I look in the mirror and I see...My dogs

These last few days I have been working the oh so dreaded day shifts. That means 3:30 am wake ups and dragging my ass out of bed and rolling into work for a full day of "serving the public". This morning the alarm went off and I was woken up to some oldies tune (the thought of waking up at that time to something with a beat may just cause too much anxiety). I roll out of bed unwillingly and as always is my faithful Rugby is at my side and Kona is at my feet. I am not a morning person by any means; 3:30 am is just downright not okay with me and what I find more amusing, is that neither do my dogs. 

I have only had Kona now 4 months and I have no idea what past he had before he made the trip up from Michigan. What i do know though is that he is in no way a morning dog! For that matter none of my dogs have ever been. Do they tolerate it?- yes maybe for the bowl of food waiting for them; do they like it? No. All it would take is the look of disgust on Kona's face looking up at me as if to say "are your frickin kidding me? its 3:30 am". He refuses to move that time of the morning, eventually after yell-whispering "Kona lets go" a few times he decides to move from his warm bed.

All my dogs past and present are very much like me in my habits, I guess there is some truth to the old saying your become like your mate. I ask a lot of my dogs with my long shifts, the ever changing schedule, the inconsistent feeding times, and the walks at all crazy times of day/night. I am ever so grateful that they are like me and think a day should start at 10:00 am, and the common nap is so underrated in today's society. I am so thankful that my dogs don't wake me up at 6:00 am every day because they want to be fed, or they decided its walk time. I'm more than okay with my easy, go with the flow, lazy companions sleeping beside me when the rest of the world is out discovering the day at the break of day, as I hit snooze for the 9th time.

One more early wake up Kona and then back to "normal" again... 

Swimming Dogs BEWARE

This is a warning to all that use swimming as an exercise for your dogs to get in shape..... Today I took Rugby and Kona to the Grand River to swim out their excess energy; I had my coffee, they bounced in the river banks and fought the fast current. For a good 45 minutes they chased sticks in the water, watched the water foul take flight, and had a wonderful old time.

Kona, my rescued Rottie, has just discovered that swimming is just about the best thing in the world besides maybe pizza crusts and his daily walks. What he doesn't get though, is that although river water is SO much fun to play in- it is not meant to be gobbled up in large doses!! All went well Rugby and Kona both got pulled into shore, had their Timbit treat, and had a leisurely afternoon of play.

BUT THE STORM BE A BREWING IN THE TUMMY OF KONA....ARRRR

So I'm relaxing from my crazy day and just chilling on the couch, the turbulent tummy storm of Kona hit right about the time when I'm getting sleepy. I got the wake up call i never want again; had I any wallpaper it would have been falling off the walls. This big pile of sweet dog has turned (in less then 12 hours) to a foul smelling brewery of dog tootery!!! I had to leave the room it was so rotten.

I will give him that being a Rottweiler he has no muffler (aka tail) but what really puzzles me the most in all of this is....

How is it that dogs have one of the most keen sense of smells of all animals - and yet Kona didn't even lift his head once during the stench storm....

Add another scrap to the bowl...

Just a quick update on what is going on behind this blog, outside of juggling a full time job, my two fuzzy pups, and holding onto what seems a diminishing social life... I am starting to put together my fitness classes. The primary reason to starting this site was to develop fitness classes that can be done anywhere in the world, with the only one piece of equipment -your dog!

I am hoping to launch my first class at the end of September 2008 and then be off and running from there. My classes will focus on burning fat, getting into that smaller pair of jeans (or collar for the pups) and doing it safely, plus a throwing a whole lot of fun into the mix. The classes are designed for a group setting but can be done individually as well. You will better bond with your dog, they will learn fun new skills, and both of you will no longer be "a little thick in the middle".

Keep checking in for updates to the launch date, and if you are interested in trying a free class contact me at dogfitness@gmail.com for info...

........until then you will have to keep pacing

Up the crick

Well me and Rugby have returned from our outdoor adventure in Algonquin park. We paddled 5 km, portaged 1.2 Km (twice) and paddled another Km only just to reach the campsite. We spent 4 days ruff'in it and we are only just recovering. Rugby proved to be a far better swimmer (part otter i swear) and spent hours just chasing sticks and doing laps in Rain Lake. She swam, played, dug, ran, and just enjoyed her 4 days with her best buddies Phelan, Irwin, Oakley, Pilot, and her new friends Viaduct and Robbie. Her feet are battered and her energy tank is depleted. My body is covered in bug bites and has still not stopped itching.

The dog paddling adventure tour was hard on us humans as we did all the work, but, was probably the highlight of Rugby's life. I got to fight mother nature and all the wonder she created in Algonquin Park - all while bonding with my best friend Rugby and my best friends of the human kind. It truly was an adventure worth trying.

Arranged camp trip..... $385.00

Cottage for a night......$50.60

Bug spray and Bandages..... $12.00

A trip bonding with friends and dogs..... PRICELESS

Sleeping dog awakes

I have been on night shifts so my blog and web page have suffered the brunt of it. I am on days off now and packing up to go camping in the Algonquin Rain Lake.Off for a 4 day adventure.

Me and 4 of my best pals and our dogs are going camping, canoeing, and portaging in the bush (well they are making our meals and bringing tents for us- so ruffing it is a term used loosely).This is a great way to bond with your dog, relax from the hustle and bustle of work ,and catch up with friends. There will be new people there to meet too and all the dogs are off leash.

The pack mentality for the dogs will be in full force and a chance to really test their obedience (please no bears).rarrrrrrI will be writing lots when I get back and be taking tonnes of pictures.

Check out the site its year round adventure for you and your dog and a fantastic way to keep in shape!http://www.dogpaddlingadventures.com

Catch you in a few days...

And so the beast grows

I will start to get back onto track about educating you about fitness with your pets. Right now I am developing my layout for this blog. I have added the easy to add RSS feed button, and my newest corner the "silly tails". Keep checking in here to peek into what i deal with everyday as a Police Officer. There will be mostly funny stories to help put not only my life, but, YOUR life into perspective of how good we really got it!

This actually happened

I've been off saving the streets from the criminals, so its left me little time to write this week. I was enjoying my powerwalk this morning with my 2 pups and the funniest thing happened to me (and its not the first time).

I was walking up the street and a huge dump truck stops across the street from me and is yelling something, I look over and the driver is trying to get my attention. He has cars waiting behind him so I figure it must be important to totally impede traffic.

He yells to me (and this is the truth)....Hey I have a female Rottweiler and I'm looking for a male to breed it to. That's a male right?"

Me: "yes it is"

Him: " Well I'm looking to breed her so do you want to get them together?" I HAVE NEVER MET THIS GUY and the traffic is just piling up behind him.

Me: " NO, my male is neutered".

He just said "aw crap" and drove off.

Like the late Bob Barker said "Please keep the animal population down, please spay and neuter your pets". This is not only for the sake of the millions of backyard bred animals born every year that are unfortunately euthanized due to over crowded shelters; but also so idiots like this guy today can't reproduce their pets for a quick $100.00 per pup and call himself a breeder!