Happy Doggies Make Happy Humans

My Dog Takes Care Of Me--I'm Smiling

Sometimes when I'm out walking Krystal, people ask me what happens to her when I'm sick. They really want to know if she's still a happy dog. How do I handle giving her long walks every day. And do I let her do her business in the house.

I'll answer the last question first. Doing her business in the house is not an option. Krystal knows she always goes outside. She gets lots of positive "good girl" reinforcement along with "good potty" and "good poop" every time she does her stuff. No matter what the weather--rain, sleet, snow, hotter than blazes--we go outside. 

Krystal's now 4 years old, so she's developed the ability to hold on and wait if there's a thunder and lightening storm, or a heavy downpour. Sometimes the weather is so bad that she absolutely doesn't want to go outside. Since I'm the one who knows the weather report, or how long it's been since the last potty breatk, I may insist. Luckily, she's small, so I can lift her up and carry her outside and stay put until she does her stuff. Then we both race back inside.

If I'm not feeling well, Krystal is a flexible dog. She'll go for a short walk, and we can go back inside quickly. Some dogs (I'm thinking of Border Collies) couldn't handle being deprived of their long walks. But, I'm blessed with Krystal, who keeps track of my health and well being, and will go along with whatever I need. I'm filled with gratitude.

But mostly, what I want to say is that when I'm not well, Krystal steps up. She's right there for me, making sure to be extra gentle, and generous with her hugs and kisses. She's my guardian angel, and she watches out for my needs. And she does it happily. I am blessed to be living with a compassionate happy loving dog.

She smiles and I smile.

Walking Your Dog--It's Time for the Summer Schedule

I love this YouTube video of The Dog Song by Nellie McKay. It's so soft and upbeat. She really expresses the best part of our lives with our dogs--companions who bring out the best in each of us.

When I'm out walking Krystal, I sometimes sing this song to her, "I'm just a walking my dog..."

Since I work from home, I get to walk Krystal throughout the day. Our spring schedule has been:

• A 15 minute walk when we get up in the morning.
• A long walk, at least a mile, beginning around 11:30am
• At some point in the day we play fetch inside the house.
• A 20 minute walk around 5:30pm.
• A 10 minute walk at bedtime.

We are now in the midst of changing our dog walking schedule with the arrival of summertime heat and humidity here in Raleigh. Our summer schedule is changing things around quite a bit. We get up earlier:

• Our long walk is now early in the morning, before the heat sets in. (Right now it's actually pleasant then.)
• Our 11:30 walk is now a 20 minute walk. When the heat really sets in, it will go down to 10 minutes.
• During the afternoon, we have several games of fetch, so she can run around the house like a wild and crazy dog.  
• A 20 minute walk around 5:30. When the heat really sets in, it will go down to 10 minutes.
• More fetch games.
• A 20-30 minute walk before bed.

During this transition period, Krystal is a bit disoriented. In spite of that long walk in the morning, she's raring to go for another long one at 11:30. So when I cut the walk short, she's disappointed and a bit confused. I've started taking treats on our walk to reward her for transitioning to shorter walks.

I usually sing songs while we're walking, she knows them and has a different walking style to go with each song. To help her during these intense summer months, I've started singing in the house as well. And, I've added Nellie's song to our repetoire:

"I'm happy because I'm just a walking my dog, singing my song, strolling along. It's just me and my dog catching some sun. We can't go wrong!"