Golden Retrievers were bred to bring back waterfowl that were shot during a hunt. So, they are an active breed that is keen to work with people. That’s two points in their favour. They are cheerful and willing, and are easily trained. Three more ticks for this breed as a running buddy. If you start running with your Goldie when he is mature, and build up the distance gently, he will be an ideal companion when you hit the road.

What do you need to look out for if you want to buy a Golden Retriever to run with? These dogs are prone to hip and elbow dysplasia. A running dog needs four sound limbs, so you won’t be able to run with a Goldie with either of these conditions. The most important thing you can do to avoid this, is to do your homework before you buy a Goldie puppy. Both hip and elbow dysplasia are hereditary conditions.  Golden Retriever breeders are doing their best to reduce their incidence in the breed by carefully screening adult dogs before they are mated. Hips and elbows are x-rayed and given a numerical score, based on the degree of dysplasia. Only those dogs with low scores should be used for breeding.

Responsible dog breeders will be able to show you the results of such testing on their dogs, and be able to discuss with you the suitability of their lines as a running companion. If they can’t, then don’t buy a pup from them, no matter how tempted. You are setting yourself up for heartbreak when you have to leave your dog at home when you go out for a run.

Back onto the theme of dogs and running. I was absolutely horrified and disgusted to read the news report about the sled dogs being euthanased after the Vancouver winter olympics. You know, I can stretch my mind to the dogs being a business “commodity” and I can even stretch it to some of the sled dogs maybe not being suitable for rehoming for whatever reason – mind you, if they were working with the general public they would need to have had good natures. No reason why they couldn’t have been rehomed. What I can’t come to terms with is the dogs being euthanased in such a way that the person doing it received a payout for post traumatic stress disorder. You can read further details here.

What I find particularly distressing is the idea that these intelligent, aware creatures would have known what was going on, and heard the cries of the other dogs as they were “euthanased” – I use that term very loosely because that word means “peaceful death”. Nuthin’ peaceful about that!

There have been calls for emails to be sent to the company, expressing disgust and outrage. I had a better idea. I was going to build a website and call it www.companynamekillsdogs.com and get it to the top of Google. Nothing defamatory or libellous, just the facts.

It’s not hard to whip up a simple website with WordPress. That’s what this site is built with. It’s free, and very easy to use and customise. The domain name costs around $10 a year. The main thing you have to worry about is web hosting. If you’re looking for a place to host your website, reliability is the key. Because I’m not an expert on this sort of thing, I also appreciate good customer support. If you Google “web hosting”, there are pages upon pages of results. How do you choose a web host? Have a look at this site -

http://www.thetop10bestwebhosting.com/

It features reviews of the top 10 web hosts out there, and these reviews are by real people who have used the services. So, the comments are genuine. For example, check out the Just Host user reviews – you’ll find comments from users in the UK, USA and all over the world. You’ll also notice that there are some people who haven’t been happy with the service, which indicates to me that the site is legitimate; you get the good with the bad. If you have a close look at the site, you’ll notice that there are reviews for both UK and US webhosts, and they’re not necessarily the same. There are good Fasthosts reviews that see it place in the top 10 in the UK, but it doesn’t show up in the US charts. Just Host, on the other hand, are number one in both regions.

I always like to rely on reviews such as those on this site to make my webhosting choice, it’s easier than buying a pig in a poke. It’s a real nuisance to have to move sites from one webhost to another, so making a good choice right from the start is worth the effort.

The last thing I want to say in this marathon post (drought, drought, drought, FLOOD!) is that I’m going to change the whole theme of this blog. I’m still running, but after a few years it’s getting a bit monotonous. So, the new “runwithdogs” blog will be about the science of the canine athlete. There is more and more research out there that’s absolutely fascinating. So, new topics, new theme, whole new look. Watch this space.

