How to workout with your pooch and get rid of your own belly pooch in just 46 minutes!

It's that time of year again! Time to dust off the old sneakers and hit the gym again. Oh wait! What about your pup? If you're like most busy working people, you've probably been gone all day from 9 to 5 and your dog has been waiting at home patiently waiting for you to have some fun with him. It's a dog owner's dilemma- hit the gym or walk the dog?

Now you can do both! Instead of going to the gym (cancel that expensive membership now! You probably don't get your money's worth anyway, if you're anything like me) grab two leashes, one for your dog and one for yourself (instant jump rope!) and take your dog out for a workout. It's best to use a leash that snaps around your waist or around a pole while you do sit ups and pushups. That's all you need! Two leashes, your dog, and sneakers.

The best part about working out with your dog is that at least one of you will be having a good time. So even if you don't like working out, your workout partner will and you'll be happy because at least he's having fun. Plus, an added motivation is a more well behaved dog on top of losing all of those ghastly extra holiday pounds. Dogs also make you run faster because there's no holding back for a dog on the run. So many smells! Excitement around every corner! Try to race your dog for 10 minutes and the L-Bs will melt off your body.

A lot of dogs like to run super fast, and then conk out for a break by stretching out on some cool grass in the shade. Before you even think about taking a siesta yourself, get your booty in gear and attach your dog's leash to a tree or pole by your side. Then push yourself

to do some sit ups, push ups, squats, whatever makes your muscles squeal for at least 5 minutes! If your pup is ready to get back at it, attach his leash to your waist, and do some lunges for 5 minutes as your dog sniffs along by your side and checks his neighborhood pee-mail. Lunges are a whole new ball game when your dog is trying to pull you off balance.

Now that your thighs are burning from all of those lunges, now kick it up a few notches by doing some back and forth sprints with your dog. Just give him a heads up before you switch directions really fast to avoid yanking on his leash. I like to say, "This way!" before changing directions with my dog. After 5 minutes of back and forth sprints your dog will be walking on the leash really well by your side because he'll be watching your every move and he'll be thinking that you're really fun and exciting!

After your sprints, go for a brisk walk and find a wall to lean up against to do a chair squat. Ask your dog to do a down stay. Your dog will be happy to stay after so many sprints, which means that it's a perfect time to train your dog to stay for a longer period of time. Try to time the both of you at the same time. Try doing a chair squat for 1 minute while your dog stays for 1 minute.

Next, put that second leash to good use and do 5 minutes of extreme jump roping while your dog is tied next to you on a pole or tree. Your dog will learn to patiently wait for you while being tied up even if something exciting is going on. Then find a bench or low wall that you can use to do some planks and dips for 5 minutes. Then do 5 more minutes of jump roping.

Cool down after your workout by walking your dog back home. Now is the fun "Zen" part! Get your yoga mat out or a blanket and stretch for at least 10 minutes. Your happy, well exercised dog will end up laying by your side as you both relax on the floor and decompress after a long, crazy day at work. You can be happy that you just killed two birds with one stone by exercising yourself and your dog at the same time! And you avoided all of the smelly, sweaty gym rats and awkward mirrors at the gym. Yay! Your dog will reward you with good behavior and a big kiss even if he is just licking the sweat off of your face!

HAPPY New Year! Resolution: Get happier with your dog

As a dog trainer, I find myself having to say, "Get happy!" to my clients and they'll look at me quizzically and then suddenly break out in a big smile. Immediately their dog will start to pay attention to them and dance in front of them ready to work with them more.

What does it mean to "get happy" and why is it that dogs love it when we are happy?

Dogs are incredibly intuitive when it comes to reading our minds, moods and body language. They have been bred for thousands of years to be our loyal companions, protectors and best friend. They are protectors of our hearts and happiness above all else and lov

e it when we laugh and smile because it's a sign that we are having as much fun as they always have.

We can learn so much about being happy just by appreciating our dogs happiness in every moment, smell, activity and interaction.

I just wish that I could be as happy as my dogs are when it's time to play ball, go for a walk, eat dinner, greet someone new, play with a pal, cuddle in b

ed, roll in the grass, smell the flowers, run on the beach, etc. I really wish sometimes that I had a tail, so that I could wag a happiness flag for all to see!

