Did owning a dog help your weight loss? Did anyone get a dog when wanting to lose weight and notice it was extra motivation? Have you always had a dog and it didn't effect your weight loss at all... ?

you know what they say... if your dog is fat YOU'RE not getting enough exercise.

I had a dog prior to wt loss. But my dog helps keep me going. She's always begging for walks.

I love coming into this forum to see everyone's cute dog photos! I am an EXTREME dog lover and can't have one for the time being (boyfriend and I are living with my mom to save money for a house and she wants nothing to do with a dog). I'm SO sad not to have a dog, especially since I love to walk and it would be good to have a partner out there! I even visit Petsmart on an almost weekly basis just to see the dogs available for adoption! I can't wait to get my own place and finally be able to adopt two beautiful dogs (great danes if I can get away with it, they are my absolute favorite)

you know, i cant say whether they help me with exercise because i do most of my walking on the treadmill, but i can say they love me unconditionally and that love keeps me happy......and when i'm happy diet and exercise is much easier.

I had a beautiful collie girl who died in 2003. I was so sad to lose her and at the same time got a lot less exercise because I just didn't want to go out walking, it felt so strange without her, so I gained A LOT of weight. (In fact, all of the weight I'm trying to lose again now.) I reached my peek in late 2006. It was then that I decided I was ready for another dog. I just wanted a new dog, I wasn't thinking about the dog maybe helping me to lose weight at all. So Frieda moved in with us. We got her from the shelter, a cute mix about the size of a very large Jack Russel terrier. I take her out four to five times a day, three real short walks just for going peepees, one long walk that usually takes one and a half hours, sometimes longer, and one medium walk that takes maybe half an hour. I have been doing this ever since I got her, not for my own exercise but because it's good for her. Well, what can I say: From September 2006 to now I lost five kilograms without doing anything else. I ate just the way I ate before I got the dog. I also feel much healthier and didn't even have a real cold since then. So I think, yes, being a dog owner can help you lose weight. I also met a lot of new people who are dog owners, too, which is fun and inspirational.

There's just one thing you will need to consider: A dog is an animal, not a toy or training item, so you should be willing to take care of it as long as it lives. That may well be 15 years. So you should only get a dog if you are sure that you are not going to lose interest in it and that you are able to love it the way it deserves it. If you think it is a good choice for you to get a dog, and you are ready to give it love, then you will be rewarded with tons of love that it gives you back. And I think that is good for your health as well. Let us know what you decide.

We have 2 puppies, almost 9 months old now (from the same litter). I thought having them would mean LOTS more exercise for me, but it just didn't happen that way. They are smaller dogs since we live in a townhouse without a lot of square footage. Our boy is about 22 pounds (but short--part Corgi, so stubby little legs), and our girl is about 8 pounds.

Anyway, I thought we'd be out walking with them and playing fetch or whatever, but that's just not the case. Not that they are lazy--they are VERY energetic. They just play with each other wrestling in the house a lot. We also take them mto dog parks where they can run off leash to their hearts' content. They also don't quite get the "fetch" game--they will chase something if we throw it, but they don't usually bring it back

A tired puppy is a happy puppy (and a less stressed owner!), but we just happen to tire our puppies out without exerting much of our own energy. For example, today we are going to the dog park, and tomorrow we are going to a small dog play group indoors (which we found on meetup.com if anyone's interested in a play group). In both cases, we don't have to be active, but the pups go crazy and come home tired to sleep for the rest of the afternoon.

We have a VERY difficult time walking the pups together outside because they just constantly want to play with each other, so the leashes get tangled. We're working on it--we've been to a trainer--but it will still be a while before they're ready to go out for a family walk.

Maybe having 1 dog would be different, though, since then they would rely on YOU for exercise and entertainment instead of each other.

Agree 100%

If you aren't active without a dog, you are most likely going to have an overweight/inactive dog.

That said, I thought when we got Dax, a cattle dog/blue heeler, my activity level would increase.

It pretty much has, although it isn't reflected in my weight

Cattle dogs are a very high energy and intelligent breed as they are herders. Since we live in an apartment in a big city, it would be downright inhumane to not give him structured exercise. I say "structured" because I see dogs at the dog park all the time who also live in city apartments who go wild at the dog park because that's the only exercise they get (and I'm referring to larger dogs, not terriers/smaller dogs). They have bad manners (excessive mounting, etc...) and are aggressive on and off the leash. We know of another cattle dog who is only allowed to run at the dog park and he's super aggressive and just looks miserable

We are big Cesar Milan fans and heed his advice about walking your dog before you get to the dog park. For us, walks/run with Dax are our best opportunity for training/behavor correction. So by the time he hits the park, he's mellowed out and ready to learn some tricks

I have to say that I look forward to my runs a lot more now that I have a super cute and completely motivated running partner who is ready to go at any time and since he's a "velcro dog" (never leaves your side), he's AWESOME on a hiking trail

Oh, one more thing. If you want to be active with, go for a breed that can accomodate that. Like Jill said, she has smaller dogs (and two of them), so it would probably be hard to get some serious walks/runs in as they tire themselves out with eachother.