Most people know that if you really want to be successul losing weight, you need to exercise. But getting motivated for that walk can be hard so you may want to enlist the help of “man’s best friend” to keep you motivated.

Dogs love to go for walks. Even if you are not feeling motivated and up to a daily walk, your dog is still more than happy to follow you around with those puppy dog eyes waiting for you to give in and go.

At our dog’s last vet visit, we were told our dog needed to lose a few pounds and were asked about how much exercise she got. Although we live in the country on several acres of land where our dog has the freedom to romp and play at will; our vet pointed out it’s not the same as giving her daily exercise like a walk or run would. And, he only half-jokingly pointed out as he patted my husband’s found stomach, it a daily walk with the dog wouldn’t do my husband any harm either.

So my husband and I, along with our dog, took up the habit of taking daily walks. I make my husband come along for two reasons. One, he can certainly use the exercise. And two, the dog doesn’t so much like to go along for walks as she likes to go for a “drag.” She tugs on the leash so hard especially when she sees a rabbit or squirrel she feels needs to be chased that she’ll pull me right off my feet.

At first the walks were only a mile in duration. Now my husband and dog, her name is Montana, walk three to four miles a day, walking for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. There are days my husband does not feel like going for a walk. But, Montana knows the routine at our house. After my husband walks in the door at night and has eaten she knows it is time for a walk. That’s when Montana starts to act like she glued to my husband. She follows him around the house, dancing around him, licking his hand when she can, wagging her tail, and looking at him in that happy “we are going for a walk now aren’t we” way.

Now that the dog is used to the routine (and I guess we have been trained as well) we do our best not to miss any nights unless the weather is too bad to go out and walk (i.e. lightning, tornados, etc – a little rain or snow isn’t enough to stop us). The dog still wants her walk, though, so to make up for the lack of her w-a-l-k for that evening he’ll play a game of tug of war with the dog until she’s pooped (or he is).

At this point you’re probably wondering if we saw any results. We did. The dog lost two pounds by taking her nightly walks. My husband lost 10 pounds without making any changes to what or how much he eats. I lost even more than that but I also make some changes to what I ate.

I’m not advocating that you get a dog just to help you exercise every day. But if already have a dog, get up off that couch and take him or her for a walk every day. It will be good for both of you.

And if all this talk about the benefits of having a dog has pushed you over the edge now and you’re ready to get one, head on down to your local animal shelter and think about adoptiong a dog in need of a loving home.