Leave it to Pinterest to motivate me to sneak a lunchtime workout into my day. After browsing past Fitness-related pins on my Pinterest boards, FitSugar’s Anywhere Workout caught my eye.
The workout includes a mini circuit for every day of the week but Sunday, but I combined all of the mini circuits into one giant circuit workout and simply did one circuit right after the other. The workout ended up taking me about 25 minutes and had my abs burning. Lots of bicycle crunches and planks!
It felt good to work up a sweat and complete my workout for the day in less than 30 minutes.
I ended up incorporating a few exercises that FitSugar didn’t detail in their workout, including some Frisbee throws, a round of tug-o-war and two rounds of the hand game.
Can you tell someone wanted to be involved in today’s workout?
If only I could bottle up that energy and sell it to the masses!
Speaking of dogs and their energy levels, I drove by Sadie’s vet’s office the other day and they had a sign up that said they’re offering senior discounts to dogs over the age of six. (Isn’t that only 42 years old in human years!?)
While I know many will appreciate the discount, I think our vet probably sent more than one dog owner into an emotional downward spiral, thinking that their young dog is now a “senior.”
Sadie will be five years old in January and is getting more and more white hairs. We call them her “highlights” to soften the fact that they’re signs of aging.
While she’s no longer a puppy, her energy level is still out of control. I’ve heard from other vizsla owners that vizslas don’t calm down until they’re around 10 years old, which is fine by me. I’m grateful for Sadie’s nuttiness if it means she is feelin’ good!
Lunch
Once I finished my workout for the day and took a quick shower, it was time for lunch.
My bowl included chicken leftover from last night’s dinner, broccoli, cauliflower and avocado.
Plus two coconut butterscotch walnut oatmeal cookies for dessert!
I made the cookies for a freelance project on Friday last week and planned to bring them to Sarasota with me to share over the weekend but completely forgot. Now we have an excessive amount of cookies to eat before they go bad or we will be forced to freeze them.
How awful, I know. 
Question of the Afternoon
- If you’ve owned a dog that has reached old age in the past, when did you notice their energy levels start to change?
Please tell me that your dog’s energy levels never changed and that your dog is happily living today at the age of 52.
Of Possible Interest
- 31 Delicious High-Fiber Snacks (Greatist.com)
- 7 Reasons to Try Interval Training (FitSugar.com)
- Best 2012 Book Sequels & Top Anticipated Reads of 2013 (ReadBreatheRelax.com)
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Cracking up here at work at the “silver fox” bubble! Thanks for the mid-day laugh! My little Winston is quite the “distinguished gentleman” as we call him!
@birduponthewind
winston SOUNDS like a distinguished gentleman! 🙂
Hahahah that’s hilarious! My dog is eight and still gets mistaken for a puppy! She’s as energetic as ever 🙂
my standard poodle lived to be 13 and really didn’t slow down til about 11 or so. he was such a good lil guy but seriously bounced OFF THE WALLS if bacon, cheese, or people at all were involved. he’s looking down on all of us in doggie heaven! sadie looks like she’s doing just great!
I adopted my pup so I have no idea how old she really is…which can be kind of scary, but is also kind of fun. When I got her, the vet said she was about 3 or 4 years old…then I just started taking her to a new vet 5 years later. This vet said there was NO way she was 8 or 9 years old (yippee – best news from the vet!) and was likely closer to 7 years old based on her pearly whites…so who knows how old she is!? She has always been a very calm dog, so her temperament is no help. She is turning a bit white, but nothing too crazy…
Our 10 year old Dachshund, Sadie, has just as much energy as our 4 year old Yorkie. Maybe the energy levels come withthe name ;)Sadie is a rescue from a puppy mill. She was kept in a cage and used for breeding until she was 7 and couldnt have babies anymore aka wasnt profitable for the mill anymore aka the BEST day of my life. Anyway, dont worry about your Sadie, she still has MANY MANY years left as your workout partner 😉
Roo is only 11 months, so she’s still out of her mind! We ran 9 miles this morning and she was chasing her tail like her life depended on it when we got home! I like to think that she’s immortal because I will never survive her leaving me!!
I have a German short haired pointer that will be 10 on January 3rd of this year. She still has lots of energy for the most part, especially for squirrels. She still enjoys going on runs with me, but in the last few years I’ve seen the energy slowly diminish. She can only run about a mile or 2 before she is pooped and doesn’t want to run anymore. It breaks my hearts, because when she was a youngster she could run all day if she wanted too!
coconut + oatmeal?!?! Share recipe as soon as you can!!! 😀
I could use one of those cookies as an office pick-me-up right about now!
We have a complete mutt dog..he’s only 7-8 months right now, but he’s already a tired old man! After a full day at daycare or an hour or two at the dog park, he’s totally pooped. It’s adorable haha.
