National Walk Your Dog Week was founded in 2010 by Celebrity Pet Lifestyle Expert and Animal Rescuer Colleen Paige, to bring awareness to the ever increasing problem of canine behavior issues and canine obesity in America. Sponsored by Animal Miracle Network, it aims to improve the health and well being of America’s dogs and sends the message to unchain your dogs!

"With more and more people becoming sedentary and gaining weight due to a lack of exercise, say's Paige, dogs don't get the necessary outlet they need to stay physically and mentally healthy. I feel that part of the overpopulation of dogs in this country is hugely associated with our growing waistlines. Generally, the less a person exercises, the less a dog exercises. Having trained thousands of dogs in the last twenty years, it's my estimation that at least 75% of dogs in shelters are there due to a lack of exercise, which has thus resulted in serious behavior issues such as aggression, destruction and separation anxiety issues. Often, dogs run away from home because they're kept sequestered all day long in a crate or a small yard, says Paige, which only exacerbates a dog's destructive, aggressive or anxious tendencies. This, coupled with too much fatty food, leads to obesity, as well as medical issues like pancreatitis, diabetes, heart disease and the number one killer of dogs – cancer. October is a beautiful time of year everywhere to get outside. Walking your dog on a daily basis not only increases the endorphins in both human and canine brains {happy chemicals} but it improves the bond between the two”.

Paige says she initially founded National Walk Your Day for October 1^st, as a way to highlight these issues and encourage people to get out with their dog and start getting healthy, but later felt was not enough to stimulate a continued walking program, so she then founded National Walk Your Dog Week to be celebrated the entire first week of October. She believes that when people witness the changes in their beloved dogs by giving them a week of exercise they normally don't get, not only will they see a massive difference in their dog’s behavior but the dog's person will feel so good they won't want to stop. This not only helps to save the life of the dog by promoting proper health and quelling behavior issues that might otherwise land him in the shelter facing euthanasia - but it will also help to improve the health of the human companion and possibly save their life down the road as well.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, more than 40 percent of dogs...a total of about 17 million in the United States, are overweight. "If you walk your dog just 30 minutes a day, you will meet national recommendations for heart health, says Paige. Asking your children to accompany you by walking the dog themselves while you supervise, will set them up for a better chance that they will continue to not only crave physical exercise, but that they will be responsible dog stewards when they're adults."

Remember.... a tired dog...is a good dog!

If you're not an avid dog walker, spend a week walking with your dog! You'll feel so good....you won't want to stop!