This is my faithful K9 friend – an Australian Shepherd, Paige. But faithful and friend go only so far… When it comes to exercise, she doesn’t want to know me!
If you don’t know much about Australian Shepherds, here’s a bit of background. The breed was developed in the western part of United States in the early 1800s. Although they are a working breed, they also excel at dog sports and are highly successful search and rescue dogs, detection dogs, and therapy dogs. It is not unusual to see Australian Shepherds with one brown eye and one blue eye – like Paige. They are known as a watch-dog rather than a guard-dog. A watch-dog will let you know if someone is around, but if you’re not around to protect the dog, the dog will likely hide.
For the past 11 weeks, I have been part of a University exercise study. I committed to doing a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise each week. I walk, ride a bike and work with weights. So that I didn’t have to leave the house for long periods of time, I mapped out a walking circuit in the back yard. Paige thought it was great and bounded around with me once, then trotted around the next time, and after that, she disappeared. When I have more time and feel inclined to venture out, I either head to the shops or go the other way to the bridge. For the bridge walk, I’ve been taking Paige with me on a lead. At first, she was excited and pulling on the lead. But as the weeks went by, she became less and less enthusiastic. Last time I was ready to walk, she tilted her head to one side as if to say, ‘Do I have to go with you?’
I slipped the chain around her neck and urged her out the door. She was a step behind me all the way to the bridge and as soon as we turned around to come home, she perked up. I now have a new appreciation for that saying ‘Come on, you’re dragging on the chain.’
Sometimes it’s hard to find the enthusiasm and motivation to get my 150 minutes done, and it’s even harder when my dog doesn’t even want to do it!
DJ
