Today my Noah is three! Wow! Time flies, doesn't it! I remember just a few years ago, wondering how I was ever going to commit to raising a dog for two years, minimum. I've learned so much since then. About dogs, about life. I've gained patience. Learned to clean up poo with a good attitude. Had new experiences. My love's grown. I've learned tools that can help me later in life. I'm so glad God made dogs! Aren't you? He made them to bring us joy and comfort, to teach us and to help do jobs. And Noah does just that. Happy Birthday Noah Boa!
♥ Girl The definition of Exercise is: "The activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit." To Girl it means: "Tire Noah out." To me it just means fun with Girl! Girl has found a way a "new" way to exercise together... bike riding. It's true! Girl and I go on bike rides together! Well, she rides the bike and I just jog along beside her. (By the way, don't tell her I told you this, but it's the only way she can keep up! Ha! I'm sooo much faster than her!) But before we start, I have to stretch. First Girl helps me stretch my front legs... (Pick up leg at elbow, hold straight out for 10 seconds each) And then my back legs... (Pick up leg at stifle or thigh, hold straight out for 10 seconds each) The last stretch is a "bendy body" stretch... (Use food or "Touch" to lure dog into a C shape, stay for 10 seconds, repeat the opposite way) I try to touch Girls hand but NOT to spin in circles. Girl and I learned these stretches at an Agility class. Agility is so much fun! I'll have to write another time to tell you all about it! Now that I've stretched (now you know how to stretch your own dog too!) we can go! (we don't go too fast at first, something about "getting warmed up".) If we want to go faster, Girl says to me " 3-2-1 GO!* " and I break into my gallop. Girl said it feels like I'm flying next to her. I'm so smooth and sleek. She has to pedal hard to keep up sometimes. We go bike riding about 4 times a week or so, give or take a rainy day. One time Girl decided we were going to go on a looong bike ride. We were going along with "Missy" (Ivy's girl) to their aunts house to deliver some farm fresh eggs. Going there was fine! The longest bike ride I'd ever gone on before was 1, maybe 1 1/2 miles long, the total miles for this bike ride was 7!!! When we arrived and delivered the eggs (only a few broke), their aunt gave me a bowl of water because Girl and Missy had only brought lemonade. (I tried some and it was disgusting!) Then we turned around and slowly started home. Girl had me walk in the grass some of the time to give my paws a break from the pavement. She also made us take short breaks... a fact I didn't love. At each of the last 3 breaks I gave a short, whiny bark, because I wanted to hurry up and go home. At one of the stops we sat in some grass and across the road from us were some cows, who wandered over to their fence to stare at us with their big, googly cow eyes. When we started again, the cows followed us to the end of their pasture and watched us ride away. The last mile was the longest because Girl made us go even more slowly and take our time. When we arrived home, Girl let me have a small drink and then put me into the cool dry tub and gave me some ice cubes. And she put a fan blowing on me to cool me down. I slept a lot after that ride! We still go for bike rides, just not as long. ♥ Noah P.S. I'm still faster than Girl! Ha! Hey everyone! Girl here! I just wanted to add to what Noah said:
~ Tips for Safe & Successful Bike Rides With Your Dog~ 1. If you decided to bike ride with your dog, please, please be careful! Noah and I aren't professionals and life is short. Watch out for cars and always assume cars aren't watching out for you when you're on a bike. 2. Work up slowly to long bike rides, to prevent over exercising your dog and having him/her get hurt. 3. Bring water along when you go for long bike rides. 4. Make sure your dog isn't scared of the bike. Give treats around the bike a few different times to get your dog used to being around it. Walk beside the bike with your dog heeling giving more treats. I would suggest keeping the first 5-8 rides very short. We started in our drive way. 5. If you can, avoid busy roads. 6.While I am able to give Noah treats while I ride, it can be tricky. Only do what YOU and YOUR DOG are comfortable and safe with. ~~~ To train and help keep our bike rides safe, Noah wore his obedience collar and his Halti (some people use Gentle Leaders) but the Halti wasn't hooked to his obedience collar or a leash. I attach to itself, instead of a collar and don't put a leash on it. The leash is attached to his obedience collar. With the Halti on Noah is less likely to put the leash in his mouth and pull. Here is a video link about the Gentle Leader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y3sjc1yY50 Here is a video link about the Halti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYOFdAg0VGk Note: Of course, as with any new equipment, read the instructions carefully before using them on your dog. Use treats with which ever collar you choose and once your dog has learned to heel or walk nicely on leash you can start slowly weaning off of it. Haltis and Gentle Leaders are for training, most people don't use them forever. * about the 3-2-1: this is a game I learned out of a book called: 101 Dog Tricks by Kyra Sundance and Chalcy. In it you and your dog "race" when you say "3-2-1 Let's Go!" and I just use it as a command because after playing the 3-2-1 game, he knows it to mean 'speed up' or 'run'. I recommend 101 Dog Tricks, although it does use some physical moving during training that I try to avoid, such as when training your dog to sit, push on his hunches if he won't sit for a treat. But over all it's good and has step-by-step color pictures of each trick, which is awesome! ♥ Girl P.S. Noah, You don't have to rub it in! ;) |
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