Back to the topic of this post. This issue of Runner’s World had an article about women in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. They have suffered such atrocities that it’s hard to imagine that people experience such things in the 20th century. For example, one woman had her leg cut off by rebels and cooked over a fire. Her 12 year old son was told to eat it, and he refused. So, they shot him dead. I’ve seen horror movies that are less frightening. I mean, #$%#%!!!!

These women participated in a 1 mile run that was organised to bring them together, and to strengthen and empower them. My running girlfriends and I were planning on raising funds for these women through the Run for Congo Women website. However, we’ve had a change of plan.

We have set up a group at Kiva, called “Run for Kiva Women”. Kiva offers micro-loans to people in third world countries to establish or grow businesses which will generate ongoing income for their families. Then, the loan is repaid, so we can lend it again. The repayment rate is 98%, so the odds are good that we’ll get the money back to share again. What a great idea! We can lend as little as $25, and we can still choose women from the Congo, or even women from any part of the world.

I’ve battled with motivation on and off over the years, but if this woman who had her leg chopped off and saw her son shot dead, can run almost a mile on crutches and an artificial limb (with painted toenails!!), then I’ve got no reason not to get off my a$%^se and run.

My Melburnian friend Michelle suggested I come along, and with hubby willing to do the childminding and Michelle offering to pick me up at the airport and put me up for the night, it was a done deal.

How to get there? I’m not good with heights, and the idea of sitting in a plane as it hurtles through the atmosphere 10km above the ground just didn’t appeal. The alternatives weren’t good. A train trip would involve changing trains in Sydney, and a bus trip would take 36 hours each way. Neither of them could compete with 2 1/2 hours in the air. So I booked the tickets.

I felt a bit unfaithful because I’d always flown Qantas, but the flight times just didn’t suit, so I flew down on Monday morning, and home on Tuesday evening with Virginblue. And, you know what? They were fantastic. Lovely staff, no turbulence, and a very stress free experience, even for phobic old me.

I’m not sure why cabin crew are always so good looking. Is “slim, nice teeth, clear skin and shiny hair” part of their selection criteria? Lovely people, very efficient and looked after us really well. Maybe this flying thing isn’t so bad. Our captain on the way back was a guy who used to come along to our running club. There, that’s running related!

And the seminar – it was great fun! Michelle and I drank red wine, discussed building an internet empire that would see us as millionaires sometime somehow, and learned a few useful things about blogging.I’m all inspired, I’m going to change this theme, and do some fun stuff with this site.

I missed Guinness though.

PS I know my hubby reads this, so I better say I missed him and the kidlets too.

Yep, you can click on the image to check out the site.

The Pooch to 5k program for dogs is based on the wildly popular Couch to 5k running program. We’ve stretched it out a little – our dogs handled Couch to 5k just fine, but there are a couple of steps in that program that are a little challenging. Because dogs can’t tell us how they feel, we felt it would be easier to make the steps a little more incremental. Hence, it’s a 12 week program instead of a 9 week program.

Not everyone can find someone to run with, so we have a forum to find some cyber-dog-running buddies. You may remember when I did Couch to 5k, I did it with my friend Roseanne who lived half an hour away. We never ran together, but gosh did we get on the phone to each other and whinge when we got back from a run! Actually, that period of my life may pre-date this blog. Anyhoo, if people can find others to chat to about where they are at, then it may motivate them. Also, dog folk just love chatting to other dog folk!

We want dogs (and their owners) to become healthier and leaner. I’m so tired of going to work and telling people their dog is overweight. Every…single….time!  The programs and the forum are all free, so grab them, send your friends the link, tell them I’ll haunt them if they don’t do something about their fat dogs!

Hubby and I have some pretty huge ideas for this site. It’s going to be good fun. I don’t think it will ever make me a fortune but that’s okay. as long as it can pay for its own bandwidth I’m happy.

I’d love some feedback. What do you like? What do you hate? Be gentle with me! 

One thing that hasn’t come up as much at work as I expected is the new vaccination guidelines for dogs. The Australian Veterinary Association is now recommending vaccinations every 3 years, instead of every 1 year. It was all over the news and in the newspapers a few months ago, but very few people have commented on it.

