Fido's fitness

The other night, I was catching up on my Guideposts magazines (another gift from my mother-in-law), reading about a woman who decided that both she and her dog needed to lose weight. The story went something like this: the woman worked from home and the dog would sit at her feet all day. Every time she decided she wanted a snack, which usually was convenient but not healthy, she would give her dog a treat as well. Unhealthy eating habits and a sit-around-a-lot lifestyle meant they both needed to lose a few pounds.

While the tale was heartwarming, and the woman and her dog lost 47 pounds by going for walks and watching their portions, I kept thinking about how Lucy would never tolerate this. She'd be stir-crazy if she never got out of the house. (I'd be crazy, too!)

So at the end of the article, there's a side story about how to "get fit with Fido." It suggests small ways to get your sedentary dog moving again, one of which was "move your dog's bowl upstairs so he'll have to climb to supper." I read this to Chad and he laughed out loud. One flight of stairs would do absolutely nothing for our dog.

To add a bit of context here, Lucy runs up and down the stairs several dozen times a day. She also gets at least two walks, one at noon when our friend Cathy comes over lunch and one when we get home. We grab her bowl when it's time for dinner, upon which time she runs down to the basement, waits by the closet door while we walk down and fill her bowl, and runs back upstairs to wait again. (If you're taking too long, she'll run back down to figure out what the hold-up is as well.) And she's still got enough energy for all three of us. Some days, I have to admit, I'd take Fido!