Gosh, I don’t think our dog started slowing down until she was about 11? (She lived to 14 1/2, the exact same age as the Toy Fox Terrier we had before her) I didn’t come from a family of spayers (aka-didn’t know any better, I got her when I was 18) She was spayed for medical reasons at 7 and they said she would slow down considerably. WRONG. She was a like a ball of light!
I think all dogs are different – we had a small mutt who lived to 19 and was pretty healthy until 15 or so!
My “puppy” is 10 and still acts like a puppy! She’s a shih zu and loves to play like a puppy…but she does take more naps then she used to, which just started happening in the past year or so.
My deceased puppies lived till 14 and 8. It all depends on the dog, but I wish they would live forever! Roxy is so sweet and I don’t know what we would ever do without her! I hope she lives to 100! =)
Sadie’s faces kill me. So cute!
My chihuahua only lived to be nine, but he was insane up until then!
I didn’t know 6 was “old” for dogs. I still think of my 4 year old cocker spaniel as a puppy. Except shes pretty lazy. She just sleeps. all day long.
my dog is 5 months and absolutely crazy, his little antics make my day and I guess we can’t expect him to calm down anytime soon!
We have an 8 year old border collie/austrailian shepherd mix. He still has plenty of endurance and speed but has definitely calmed WAY down since his puppy days (thank goodness). Also have a 3 yr old German Shepherd who has been a very calm dog since birth. They both love to run but the German is recovering from knee surgery earlier this summer–a bummer!
I have a 16 yr old lab and while she’s always been pretty chill & calm, within the last 2 years her walks became shorter and shorter distances and now we just let her roam around the house & the yard. She’s still going strong though 🙂
Our ‘pup’ turned five in June. He also has a distinguished look of a grey goatee.
Although sometimes I wish he was calm (he’s part Jack Russell), I never want him to get old and change. He can throw down faster miles than us, and he can jump as high as my head!
My husband and I always say he’s going to live forever. Or at least as long as we do 😉
I rescued my chocolate lab when she was two and I have now had her for for 3 years and she is just ENTERING puppy phase! Those years of abuse and then the years of adjustment really stinted her ability to be a real dog- so now she is greying, but FULL of P&V (or..energy!:) )
So, for large breed dogs, 6 is technically “senior”. It’s definitely a bummer!
I’ve got two “senior” girls: a spitz/chow mix and a pibble mix. My spitz mix will be ten in the spring, but you would certainly never guess it! She loves to play, loves to run, and has never waned in her enthusiasm for life. My pibble mix will be seven in the spring. She’s definitely large breed and we’ve noticed a tiny bit of slowing – like she doesn’t like to jump into my vehicle and would rather climb. Small things.
Sadie *will* live forever!
We have two boston terriers- one who’s 9 and one who’s 3. So far we’ve noticed that our 9 year old is developing cataracts- however, that has definitely NOT slowed her down or kept her from showing our little one who’s boss!
My dog just turned 7 and it literally brings tears to my eyes that she is getting older and will not be with me one day. Hailey is a cocker spaniel and only in the past 9 mos has she started to get calmer. She still has a ton of energy but she just doesn’t go as hard anymore. She also loves to cuddle now. She used to be too hyper for more than 2 sec of cuddling. Dogs are such funny and loving animals. I cannot imagine life without them:)
My 13 year old Shih Tzu pooch, Honey, was as lively and energetic as ever until she hit about age 10. She really calmed down around then and stopped running around the house and barking when people came over. It’s the saddest thing but I know she’s got a few more good years in her and she’s as cuddly as ever now that she’s not always running around.
Our family dog is 16 and just started slowing down in the last year or two! She still has plenty of energy to bark at everyone that passes by the house and run zoomies in the backyard when the mood strikes her.
My dog, Bingo was a mutt and lived until he was about 17!! He used to bark at everyone that came in the door, we knew he was getting old when he wouldn’t hear people come to the door until they were about to leave.. and then he would bark as they were leaving lol. He was a great dog 🙂
We had a golden retriever growing up who lived to be 16.5. She didn’t slow down until she was about 12 though. Sweet sweet girl.
my brother’s dog is only 1 but everyone keeps telling us that she won’t calm down until around 10! I think that’s how a lot of dogs are
I never really thought of age 6 being a senior dog! Our rottweiler, Tyson, lived until he was about 11 years old. She slept most of the day but when the kids got out their remote control cars he loved chasing them and reminded me of a puppy! It was so much fun!
Such a good point! Sometimes (often) my dog’s craziness (he’s a Ridgeback) really annoys me, but if it means he’s healthy, keep it up!
My Rascal will be 6 in December and he has been getting a lot of little white hairs around his eyebrows and on his snout. It makes me so incredibly sad because he has been my baby since he was 5 weeks old and I can’t imagine life without him.