We all know that prevention is better than cure when it comes to dog health, and vaccination is a vital part of that. However, there is always the chance of a vaccination reaction, which is not a good thing. I personally vaccinate my dogs yearly if they’re going into the kennels, but with these new guidelines, boarding kennels should accept three yearly vaccinations with yearly kennel cough boosters. I don’t routinely vaccinate for Leptospirosis or coronavirus; lepto isn’t common around here, and corona isn’t a serious problem unless a pup is already sick with parvo. No point in giving a vaccination that a dog doesn’t need.

It’s a bit different with puppies. They still need a course of vaccinations, and I usually give them one annual booster, then they’re on the same schedule as adult dogs.

Maybe there will be more awareness as time goes on, but right now, we’re still doing as many vaccinations as we ever were, and still seeing very few reactions.

I have in fact been running more lately, now that our four homeschooling mums team has successfully entered Trailwalker in Sydney in August. We’re doing some hill climbing and some long walks, and the other three girls have started doing the couch to 5k.  Yesterday hubby and I took Guinness and Sinner out to Glasshouse for 15km along the trails. A nice run, followed by latte and eggs benedict. I could get very used to this!

I’ve been playing at building blogs lately, and am so tempted to give this one a bit of a facelift. It’s looking very same-y. What do you think? I could backup, change it, and if I don’t like it, just change it back. Might see what other themes are out there…

I’m still managing to fit in a run though, and am getting a bit stronger each time. I’m two weeks away from the Twilight half marathon, but I’m going to drop to the 10km instead. There’s no way I can finish a half at the moment. But, I’ll get there.

Going back to talking about work, I’m always amazed at how many people spend money at the vet’s on things that are totally preventable. A puppy died of hookworm last weekend. He should have been wormed. That sort of thing is just not on. So, here are my top five tips for keeping your animal healthy and saving money in vet expenses.

1. Pet-proof your home. When you have young children, you protect them by keeping them from getting into things that are dangerous to them. The same goes with your pets. Keep medicines out of reach, prevent them getting access to electrical cords and make sure they can’t get into the rubbish bin. Cooked chop bones or peach seeds are not good for dogs! They get stuck in the intestines, and your dog will need $3000 worth of surgery to remove them.

2. Regular vet checkups are important. Now that pets only need to be vaccinated every three years, you still need to have your pet examined every year. A year is a long time in a pet’s life. In that time they may develop severe dental disease, or heart disease, which are best treated early before they make your dog very sick. Your vet can also advise on preventative care, such as intestinal worming with Drontal (which kills hookworms!!!)  or flea control with Frontline Plus.

3. Feed your pet properly. This not only means feed the right type of food for your pet, but feed an appropriate amount. The number of obese animals is increasing, and it causes many preventable health problems. I saw a 9kg cat last night, it looked like a footstool! Won’t be able to walk in a year.

4. Exercise your pet. This is easier with dogs than cats. You can take your dog a walk, or play ball with him in the backyard. Or, you can take him running!! Good for both of you. Cats can be trickier, however they often like to chase a laser, and that can keep them moving.

5. Desex them. No unwanted babies, no infected uterus and no male dogs wandering to chase a girl, and getting into fights or bumped by a car in the process.

Anything you feel you’d like to add? It’s not rocket science, it’s just basic common sense.

There! Vent over. Back to your regularly scheduled program.

I ended up getting my mum a pedometer for Christmas, and a nice water bottle with a handle. I don’t know if she’s used it yet.

I went for a run this morning, along the foreshore at Redcliffe. I took the big black dog, who promptly peed on every tree. Nothing changed there. I’ve got very little endurance, but I’m finding that I can run up hills easier. I’ve entered the Twilight Half Marathon on 21st March, and I’m on target for a 3 hour finish. Bummer, cos the cut-off is 2.30. Bit of work to do. It’s hard, I’ve lost interest in running, and the one race I was so keen to do (trail run where I have permission to take Guinness) is on the same day as Miss 10′s QLD and Australian Highland Dancing championships. That’s a one in 10 year opportunity for her, so we’re going there instead.

