Workout for Pets and People the Biggest Loser Way!

Celebrity trainer Dolvett Quince puts a pet owner and pup
through their paces at a recent event in Los Angeles

We're super excited about a very special event we're planning to attend tomorrow!

Banfield Pet Hospital and celebrity trainer Dolvett Quince from NBC's "The Biggest Loser" are hosting a fitness class for dogs and their owners Saturday, July 20, in Atlanta and Rocco and I will be there! 

Even though I do a lot of activities with Rocco, I think he winds up getting lots more exercise than I do. So I'm really looking forward to learning how I can step up my fitness program too.

Together, Banfield and Quince developed an exercise program that pet owners and their pets can do together to become active, healthy and fit.

According to Banfield's State of Pet Health 2012 Report, chronic conditions such as overweight and obesity in pets have increased at an alarming rate since 2007. Since that time, overweight and obesity have increased by 37 percent in dogs and 90 percent in cats, affecting approximately 1 in 5 pets.

Leading a healthy lifestyle is just as important for our pets as it is for humans," says Quince, "which is why I created a program that pet owners can do with their furry friends to become more active and shed unhealthy weight!"

Rocco's ready to run!

Quince's workout plan goes beyond just walking and running with pets. In fact, one of his exercises sounds a lot like a backyard game I made up for Rocco to help him get his zoomies on and prepare for agility games!  I based it on the wind sprints we used to do during high school basketball practice.

Quince calls this exercise "Shuttle Runs."

After picking three line markers that dogs and owners will run toward, Quince recommends that pet owners stand to one side and run these with the dog and create a fun "chase game." Participants can start by running to the first point, and run back to start; next run to the halfway mark and back to start; and last, run to the farthest point and back.

This can be repeated for a total of three to five sets. As both the dog and owner build stamina, additional sets may be added.

You can find more of Quince's pet workout tips on Banfield.com/fitness as well as details about the public fitness classes for pets and pet owners this July. In addition to the class Quince will lead in Atlanta tomorrow, he's  leading one more in Minneapolis on Saturday, July 27.

We'll let you know next week how our workout goes with Quince!


Petties voting is open! Please vote To Dog With Love in the Best Overall Blog category daily until July 31! 

The fun and games continue every Friday with FitDog Friday, the weekly Blog Hop brought to you by To Dog With Love, SlimDoggy and Peggy's Pet Place to promote a healthy active lifestyle for pets (and their people, too!) and to help combat pet obesity. Join in every Friday by linking up your FitDog story or visiting the blogs in the Hop.