Spring has Sprung! For some, the winter weather is still lingering.
With long and harsh winter, many dogs were cooped indoors. For sure you and your dog can’t wait to get out for outdoor fun adventures.

Most of the snow in our area has melted. Sugar is so glad to see the ground/grass. Sugar and I welcomed the time change for the season. Horray for more daylight! We both love when it’s sunny as we can enjoy playing more outdoor fun.
Sugar, 12 year old senior dog, remains active. Sugar continues to enjoy activities involving “speed”, such as running and a game of fetch.
For the past days, we’ve resumed our outdoor workout.
Here are 7 Tips for Getting Back Into Working Out With Your Dog

1) Start SLOW – Walking is the best way to start.

2) Walking is the beginning stage of running. If you and your dog enjoy running, do INTERVALS of walk n run. Start with a 5 minute brisk walk then gradually proceed, 2 minutes of walk and 1 minute run. When you and your dog feel comfortable, increase your running minutes. A 5 minutes (or more) cool down walk is always recommended.

3) If your dog loves Fetch Play, bring his/her favorite toy. Make fetch play as your break from your walking or running.

Sugar recently enjoyed a Fetch Play with her new Smiley Banana toy. It was a bit muddy on the field, her new toy got dirty. She ended her fetch play at the basketball court. Check out the 15sec video below.
goldenwoofs’s video on Instagram

Embed by embedinstagram.com

4) Boost your dog’s workout with K9FITvest, a wearable fitness apparel that helps to increase the intensity level of any dog’s activity. For more information about K9FITvest, check out our previous post Canine Senior Staying Fit with K9FitVest.

5) If your park has hills, take advantage of it. Hill Climb accelerates your workout and a fun running alternative.

6) Always CHECK you Dog’s Health condition before and after your workout. Check with your vetenerian if you have any concerns.

7) Make your workout with your dog FUN! Happy Dog = Healthy Dog

Do you practice yoga? Yoga is a Sanskrit terms that means “uniting”. The practice of yoga was originated in India. Yoga is a practice of physical and mental discipline. Nowadays, it is a form of exercise. My mom practices several kinds of yoga, Yin, Ashtanga, and Bikram. She is a yogini. I practice Yin Yoga with her. I am a dogini.
If you follow me on Instagram, last December, you saw 2 preview videos of my Yin Yoga practice (video 1, video 2). Yoga with your dog is a growing trend.

What is Yin Yoga? Yin yoga is a slow paced yoga, where you hold poses for 3 to 5 minutes. There are no wrong poses as you do what’s feel good for your body. As an active dog, Yin is a perfect yoga practice for me. It helps me relax.

Yes, I have my own yoga mat. My mom guides me with the poses using simple basic commands like sit, down, relax, bow, and side.

Sounds strange but dogs are made for yoga.
Maybe you are unaware but your dog is actually doing common yoga poses. Downward-facing yoga pose is a common doggy stretch or bow.

Yin Yoga by Sugar can be viewed also on Golden Woofs You Tube channel

Should you try practicing yoga with your dog? Yoga with your dog is beneficial for you and your dog’s health. It’s a pawsome special bonding time too.

Since January is Train Your Dog Month, we will do a “How To” post:
Teach Your Dog to Unroll a Yoga Mat.

Lots of Golden L♥VE n Woofs
SUGAR

Check our 1/31 post on: How To Teach Your Dog To Unroll A Yoga Mat

Last week posts, Canine Senior Staying Fit with K9FITvest generated much curiosity, comments and questions.We asked Krista Wickens, co-owner/founder of PetZen Products/DogTread, to provide us more information about the K9Fitvest.

What Is The K9FITvest?
The K9FITvest is designed to help dog owners; as well as canine fitness and rehabilitation professionals, increase (or rehabilitate) a dogs level of fitness simply by wearing it. It is the only functional canine sports apparel that includes the benefits of resistance training, sensory integration, cooling and safety all in one design.

The K9FITvest uses a combination of strategically placed resistance weights and compression to improve a dog’s muscle strength, endurance and body awareness while being worn during exercise. No training is required to use the vest – in other words the dog does not have to learn a new trick. Guidelines for wear time and strength building are included with each K9FITvest. It is specifically designed to ramp up fitness and can be worn and used during any type of activity that you and your dog enjoy.

How does the K9FITvest work?
The most common method for enhancing strength is resistance training. Resistance training increases strength by making the skeletal muscles work against an opposing force. The K9FITvest uses controlled weight-resistance as the opposing force to challenge and strengthen a dog’s body throughout the entire range of motion during any exercise that is performed when it is worn. The dog’s body in turn responds by strengthening and burning more calories.

