clj05

Well, I made a post a couple of weeks ago, frustrated because my newly adopted dog absolutely hates walking on the grass in our yard. The hubs and I have tried to figure out just why this is; maybe her previous owners trained her not to do her business in their yard (which seems really weird but some people are like that) or maybe she had a mishap in the yard like a bug bite or a gardner snake or something to that effect. We've tried and tried to train her out of this habit using pieces of hot dog or treats to entice her into the yard but it was useless. We would've gotten more reaction from my coffee cup lol. The poor little thing is just outright scared of the yard. So my husband started taking her for more walks and she'll do her business in other people's grass (lol) so now we've just decided the exercise is good for us anyway and we've given into Charlie and take her out for quick 4-8 block walks around the neighborhood several times a day. It works for her - it works for us - and she doesn't pee or poopie in the house anymore.

My favorite walk with her is first thing in the morning. When my alarm clock goes off at 6am, she is up and stretching and ready to make a deopsit! So I put my shoes on, get her leash and away we go before the sleep is even out of our eyes. I never used to be able to get up and move that early without spending a half hour in front of the morning news with my coffee but now, she just gets me motivated and moving out the door. By the time we get back home, I'm relaxed knowing she's all emptied out and I'm also energized by the walk during the awesome cool morning temperatures which starts my day off nicely.

Do any of you guys have set doggie routines you'd like to share? I'd love to read about them!

CLICK HERE TO SEE CHARLIE'S SLIDESHOW