For the last two weeks I have been taking care of my sister's dog while she and her husband are in Mexico. It's been a change in my routine for sure, as my main fitness activity is running and Ned does not run. I have only run a couple of times since I started dogsitting, but I managed to get some exercise while walking him.

Ned likes to amble along and stop frequently to sniff, sniff, sniff. I don't know how a smell can be so fascinating that he has to sniff at it for minutes at a time (frequently changing position so he can get at it from all angles), but Ned does this all the time. At first I just stood there and glared at him, but eventually I realized that I could burn some calories (and add steps to my fitbit) by jogging on the spot while he indulged himself. It really helped to have my (relatively) new ipod playing some heart pumping music.

I eventually discovered that Ned will trot along quickly enough that I can jog with him, but he always eventually catches another alluring smell and we're stopped again.

My sister is picking him up tomorrow, so I only have tonight's walk and tomorrow morning's, before I can get back to my old routine of running 3 or 4 times a week. I think I didn't do too badly though, with the exercise, and maybe even got more steps in than I would have without being forced out of the house twice a day!