How Should the K9FITvest Fit?
It should fit snug and hug the body tightly. The snug fit ensures the weights do not shift and slide. The compression design also aids in body awareness. The snug fit and weight has been used to aid with posture and has been known to provide a calming effect. It helps dogs to engage their core and postural muscles.

Is the K9FITvest Good for Dogs with Arthritis?
Arthritis is a progressive degenerative joint condition that causes inflammation and pain. Goals for arthritic clients include pain management, improving range of motion and increasing strength. Increasing the strength of the muscles surrounding the joints can help alleviate pressure on the arthritic joint. The K9FITvest has been used to help increase muscle strength for arthritic patients.

Is the K9FITvest Good for Puppies?
We recommend using the K9FITvest resistance feature on dogs that have closed growth plates. Typically 18-24 months. However, the K9FITvest may be used without weights or just with the Gel Packs to help calm puppies. The compression qualities of the vest can help provide better focus during training.

Can Cats Wear The K9FITvest?
There a few cats testing the vest, but the design was created for dogs. The weight parameters should be adjusted to accommodate a feline frame.

Is the K9FITvest Hard to Use?
No training is required. In other words, your dog does not need to learn a new trick to use it. Simply put it on and then participate in your favorite activity. Start with a few minutes every other day in the beginning and build time, intensity and repetition of exercises gradually and progressively.

My dog has Hip Dysplasia – Can I Use the K9FITvest?
For mild cases and early detection the K9FITvest has been used both with and without weights. Strengthening and developing the hind muscles will assist the dog later in life and prolong activity. It is important to reduce jumping as well as sudden stops and starts for dogs with hip dysplasia.

I Don’t Know Much About Canine Resistance Training – Where Do I Start?
It is important to have 
a well-rounded fitness program which includes resistance training to improve joint health, muscle, tendon and ligament strength; as well as cardio, balance and flexibility exercises. Check out DogTread’s site for variety of K9FITvest detailed exercises.

We hope this post has provided you more information about K9FITvest and answered most of the questions from our previous post.
For an expanded version of this post, visit DogTread.
Many Golden Thanks to Krista Wickens.

Disclaimer: DogTread provided Sugar with K9FITvest. DogTread gave GoldenWoofs permission to recreate their “What is the K9FITvest?” infographic image. Golden Woofs believes the health benefits of K9FITvest and glad to share information with our readers. Golden Woofs did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.

Lots of Golden L♥VE n Woofs
SUGAR

I am an active healthy senior dog. I Golden Enjoy Lots of FUN workout play.
A month ago, I shared my stair exercise video and introduced a FUNctional fitness apparel, K9FITvest by DogTread.
Many of you have asked what is a K9FITvest?

K9FITvest is a wearable fitness apparel that helps to increase the intensity level of any dog activity. K9FITvest increases endurance, burns calories, builds strength, assists on body awareness, enhances flexibility, aids in the prevention of arthritis and helps reduce anxiety.

The K9FITvest is designed to fit form-fitting like a glove to your dogs body.
It is designed not to move and/or slide. K9FITvest provides a gentle hug and pressure.

I typically wear the K9FITvest during stair exercise, with the main purpose of maintaining muscle strength and endurance. According to my mom, wearing the K9FITvest has given me extra energy and speed. I am her stair buddy workout. I am helping my mom prepare for a stair climb event. Next week, she’ll be climbing one of the tallest buildings in Chicago. She’ll be on her own as no dogs are allowed.

Nowadays, it’s cold and the daylight is getting shorter. With the K9FITvest, my late afternoon/evening walk(hills walk) in the park become a Power-Walk. I do several warm up stretches before I start. Hind Stretch is one of my favorite and its PAWsome for my back, neck and hind limbs. So lucky to find a permanent rock that can assist me with this stretch. The sit to down (aka doggy push up) is another favorite strengthen warm up I often do which helps prepare my muscles and joints.

Why would a senior dog like me wear a K9FITvest?

As a senior dog, I don’t wear the K9FITvest at all times. K9FITvest provide a low-level therapeutic approach to canine resistance training, also known as strength training. As a senior dog, it is important for me to do activities designed to maintain bone strength, muscle tone and stamina. I don’t need much resistance, the K9FITvest helps overall with my body awareness.

Will definitely plan to do more post with the K9FITvest.

Disclaimer: DogTread provided Sugar with K9FITvest. Golden Woofs did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.

Lots of Golden L♥VE n Woofs
SUGAR