JZJ - sounds like a great weekend trip!

Ange - I'm sorry about your mother. My grandmother also has severe dementia. We haven't officially diagnosed it as Alzheimer's, but her sister had it and her mother had dementia. It is so hard.

Dagmar - yeah, the sweets in the house are getting to me, too. Yowza.

awwww, thanks for the sympathy! Mum's not too bad yet - hence i'm keen to see her when i can and make the most of my time with her. Dad's looks after her anyway really, and he's had a tough year with some of his best friends dying off, so i really want to spend some time with him too - not much good stuff happening at their sort of ages it seems
Meanwhile i'm being diligent with the diet but the scales still aren't getting with the program - don't care really as i'm feeling much better in myself and i'm pretty sure the scales will be forced to toe the line soon! M+D eat like birds anyway, so shouldn't be too hard to do alright when i'm over there.

Yesterday I made a list of health-related goals for myself for 2020. I have printed it out and have it posted right next to where I type on the desktop. Most of them are specific goals so I'm hoping to have achieved most of them by the end of the year.

Dagmar

Dagmar, what types of goals do you have listed? I have only thought of one so far, it's "do one pull up".

Alice: Greta update? Still cute?

Things like book my annual physical and separate blood work appointments, paddle boarding at least 5X this summer, changing my winter weight range to 133-136 lbs., summer 130 - 133. reducing caffeine consumption to 2 coffees and 1 tea per day, and so on. I find specific goals to be better for me than general ones like "lose some weight" or "drink less caffeine".

Whatever works yes?

Dagmar

JZJ - I had a goal of one pullup last year, and didn't make it. I haven't decided if I want to carry it over to this year or not. I don't know that I was even really close.

One pullup is just never going to happen over here.

Shannon - yes! that's cool! have it as a goal in 2020. What's to lose? Get that pullup done this year

Over in UK now with the parentage and the diet thing is pretty manageable so far. M+D eat good quality stuff for meals, and all i need to do is carry on declining the snacky cookies and desserts and pre-dinner alcohol!! Went out for a run this morning too although it was 50km winds and 30C cooler than i'm used to. Got rid of the cobwebs alright.

I expected this dog sit to be really hard and it is. I figured a dozen cookies on Saturday night would be less harmful than a bottle of wine and acted accordingly. Tomorrow will be the half way point of the sit and I'll be really relieved when it's over.

These are great dogs - they have just been totally mismanaged and not trained and are now adult young super strong animals. I'm an old lady. A fit strong old lady but not much of a match for the "red ox" team plus the others on their walk. I have found a couple of solutions for taking down some of their energy, as well as dealing with the acute fearfulness of one of them.

So I have one package of cookies left, which will probably be deployed Friday . Back at my house Late Sunday and back on track.

Dagmar

Ugh, Dagmar. Hang in there. My own personal team of tiny canine oxen haul me around with no regard for my shoulder joints. Clearly their one obedience class wasn't enough (hangs head in shame)

Shannon, let's try for one pull-up this year! We can do it - somehow.

Ange, best wishes for your parents - and for you as a caretaker.

thanks JayZeeJay
i have a large dog at home too and she gets walked twice a day without fail, but it's the opposite experience for me in that progress is generally quite slow and she'll often get somewhere and just stops and doesn't want to budge! Pulling doesn't really work, the best technique i've found is to get behind her and nudge her with my knees to start moving again! A bit embarrassing really

ange82much, is the dog in pain?

Over the hump at the dog sit. 6 days done, 5 to go. Have the dogs into a routine too which helps. the following is a vent so skip if you want.

I had to do this sit to see if I could train/teach the dogs enough that I can continue to walk them. I have the answer and I'm pretty sure it's no. Clients are not willing to do anything to modify the dogs' behaviour and the dogs are beating the sh*t out of me on the daily walk, as well as disrupting the other 2 dogs on the walk. Not their fault but unbearable in the long run.

I have been walking the male dog for 3 years. He needs meds and intensive training to even partially overcome his fears but the clients are not willing and they go to a vet who, IMO, is a quack. Long story - won't bore you here - but I have a new pup coming into that group in spring and an existing pup there who is picking up on these 2 dogs' untrained behaviour.

The trick is in the timing. I really need all of my income to meet expenses and have a tiny bit left for pleasures. I have to balance that with how much more punishment my body can take from these two dogs. My shoulder has been reinjured already. The new pup comes home late April. Wondering if I can hold on that long.

SIGH. It would be so much easier if people would treat their dogs as dogs and train them when they are 10 lbs, rather than rely on someone else to do it when the dog weighs 50 lbs.

End of venting!

Dagmar

Dagmar, I'm hoping that you can quickly find some new clients to replace the ones that are clearly not worth your effort... Sounds like things are just not gonna change there.

It's too bad for the dogs! I have known a few people who are simply psychologically unwilling to have their dog trained. I'm sure you have known a lot more!

Dog training takes a lot of time, patience, and effort. Most of my clients don't feel it's important enough to merit all that. Or they hope I will do it, as I'm going to do with the next tiny puppy coming. At least those clients are happy to let me do whatever I need/want to do with their pups so that makes the group walk really easy. Much nicer for the other dogs in the group too.

Dagmar