Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

It Won't Kill Them To Miss A Day

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But it might kill them if you walk them.

That’s the conversation I had with Hubby last night about walking the dogs today.  Let me just say that Hubby’s not that big on walking the dogs.  Most days I walk them myself, in the park/woods at the top of our street.  Some days he will join us, but most times when I ask (even on the weekends) he prefers not to do it.  If I have a day where I can’t walk them at lunch or after work, I will ask him to walk around the block with me after dinner.   Most times he does this reluctantly.  It is only about an 18 minute walk, but it’s better than nothing.

Yesterday was the first day of summer and the eastern half of the country kicked it off in a big, hot, way.   Here in New England it reached into the upper 90’s and it was extremely humid.  Too hot even for my little grandson to start his first day of baseball. 🙁

There was no way I was going to walk the dogs at lunch.  I debated going to work late and walking them early but in the end decided to shoot for an around the block walk, after dinner.

We ventured out about 8:40 pm and it was still hot, so hot that both dogs were panting half-way thru the walk.  Back into the air conditioning we headed.  Delilah was still panting an hour later.

About 10 PM the dogs headed out for a last potty break before bed.  When I opened the door, it was still like opening an oven door.  I have no idea what the temperature was but it was ugly.

Once everyone was settled in bed, I debated our exercise for today.  Temperatures are expected to reach the high 90’s if not into the 100’s.  Since my niece is graduating from High School at 6:00 pm my choices for walking the dogs are very limited.  There is NO WAY I would walk them in the heat of the day, which leaves later in the evening with Mr. Reluctant or first thing this morning.

As the opening lines read, Mr. Reluctant feels it won’t hurt them to miss a day of exercise.

I disagree.

I opted for a quick 20 minute walk first thing this morning.  We were at the park at 6:40 am, and it was already 73 degrees outside.  Both dogs were panting by the end of the 20 minute walk, so we went home and I had them lie in the bedroom with the air conditioning on to help cool them off, and wait for their tummies to settle before getting their breakfast.

I’m not sure what time we’ll be back from graduation tonight so eating their breakfast a little late will work to my/their benefit, and I figure when I get home I can work a little with them on training.  Specifically Delilah on her drop it command.

I’m pretty sure she ate part of a potato in the field this morning.

How do you make adjustments to your exercise schedule when the weather just isn’t cooperating?

Simple

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How is it that sometimes the simplest things are what brings the most pleasure?

After a nice walk yesterday morning, Sampson spent the afternoon just enjoying a spring afternoon.

Our neighbor was outside working in his yard and apparently Sampson felt Kevin needed company.

I have to tell you, some of my favorite pictures of Sampson are of him outside, just enjoying life as we all should.

Enjoy what’s left of your weekend and make the best of your week!

A Year At The Park

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The  company I work for gives me Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday off.  While I love having a paid day off and have nothing against Dr. MLK, it irritates me that we don’t get President’s Day or Veteran’s Day off.   IMO our Veterans have done just as much (if not more) for this country as Dr. King.  But that’s not what this post is about.

I had today off.  It was a nice day off and started with breakfast with my nephew (the Veteran,) my mom, my sisters, my niece, one of my daughters and my son-in-law.

After breakfast and a quick stop at Ocean State Job Lots for some gluten-free goodies, it was time to walk the dogs.  I figured if I walked them early, I could spend the afternoon resting on the couch because I didn’t sleep so great last night.

As we walked up into the park, it suddenly occurred to me, that it was exactly on Dr. MLK day last year that I first began taking the dogs up to the park on a regular basis.  I started thinking of all the things I had learned while walking the dogs this past year and I thought it would be fun to highlight some of them.

Walking the dogs and letting them run for at least a half hour a day 3 to 4 times per week will result in weight loss.  For the dogs.  I still haven’t lost any weight. 🙁

Some dogs need to be on a leash, because they just cannot be trusted to return when called.

A dog on a 30 foot leash, even one who has lost a lot of weight, can cause a severe fall when she takes off across a wet field.

A piece of deer leg will not be given up easily, AND if you carry that piece of leg, your dog WILL be perfectly heeled at your side.

Even in woods close by your house, you can still get scared.  Especially if you have an active imagination. 🙂

Beauty is where you find it.

I’m sure there’s probably more and if I think of them I will recap them in my Follow-Up Friday post.

How was your day?  Did you have it off, or did you have to work?

Book Update:  1,268 words.

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