Kicking off #DoggieDozenRaces with Coyote Hills run!

We're huge supporters of dogs here at Trot with Spot, but also being healthy and having fun outdoors. This year, I'll be doing a #DoggieDozenRaces - 12 races for 2014, one per month, to help raise awareness of Trot with Spot and meet new people. Today I had a fantastic time at the Coyote Hills run which was put together by Blazen Racing. They offered a half marathon (2 loops of the 10K), a 10K and a 5K. Between 400-500 people were there and not one person looked like they weren't having a great time. It was a mix of semi-paved road and trails with views of the bay and I highly recommend it!

Somehow, I PR'd (had a personal record), so I am particularly pleased with this race. For February's #DoggieDozenRaces I'll likely be doing the Fort Point 10K. I hope you'll consider joining me!

Here's some pictures from today. Enjoy!

 

Shelter dogs are where it's at.

It's really interesting to hear people talk about their dogs. So many people have shelter dogs and sometimes they get a bad rap because there's this sense that a shelter is a bad place. I will admit, there are many that are, but many more that are absolutely wonderful places to care for animals that need a special home. If you're considering a dog, a shelter is a great place to get one from! They often have some type of obedience training and are spayed/neutered. Check out these little fur-balls that I met at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, which has an absolutely fantastic set up and I would recommend to anyone in that area for a place to adopt a dog. Enjoy the cuteness!

 

New music for your runs and a Meetup!

If you're in the Bay Area this weekend (January 19th), then come to the Marin Headlands and go for a hike with Trot with Spot! We'd love to have you. Obviously it's dog-friendly. Here's the full details through Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/Trot-with-Spot-Outdoor-exercise-and-dog-lovers/events/158631222/

If you're like me and periodically need to grab some new tunes to stay inspired, then fear not, I have done the work for you! We have a music page with recommendations on fun & funky music with links to download them directly. This week we added songs from Aloe Blacc, Miracle, the Ohio Players and more. Get groovin!

Don't forget that we are currently featuring work by one of our exchange artists. She's talented and generous, so we'd love it if you bought one of her designs on one of our tops. $5 from each purchase goes to support canines in need. Here's the link to our shop: http://trotwithspot.spreadshirt.com/

Blackwolf Silverpaw: Our first artist joins Trot with Spot!

Well a happy New Year to you all! We're stoked that it's 2014 because it's a whole world of possibilities. Today is already proving that to be true as we're joined by our first artist: Blackwolf Silverpaw! She is a German artist and in her own words, "Being a DA artist for me doesn't just mean to be famous or successful, it's mainly about having fun, meeting people, getting connected, being creative and showing your artwork to the world".

We're thrilled to have her art work helping African Wild Dogs, Wolves and no-kill shelters. She's talented and we hope you think so too. Right now we have 2 designs available in our online shop: http://trotwithspot.spreadshirt.com/ - "Chibi" (left) and "Kimball" (right).

With each purchase from our online store (not just from Blackwolf Silverpaw) $5 goes to Trot with Spot, and we give it back to worthwhile causes. You really can't go wrong with buying canine-themed gear that helps you get fit, have fun, and support amazing causes. We have a quick summary of each cause on our Who We Support Page, so find out more about them there. All three of the places offer volunteer programs in case you want to get knee deep into things like animal husbandry and research in the field.

We're always looking for talented people to be a part of Trot with Spot - get in touch with us at trotwspot@gmail.com or check out our Artist Exchange page to find out more!

Greetings from Lake Tahoe!

Lake Tahoe - one of the most beautiful and fun places to be in California. Regardless of the type of person you are; nature lover, dig lover, runner, skier, border, you name it, this place likely has something you'll enjoy. Fortunately I love all of the above, so it works out (minus the skiing, I'm a boarder).

Milo, the family Chesapeake bay retriever and the dog that started it all, is on his way here as well in my parents' car. He always loves coming here because of the long walking trails and open space for him to explore. Pictures to come, of course.

I'll be doing some altitude training and posting on the trails, so look out for some ideas. It's a great time to get away from it all and connect with nature, so I'm looking forward to it.  Let me know if you have any trails to recommend, I'd love to hear it!

Milo loved his home-made treats with fruits, veggies and peanut butter,so I can't say enough how much I recommend trying it for your own pups. You can control what they eat, give them some delicious treats and save money long term. Yum/woof!




Hope everyone is being safe out there. Take time to care for yourself as well as others!

Easy dog treats to make at home!

It's almost Christmas and if you haven't checked out our online store for great gifts, then perhaps you're interested in some healthy dog treats to make as gifts for dog-owners. All told they took me about 35 minutes to make the dog treats and 25-30 of those minutes were while the treats were baking in the oven.

I made two different types of treats and I have a suspicion that the dogs will favor the peanut butter enhanced one... but I guess I'll have to test it first :) These are also great kid-friendly recipes to make and bake. Doesn't matter if you get a little messy! Click here to get to our recipe page.

1. Peanut butter and banana treats from Whole Foods which I've also listed on our recipe page. You mash up banana, peanut butter, oats, 1 egg and bake them on a sheet in the oven.
2. Apple and carrot treats from My Baking Addiction which is also listed on our recipe page. Here you grate a carrot, add apple sauce, oats, an egg and baking powder. Same deal, mash and put on a baking sheet in cookie or treat form and bake until golden brown.

I recommend grabbing some jars and filling them with the cookies and adding a simple ribbon for decoration. I calculated that per jar of cookies you're only spending around $3. That's a great deal and not a lot of effort! Not to mention, these are all natural ingredients and healthy for your pup.

Here's some pictures of my baking adventures and the final product. Enjoy!

The final product! Who wouldn't want one of these treats?

Ingredients for the carrot and apple treats.

Mush! Kid-friendly baking :)

Ingredients for the peanut butter treats.

How was your #GivingTuesday?

Greetings from Bergheim, Germany! It is mighty cold here. There's snow and ice and it is making running a bit more interesting than I was used to in Namibia. I'm here because much of my family is German and I love coming back to go to Christmas markets and catch up on German beer. The best thing I have seen so far is VERY MANY happy dogs in the streets and out in town. It is great to see them out of the apartments and calmly enjoying towns.

So what did we do for #GivingTuesday? If you don't know what it is, it is the Tuesday after Black Friday and Cyber Monday and focuses on giving back to the community. I love it and have giving a little extra through Trot with Spot to the organizations we support (Naankuse, SF SPCA and WCC) in addition to Charly's bakery as they do great things for kids in the community through food. Thanks to a very kind soul at the airport who let me go through without charging me at least $160 USD, so I decided to pay it forward through TWS. It feels great!

While I was in Cape Town I got to experience a fantastic running adventure through Run Cape Town. I saw the activity in a running magazine. It is a woman named Philippa, local South African, who loves to run and show people around Cape Town. She has a guiding certificate and has picked out some first class places to take you running which are off the beaten track. We went to a wonderful town called Darling and did a 10k trail run. After that she drove us back to Darling proper and we tasted locally grown olives, wine and beer. It was absolutely great and a wonderful day of activities and getting to know locals. The best was that I got great gifts for home along the way! Highly recommended and a fantastic deal at roughly $35 USD (depending on the exchange rate). Link to the Darling tour here.... Here are the Facebook pics! One last thought on Cape Town - RIP Mandela. We are forever indebted to your leadership and kindness.

We have some wonderful designs going up in the store for the holidays so we hope that you get your gear in time for Christmas! The best thing of course is that the profits go straight to worthwhile charities around the world. 

Darling Brew in South Africa

Time to taste the local beer!

 
 Finished the 10km trail run!

New design - more to come!