Merging Routines With Your Dog To Live Healthier

Just as we get up every morning at a particular time, so do our furry friends. Human beings have immense creativity bubbling away at the back of our minds all the time. But in truth, we’re actually animals that love routine and order. Living a chaotic lifestyle that doesn’t have periods throughout the day or breakfast, midday, evening and night make us about as rigid as a plate of jelly. This is why the term body-clock came into fashion because it describes the routine our mind and body has within in. We’re by not nocturnal animals by nature, so when we get up in the morning, it's good to know you’re preparing for the rest of the day. The daylight hours are the time we spend to live our lives. Right from the off this means we need a routine to help us get into this mode and stay on the tracks. Our pets, namely our dogs are orderly animals themselves. They need a routine for when you’re not at home, i.e. at work, and for one when the pack leader comes home again.

Walking with our Jack Russell Terrier, Champ

Help each other to wake up

Getting up the morning and being functional don’t always go hand in hand. We’re in a daze when we first get up, purely just moving off of our instincts. Dogs aren’t normally that way, and they have a lot of primal instincts that come to the fore. To help each other wake up properly in both mind and body, you should consider a morning routine. Dogs are pack animals, and thus they feel the need to protect their territory. They obviously don’t know that the neighborhood you live isn’t theirs to own. But nevertheless, waking up and going for an early dawn walk with your dog is beneficial for both of you. Firstly it's a psychological reaffirmation to the dog that you run the agenda, i.e. you’re the pack leader. As your dog sniffs around, exciting his or her senses, this is your chance to get your own joints and muscles in gear. It takes us a little time to get the gears in our minds to move but having a task that isn’t physically taxing to do such as ‘patrolling’ with your dog helps to shake the cobwebs loose.



Caring about nutrition works both ways

As dog owners, we consciously don’t feed them junk food or food that would harm them. Yet we’re only too happy to eat things ourselves that we know we shouldn’t. Hence, by being conscious of what you’re feeding your dog at breakfast time, this attitude to nutrition might rub off on you subconsciously. Dogs are similar when it comes to the morning meal. They don’t like heavy, protein and fat-rich food that will make them feel sluggish and bloated. A simple choice for your pooch is lean boiled or grilled chicken breast with a little bit of kibble. Alternatively, you can get creative and make carrot, apple, and oat biscuits that dogs will be more than happy to munch down. Hopefully, for the moral reasons you give your dog healthy and energizing food, you’ll also take on the same kind of diet. Don’t be afraid to slide in some blueberries, grapes, raspberries and strawberries into your breakfast meal. Again, lighter foods are better so take the banana to work with you rather than eating it with your toast or cereal.

Evening treats and prepared snacks

After a long hard day at work, sometimes you just want to bury your face in a bar of chocolate or a bag of donuts. These are essentially guilty pleasures that one may determine to be treated. It's a thin line as most of us know treats are basically justified junk food. It doesn't have to be this way actually. Start with your dog; you don’t want to get them fat and groggy so what might you feed them? Evenings are great for teatime treats that stops dogs from wanting to eat early or too much. But again, it doesn’t have to be a fatty and salty duck liver or oxtail your dog nibbles on. Looking at the lineup on Betsy Farms, you have options of lean grilled chicken strips and meatballs. For an extra punch of flavor, dried out meats such as duck and turkey jerky are great for dogs who reject blander treats. The classic pig’s ear is also available for dogs who want their treats to last and maybe play with them too. For yourself coming home and wanting a quick snack shouldn’t have to be a chore. Instead, have something ready waiting in the fridge. Part of the reason why we resort to the quick unhealthy option is that we don’t want to stand in the kitchen and make food from scratch, just after finishing an 8-hour shift. Make ready a roast chicken salad, bean burrito, or finger food such as mini quiches so you can just take them out and eat with no effort. 

Before the final meal

Dinner is the final meal of the day, and it's something that we don’t miss because as aforementioned, we’re creatures of routine. However, before you plate-up and begin eating, think about what your dog wants to do just as the light begins to fade. He or she wants to finish off the day, just as their routine began; with a walk of course. Leave whatever you’ve got cooking on the stove or better yet plan you are cooking as such. Allow the final moments of cooking to happen at a lower heat or just let the already cooked meal cooldown. Take your dog out for a walk again, on the same path and some direction you took in the morning. You’ll get your body moving again and keep yourself healthy while your dog will be in his or her own world again.

Mixing your routine with your dog’s has a lot of benefits. First and foremost you’ll become more physically active which helps to keep the unwanted weight off. Secondly, a morning walk bolsters both of your routines. It will help you to get up early and stick to your alarm time rather than shutting it off for an extra five minutes; after all, you have your dog waiting for your downstairs. Thirdly, it will help you to be more conscious of what you put in your own body and improve your diet in the making.