My sort of rucking

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Waffles the Pug, the king of the casita couch.

I’m babysitting my grand dog as my daughter is off to Paris and a destination wedding for a bestie in Portugal. (What’s up with all these destination weddings? A topic for another day.) She flew from SF to Phoenix to drop off the pup. Plus, we got to spend two days together.

I was looking forward to walking Waffles around the neighborhood. I miss walking a dog. But as life would have it, my daughter called me a few weeks ago and said Waffles was limping She waited to see if it would go away, but when it didn’t, the vet diagnosed Waff with a soft tissue shoulder injury. He’s taking meds for inflammation and his activity is curtailed.

FYI, my daughter has a soft tissue shoulder injury due to her career as a distance swimmer in college. My husband has the same issue with his shoulders from his school years playing football and wrestling. My daughter said she’s convinced with our family history, Waffles injury is genetic.

How I worked around Waffles shoulder injury.

I ordered a cheap pet stroller from Amazon! I’m now pushing 20 pounds of Waffles and a few pounds of stroller for two or three miles a day. I’m feeling it in my forearms, triceps and butt. It’s my sort of rucking.

If my husband was embarrassed about being seen by neighbors with his rucksack that I wrote about HERE, you should have seen his face when I unveiled the stroller with Waffles inside! We are walking separately FYI.

To be fair, hubby is walking at 5:30 a.m. and I’m going at 7 a.m. because Waffles wakes me up at midnight and 4 a.m. to go outside. I’m trading Waffles nights with hubby from now on.

Waffles seems to like it and he sits quietly taking in the sights. I let him out in the park so he can sniff, mark trees and do the rest of his business. He can spend 20 minutes with his nose buried in the grass sniffing dogs, bunnies and birds who were there before.

After Waffles leaves, do I continue with my rucking and put weights in the stroller, or will the neighbor think I’m nuts?

How do you think Olive the cat will react if I take her in the stroller for a walk?

Or, will the Waffles smells end any chance?

What do you think makes waking with dogs more enjoyable than walking alone?

64 thoughts on “My sort of rucking”

  3. Oh, Waffles…and I’m with your daughter! Waffles is absolutely a member of the family with her shoulder injury – too coincidental! Love the pics of her in her Waffle-wagon! 🥰

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  4. EA, this entire post is priceless! I have the biggest smile on my face right now. From Waffles family “genetic” issues to your husbands horror at being seen with you pushing a dog stroller… I was immediately thinking Olive gets a turn and then read your comment about how accepting a cat might be… Perhaps you can convince Olive that the stroller is luggage and you are leaving on a trip. She’s sure to hop in there thinking she gets to go along. You have to take pictures if you manage that!

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  5. Oh this made my day. 😊 Waffles is so cute and I love that you had the idea about the stroller. I think you should put weights in the stroller when Waffles leaves to see what reactions you would get. 😄

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  6. I’m smiling here. Waffles is about the cutest dog ever, of course, but in a stroller he’s reached a new level of fame. As for Olive, she’ll do what she darned well pleases, so no idea how she’ll react. Take a photo if it happens.

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    • Yes, Waffles is so cute. He loves the stroller and getting outside to smell and see the sights. There are always birds and bunnies that I know he wants to chase, but he seems content. I’ll see with Olive. It will wait until Waffles is gone. Waffles stresses her out so much that on prior visits she’d get a UTI!

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  8. I totally get your husband’s reaction but as a dog person and since Waffles is in pain and loves a walk, I’m with ya. How did he do on the plane? Was he a carry-on?

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  9. I love it, Elizabeth! Still chuckling about the genetic nature of Waffle’s injury. 🙂 I think dogs get us to slow down and notice other things. You are such a good mama to take care of your grandpup!

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    • Ha! Actually he’s had quite a few litter box episodes throughout his six years of life. It ends up with litter everywhere in the room. He thinks it’s fun to dig and spray.

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  16. Aww, Waffles s adorable! Some cats like stroller rides and if I only had one cat, I would probably take her. But, I don’t need any more jealousy, at present. I think if you clean the Stroller after Waffles, you should try taking the cat.

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    • I will try taking the cat around my backyard first — after cleaning the stroller. I’m afraid Olive the cat will freak out if we see neighborhood dogs out on the streets.

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  17. This is such a fun post, Elizabeth, and I’m laughing at the genetic element! I think you should put weights in the stroller and maybe a toy dog, one that looks kind of real. 🙂 The fact that you and hubby walk separately cracks me up, but I can see my hubby and I doing the same thing in this situation!

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