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Baylor's Back On Track!

Baylor is back on track!  You may remember he gained a pound after his great escape, so I was nervous when he got on the scale this week.

Thankfully he dropped another two pounds.

I am so proud of him. He’s been working really hard. He started walking on the dog treadmill at Barking Dog Fitness at Rocky’s Retreat eight weeks ago. Now that he has built up his endurance, he is running on the treadmill.

We also started running together outside. It’s amazing how the treadmill training has made it easier to run and walk with him outside. He no longer pulls when we are on walks and seems to enjoy it.

The coaches told me to start slow doing interval runs with Baylor. We run for two to three minutes then we walk for three minutes.

We will do this several times a week and eventually build up to running a full mile so we are ready for the SPCA Dog Jog on May 17th! I hope you will join us. If you want to start training now is the time.

Be sure to get your dog checked out by a vet first to make sure they are healthy enough to train. Then start slow. Remember you need to walk your dog daily, but only run them every other day.

While we were at Rockys this week we met a Beagle-Shiba Inu mix named Winston. He’s adorable but very overweight; he weighs 70 pounds but should weigh 35-40.

His owner saw our Baylor’s Boot Camp series on WFTV and decided to bring him to boot camp at Barking Dog Fitness at Rocky’s Retreat. I am so thankful that Baylor’s journey is inspiring our viewers to help their pets get healthy. That’s what this is all about.

I have learned so much during the past eight weeks.

The main thing is pets are just like people: If we eat right and exercise we feel better, have more energy, we are healthier and live longer lives.

This week we also met Doctor Monisha Seth. She is a Winter Park physician who came up with the idea for the SPCA’s Dog Jog. She loves dogs and is combining her passion for pets with her passion to get people healthy.

We sat down with her for an interview and learned a lot about how pets can help motivate their owners to lose weight.

She also told us training with your dog helps build the human/pet bond. She says having a strong bond with your pet decreases blood pressure, decreases anxiety and increases your sense of well-being.

I hope you are motivated to start working out with your pet. We will have much more on how to get started next Tuesday during Eyewitness News at Noon.

If you are starting to run with your dog and plan to participate in the  SPCA of Central Florida’s Dog Jog on May 17 at Mall at Millennia, I would love to hear from you.

We would like to feature pet owners who plan to participate in the event during our next story.

Hugs

Vanessa and Baylor

LINK: Sign up for Run For Rescues