Tuesday 8 March 2011

Get Fit with Fido!

This week I am visiting Crufts not once but twice! I’ve never been there before but, due to my unconditional love of our canine friends, I am looking forward to it.

I have been seconded, invited, enticed?..I’m not sure which ... to head up the Get Fit With Fido campaign which has been created as there are too many overweight dogs and far too many overweight owners. In fact, it is proving that the fatter the owner, the fatter the dog is likely to be! And that’s doubly tragic as it really shouldn’t be like that. We have made a series of videos to help get you and your dog active. Click here to view the first in the series and click here to view an interview with the Kennel Club to find out how to get involved in the campaign.

Owning a dog is one of the healthiest things we can do for our health and our waistline. Not only do dogs offer unconditional love and companionship, they absolutely love walking. Walking is not only good for them, it is positively miraculous for their owner. Every mile we walk – which takes only 20 minutes – will burn 100 calories, increase our fitness levels, burn fat, increase our metabolic rate and put 2,000 steps on our pedometer towards our daily 10,000 target. Dogs also need mental stimulation so attending an obedience or agility training class could be perfect for both of you.

We own three dogs – Waise the lurcher ‘princess’ who is extraordinary and the most frustrating and wonderful dog I have ever owned, plus two young black Labradors called BB and Sky who officially belong to my husband, Mike, as they are trainee gun dogs. They are beautiful, greedy and naturally obedient because they will do anything for food. In fact, they represent the human race remarkably well. BB and Sky are the type of characters who think about food all day long, will eat anything that’s going – I even saw BB eating a rocket leaf on Saturday! – at a rate that would win prizes on the TV. On the other hand there is Waise (pronounced ‘Visor’), who will eat at a quite leisurely rate and who will just walk away from her dinner bowl when she’s had enough. If she’s been very active, she’ll eat more. If she’s had a lazy day, she leaves food in her bowl. She has a brilliant ability to eat just what she needs and no more. And that’s why she stays slim.

For dogs, going for a walk is the equivalent of going to an aerobics class. Interaction – though they tend to communicate by pee-mails – is incredibly rewarding for them and for us. The joy of seeing them trotting along with a spring in their step is just a joy. How Waise can wee 16 times in one walk is beyond me but hey, she absolutely loves walking on a public footpath. For us women, we just love to chat and commiserate and congratulate our weight loss achievements.

So, yes, we do need to take responsibility for our own life and for those around us – those we love hugely and who we would miss more than words can say. So let’s get our family and our pets in good shape. We will all benefit.

I’m launching Get Fit with Fido on Tuesday 8th March at the Crufts Press Launch and I’ll be there on Saturday too. I’ve delayed our holiday by a day specially for it because I feel the message is so important. If you want to sign up just go to www.thekennelclub.org.uk/getfitwithfido

If you want to lose weight faster than you imagined possible, join one of our Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness classes or join http://www.rosemaryconleyonline.com/, and go walking further and faster with your Fido!