CANINES FOR CARDIO
Dogs Are Your Exercise Alternative
As a temperamental teenager, I never wanted to wake up early and take the dogs out. When I did, shamefully looking back, I walked them for the bare minimum. Thankfully, they were Pugs, so elongated walks weren’t their thing to begin with, unlike the dogs my wife and I have had, who are a large breed and need hours of exercise daily.
Things got to the point that, in 1992, my Mother saw an ad in New York Magazine that she cut out and taped to my door. It was an ad of a dog holding its leash in its mouth with the headline, Think of Them As An Exercise Machine With Hair. The point of this posting on my door was to remind me that I could kill two birds with one stone. But, being that teenager, I wasn’t going to pay attention to what “the rents” had to say.
A LESSON LEARNED
I remember one morning using a specific expletive toward my Mother to voice my discontent with being woken up to walk the dogs and went back to sleep. The result was a bucket of ice water dumped on me to wake me up and prove a point. Then again, I’m not sure our cleaning lady appreciated having to clean up the water, let alone dry the mattress out, but the message was received loud and clear.
This brings me to my point today—having a dog in New York City is already costly, so why not kill two birds with one stone? Rather than going for that gym membership (which you know you won’t use after the first month anyway), why not adopt a dog? Not only do you get the amazing companionship and love that only a canine can provide, but you also save a life and get to work on your cardio, all at the same time!
SAVING A LIFE
Yes, dogs seemingly are that cardio alternative many have sought for years. So many people in our city loathe going to the gym but would be willing to walk their dog, or any dog, for hours. Case in point: I wouldn’t say I like getting on an exercise bike or treadmill, going for a run, etc. However, I walk Brioreo multiple times a day, every day, to total out hours. Do I run with her? No. That doesn’t mean I can’t. The point is that by combining two specific needs that every New Yorker has, companionship and exercise, you save their life and your own.
Once you get into a routine with a dog, it is tough to break out of it. Not only will the dog remind you that it’s time to get yourself off the couch, but your scale will also remind you!
I only have one request: if you follow my advice in combining the two needs of companionship and exercise, engage a dog trainer. Yes, I am serious. If you intend to go on runs with your dog, make sure you understand the idiosyncrasies of what that means in New York City. No matter how well trained, dogs can be distracted by the simplest things, like a skateboard or a rat running across the sidewalk. That can easily change your situation from a run on the river to an ambulance run to the hospital.
A real dog trainer can help you not only maintain your dog’s focus on runs but also help your dog address any behavioral issues related to the distractions mentioned above. Of course, I recommend contacting Pet Lifestyles Magazine’s Official Dog Training Partner, Kate Perry Dog Training (www.kateperrydogtraining.com). As you know, Pet Lifestyles Magazine is our sister publication, where Kate writes a column for every issue called Training For Both Ends Of The Leash.