My Dog is Out of Shape

My poor dog. She used to be the center of attention, the highlight of the room. Then we had kids. Now she's suffering from 4 years of sporadic walks and staying at home instead of going on trips. We never intended for this to happen, but when you have kids your priorities shift and your time just disappears. It takes a full time effort just to make dinner instead of go out, let alone go for evening walks.

For our dogs sake (as well as our own) we've been trying to remedy this. In the evenings Kristin has been strapping on rollerblades and pushing the jogging stroller while I run beside her with the dog. Ryka can make it for about a mile before she gives up. The pace isn't that intense, but she's getting old and she hasn't done this sort of thing enough lately.

Kristin is out of town this week so I'm taking the opportunity to train my dog a little. We just returned from a 3 mile walk/run. I took her out on a back trail and let her loose while I ran ahead. This gave her more flexibility of pace. She kept up with me for the first 1 1/2 miles, but as soon as I turned around and headed for home, she started walking. I walked with her for a while to let her catch her breath, then ran again. We did this for the remainder of the run. Now she's lying on the floor panting her heart out. I don't want to push her too hard because she is out of shape and getting up in years.

One thing's for certain. Regardless of how tired she gets, she's always happier after getting out.