Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Challenges of Doing Yoga in Dog Territory

Chewy thinks yoga is a very fun activity. First off, there are the sticky mats.

Yoga mat time? Downward dog!

He thinks they're very comfy, and is always ready to sit the moment I roll one out.

For me? Don't mind if I do!

I'm ready!

Once I start working on yoga poses, he either wants playtime or snuggle time. He brings me toy after toy, often coated in slobber, and shoves them in my hand for a game of tug or fetch. Or he climbs under my plank or bridge, like I'm a Chewy-sized cave. Or he sits on me while I'm lying on the floor. Sometimes he lies in the path of my hands so he can get some pettings. But primarily, he is a mat hog!

Ball...too...far...

So, I started rolling out 2 mats- one for me, and one for Chewy. I figured if Chewy hogged one, I could just slide over to the other one and continue what I'm doing. Chewy had other ideas. His preferred spot was across both mats.



He also discovered that sticky mats are great surfaces for chewing on toys.


By the end of every workout, the scene would resemble something like this:

Dog toys everywhere!

One time, I told Chewy to stay while I did my yoga, and it worked!

Stay? Okay...

Bored now.

Still bored.

Gonna back away now...

He did not seem very pleased with that plan of action. Perhaps next time I should stuff a Kong for him...but what if he decides the perfect place to work on it is on my mat?!

Rolling up the mats is always a challenge, as Chewy does not like to part with them.

Mine.

Do you work out around your dog?