Yesterday was in the mid-50’s and bright and sunny. This was a big chore day for me and the wheatens. Took breaks from writing projects for a couple long walks, trips to Animal Friends to get Wheatie’s therapy dog papers signed, visit to the pet store for a new water dish for my office, and stop at the fabric store to get St. Patrick’s Day fabric to make scarves for the pups for this weekend’s big parade. Then back home for a quick romp in the yard and bath time.
As we were out on our drive between stops, we pulled up behind a bright yellow sports’ car at a stop sign. Immediately, I was struck by the message broadcast on the vanity plate — MISERABLE. My wheatens were getting ready for a bath and they were feeling anything but miserable. How sad to have that for your license plate.
It’s easy to get discouraged, disheartened, and frustrated. But before you find yourself wondering if you should add “miserable” to your license plate, turn and look at your nearest pooch and ask how he feels that day. If he’s anything like my wheatens, he’ll smile, wags a tail, and show you a winning attitude — “Come on! I’m ready for a walk! Let’s go take on the world!”
We all probably know someone with cancer — two of my best friends are cancer survivors. Did you know that nearly one and a half MILLION people in 2009 were newly diagnosed with cancer?! And sadly, over half a million died from cancer.
In general, large breed dogs are more likely to develop cancer. Breeds at higher risk include:
Bernese Mountain Dog
Boxers
Chow
Collie
English Springer spaniel
Golden retriever
Greyhound
Labrador retriever
Rottweilers
Some medium and smaller breeds are also at higher risk:
Cocker spaniel
Pug
Shar-pei
Scottish terrier
Researchers have been studying cancer in dogs by looking at dog’s genes. Because of the selective breeding programs in dogs, breeds have closer similarities in their genes that you would find when studying groups of humans.
The Van Andel Institute is currently studying gene-related cancers in dogs through the Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium. They plan to collect gene samples from dogs with cancer to help identify if a defective gene is linked to cancer occurrence.
What can you do to help? Well, if your dog is one of the three who does get cancer, talk to your vet about sending blood and tumor samples from your dog to researchers at the consortium. Researchers can be reached at 616-234-5569 or email at CHCC@val.org. Instructions are available on the bottom of the Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium webpage. Researchers are studying both purebred and mixed breed dogs.
Why is understanding canine cancer important? Research done in dogs is hoped to help identify those genes that promote breed-specific cancers in our dogs to hopefully reduce canine cancer in the future. This information will also likely help provide insights into how to reduce human cancers as well.
Still pumped up about the extreme sports showcased in this year’s Olympics? Wish you could participate in a cool sport, too? Think it’d be awesome to do an extreme sport with Fido? Well, here’s your chance! A Facebook friend sent me a message that she’s getting Fit As Fido training for this year’s CaniX race and also raising race sponsorship donations to benefit Hounds for Heroes, a wonderful organization you’ve read about at Fit As Fido that gets service dogs for service men and women.
Never heard of CaniX before — well, a picture (or video!) is worth a thousand words. So check out this video of last year’s race.
Fit As Fido encourages you to eat like a dog — savoring small treats rather than sitting down to wolf down a whole sleeve of chocolate chip cookies or bag of chips. Watch this video to see the best way to enjoy your treats — doggie style! Notice the joyful anticipation, the physical exercise before treats, and the rapt enjoyment after securing the tiny treat!
Researchers at Rush Medical College evaluated the impact of wearing different shoes when walking on knee stress in patients with knee arthritis. They published findings in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism in 2008. In that study, they compared knee stress when wearing a self-chosen comfortable walking shoe, specialized stability shoes, and shoes engineered to be close to barefoot walking. The self-chosen shoes includes sneakers and loafers. Knee stress was greater when wearing either the self-chosen walking shoes or the specialized stablity shoes compared with barefoot walking. Knee stress was lowest when wearing shoes that mimicked barefoot walking.
This same research group completed a second study that will be published in Arthritis Care & Research. In this new study, they similarly evaluated knee stress when wearing clogs, Brooks Addiction stability shoes, Puma flat, soft-soled walking shoes, and flip-flops. Knee strain was again compared against barefoot walking. As before, shoes that most closely reproduced barefoot walking produced the least stress on the knee. Knee strain was greatest with the clogs and stability shoes. They postulated that heel height and shoe flexibility may have contributed to increased knee strain.
So the next time you’re looking for a good pair of walking shoes, look for ones with a flexible sole and low heel that allow you to walk like you’re barefoot.
As I’ve been watching the Olympics, alternatively admiring the skill of athletes and questioning why anyone would even think about launching oneself off ski jumps or into bobsled chutes, I’ve seen a fair amount of falls, spills, and tumbles. Amazingly, despite the number of falls, the amount of serious injuries has been very few. These athletes really highlight how being in shape helps reduce your risk of injury — although even one in fantastic shape will have injuries after more serious trauma.
In an interesting study by Dr. Pomerantz and colleague from the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, obesity in children was linked to an increased risk of sprains, strains, and joint dislocations. In this study, injuries to the legs, ankles, and feet were twice as common in obese kids compared with their normal weight peers. Nearly one in three obese children had an injury to the leg or foot. On the other hand, heavier children were less likely to get concussions or cuts. About 15 percent of normal weight children got head injuries, compared with 10 percent of obese children.
