Hey Guys, I may have done something stupid, that threw my whole exercise routine .. well out. I adopted a puppy a few weeks ago. I work full time, all my non-work time has been being devoted 100% to him (both before and after work, as if a puppy is alone too long he could start developing separation anxiety.. and that is one thing I am very much trying to avoid). This is all stopping me from going to the gym. I am still being careful with what I eat, however I am afraid that without working out, my progress will come to a complete halt. Once he is fully vaccinated (in a month) I can bring him out for walks twice a day (both before and after work), however being so tiny (a yorkie poodle mix)... his idea of a walk will be around the block.. and my idea of a walk would be 20 or so blocks...

What do you guys do to get that exercise in when time is short? Are there any other ways to keep your metabolism from slowing down?

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred 27 min workout you can do in your living room so you don't have to leave the puppy.

Agreed- do videos. There are lots of great videos you can do.

And consider taking your puppy on those longer walks, but put him in a carrier (they make them for dogs like they make them for babies, to carry on your chest or on your back) part of the time. It'll be good bonding for you both. Dogs just love to go outside and smell the fresh air, they don't necessarily care if they go on their own two feet!

The same thing happened to me a few months back! Mine's a yorkie mix too. But, you'd be surprised. Just a walk around the block won't suffice for an energetic pup - at least not in my experience! Mine goes on three 30 minute walks a day, and he STILL wants to play come nightfall.

I do videos.
I have 2 pups that are my world, I exercise with them a lot! They love to go walk at the park and jog with me!!!!

Separation anxiety? So you never leave this puppy alone and let it sleep in the same bedroom as you? We never did anything like that! But yeah, workout videos are awesome. If you want a real challenge, do Insanity!

I've never heard of separation anxiety with a puppy (not to say it doesn't exist, but it just seems odd is all). I have a Yorkie and we left her home during the day at times when we first got her. She's 9 now and completely fine. Granted we didn't leave her home for 6, 7 hours but usually 2 at the most.

When you can take him out you can still go on longer walks. Pick him up when he gets tired! I'm guessing he's pretty tiny right now, but he probably weighs a couple pounds so you can use him as a hand weight while walking! I do this with my dog right now. Sometimes I'll take her a bit too far and she gets tired, so I just pick her up and walk the rest of the way and go home. She's pretty big for a Yorkie though, so this is a bit more difficult than with a tinier dog.

If you want your puppy to bond with you, please don't get a second dog for company. Another dog will always be more interesting than you to a puppy. You could go ahead and use a carrier to go on walks, should be fine so long as puppy isn't touching the ground. Puppy needs to learn now that you are not home 24/7, and that's ok. I would never raise a dog without crate training, it gives them a place of comfort and security.

My pups ares kennel trained and sometimes they now go in while I'm home to take naps, its a safe haven for them. Mine are home all day while I work.if you dont get the pup used to it then it will have issues later.

This is true. My dog is a large-breed rescue and when we first got him I was at my wits end. He was perfect when we were home, but destroyed the house when we were gone. I bought him a crate to be in while we were gone, but he'd never been crated and so that freaked him out too. The level of destruction was immense- he destroyed our couch, a chair, a lamp, the curtains, a throw rug, the plastic tray in his crate, etc. Finally I took a week of vacation where I spent tons of time with him and began then leaving him for 10 minutes, 15 minutes, an hour, 2 hours...and he's fine now. I wish his original owners had crate trained him, because I know people whose dogs are crate trained and they really do see that as a safe haven. Regardless, patience wins out in the end.

You guys are awesome!! Thank you all for the feedback! I just ordered the Jillian Micheals DVD on amazon, and am looking into the carriers as well. I like the idea of being able to bring him out with me even now and just not have him touch the ground. (I am so impatient about waiting for all the vaccines but know that I have to). It is also reassuring to know that separation anxiety is not nearly as common as some websites I have been reading have insinuated. I am a first time puppy owner, so I think I have been taking everything a little too seriously because I am afraid if I do not, I will ruin my puppy or something. I have notice that he is very calm (although energetic) and patient, and also has no problems being alone anymore. Does not even cry when I leave the room anymore. I will defiantly look into crate training some more, however he absolutely hated it last time I tried, and cried the entire night, without end.

Again, thank you all for all your great advice. I am so relieved to hear that it is still possible to loose weight while having a new puppy and a full time job. You are all the best!!

How's the puppy doing now?

Hes doing well. We had a great weekend together and are starting training classes.. I bought the carrying thing suggested, but he doesn't like it much.. gets out at the first opportunity, so I am going to wait on using that until he has all his shots (incase he gets out while we are walking).

thanks for asking

Actually never leaving him alone might cause more damage than teaching him that it's okay to be alone. I got my youngest dog around the time I stopped working so I was home all of the time, when we went out she'd chew everything she could (which happens to be a lot for a great dane lol). We helped her seperation anxiety by getting a dog crate and putting her in it when we went out. After she got used to going in cage when we were leaving we started leaving her out for short periods (starting with 10 min walks to the gas station). Now she's fine when we leave, we block her and our other two dogs in half of the house (to give the cats space and so they don't eat cat food). She looks out the window when we leave but she doesn't chew anything I still put her in her crate if we go to a strange house and have to leave her, better safe than sorry but she knows that we will come home when we leave now and is a much happier dog for it.