Thursday, May 17, 2012

2012 K9Kamp Challenge: Why Paige and I are Kamping...

A few days ago I read a post by my Facebook friend and writer, Peggy Frezon, about K9Kamp, which piqued my curiosity. Peggy explained that there would be exercise challenges each week for participants to complete with their dogs, and assured me I could modify them to fit my physical limitations. Another component of K9Kamp would involve blogging about our weekly challenge experiences. This sounded like fun, but there was another reason I decided to participate. 

Paige is prepared for "walkies" in all kinds of weather.
I've only had my dog Paige for about five months. She was a rescue, and was underweight when we adopted her; but at her last checkup, the vet said she'd filled out a little too much and needed to lose two or three pounds. I needed to lose...more, and had started doing Weight Watchers online. I was doing well with weight loss, but finding it difficult to exercise and was looking for a weight-loss/exercise buddy. I had just finished reading Peggy's book, Dieting with My Dog, and found it very inspiring. It was then that I thought perhaps my buddy could be Paige!

I originally began this blog as an extension of a print column I've written for over twenty years for a monthly newsletter. But shortly afterward, a year-long series of events, including the death of my service dog, Mindy, and two weeks later Paige's adoption, took a toll on my health which was already taxed by chronic pain and illness. So, I'd had to put the pet blog on the back burner. K9Kamp sounded like a great opportunity to revive "PetWise Online."

Is that a squirrel over there?
Paige is all muscle and, being a young dog (she's about three years old), has more energy than Mindy had, and certainly more than I have. Due to years of chronic pain, my body has become an alien entity that reacts to movement with pain and exhaustion. It has become very energy efficient, preferring inertia to exercise. So, while Paige's biggest challenge will be focusing on what we're doing (she's easily distracted), mine will be to tackle the exercises in a way that won't land me flat on my back in bed.

Both Paige and I have already taken some steps toward becoming more fit. I've cut back on her dog biscuits and substituted pieces of an orange or apple (without seeds) which she really enjoys. I also now limit her puzzle ball (filled with treats) to a couple of times a week as a meal replacement instead of every day in addition to meals. For myself, I've replaced high calorie desserts with fruit, increased intake of fruits and vegetables and cut back on carbs, and keep a food journal.

K9Kamp, here we come!
Paige has a lot of enthusiasm and enjoys the training I'm doing with her (basic obedience, as well as learning the service behaviors I need her to perform for me), so I'm sure she'll dive right in when we start the challenges. I'm a bit skeptical of my ability to keep up, but I'm willing to try. So, K9Kamp, here we come!

If you'd like to be part of the 2012 K9Kamp Challenge, you can get more information at these links:

Kol's Notes


Peggy's Pet Place




9 comments:

  1. What a cutie Paige is! We can wait to hear all about how you and Paige attack kamp and work within your own personal limitations! There's one challenge that I bet will be perfect :0) Thanks for kamping with us! Jodi, Kolchak & Felix - Kol's Notes

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    1. Thank you, Jodi. Since Paige was completely untrained when we got her, except for "sit," I'm incorporating basic obedience with our walking: heel, staying on my left, right turn, left turn, leave it, wait, etc. She has so much to learn, but seems to enjoy it. We're really glad to be part of K9Kamp!

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  2. Hi Donna and Paige! You have an awesome attitude. First of all, I want to say that I'm honored and pleased that Dieting with my Dog inspired you! It sounds like you are making great steps to help Paige get to the right weight. As you know from reading my book, I was doing all the same things, overfeeding, giving too many treats, etc. So switching to healthy treats, and becoming more active are the exact right steps! I definitely want you to be safe when you try out the challenges. If you need any help modifying the challenges, just let us know. In addition, our pawsome Featured Bloggers may have some ideas. Take it easy and have fun! p.s. I bet you can incorporate some of your service dog training into one of our upcoming challenges!

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    1. Thanks for the warm welcome to Kamp, Peggy. After being used to feeding a 100+ pound dog (Mindy), it's quite an adjustment to feeding one that's half her size! As I told Jodi, we have a lot of basic obedience training to do before doing too much on the service behaviors; but Paige enjoys learning...or maybe it's the training treats she likes. (j/k) We won't be the fastest walkers, and jogging/running are definitely out for me; but I know we both need movement, so we'll do what we can. Mostly, I just want it to be fun for both of us.

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  3. Hi Donna and Paige! Thanks for stopping by. It's JR, Baby Pom and my first year participating too so here's to lots of fun and exercise. I know I'm guilty of giving too many treats too. And the SO sneaks some in too!
    Whirlwind of Surprises

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    1. Hi, Cinny! Glad to hear from another first-timer! Paige doesn't sneak any treats, but she does ask for them sometimes; so I'm teaching her the sign for "all done." Fortunately, she's a quick learner. Hope you, JR, and Baby Pom have lots of fun with K9Kamp.

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  4. Paige is such a cutie! I hope you are having fun w/ K9 Kamp so far. Rita and I did a really good walk today. Looking forward to doing some new things this week instead of doing our usual walk routes.

    So sorry about your loss of Mindy. Thank you for the comment on my blog. Our Abby was also assumed to be a collie/shepherd mix, but probably smooth-coated collie with GSD or maybe Anatolian. She taught us so much.

    I would say I am like you - I need to have a dog in my life! They give us so much joy and the house is SO empty without a dog.

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    1. Hi, Jackie! Paige says "thank you" for the compliment. She loves to be groomed. After having come from a really bad situation with no grooming or vet care, she really appreciated being brushed and looking her best.

      Because of the heat and my back, we took today off from walking; but I'm hoping we can make up for it tomorrow. I'm looking forward to reading everyone's blog posts at the end of week one. Hope you're having a great week.

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  5. Looking forward to reading your Kamp posts!

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