English Springer Spaniel Puppy

Man's best workout partner: Your dog can help you get in shape

When Jan Carter and her husband, Kent, bought a puppy for their family last year, little did they know they also purchased a home gym .

“He’s the best health club around,” Carter laughed, noting that after a year of walking Jackson, now a 1-year-old Labradoodle, she’s lost a dress size and hasn’t been sick all winter.

“I knew we needed to exercise him a great deal but I discovered he needs more than we anticipated,” added the Susquehanna Twp. mom of two, who said she and her husband each walk the dog two miles a day. “We didn’t have an exercise program before. Now we do.

“It’s great exercise and a bit of quiet time for me,” she said of her early morning shift. “No one is yelling, ‘Mommy’ and he doesn’t talk back. If I didn’t have him I wouldn’t get up so religiously.”

It’s not so unusual that Jackson has spurred activity among his humans. This spring, Michigan State University researchers reported that 60 percent of dog owners who regularly walk their pets meet the federal guideline for regular exercise . Nearly half of dog walkers exercised 30 minutes a day for at least five days a week. Among people without dogs, only a third exercised that regularly.

“As exercise professionals, we struggle with what motivates people. The dog may be a tool to get them up and ... maybe moving at a pace that is truly getting them some sort of cardio benefit,” said Scott Singer, owner of First Team Fitness in Harrisburg. “If they look at it like my pet needs to be exercised as well as I do and that gets you to get up and do it, that’s fantastic.”

Carter said they’re “fast dog walkers” who always head up the mountain in their neighborhood and work to raise their heart rate.

“Running up hills is a very good workout,” said Josh Wolfe, a Harrisburg personal trainer who likes to sprint uphill with his Chihuahua. “Most people need more exercise than just walking around with their dog, so walking up a steep hill is a very good way to increase intensity.”

While the Carters’ dog turned the family onto a more regular exercise routine, others like Scott MacMillan, a Harrisburg-area computer programmer, specifically sought a four-legged exercise partner.

“I had no one to run with.

english springer spaniel puppies

We hadded burmese kittehs long ago. My mum's springer spaniel loved the bebbeh kittehs and one of dem alwais went to sleep in goggies mauf! she woz alwais cubbered wiv slobber ! As she got bigger she wented aout and useter hunt mowdiwarps in der gardin. den back in der howse, cubbered wiv dirt and sit in goggies mauf agin! This tatty lil mudball was not easi to sell as pedigree Burmese queen!

My grandma had a springer spaniel. Josie was a gorgeous brown and white one just like these (they had a black and white one before I was born). She was my baby. She was with me every day (yes, I go to my grandma’s that often) from the day I was born until the day she died 2 years ago. That was hands down the worst loss I have ever suffered. She was so sweet :,(

If your brother is not treating the dog the way you would like the dog treated, don't leave the dog with him. I don't know if there's a connection between what you saw your brother doing and the nip, but it's possible. What he did might be okay if it was his dog, but it's not his dog. I have certainly played that kind of game with one of my dogs and all was fine, but encouraging rough play isn't a good idea if you have a small child in the house which I did not. An adult might know when enough is enough and be able to get the dog to stop at that point. A 5 year old wouldn't. It would help to know what else he does with the dog. I wish I knew what you meant when you said the dog became aggressive with him. People sometimes view things as aggression when they are normal puppy behaviour.

“She’s a Springer Spaniel, that’s what she is.”Sometime, in the middle of the night, I had to get up for a moment.When I returned, Elvera said, “I can’t go to sleep for trying to remember the kind of dog Becky and Brian have.” I said something like, “Woman, why are you worried about that in the middle of the night!” And went back to sleep.This morning, she said, “Emma’s a Springer Spaniel, and Zoe (Chuck’s dog) is a ????? Terrier. I said, “I love you anyhow, but the next woman I get is not going to get worked up over trivia like that.”It isn’t trivia to her. They are pure bred dogs. I had two dogs as a boy, and both were likely results of romantic trysts between all American dogs in some alley. And they were good dogs. I never understood why someone would pay for a dog. In my early years, someone was always trying to give a puppy or kitten away.Some of you are on her side on this. But I still love my pet. It’s perfectly trained.

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