If you've been following the blog for a while, you probably remember last spring when Rita and I joined in the fun of K9 Kamp, with 4 weeks of fitness challenges sponsored by Koly of Kol's Notes and Kelly of Peggy's Pet Place.
We were so honored last year to receive two awards (Gopher Wrestling Champions** and the Beach Babes Award!), not to mention we won swag! This time, you can win swag too! Fun, right? Read on!
This year K9 Kamp works a little differently. Instead of just being one month long, K9 Kamp will be on-going. A new fitness suggestion for you and your pup will be presented once per quarter. It's no longer about a crazy "challenge" that you try for a week and then forget. It's about making a day in, day out commitment to keeping your dog in shape.
Another difference this year is that there will be featured bloggers participating, and Rita and I were thrilled to be asked to join in!
What is K9 Kamp??
If you're new to K9 Kamp, let me 'splain. Let's start with what it's not: K9 Kamp is not sleep-away camp. There's no need to pack, and you don't have to sew your name into your underwear or stock up on bug repellant. (Well, unless you live somewhere bug-y.) There will be no Kamp songs. (Unless Koly comes up with one - which he might. He's clever that way.) There will definitely be no ghost stories, and no one will dip your paw in cold water while you sleep.
Here's what K9 Kamp is: it's a way to spread the word about keeping your pup in shape and fighting pet obesity. K9 Kamp will suggest ways you can work to the best of you and your pup's ability to keep fit.
How I Keep Rita Fit
It's pretty simple, really: walking. Lots of walking! Rita is young (~2) and healthy and has a good bit of energy, so lots of long walks are perfect for her. As for me, I'm not young (sigh) but I'm (relatively) healthy and have a small bit of energy (as long as I'm properly fed and caffeinated) so walking works for me too. Used to run with the other pups, but my ankles and feet protest now when I try that so we just walk. Luckily we have a fabulous, huge off-leash park/beach where Rita can dip in the water and stay cool.
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| This is just one small stretch of beach at the park. |
All in, we figure Rita and I are walking a marathon a week! Rita's not really into fetching, and, as I said, I can't run much anymore, and hiking at this time of year is too hot for Rita, so we walk. And walk. And walk. Three times/week we meet up with friends at the beach, and when we walk at home, we have tons of different routes we take so we don't get bored.
What about you? What do you do to keep your pup fit?
But wait... there's more!
In addition to getting fit via K9 Kamp, you can win swag! There will be prizes for participating, with an exciting package of leashes, toys and more worth over $200!
Stay tuned and be sure to check out Kol's Notes and Peggy's Pet Place to find out what your assignment is and to learn more!
FitDog Friday
Obviously, K9 Kamp is a perfect pairing with FitDog Friday, so that's why you'll find Koli & Kelly and all of the other featured bloggers hopping along and sharing how we work at keeping our pets fit. (BTW... speaking of FitDog Friday, if you had the Slim Doggy App on your smart phone, you wouldn't have to estimate and do math like I did above. The app would tell you how many miles you walked. Cool, eh? But I have a dumb phone, so I have to do math.)
* Recognize this? It's from Groundhog Day.
** Hopefully this award will be retired this year. We don't want to be repeat winners (it wasn't that much fun the first time around), and we don't want anyone else to experience. (Well, the pups probably want to, but not the mommas.)
Have a fabulous fit Friday. Sounds like you have a whole bunch of different walks you can do. I just chase squirrels round my park.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Oh, chasing squirrels at the park is a great way to stay fit! Rita likes to chase gohpers.
DeleteHi Rita,
ReplyDeleteI'm in for K9 Kamp too (though I seem to keep dropping off the blog hop pics - weird?)
Anyway, I was just thinking, imagine if it really was a real Kamp, how cool would that be?
I'm impressed you walk a marathon a week - way to go! :
Have fun,
Your pal Snoopy :)
That would be super fun if it was a real kamp! If someone would hurry up and invent that "beam me up" technology, then we could do it!
DeleteOkay K9Kamper Rita, I can see you are going to be in for a challenge to fit in MORE walking than you already do! But since you are already a super fit kamper, I'm sure you are up to the job. Can't wait to hear how it goes! Thanks for being a part of Kamp this year!
ReplyDeleteYes, this challenge is going to be...well, challenging! But we'll figure it out!
DeleteI'd say Wilson and Jimmy walk about 2 miles each morning before I head to work. On the weekends we make it about 3 miles. We used to do a lot more, but Wilson is starting to slow down just a bit at age 10. They also don't like it when the days are warm, so they are less willing to go the distance. That's where swimming comes in! I work diligently at keeping them fit and slim. It is especially important for Jimmy since I ask him do so much jumping and climbing for agility training and trialing.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's hard to keep up the walks once the pups get older. Walking our beagle, Bailey, was NEVER excercise cuz she walked so slow sniffing everything.
DeleteSwimming is great exercise! I wish Rita would do it more - not just when I'm in there with her!
Rita - a dog after my heart - that stretch of beach looks great - you're one lucky dog! We're excited about Kamp too, although I was planning all sorts of pranks like you mentioned above - I think we would have been Kamp troublemakers ;) Thanks for joining the Hop and for the call out for the App! Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteRita LOVES that beach. Doggy Disneyland!
DeleteRita would love to join you and be kamp troublemakers! :)
What an amazing looking off leash beach! Happy Friday and see ya around K9 Kamp!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to kamping with you!
DeleteWish we had a beach nearby too. That looks awesome! See you at Kamp! (We love camp songs, ha!)
ReplyDeleteDiane and Rocco
We are pretty spoiled with our beach park. We know all the weekday regulars. It's fun.
DeleteWe used to run and play on the beach when we lived on the North Sea coast but here in Minnesota, not real beachy. We used to run too, but now mom runs alone and we all walk, and we walk a lot too. Looking forward to K9 Kamping with you!
ReplyDeleteRunning alone is probably best, if the pups aren't up for it - or if the pups run too fast! The hubs and I used to run with the beagle - he would run ahead as the "rabbit" and she would PULL me to keep up. It was exhausting!
DeleteWow, you are already doing great fitness...one day we'll get there ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, it shows for Rita. Especially since we walk a lot off-leash, so she runs like a maniac. I need to up the intensity a bit on my end. (Emphasis on "my end"!)
DeleteWhat a gorgeous stretch of beach! I would be all about walking if I had such a darn lovely spot to do it. Also, I don't know WHAT you've heard about kamp, but there will totally be kamp songs, there MIGHT be ghost stories, and I'm totally putting Koly's paw in water as soon as he falls asleep (so thanks for that!)
ReplyDeleteOoooo. Rita will look forward to the ghost stories. (She scares easily...)
DeleteI feel sorry for Rita. There was absolutely no mention of any margaritas at K9 Kamp :-( All that walking... and no margaritas?
ReplyDeleteOh, there are alway margaritas! And yesterday we pulled the first big batch of peachees off thee tree, so there will soon be peach margaritas!
DeleteWell I'm finally catching up on my reading and delighted to meet a fellow camper with the same routine as us. Oh how I wish we had a beach like that to walk on, but we have a small set of hiking trails close by and the dogs and I love it. I think the key to anyone keeping themselves fit is to find something they enjoy and stick with it.
ReplyDeleteDid you bring the Hershey bars or was that my job?
I brought the marshmallows! *You* were Hershey bars!
DeleteYes, so true - it has to be something you enjoy. You hiking trails sound great. We love to hike, but at this time of year it gets too hot for Rita. She really doesn't do well in the heat - and none of us do well getting up early!
Your beach looks amazing! Have fun at kamp ;)
ReplyDelete