[yorkietalkjilly]

Tibbe is a dog that demands his exercise or he just won't settle down. He's pestering me and baiting me and chattering away at me, growling under his breath, etc., until I give in and get up and walk him or chase him(even on a cane at times) all over the house a few rounds or take him through his training commands a dozen times or more, whether I feel like it or not. Once he's had his first exercise session and a few treats and his water, he'll settle down for a nice nap, griping at me until I squeeze over and he gets right beside me on the couch pillow with no room left to even breathe and that's how he prefers to nap!

Once he wakes up again, it's outside to chase the leaves and squirrels and anything that's moving in the yard or alley. He'll run around outside like a nut just for the joy of running, I guess. He's constantly trying to get me involved in his backyard play and sometimes it even works for a minute or two but if I can't, he'll keep on playing on his own. I'm very fortunate in that.

But he loves his training sessions and his walks outside the most - the long walks which I'm not always up to so I have to improvise and get him doing his jumps over a stick balanced between his bottom doggie step and a basket about 6" off the floor and setting up a little den "agility" course where he runs, first running in and out of his crate beside the couch, up his doggie steps, up onto the couch and jumping into the window sill behind the couch and back down the onto the couch, the doggie steps and back on the floor, going around in a big circle again and jumping over his stick again and again, then back in and out of his crate, up the doggie steps to the couch, etc. This little "agility" course much wears him out after a few rounds of it. We almost always get in a few rounds of his going through his obedience training and doing his little tricks, rolling over and sitting up and begging, sitting, etc. - which is his favorite thing in the world to do.

So he manages to get in some fairly good exercise though I doubt it's always enough for him, I'm often down on the ice pack, taking medicine and using Icy Hot by the time we're done.