Dr. Pomerantz advised getting children active in exercise programs — but doing so gradually. And what better way to start your exercise program than walking with Fido! Dog walks are ideal for being able to adjust pace, distance, and terrain to suit your exercise capabilities. So whether it’s an hour hike in the woods — like I did with my wheatens this morning in foot-deep snow (now THAT’S a good workout!) — or the 20 minute pre-dinner stroll around the neighborhood this afternoon — dog walking is great exercise for you and for Fido!
Earlier this week, a twitter buddy and I decided Shaun White is actually a wheaten terrier — enthusiastic, exuberant, playful, and able to roll with the punches. The similarity was sealed when we realized that his amazing jumps are truly modified “wheaten greetin’s!” We’re expecting him to sport the full wheaten fall over his forehead after the games are done!
Perhaps there’s a little Olympian in all of us. This week, I created my own “Olympic” event — the Nordic combined cabinet-door oil wash! On way home from the University, I picked up bottle of Murphy’s soap, intending to dust the upstair’s closet doors. Part way though my “course,” the cleaning rag jumped the track to hit the bathroom cabinets and then all the room doors. The course then took a hairpin turn down the stairs for more doors and cabinets. Treacherous course — dodged giant dust bunny obstacles, hurdled over errant dog toys. Halfway through, I decided this wasn’t housework, but an athletic event! (As this is one of those extreme events, my baggy clothing made the perfect competitor’s uniform!) My wheatens got into the spirit and donned judges’ expressions and started taking notes. I completed course in record time, raising my arms in a victory cheer, but only earned 4th place as I received low style points from the German and Russian judges and one judge deducted 2 extra points …for sneaking carrots into his dinner earlier. The wheatens aren’t saying which one gave the deduction, but Wheatie LOVES his carrots and Toby was trying to look suspiciously innocent as I huffed and puffed in my “kiss-and-cry” booth after completing my run!
So enjoy the rest of these amazing winter games and get inspired to beef up your exercise program. And remember, you, too can turn an ordinary day into an Olympic event!
From today’s AP report: “High-intensity interval training is twice as effective as normal exercise,” said Jan Helgerud, an exercise expert at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
So tell your friends you already knew that and then take a run, toss a ball, or romp around with Fido. It’s fun and a great exercise booster!
A study from the University of London published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine assessed physical activity in seniors. Less than 3 percent of seniors were getting the recommended 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity exercise broken up into bouts of 10 minutes or longer per session. That’s less than three of every one-hundred seniors! And two of every three seniors got NO — yes, that’s not a typo — NO moderate exercise! YIKES!
What’s the good news from this study? Well, there WERE folks getting their necessary weekly exercise. And what two factors were linked to getting appropriate exercise? Taking long walks and DOG WALKING!!!! Yes, once again, science proves you CAN get fit with Fido and having a pooch in your life gives you a big boost toward achieving important health and fitness goals!
So if you’re a senior with a dog — congratulations! And take that dog for a walk! And if you don’t have a dog, offer to walk a neighbor’s dog or volunteer at an animal shelter walking dogs. And the science says, it’ll make you healthier!
In a study published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, adults were asked about leisure time physical activity. Interestingly, people often forgot to include walking (including dog walking) among their listed activities. One in ten people who would meet recommendations for leisure time physical activity was not identified as having done so unless the researchers directly asked about walking as a specific activity. Apparently, people don’t associate walking or dog walking with exercise!
If you’ve been keeping up with Fit As Fido, you’re well aware that dog walking is a terrific form of exercise.
- Expect to burn about 150-250 calories per hour when walking Fido.
- You’ll burn about 3 times more calories walking Fido compared to watching television.
Dog walking is great exercise. It’s easy to go at a comfortable pace. Your goal should be to walk a total of 150 minutes per week, which you can break into 10- or 20-minute segments to do a couple times each day. Use the Fit As Fido walking calendar to chart your progress. As you get more comfortable, keep your time the same, but pick up the pace and you’ll be walking longer. Remember — you should be able to carry on a conversation when you’re walking. If you can sing while walking, you’re not walking fast enough — pick up the pace. If you can’t easily chat — slow it down.
So slip into a comfortable pair of sneakers or, if you live near me, boots, whistle for Fido, and start walking. And yes — walking is REAL exercise!
Researchers at Rush Medical College evaluated the impact of wearing different shoes when walking on knee stress in patients with knee arthritis. They published findings in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism in 2008. In that study, they compared knee stress when wearing a self-chosen comfortable walking shoe, specialized stability shoes, and shoes engineered to be close to barefoot walking. The self-chosen shoes includes sneakers and loafers. Knee stress was greater when wearing either the self-chosen walking shoes or the specialized stablity shoes compared with barefoot walking. Knee stress was lowest when wearing shoes that mimicked barefoot walking.
Earlier this week, a twitter buddy and I decided Shaun White is actually a wheaten terrier — enthusiastic, exuberant, playful, and able to roll with the punches. The similarity was sealed when we realized that his amazing jumps are truly modified “wheaten greetin’s!” We’re expecting him to sport the full wheaten fall over his forehead after the games are done!
A study from the University of London published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine assessed physical activity in seniors. Less than 3 percent of seniors were getting the recommended 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity exercise broken up into bouts of 10 minutes or longer per session. That’s less than three of every one-hundred seniors! And two of every three seniors got NO — yes, that’s not a typo — NO moderate exercise! YIKES!
In a study published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, adults were asked about leisure time physical activity. Interestingly, people often forgot to include walking (including dog walking) among their listed activities. One in ten people who would meet recommendations for leisure time physical activity was not identified as having done so unless the researchers directly asked about walking as a specific activity. Apparently, people don’t associate walking or dog walking with exercise!
