K9Kamp Challenge 3-- Doggone Minute to Win it

Grabbing a fun fitness moment crawling under a bench in the park.

This past season, the reality TV show The Biggest Loser focused on different excuses for not exercising. The one I related to most was "I don't have time." ie: " I'm too busy to work out." "I can't walk the dog AND get in my own routine as well."


Now we will take a lesson from another TV show, Minute to Win it, which featured quick, fun games using items you could find around the home. That's the idea of our Week 3 challenge. We'll spend the week focusing on quick fun challenges that only take a minute or so each. All those minutes will really add up. Are you ready?

This week, whenever you find a few spare moments, take the opportunity to initiate some fun fitness activity with your dog. Here are some ideas.
A minute of:
1. Fetch-- make sure you get some running in too!
2. Climbing/running stairs
3. Tug of war
4. Keep away
5.  Chasing around the house or yard
6.  You and your dog (along with your husband, child, neighbor or whoever) play monkey in the middle
7. Play roughhousing-- if your dog likes it
8. Walk in place during the TV commercials (bonus points if you actually get your dog to do this with you, lol).
9. Toe touches in between cooking or doing dishes. On your way to touching your toes, be sure to pat your dog!
10. Recall practice. While you have your dog on "stay," sneak in a few jumping jacks or squats for yourself.


Aim for 10 minutes a day. End the day with a cool down and nice belly rub!

I bet you can think up a few more ideas of your own. What activities can you and your dog do in a minute? Check out more really cool ideas from Kol's Notes too. Report back next Thursday for our blog hop too.

And don't forget to check out our prize page. You can enter now to win great prizes like leather collars, plenty of dog toys, fitness toys, and even my book Dieting with my Dog! And if you do all 4 challenges and fill out our Rafflecopter, you will get a free copy of the great summer issue of Modern Dog! There are dozens of great prizes and lots of ways to enter.

Have a fun week. You're doing great, Kampers!

Fetching, Catching and Chasing Around Blogville

Here I come!

Throw it again! Throw it again!

 Have you been k9kamping with us? If not, it's never too late!

You can join in at any time. Just look for our next challenge, tomorrow, and then complete the exercise on your own time over the course of the week.

This week was Challenge Week 2, Play with your Balls. (I know, I know.) Keep reading to see how we did!














  








How did Kelly, Brooks and I do this week?
Well this one was pretty easy for Brooks. He LOVES to fetch his tennis ball, and he won't stop pestering me until I throw it again and again and again!

While he was off chasing, I jogged around in place and kept the feet moving and heart pumping. Great! So I'd say we both got in pretty good workouts. Wait, you ask. What was Kelly doing while Brooks was off chasing tennis balls?
well...
hmmm....
let me see now....

Ball? I don't see no stinkin' ball.

Kelly subscribes to one of our favorite K9Kamp 2011 games, Fetch it Yourself, otherwise lovingly dubbed "Go Fetch Yourself." (Who was it who came up with that name, anyway?) She wasn't overly thrilled about exerting herself just to get a mouth full of grass and some dirty fuzzy felt between her teeth. 'Even if we did get her a nice pink tennis ball. After a few chases, she was done.

How did our Kampers do? The results are in! Check out how Koly from Kol's Notes did this week.
And, click on the links and see how our Featured Bloggers did on Week 1.

     

        

 And, if you were joining in at home too, link up and tell us about your experience. We want to hear!

Don't forget, we've got fantastic dog and fitness prizes too! It's super easy. Just follow the link to enter to win great k9kamp prizes like dog collars and leashes, dog toys, books and more!




Grab the linky code too.
get the InLinkz code

Wednesday Pet Roundup, Sunshine Edition

Nice day for a walk!

Hi and welcome to Wednesday Pet Roundup!

* Nice story: ABC News reports that a stray dog ran 1,100 miles with a team of cyclists over 25 days. Find out what happened to the dog after the race.

* Beware of jerky treats. Nearly 1,000 dogs are now sick. Find out more about recalled brands of jerky treats.

*More pet food recall. Diamond cat food now affected.

* There is a winner in the Guinness Book of World Records category for largest puppydog eyes. First guess.....then see which breed of dog won for world's largest puppydog eyes!

* From The Frisky, an Israeli man divorced his wife after refusing to continue living with her 550 cats.

* k9kamp is going strong! Check out the results of week 2, "Play with your balls" on Thursday, and a brand new challenge for Week 3 on Friday! And enter to win dozens of fantastic prizes like leashes, toys, books and more!

That's all the news for today. I hope you enjoy some sunshine with your dog, cat, or favorite pet. 

Our boy is graduated!

Kelly and Brooks are so excited and proud! Their boy graduated from college this weekend.

He has a degree in Information Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is now a database engineer at Treo Associates.
Congratulations Andy!

Real Life Dog and Me Fitness Classes

Brooks likes to help me get fit.

How many times have you said, "I wish I could take my dog to the gym with me."?
or
"I don't have time to get in my own exercise AND exercise the dog every day."

Well believe it or not, there are some real solutions to this problem. Of course, you can walk or jog with your dog. Pooch to 5k is a great place to start. It's not a camp you can go to, but an amazing running program for you and your dog that you can follow along online, get some great tips and encouragement. And who knows, you might soon find yourself and your dog running a 5k!

There are also fitness camps, classes and programs for people AND pets. Kind of like a real life K9Kamp! Check these out:

1. Doggy & Me Fitness, various locations in California.  Workouts include walking, jogging, strength training, hill work, and stair climbing, all with your leashed dog at your side. Sessions end with stretching for you and treats for your pup!

2. Leash Your Fitness also of California, offers cardio, balance, strength, dog yoga, and special fun events. Classes include a boot camp and running club. The website is very well designed and gives answers to all your questions!

Leash Your Fitness

3.  Thank Dog Boot Camp  unites a workout for people along with obedience classes for dogs. Locations in California, Cleveland Ohio, Boston Massachusetts, and Toronto.

4. FitDog in Austin Texas includes cardio, agility, speed, muscular endurance, balance and flexibility. The camp's goal is to increase fitness and strengthen bonds.

When I wrote Dieting with my Dog, I was about as far away from this concept as you could get. I didn't exercise with myself, much less with Kelly.  At first, just short walks around the block were all I could manage. And I wasn't a hundred pounds or more overweight, I was just seriously out of shape. Well, to be honest, I probably never was in shape. At least not since I was in college. And that was...well, a couple few dozen years ago.

After I got active and took off the weight I learned that I had to KEEP active. Yeah, that was a difficult lesson. Classes like these would be a lot of fun. And that's why Koly and Kelly's K9Kamp is a lot of fun too! Getting out and doing something different, knowing others are joining in and blogging about it makes getting fit almost painless!

Have you ever joined a Dog and Me type fitness class? If not, would you join if one was located close by?

**While you're all busy signing up for bootcamp or making plans to do some exercising with your dog, you might need some supplies. Check out Kol's Notes today for Essential Products for Active Pups.

***And, do you know where else you can get some fun toys and supplies for you and your dog? Just follow the link here to go to our k9kamp prize page. It's quick and easy to sign up and you won't believe all the great things you can win....leashes, harness, toys, books and even a Nike+ sports band!