This has been a banner couple of weeks for pet misbehavior. Brody really brought his A game this month. It’s a miracle he didn’t need some sort of ER visit, truly.
Now, I know this is my fault for not making him tired enough. He’s been off because of all the changes in his routine, and I’ve been travelling, sick, and doing all sorts of things that don’t include giving him enough exercise, so that the smallest insults such as leaving the house for half an hour leave him with no choice except to wreak havoc.
So this year, the New Year’s Resolution is easy: give him more outlets to burn off his extreme Golden energy. It’s actually a great opportunity for me to try out all the things I’ve been wanting to do with him anyway, such as:
- a couch to 5K
- paddleboarding
- refine our surfing technique. We could definitely use a few more lessons. 😉
If I can find the right people to help me out, I’d like to dabble in some other things as well:
- agility (we have so many trainers in our area- should be easy)
- doga
- urban mushing
The last one is a little iffy. I can see that turning into a news headline: “Golden and veterinarian plucked from ocean after plunging off seaside cliff in tragic scooter/harness contraption upon spotting a seagull”, that sort of thing. Maybe we should stick to the couch to 5K.
Either way, health and wellness are on the 2012 agenda for sure. What about you? Any New Year’s resolutions or just fun things you want to give a go in the new year?
I would love to do agility with my dog, but I am going back to school so should probably start out small. I will spend more time taking her for walks/runs and in the summer do more agility type stuff with her. Make sure all my pets get their scheduled checkup and are taken good care of. Other than that most of my goals revolve around me, school, and travel. This will be a great new year!
Hadn’t ever thought of resolutions for Gilbert, though I know he would love some additional training/agility. And there is a mushing group around here – I am subscribed to the SD offleash meetup group, and there’s someone from a mushing group that posts walks and hikes (SD Siberian Husky meetup group?). Do it! There’s a dude in my neighborhood that has several huskies/samoyeds and has a sled on wheels and I’ve seen him rolling through the neighborhood and it cracks me up.
I think I know the person who runs the urban mushing- she has two or three gorg huskies. I need a picture of the guy on the sled, btw. 🙂
agility is an excellent idea! (but you knew i was going to say that.) the nice thing about it is that it’s challenging to the mind as well as exercising the body. just starting out is a challenge to learn all the obstacles and then the better you get, the more difficult it is. my dogs chill in the car on the way home, thinking about everything they just did and processing it all. just make sure you find a training place that emphasizes fun for the dogs. you want to make it a good experience!
Awesome ideas! I think we are doing quite well in the exercise department (though I love your ideas and might try some of these things); my plan for 2012 is taking a dog nutrition course.
Any one of these would probably be fantastic for you and Brody 🙂 Be sure to keep us in the loop on any good stuff (I know you will), and if you have an opportunity to learn more from Mr. Super(hot) Surfer, please share 😉
Yes, I need another lesson, but only if I can have that one instructor because he was so talented. 😉
If my Newf’s leg manages to heal up, I really want to get him carting. I’ve also been considering agility with my little mutt of doom.
As I recall, San Diego is rather flat … you might want to look into Skijooring. It’s rather nifty and it’s something you can do on rollerskates if you have the coordination to do so (which I wouldn’t… >.<)
That’s kind of like mushing, right? I think me on rollerblades would quite possibly be disastrous. LOL.
Yes, it’s “mushing” without the snow. It’s combining cross country skiing with dogs and, if you don’t have snow, roller skates/blades. I know wheels would be a disaster for me, but at least you get to keep the skiing poles to help keep you upright …
Agility is fun, we have been doing that for a couple years. This year we are focusing on flyball because my dog just loves it. I’m hoping by the end of the year I’ll be able to say I have the best flyball bulldog in the world! Everyone loves watching a bulldog do flyball and someone even said it was an inspiration to them because it is so untraditional. I wish we had surfing here, it looks like so much fun 🙂
As a way to get a little more exercise/running every day I feed my dog her supper as treats for doing a homemade agility course that I have set up in my yard.