all the time.  Do you have any equipment or belong to a gym?  If so just rotate them; anything is better than nothing and eventually you will see the weight come off.  A good diet will help as well but don't deprive yourself!!  That doesn't work or at least it doesn't for me.  Good luck and join the challenge that beach has set up it can be fun!!

Lisa

 

Hi,

My name is Kathy. I am 52 yrs old, I'm a nurse practitioner, and I live in FL with my husband, 2 German Shepherds, 2 horses, and a cockatiel on 5 acres. I have always loved dogs and I have had at least one my whole adult life.

I also have had serious weight problem my whole adult life and have never been a standard weight--which has just gotten worse as I've gotten older. The one activity I've always loved is walking with my dogs. I'm not riding my horses currently because of my weight.

I am currently losing weight by counting calories and walking. I have a colleague at work who is a great mentor and we are working together. I have been walking with my dogs every weekend and during the week when I get home early enough. I walk with my friend 2 miles every evening after work at a course laid out in the basement of the hospital. That at least gets me walking though Rocky and Adrianne aren't getting the benefits. Luckily, they get exercise on our acerage. On the weekends, the kids and I walk 3-4 miles each day.

Welcome Kathy! Sonds like you are working hard to get lots of walking(16-18 miles a week!) in and watch the calorie intake.  It also sounds like you have a great froup of friends (both furry and not so furry) that are in it with you supporting you, which is always great!   So glad you and the pups joined us,...looks like there will be some serious competition in the walking challenge!  Good luck and keep up the great work!

Hello everyone, beach, asil, handprint,steph and everyone who I might have missed, my name is marla, I am 25 yrs, I have a 5 yr old son, and a 4 yr old pit, lab, chow mix,  a big perfect MUTT,  the love of my life.  I just joined CC about 5 days now and find it hard to exercise, I didn't even realize that walking my dog could be exercise even though the time is changing he is a great protector.  I got my furry friend from a neighbor who was moving and didn't want to take him with them.   I am going to start today by taking him to the park and walking him for about 1 hour or maybe more.  Goodluck everyone and please keep in touch. 

Hi Marla (aka "fatsoldier")

I had a dear chow/lab cross that I recently lost just this spring. Skeezix was 15 yrs old and a great and faithful friend. Enjoy him!.

 

I am sooo sorry about your loss,  I try not to think about loosing mine because just the thought alone has me in tears.  I like to think that he will out live meHe is a great dog but a bad walking partner.  I made the mistake today and took him walking with me, my goal was to walk with him for 1 hour, he didn't even last a good 30minutes.  He kept pulling and sniffing and trying to go play with other dogs.  I just got really frustrated and left the park after about 30 minutes. I was really looking forward to walking with him everyday. *Sigh* I guess plan B, keep walking on my own.

I would really recommend Ceasar Millan's show "the Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic. His training techniques have really helped me in getting my pair in sync. It's so much more enjoyable with them than without.

Last night I attempted the riding a bike with the dog.  there are some nights or mornings when i only have a half hour to exercise the dog, so I needed a way for him to get more activity than i give by walking.  We started by just walking beside the bike and that went pretty well, so I said what the heck and jumped on.  I kept the leash short but loose.  He caught on very quickly.  I made sure to not go to fast I think he really liked it!  Ears back, tail down and no sniffing,...i think he was in the zone.  We just have to work on not chasing squirrels,..that could lead to road rash pretty quickly!

That sounds like great fun. I haven't had the guts to try it. I have been really enjoying walking. Having Rocky and Adrianne with me helps me keep up the pace-they don't like to walk slow. I'm afraid we're going to run out of evening light soon. I live in the sticks--no street lights.