Getting Fit with a German Shepherd

We have decided to get more fit this year.  So we purchased Fitbit activity monitors to help track our progress and motivate us.  They seem to be working well so far.  Both of us have lost about twenty pounds and our activity levels have greatly increased!  Yay!  The bonus is that Bodie benefits from this also.  He gets daily walks no matter the weather.  When you have a huge backyard it is easy to get out of the habit of walking the dog, especially when Bodie does laps around the yard [he monitors the activity on the trail :) ]. 

 



Bodie before his walk.

 

German Shepherds are Smart!

New Command

 

I am constantly amazed at how smart German Shepherds are!  Bodie is learning a new command, one I made up myself: “Come Help Me”.

 

Let me explain.  Part One: I have a physical condition that is constantly getting worse and it makes walking painful.  Occasionally, my knee completely gives way and I almost fall.  Part Two: we recently started using a harness on Bodie, a Kong harness with a handle.

 

I noticed that when I took Bodie outside, holding onto his harness really helped me going up and down the steps to the backyard.  I started saying “Help Me” as I went up and down the steps.  Pretty soon, all I had to do was say “Bodie, come help me” and he will come up to my left side so I can hold onto his harness as I walk.  Smart Boy!

Indestructible

Bodie is really, really good at destroying toys.  Many toys don't last very long at all.  In just minutes, Bodie can rip a toy apart.  We got him a new toy just last week, the KONG Scrunch Knot Squirrel.  The squirrel has no stuffing; instead, it has a knotted rope toy inside and a squeaker in the head.

This is how it looked like when it came home.

Bodie loved it!  In a couple of minutes, he had removed the ears.

You can't tell, but both ears are gone.

About five minutes later, Bodie had removed the squeaker.

The squeaker is in a bag.

  Then he proceeded to remove the rope toy.

Bodie discovered the rope toy.

 Now, he has two toys - a road kill squirrel and a rope toy!  He is a happy boy.

Doesn't he look pleased with himself?

 But there is one toy that has been indestructible - his Jolly Balls.  This is his indoor ball, the Bounce-N-Play.

This is what the Bounce-N-Play looked like new.

This is what it looks like after two years of hard play.  Indestructible!

Devil in Disguise

Don't be fooled, this might look like a well-behaved German Shepherd but it is not!  Bodie is the devil in disguise.  Now, don't get me wrong - Bodie is smart, probably too smart for his own good.  But he doesn't want to anything we want him to do. 

 



For example: if he is inside and he wants to go out, he will hit the door knob with his nose.  We open the door and he looks out, looks at us, looks out and he will just stand there not moving.  We close the door and he hits the door knob again.  If we try to force him out, he will turn it into a game.  The same occurs when he wants to come in.  What an obnoxious brat!  But we love him.

Fart Boy!

I don't know what is up with the puppy but he has been soooo stinky lately!  It is time to pull out the candles.  Wait!  It is time to pull out the candles and the tart melts!

 

Of course, I get the stinky end! :)

 

Broken Jolly Ball

Bodie loves his Jolly Ball.  It didn't even matter when it lost its rope.

 

 

German Shepherd and Fireworks II

Well, this is Bodie's second 4th of July and it was not nearly as successful as last year.  This evening, Bodie freaked out at the really loud, booming fireworks.  I was surprised because he was so good last year.  I tried to associate fireworks with positive things by using treats.

 

I took his favorite treat, Beggin' Strips, and broke one into 10-20 little pieces.  Then each time there was the sound of a firecracker he got one.  It worked to a certain extent.  Bodie quit freaking out, and with each firework he looked to see if he would get a piece of Beggin' Strip.  After a while, he only got a piece with the really loud ones.  But he did not go potty before putting him to bed. 

 

I thought I would stay up late and try to take him out after it quieted down.  When I hadn't heard any fireworks for about 20 minutes, I tried to take him outside but a really loud firecracker went off right then and I couldn't get him to even take one step out back.  Oh, well...  I will try again after midnight.