Adopt a Training Partner - Part 2

After we got Rex home, he gradually warmed up to everyone. He now follows me everywhere and he loves to go for walks. or for a run.


Not too long after we got him, Kelly and I took him to the dog park. We drove down the hill and parked the car. We got out of the car and opened up the back door. The dog wasn't there. Where was he? We panicked. I drove back up the hill looking for him. It turns out that as we were driving down the hill, he got so excited that he jumped out the window, and we didn't even know it! Luckily he was ok. With a dog this enthusiastic, how can you not take him for a walk or a run?


If you adopt a young training partner, it is important to talk to the Vet before you start to run him. When a dog is very young, their muscles and joints haven't fully developed. Running them hard may damage their little joints and cause permanent damage. Make sure you talk to your Vet before working out the dog.


Rex and I walked together for many miles. As my strength got better and my workouts shifted towards less roadwork (walking and running), and more strength training in the gym, my workouts with Rex changed. What once was a daily walk, became a weekend only walk. I would still get up early every Saturday and Sunday and take him to the dog park, but I don't think I was meeting his needs.


While all this was going on, we moved to a new house. With the move, we also adopted a second family member. We adopted Bindi. Bindi is a ptibull-boxer mix. Bindi loves to run and she helps keep Rex occupied.


Now with two dogs needing to be exercised, it was the perfect time for me to get back to some roadwork. I now run about 2 miles everyday with the dogs. Rex dictates the pace. He is kind of big and not built for running. Kind of like me. We started out with running intervals. We would sprint until Rex has to slow down or stop. Bindi never needs to stop. Once Rex catches his breath. We hit it again. We run these sprint intervals over the 2 mile course. Over time, we have now gotten to the point where Rex only needs to walk less than a quarter mile on the 2 mile course. Rex has lost some weight and is getting faster and now has better stamina. The good thing is while the dog has been getting in better shape, so have I.