Working out with a hyper pup

[Shalista]

I've recently started working out (just some basic push-ups, lunges, dips, sit ups) and I'm loving it. Originally i had planned to keep bax in the other room to not distract me but I left him in the room once and i have to say I kind of love it. In between sets when I'm resting we get some play time in and some snuggles and he gets really excited watching me move.

.... the excited part is why I'm here. While i was doing push ups he wouldn't stop going under my nose and once he even reared up and put his paws on top of my head. when i was doing sit ups he get even more excited and actually mouthed my arm, he hasn't mouthed since he was like 2 at the LATEST. clearly this is very stimulating for him.

I figured i have a couple of options and some are more attractive than others.

1. lock him out of the room. it won't kill him to not be near me for half an hour and he wont get super excited if he cant see me.

2. work on his stay. I was thinking of putting him in a stay near me and then he gets a treat every time i do a push up without him moving. this might be a bit much for him to handle though but it does give us the benefit of play time/snuggle time between sets.

3. tricks! incorporate him into my routine. like a paw touch for every push up or a sit for every sit up. I think this would be the most fun and most engaging for him and taks out 2 birds with 1 stone. i get to work out and he gets to work on some fun new tricks with me which might help with the winter blues.

So what do you guys think? 1? 2? 3? I'm thinking a mix of 2 and 3 right now but I'm not sure.

[JudyN]

I agree with a mix of 2 & 3 However, I'm not sure how well it would work in practice - it could confuse him if sometimes a press-up meant 'high five' and sometimes it meant 'stay'. You might need to teach a solid 'stay' first and then only allow interaction when you're exercising when you invite him to. This will probably involve you just doing one or two movements at first so he doesn't get too worked up.

Jasper reacts similarly if I run. I know I could work on it, by very slowly increasing speed and distance but then I realise I'm going to need a darn good sports bra, then I remember that my knees are two of the few bits of my body that function reliably and I decide I'd like them to stay that way

[Shalista]

Hahaha yeah running is actually what im most excited for with bax but im SO out of shape that i can only manage like a 30 sec jog with long stretches of walking in between. i figured that would be confusing for bax so I leave him home when i go out running. hopefully as my endurance gets better i can start taking him out for proper runs.

[Erica]

If you like stories, the Zombies Run Couch to 5k app is free and good! But would highly recommend running only on grass/gravel/sand/dirt kind of surfaces, and not downhill. I learned that the hard way.

If you think about it from the dog's perspective, it's very weird behavior for us to engage in. So he's probably a bit anxious because he doesn't know what this all means - teaching him a stay (or working on mat work) is a good idea That will let him know what he's supposed to do, and as you reward him for his behavior there will be some classical conditioning as well, making him more comfortable with your (to a dog's eyes) strange movements.

You could also work on a backstall and start doing push ups with Bax sat on your back

[Nettle]

As Erica says, he is being reactive because you are acting oddly and he doesn't know if it means danger or not. Given his personality, the best thing IMO would be if he was left in your room with something to do and having been recently exercised, and you do your exercises somewhere else.

[DianeLDL]

I have tried my workout dancing with Sandy in the room, and at first he seemed okay, but when I raised my leg, he decided it was something to grab, and then he got overexcited. He just didn't know if I was in trouble & he needed to rescue me.

I think it's just that I was doing leg kicks and other dance moves and he may have been fearful that he would get kicked.

Other times, I've held him while dancing, and he totally freaked and just wanted down.
I think, too, that here he was afraid of being dropped.

It's like when I have fallen, (of course, I was screaming for help from OH), so Sandy jumped on top of me sprawled on the ground and began barking (joined my screams) and he wouldn't even let OH get to me to help me up. So, I was lying on the ground screaming and Sandy barking, I guess trying to protect me? yes, looking back it must have been funny especially since we were in public.

Now, I've seen that they have on TV a class called yoga with your dog. But, I would assume the dog needs to get used to it. I saw it on TV where woman doing back bend and dog underneath, and then lifting dog with legs as if the dog was a weight!
These dogs must have been used to these classes, and they didn't show or explain how the dogs were acclimated to the yoga positions.

So, I stopped trying to exercise in the same room with Sandy. I realize that he doesn't understand what it is I'm doing, and there may be some fear.

Perhaps, if I began slowly, and didn't make any quick moves. But, I have not danced or exercised in front of Sandy since then.
Even OH won't do his abs and floor work in front of Sandy, either. Sandy just acts like he's not sure what's going on.

If I want exercise, I can take him for a walk or play with Sandy by throwing his stuffed bone and getting on the floor with him. But, even that can get him overexcited, & it usually ends up with him (and he's neutered) humping my leg, or even his blankie.

I am guessing that Bax may be reacting similarly to odd movements by you. I would not exercise in same room with him. Mouthing your arm may be a clue that he doesn't understand what's going on: are you in trouble or playing with him?

Just my 2 cents! FYI-today, Sandy turned 7 years old!
Also, today marks 6 years since we adopted him. I think the 6 years of having Sandy in our lives is the hardest to believe.
It doesn't seem that long. Where did the time go?

[Shalista]

dawww happy gotcha day to sandy!

[DianeLDL]

Shalista,
Thank you, & sure Sandy is happy, too.
Diane