Health and fitness

                                Pre workout then it's onto our run. 

Health and fitness is huge these days, that is in the human world.  Not so much for our canines.  Many dogs spend their life being sedentary, eating poor quality food and getting little exercise.  Sad.  I see so many fat dogs and it is sad because fat dogs can't do what they should be able to do.  They age quickly and are susceptible to all sorts of illnesses due to being overweight.  The other day as I was heading down to the beach I drove past a man and what looked to be an old dog.  As I got closer I realized that the dog was just fat. 

While waiting my turn at AAA last week I sat watching a dog that was suppose to be a service dog.  Maybe it had been a service dog at one time; but to me it looked like one of these "buy a service vest" type.  It was a filthy cocker spaniel, needing grooming badly and it was very fat.  The poor dog sat waiting for it's owner to finish up and panted like crazy.  It was not hot in the place at all; in fact I had noticed that it was chilly, like their AC was running overtime. 

Dogs should not be overweight.  It is very easy to keep a dog in shape, especially in the feeding department.  We have complete control over what our dogs eat so if they are fat it is our fault.

The amount of what goes into our dogs is one issue, the other is what goes in.  There is so much garbage food out there that we are lied to about as far as quality.  Dogs are carnivores and as such they need a great deal of animal protein to build muscle and run at their optimum.  We dog owners have been duped into thinking that the best thing for our dogs to eat is dry kibble.  We think that the big dog food manufacturers know best and are looking out for the well being of our dogs.  Sadly many of the big dog food companies only care about the bottom line and what's in it for them, not your dog. 

Just like we should be eating real, unprocessed food, so should our dogs.  The less processing the better.  The more nutrient dense, the better.  Within the world of dry kibble there is a wide spectrum of good to the very bad.  We could say "our dogs have always done great on big box store kibble," but have you ever considered how much greater they could do on better food?  I know when I eat a great and healthy diet I feel amazing compared to when I slide and eat some not so great food.  I want Elsa to feel the best that she can.  I do not want to simply fill her bowl with something that is called "dog food" and call it good.  

Too many people still look at their dog as "just a dog."  Sure they love their dog but don't consider real nutrition to be something that is worth spending money on; at least  not for "the dog."  Much of the world's humans eat a poor diet just like their dogs.  Real food, real food is what we all should be eating.  As close to it's natural form as possible.  Last night Elsa had a nice bone as her appetizer.  Raw meat, raw bone.  Then we moved onto the main course, wild caught sole, spinach, quinoa and cranberry.  I had a huge organic salad, we ate well.  We ate real.

Today I will hit the gym and then it's onto the park where we will likely do 3-4 miles with added chuck it time.  Keeping Elsa healthy and fit is my job; she joined our family so she is one of us.  She is not just the dog put in our house to sit and watch us eat good food and live an active life, nope she's one of us.