K-9 Kamp Kounselor Delilah here letting you know this is the last week of this session of K-9 Kamp and that makes me sad. I’ve had a lot of fun, writing these posts.
K-9 Kamp is designed to help folks get fit with their pups. Hosted by our friends Koly and Felix at Kol’s Notes, Kelly and Ike at Peggy’s Pet Place and Gretel and Chester at You Did What With Your Weiner, it’s a blog hop that pulls us together to share ideas in how to get fit and healthy.
The Mama has tried super hard to make sure we’ve been doing a little bit extra this session. Ever since June we’ve been losing a tiny bit of daylight every day. As it stands now, we are still getting about 40 minutes of walking a day, but it’s definitely getting dark and I know the Mama, despite her bravado, is a little spooked in the woods at dusk. In fact, the last couple of nights we’ve been spending more time in the field and less time in the woods.
I’m really quite okay with that, you see there are lots of dry leaves on the trails, which make it a bit slippery sometimes for the Mama to walk. A couple of times I’ve felt her slip (you remember I can’t let her off her leash, because she cannot keep up) Sirius knows I don’t need her slipping and slamming her full weight into me, that could be quite dangerous.
Sampson and I do a little wrestling in the house, but I wanted to share with you a new indoor trick that we taught the Mama.
The key to teaching humans ANYTHING is to let them think they are in charge. The Mama actually thinks she taught us this trick, but Sampson and I know better.
The trick is Stair Climbers and it works like this. We stand at the top of the stairs and then we send the Mama down. When the Mama gets to the bottom, she calls us and we dash down the stairs and let the Mama give us a treat.
Then we send the Mama back up the stairs, she calls us and we dash back up the stairs.
As you can see in the video, the Mama still struggles rushing up or down the stairs, it’s probably due to her large, Hobbit feet, or her poor creaky knees.
It’s okay though, as long as she’s putting forth her best effort. As you can see Sampson isn’t quite as adept at the stairs as I am, but he is a little bit older and not as enthusiastic about food as I am. You may notice my athleticism as I jump the last step.
To recap the things we’ve done this month in our efforts to help the Mama get into shape and keep us fit and trim.
- We’ve played Frisbee (although the Mama’s attempts at throwing were feeble at best, we’re still saying she ‘threw’ it.)
- We chased tree rats, pulled the Mama up and down hills and climbed over and under obstacles on our walks.
- We taught the Mama how to jump the leash.
- The Mama learned how to fetch.
- And last but not least, we gave the Mama a run for her money on the stairs.
I hope you’ve found a few things here that will help you and yours (whether it be canine or human) do a little bit more than you are doing. As you can see, there are so many ways to exercise, you are only limited by your mind.
This is the K-9 Kamp blog hop, and there are some great prizes for participants, you can find the rafflecopter here.
I’m keeping my paws crossed that the Mama will continue to let me do blog posts every now and again, this was fun!!
Until then, take care and stay fit!
Delilah
That was a great trick to teach your mom. Great for both of you.
What I want to know is WHO was recording the video while you and Sampson were torturing your Mama and “her creaky knees”?
The Daddy was. The Mama gave him explicit instructions on how to film it, she really has control issues. BOL
Mom does that stairs thing with my chubby cat bro Bert, but he chases a toy or laser, no treats. Has your mom tried walking you two in the creepy dark woods in the morning rather than the evening? We love walking in the dark in the morning, it is so peaceful and Mom says the chances of criminals being out in the early morning are slim to none, they prefer evening and night. Just a thought. Great job with K9 Kamp!
That is a great trick, but shouldn’t you reward the mama with a treat when she does it the right way?
HEY DEE… we LOVE how you CUE her to say COME. THAT is very much IMPRESSIVE.
Nice work with your momma there, Delilah. You have her SO well-trained! She does the trick, and *you* get the treat! You’re a genius, Delilah.
Pesky tree rat chasing is the best we say. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Best wishes Molly
How great that y’all stuck with K-9 Kamp. I totally failed. 🙁
I love stair training! Although… in my version I usually sit at the top of the steps and toss tiny bits of treat down for them to chase down! You’re getting WAY more out of this game than I ever have! 🙂
Delilah is very fast on stairs. 🙂 That is a good indoor activity. I am not sure mine would not bowl each other over though…lol. Excellent job on K9 camp.
Seems like you did a lot of great stuff this month to get fit, and teaching your mama to do stairs like that must have been a lot of work for you.
So it’s getting dark early there too? Wait until next Sunday. It will get worse.
Or will it get better? The whole clock change thing always messes with my head! LOL!
You teach your mom so well. You all did some pretty exciting exercising stuff this month. Keep it up.
Wait, you go up and down the stairs, too?
We do this the cheater’s way: I sit at the top, Husband sits at the bottom, each with a handful of cookies. Then we call Silas back and forth. Or, I stand at the top of the stairs and throw the ball down for Silas to fetch back up.
Now I feel lazy. LOL.
Just need to get mumma running up and down them stairs a bit quicker, if she’s quicker you won’t have to wait so long for each treats which means you get more per session!
I used to play this game with my dog, but never really saw the exercise in it, especially for me! I should have played it with him for longer!! Thank you for pointing out the bleeding obvious to me!
great blog!
Love the video, but Delilah…. hobbit feet?! That’s no way to get more treats!
You’re such great personal trainers guys!! I hope Mama pays you accordingly, don’t let her skimp on the treats! 🙂
Wags to all,
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
You have had a great K9 Kamp month, Delilah. Cricket and I think we can teach our Mom this stairs trick too. We will need lots of indoor activities for the winter with the short days and all (our mom is also scared of the dark)! Cricket is so treat crazy though she will probably have a hard time “staying” and waiting. But we’ll work on her!
Love, Sheba
Wag ‘n Woof Pets
Delilah you’re a great Kamp Kounselor and I’ve enjoyed your posts so much so I hope you keep writing to us … Good job teaching mom a new trick…It can be really hard to do but it looks like you’ve got it down