He has always been a lethargic little guy, so I haven’t really noticed a change in his energy. He has always loved me, food, and sleeping in that order. 🙂
My family dog is 10.5 and he still acts like he is puppy! He has so much energy. 🙂
Bahah. Had to laugh about the ‘problem’ having cookies around & you MUST eat them. Love it! 🙂
Zelda our greyhound turned five years old in September, and she’s been getting more and more white hairs. We joke that “she’s not four anymore!” Her energy levels remain the same, though; she’s still spunky Zellie. 🙂
Our pup, Holly, will be five years old in February! She’s a Lab-hound mix and is truly 50-50 of the two – half the time she has Lab-like energy and whizzes in circles around the house, but other times she’s so lazy-hound-content to just hang on the bed and snore 🙂
The dogs I grew up with, a Peekapoo and a Shih-Tzu, are 14 and 15 years old now and have been our “little old ladies” for about four years. They’re inseparable and when the older one started aging, it was like the younger followed right in her footsteps. They’ve been together since they’re were puppies so I guess they truly are sisters for life. It’s definitely sad to see your dog(s) become elderly 🙁
Our family pet was adopted when she was 5 or 6. She is a small chihuahua. She is now almost 13 years old now I think…totally gray in the face..and still super full of energy! She has lost many of her teeth, which is sad but she is still happy as can be. I see her sticking around for many more years!
aww I never had a dog but I know my cats usually settled down around 4/5 years old. But I def wouldn’t consider them old since I had a cat live to be 23 which was over 200 in cat years LOL
Julie:
My husband and I have 2 Shih-Tzu Maltese dogs (Ziggy & Chloe). They will turn 14 in April and they still act like puppies…full of energy; They are our “fur” children. I can not imagine them slowing down…they keep us young. We Love them!!!! 🙂
Sadie, your dog is such a sweet lady…give her a big hug from us.
That discount is hilarious! My dog Oliver is 3 and he’s had gray hairs around his muzzle for at least a year and a half. I think it’s so weird! And yes, he’s still as energetic than ever!
Totally went over and pinned the workout, such a good idea!!! You seriously would love the Zuzana Light workouts, they’re between 10-25 minutes long and you really feel it! They’re perfect for at home! 🙂
Zuzana is AWESOME! But that doesn’t mean I can keep up with her 😉
My dog Oreo was around 10 or 11 when her energy level started to decline, but we got another puppy when she was 12 which really livened her up! She ended living until 16 – that’s 112 in people years!! I was so upset when she passed away, but I know she lived a long and happy life 🙂
We had our maltese; our first ‘baby’ for 12 years and his energy level was to the max up till the day before he suddenly past away about a year ago. The vet thought it was his heart. I am just thankful we never had to watch him suffer.
On a side note, was reading your blog while watching a DVR recording of the Amazing Race and thought you and Ryan would make the perfect team. You should send in your tape 🙂
I have a little Yorkie and he turned 10 last year and STILL shows no signs of slowing down. I say you have a ton of time with Sadie’s nuttiness! 🙂
my mom’s bichon is 15 and acts 5 months, complete with peeing on things.
Ginger just turned 5 in July and I can’t stop looking at her and thinking about how she’s probably half way through her life! I realize how morbid that sounds…
I think her energy levels have finally JUST dropped (albeit, only slightly) but from what many say, I think weimaraners and vizslas are pretty similar in their nuttiness factor. I’ll take the nutty any day as long as it means she’s happy, healthy and still full of life 🙂
My oldest dog is 5 so I have no idea on the aging thing. She still acts young and frisky, although she’s definitely much less energetic than she was as a puppy. But our other nutjob puppy keeps her young. ;p I hope they live forever, they’re my first pets so thinking about them getting older makes me SERIOUSLY sad!
My dad’s dog has started slowing in age. He’s a Dachsund, Wire-Haired Terrier and something else, and just turned ten this year. Since my sister moved out in January, he’s calmed down a lot . He used to have endless energy, but now he sleeps about as much as our cats.
Our pitbull Puddin’ is about 7 or 8… she has some grays and isn’t too hyper, but she can still tear it up if she sees some deer in the background!
**backyard!
Isn’t that crazy to know that six in puppy years deems the senior citizen discount. My little guy just turned 6 this year and to me, he will ALWAYS be a puppy. I can only image what it will be like when our “actual” children get older. 🙂
When I was 5, we got a Westie named Sugar. She was a 17-18 pound little white bundle of ENERGY. That dog would run circles around the house and needed at least one good walk a day. If the door opened and she didn’t have her leash on, you could guarantee she’d be half way down the street in about 2.5 seconds. This lasted until she was about 9-10. Unfortunately, she developed severe skin problems and progressively lost her energy (I think due to the crazy meds she was on) until she was 13 when she passed on. Even when she wasn’t feeling well, she still had a spunk to her and would get excited and want to play every once in a while. If adorable Sadie has this much energy at almost 5, I doubt it’ll go anywhere any time soon 🙂
Simple+healthy lunch, yummy dessert…my kind of meal. 🙂 I don’t remember when I noticed my childhood dog, Trippy, start to slow down but I’m pretty sure it was definitely older than 52!
Would love that cookie recipe! Yummy.