What really makes me smile is when my dog Daisy is playing

on her back, rolling around with a toy held above her head with her two front paws, kicking her legs out every time she squeaks it. The harder that I laugh when she's kicking her legs, the more that she wags her tail and kicks

her legs out harder. Maybe our laughs are equivalent to tail wags? Whatever it is, her behaviors that are cute and silly are reinforced by my laughing, so she continues to do lots more leg kicking. She loves to be happy and I love it when she's happy.

All animals and people feed off of each other's happiness and respond to it with increased happiness.

Positive reinforcement training means that animals or people operate on their environment and get a response that increases or decreases a behavior based on whether or not the response is pleasurable or not. We reward good behavior with anything that the person or animal likes or makes them feel good- attention, praise, food, play or access to anything good. Just like animals we operate on our environment too. If you smile at someone, chances are your efforts will be rewarded by a smile back, which will make you feel happy or connected with that person, which means that you will be more likely to smile at more people.

You can train yourself just like you can train your dog.

Dogs have been trained to recognize smiles and laughs because they are usually attached to a reward- i.e pets, attention, a toss of a toy. When training your dog with the positive reinforcement method, you are enjoying the time spent working and playing with your dog, which releases good 'happy' chemicals like serotonin and dopamine that flood both of your systems and is read all over each other's body language. It is very rare to see an owner/dog duo using positive reinforcement methods who are not smiling and tail wagging. You will know that you've hit the nail on the head with your training when the both of you are smiling, laughing and being happy!

So start this new year off right, by getting happy with your dog and teaching each other a few tricks or two about being happy together!

Why does my dog smell bad? - 7 Reasons why

Do you find yourself calling your dog "Stinky" more often than not? Have you recently bathed your dog and he still clears the room with a malodorous odor? Here are 7 reasons why your beloved dog may smell funny...

1) A poor diet can result in not only a lack luster coat, but also a smelly oily one. A healthy, high quality, fresh, whole diet that is free of by-products, corn, soy, artificial flavors, and fillers will keep your dog in tip top shape.

The Honest Kitchen

is a human-grade, raw dehydrated food that is full of veggies, fruits and meat. It will dramatically change your dog's health and improve his smelliness.

2) Ear infections are a very significant source of stinkiness. Dogs with long, flap-like ears are more prone to bacterial and yeast infections due to moisture getting trapped in the ear canal. If you are going to take your dog for a swim or if you're giving him a bath, be sure to use an ear cleansing solution with a drying agent and towel off the area around your dog's ears and neck as good as possible. It's also beneficial to get into a habit of cleaning your dog's ears once a week to flush out smelly ear gunk and keep your dog's ears free and clean of stinky bacteria waste.

3) Old, stinky collars are all too often a main source of smelliness. To keep your dog's collar odor free, take it off when you bathe your dog and use a collar that's just for baths. If you do keep your dog's collar on when your dog gets wet, be sure to take it off so that it can air dry otherwise it will smell really ripe and will make your clean dog smell gross. Leather dog collars get especially smelly if you keep it on when your dog goes swimming. Clean your dog's leather dog collar with leather soap and let it dry before you put it back on your dog. For nylon collars, scrub with dish soap and hot water, and then air dry.

4) Anal glands are the usual suspect for a very stinky situation. Unfortunately, some dogs are more prone to anal gland problems than others. You can detect a rear end problem by watching for bottom scooting, and excessive chewing and itching around your dog's tail. Groomers and veterinarians offer anal gland expressions and can usually relieve your dog's uncomfortable problem. A healthy diet will help prevent anal gland impactions and keep your dog free and clear of a smelly situation.

5) Another common source of doggy odor is bad teeth and unhealthy gums. Oftentimes, dog owners don't even realize that their dog may be suffering from fractured or rotten teeth and it may be causing a lot more damage than just bad breath. Infected teeth and gums can affect your dog's overall health and may spread to the rest of your dog's body, not to mention cause a lot of pain and suffering. To keep your dog's teeth squeaky clean, give your dog plenty of toys and chews to chomp on to prevent plaque build up. You can brush your dog's teeth regularly and have your dog's teeth examined and cleaned by your veterinarian. For older dogs or for dog's that are prone to teeth problems such as Yorkies and Pomeranians, a non-anaesthetic pet dental specialist will be able to regularly clean your dog's teeth without putting them under anesthesia.

6) Don't forget about your dog's dirty dog bed. Remember to regularly wash your dog's bed to keep it free of smelly bacteria and fleas. Make sure that you purchase a bed that has a removable cover so that you can toss it in the washing machine.

