Many of the pictures I post of Abby happened to be of her sleeping the day away, but what I failed to mention is that my sweet Abby is a high energy dog, and in order to get her tired I have to do different things.  Ironic, after my Alex was gone, I was seriously thinking about getting a senior dog.  Instead, I got Abby.

These are some of the things I do to get her tired:

• Walking – depending on the dog’s age, weight, health, etc., it could be anything from 30+ minutes.  When the weather gets too cold we do shorter walks
• Running – I get on my bike and she runs right alongside me.  It takes time to teach a dog how to do this, but it’s worth it
• Kayaking – when the weather gets warm, we take her with us kayaking.  And yes, she does wear a flotation device
• Shopping – yes, you read it right.  There are stores that do allow dogs.  The ones we usually visit are: Home Depot, PetSmart, Pets Unlimited, Christmas Tree Shop, etc.  This is great when the weather is either too hot or too cold to walk outside
• Behavior and Training – I am starting to teach her how to sit without saying anything or making any hand signals.  Only eye contact

If you do not fulfill your dog’s needs, he will drive you crazy, and chances are that he will end up back in a shelter and/or a breeder.  Having a canine companion is a lot of responsibility, but who says it can’t be fun too!