The apple business can be pretty serious sometimes. There’s that whole work, grow, harvest, pack repeat thing that’s always at the mercy of Mother Nature. It’s why we stress taking care of yourself and are proud to grow healthy products and encourage healthy lifestyles. Living Wholesome to the Core is about living your best life. It’s eating right, getting enough sleep, incorporating exercise into your daily routine, setting a work life balance, having a hobby, giving back, staying connected with family and friends and sometimes even laughing at yourself – or even man’s best friend, your dog. Our running ambassador Laura from This Runner’s Recipes has two of her own furry companions and they provide her a lot of love…and a few good laughs that remind her to not take things too seriously. Read on and see if you can relate. Dogs make wonderful companions and are great buddies for outdoor activities like walking, camping, hiking and running. They can provide company when you are on a walk or run, protection during early morning workouts, and will keep you moving forward when you would otherwise be tempted to quit a run. They can also make things just a little more fun. 
However, running with dogs can include some messy and downright comical moments. These are just a sampling of some of the funnier moments I’ve experienced when running with my two dogs, a puggle and a Lab-Cattle dog mix. If you run with your dogs, I am sure you can relate! My Dog Ate My Body Glide – For Real. Runners are known for their appetites, but at least we stick to eating mostly bananas and peanut butter. But when your dog is a runner, nothing is safe from their appetite. Your dog may even eat your anti-chafing cream! One Sunday evening, we found Ollie sitting in the bedroom, shredding a bottle of Body Glide cream into little pieces. Thankfully, he didn’t ingest any of the cream (we still called Poison Control just to be extra safe). The Not So Sexy Running Gear. You would not go out for a run without your GPS watch or shoes, but once you start running with your dog, you expand your list of essentials. Clean-up bags for your dog’s number twos are essential on a run – and the more you run with your dog, you learn to bring more and more bags. I have become so habituated to bringing clean-up bags on a run that I sometimes stash them in my shorts pocket even when I’m not running with one of my dogs. You also hope to find a garbage can sooner than later so you don’t have to carry the smelly poo too far and that the bag doesn’t break while you’re running with it. Speed Work by Mutts Many runners will incorporate faster intervals of running into their training to improve their pace. These intervals are usually run by time or distance – unless you are running with your dog. Both of my dogs have a strong prey drive. We see rabbits, weasels, squirrels, ducks, and even moles on our normal routes – and each time one crosses our path, it creates an interval surge as either Charlie or Ollie pulls in pursuit of the poor woodland creature. We’ll speed up after squirrels and nearly sprint if they happen to see a bunny. Each day I get a few intervals in whether I planned to or not. But for each of these crazy moments, there’s that instant on a run when you look down and see a look of pure joy on a dog’s face. They remind us that running is about more than races or finish times – it’s about the joy of movement, fresh air, and companionship. Even when Charlie stops for the fifth potty break on a run. It’s simple, I love running with my dogs. Isn’t this the real truth with life. It’s the little things that bring us joy if we just look around and see life through the eyes of others. Each time we see a post celebrating the first honeycrisp of the season or when a satisfied consumer emails us to tell us that our apple was the best they’ve ever eaten…we feel a little bit like a dog on a run…engulfed with pure joy. Just like running, what we do isn’t easy, but it’s a labor of love and it’s made more enjoyable on the hard days by knowing that what we do makes a difference. Keep living Wholesome to the Core.
When A Dog Smiles – They’re Living Wholesome to the Core