Molly Mutt dog duvet beds

are perfect for keeping your dog odor free because you can fill your dog's duvet with old clothes and blankets. This way, your dog will love that his bed smells like you, but you'll also be able to throw the whole bed in the wash. Other dogs beds have fillers that can never be washed and may be harboring all kinds of bugs. As an extra bonus, Molly Mutt beds are super stylish and your clean smelling pooch will love it!

7) Your dog may also be rolling in smelly smells. There are a lot of predictions about why dogs love to roll in the grossest things. It could be that dogs are trying to disguise their dog smell with another animals scent to ward off other predator animals. Others say that dogs are trying to "keep" the smell with them as they track the scent. My guess is that while we think dead seagull smell is the grossest thing we've ever experienced, a dog may think that it's a lovely perfume that smells amazing. The number one thing to remember is that dogs will be dogs and you'll never have a dog that smells like roses. However, there are certain things that you can do to keep your dog healthy and somewhat odor free. My friends think I'm crazy because I think my dog Daisy is the best smelling creature in the world. I just love smelling her muzzle and cuddling up with her. She is my seagull smell.

To give your dog the most amazing bath, complete with all natural lavender shampoo, all of the supplies you need, a raised bathtub and warm water, head over to

Noah's Natural Pet Market and Wash

. Your dog will love the fun spa day and extra treats, and you'll love the fact that you don't have to clean up when you're done. Noah's also carries the best dog food around and their knowledgeable, friendly staff will be more than happy to help you find the perfect diet for your dog.

Follow these tips and you'll absolutely love cuddling up to your healthy, clean, happy, good smelling pup!

Doggy Street Smarts in 7 Steps - Teach your dog to stay safe and out of the street!

You know the feeling- absolute dread, panic, sheer terror- as your dog runs across the street chasing a ball right into oncoming traffic. Chances are your dog will be completely unfazed as the cars whizz by him, narrowly missing him. As you recover from the near death experience, you start to think that there must be some way to teach your dog to never ever step off the curb again...

The good news is that there is a way to train your dog to stay out of the street without the use of shock collars and other methods of punishment! With consistency, follow through and a lot of repetition you can train your dog to stay out of the street and waiting on a curb until he hears a cue to step of

f of the curb.

There is more

human training

involved in the process than there is dog training. The

first step

is to teach yourself to stop at every curb, wait for your dog to sit and look at you, and then to always give the cue to your dog when it's time to step off of the curb. From this point forward, you and your dog will always be aware of curbs, pausing at them and giving signals to continue walking. You will know that you have trained yourself well when you are going for a stroll with your boyfriend and accidentally stop at the curb and give the cue to your bf that he's now allowed to step off the curb. ; ) But, man training is a whole other story! Back to curb training...

The

second step

is to 'show' your dog what you expect him to do at the curb. By this time you have probably already taught your dog to "sit", "look" and "wait", so now it's time to put these cues to good use. It's best to start with a curb in front of your house. Walk Snoopy up to the curb and ask him to sit. Turn around and then approach the curb again. Ask Snoopy to sit again. Repeat this several times and give your dog lots and lots of praise for stopping and sitting at the curb. Repeat this exercise until your dog starts to automatically sit when you approach and wait at the curb.

Once your dog sits automatically, say "Good sit!" and get really, really happy! Why? Because your dog's brilliant brain is right on track for learning to stay out of the street! Sounds easy enough right? But not so fast, there are a few more steps...

Once your dog is starting to reliably and automatically approach a curb and will sit without you cuing him to, with a flat hand out towards your dog, tell him to "wait" and as you step off the curb tell Snoopy, "Good wait!" and give him a treat for not following you. Step back up onto the curb and give Snoopy another treat for not stepping off the curb with you. This is the time to get very happy again! Why? Because curb training is fun!

If your dog steps off the curb with you, you may have to back up a bit and work more on "wait" without stepping off the curb. Or you may have to just briefly step off the curb and return very quickly to give your dog a "Good wait!" and a treat. But wait! What do you do if your dog does step off the curb with you? You can mark the unwanted behavior with a "Uh uh!", withhold a treat and herd your dog back out of the street and up onto the curb. As soon as your dog is back up on the curb return to his side and tell him, "Good sit!". Then try again and remember that dog training is all about breaking behaviors down into small steps that can be linked together through proper timing and lots of positive feedback. If your dog "messes up" it's more likely that you messed up so swat yourself on your bum.