Life is not far off chaos! I’m working extra shifts at work, schoolwork has started for the children again, and I’ve got several writing gigs for clients on the go. I’m tired, short fused, and often feeling a bit flat.  It won’t last forever, but it’s pretty stressful at the moment.

One of my friends suggested fish oil capsules. Funnily enough, they were talking about fish oil on the radio this morning, and how it’s supposed to be good in preparing your body for pregnancy. Not going there! I’ve been Googling fish oil and it sounds like it does you a lot of good.

It’s apparently good for regulating mood swings, and for making you feel less down. Supposed to also help your brain focus better. That’s what I need, my mind wanders constantly. Takes me two hours to write a 500 word article on a topic I know well.

I’m thinking too it’s supposed to help with arthritis and joint health, as well as reduce inflammation. Not that there’s any problems with my joints at the moment, but maybe it’ll help prevent future stiffness as I get old(er).  I wonder if it will mean less soreness after a long run? Maybe I won’t creak when I get out of bed.

The only thing that worries me is the fishy belching that I’ve heard of. I don’t mind garlic repeating on me, but not sure about fish.

I met a lady at work last week who gives her dog fish oil every day, and its coat is stunning! Thick, glossy, and shiny. That could help Guinness too, especially if it protects his joints.

Anybody tried fish oil? Any positive effects you’ve noticed? I figure it won’t hurt to give it a shot, only problem is that the radio said that you get what you pay for with this product. The more expensive capsules are higher quality. Will have a look at what’s out there.

Kidlets haven’t been running much lately, and the Runaway Bay 5km series is starting soon. If they want to go, they’ll have to start running more.

Thanksgiving just serves to remind me that Christmas is just around the corner. I’ve always found it relatively straight forward to buy a gift for Hubby, because there are loads of little useful running bits and pieces Ican pick up. Since I’ve been running too, I’ve seen the same thing happen with my own family – my mum and sisters find it so easy now: a pair of running socks, a book or magazine on running, etc.

Soo, what do you give your running partner for Christmas this year? One item I’ve thought about occasionally is a heart rate monitor. I’ve dabbled with the idea of low heart rate training, I feel it sort of justifies me going slow, hehe. I can say to people, “just going slow to keep my heart rate below a certain level. I really could go faster, you know”, knowing full well I probably couldn’t! How to do you pick the best heart rate monitor though? I guess it comes down to two things, durability and budget. It’s gotta survive the sweat, and it’s gotta be affordable.

My mum is one of the hardest to buy for. Late 60′s, owns her home, and has a few interests, but she really doesn’t need anything. My sister got her an mp3 player so she could wear it walking, but she’s not very technically minded, and it doesn’t get much use. I’m tossing up a pedometer, so she can count her steps. She’s doing the Tony Ferguson diet, and she’s starting to walk more. She’s lucky enough to live not too far from the foreshore, and it’s a nice place to walk. I honestly have no idea what else she may like. I’ve started reading pedometer reviews, because if I get her one that’s too technical, it will spend the rest of its life next to the mp3 player.

Now, for me. I know my Hubby reads this, so I can leave a not so subtle hint. When I bought my new running shoes a month or two ago, I found that I needed a half size bigger than I’d been wearing. My trail shoes are still a size 9, and I’d probably feel a lot more comfortable in a size  9 1/2 now. I’ve got a pair of Asics, but there doesn’t seem to be quite the range when you’re looking for a trail running shoe. It seems to be less important whether you’re a pronator, or whether you need more cushioning when you’re buying a trail shoe.

So, that’s the outdoorsy people in my life just about sorted. Now all I have to worry about are the more sedentary folk, and that’s going to be hard.

I’d love to know what running goodies you fancy for Christmas – I can add them to my list of birthday ideas for next year.