Ok! So once your dog is happily sitting and waiting on the curb while you slowly step off, you can now move onto

step three

. Step three is to simply reward Snoopy with lots of "Good wait!" and lots of treats for staying out of the street and for staying up on the curb. Give your dog at least three treats (a jackpot!) and then extend the time that you stay in the street, then return to your dog's side and give him another treat. (Just as a disclaimer, there are no excuses anymore for the I-don't-want-my-dog-to-get-fat people. You can now use a Lickety Stik by PetSafe that is only 1 calorie per 10 licks or you can use the tiniest piece of treat (freeze dried liver, cheese, deli meat, chicken) as long as it is soft and smells good/bad depending on who you are asking.) By this time your dog should be extremely happy to stay out of the street and is happily waiting for lots of praise on the curb. You should be able to walk back and forth along the curb without your dog stepping into the street.

Step 4

is very exciting! Once your dog is automatically sitting, waiting and looking at you whenever he approaches the curb, with Snoopy right by your side eagerly say, "Let's go!" and make a grand gesture of inviting him to step off the curb with you. You can make your cue and your hand signal whatever you like. If you want to say, "Elephant!" and do spirit fingers you are more than welcome to do that as long as you promise to do this for the rest of your dog's life at every single curb that you two will ever come across no matter where you are. I like to say, "Let's go!" and point across the street because even when

I'm not walking with my dogs and I'm walking with a group of people, I don't get as many weird looks when I automatically accidentally do it whenever I cross the street. It's good to point across the street because it has been scientifically proven that dogs are very adept to pointing gestures and will follow your point and move in that direction. Praise your dog when he steps off the curb, but never ever give your dog a treat while he is in the street. After all, the street is a very bad place where no dog should ever linger, so good things like treats and playing in the street should never take place there. Once your dog is out of the street, you can turn around and approach the curb again, wait for your dog to sit automatically, wait and look up at you for his cue. Once these things happen, you can very happily say, "Good wait! Let's go!" and cross the street again.

Step 5

is to continue proofing your dog to stay out of the street using a long line of at least 12 ft and a few distractions like a ball or a toy. Walk your dog up to different parts of the curb and continue practicing the approach with an automatic sit and automatic wait as you step off the curb. Continue to praise and treat your dog profusely for choosing to stay out of the street. Then randomly drop your dog's toy in the street. If your dog decides to stay on the curb, give your dog a treat and tell him "Good wait!". If he goes a

fter the toy, tell him "Uh uh!" and herd him out of the street and take the toy out of the equation. Try again once your dog has calmed down and is ready to try again. Keep working on this until you are able to roll a ball into the street, have another dog walk by, throw hot dog in the street, dance in the street, and just about do anything crazy and distracting, with your dog happily waiting on the curb.

Step 6

is to wean your dog off of treats, which happens naturally because just the act of moving in forward motion is a reward for a dog because they are so excited to keep moving ahead in life to smell new things! Wait patiently for Snoopy to sit and wait at the curb and as soon as your dog does, praise him profusely and happily say, "Let's go!". You can even add in some running steps and run out of the street, which your dog will think is really fun and will teach your dog to get out of the street quickly. You can reward your dog just by telling him, "Ok, go ahead and allowing him to stop and check his pee-mail on the other side of the street.

Step 7

is vow to always wait at all of the curbs with your dog and to always tell him when it is safe to leave the curb with a "Let's go!". This means that anyone who ever walks your d

og must also know that you are dedicated to keeping your dog safe and that Snoopy must keep his street smarts in tact by always waiting and sitting at the curb for a "Let's go!".

See?! Curb training is fun and keeping your dog safe around streets is not a joke! But this is...

"Why did the dog cross the road?"

"He didn't cross the road because his owner trained him not to!" : )

Help us find Zeek to win free DogZenergy Services!

Our new DogZenergy dog, Zeek, is lost and we need your help! Zeek loves to run around La Jolla looking for his next big adventure. Zeek is about 5' 9" tall, looks like a goofy golden retriever, and is very hairy and smelly. If you or anyone you know has seen Zeek, take a picture and post it to our DogZenergy facebook page! The first person to post Zeek's picture will collect our lost dog reward. Zeek has been missing for several days, but someone just informed us that they saw him hanging out around La Jolla Elementary. Check our facebook page for more clues and you may just win a free one hour private training session with Brittany!