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Keeping up a fitness routine in winter when it’s darker, colder, and likely wetter or even snowy, is key to you being ready for an all-out assault during the warmer months. It’s also a great way to burn through those comfort foods we tend to enjoy in the cooler months.

Keeping your dog active over winter is also critical. They still need walking for their own health and wellbeing; rain, hail, or shine, but more often than not you’re squeezing this in before work or when you get home.

So, how do you keep up the motivation for you and do this safely with your dog?

Southern Cross Pet Insurance has teed up Mark Vette, New Zealand’s own world famous animal behaviour expert and health and lifestyle guru Rachel Grunwell to download some key tips and tricks to build and maintain a successful winter routine.

Exercising safely and mindfully with your dog in the dark and cold – animal behaviour expert Mark Vette

Keeping your dog in a healthy condition means regular exercise. It’s also essential for good socialisation – the more practiced they become with meeting other dogs, humans and experiencing different locations, the more comfortable and enriched they are overall.

• First up, schedule a walk every day. Put it in your diary and see if you can make it the same time every day. The more you do this, the more your dog will motivate you to get moving. They will come to know what time it is for ‘walkies’, and they’ll ask to go out. How can you resist those big eyes?!

• Just being cold is no excuse, but if it’s too dangerous to get outside with high winds or the threat of flooding, then do not go. Instead, have a vigorous play session with your dog inside. Make sure there’s no danger of running into furniture, unplug lamps and other electrical things and use pet-safe toys for a tug of war, or chase-the-ball games. Training itself is also a useful and doubly beneficial way to use up some of your dog’s excess energy - so practice some foundational techniques or teach a new trick to get their brain working.

• For safety’s sake when walking or running in the dark, make sure you have a reflective collar, harness, and/or lead for your dog. If you have a reflective bandanna or a light you can attach to their harness or lead, even better. This makes your dog visible to other walkers, runners and importantly drivers. If it’s super cold or icy where you are, consider a snug-fitting and preferably reflective vest for your pooch, and even booties if it’s rough under foot. Southern Cross Pet Insurance previously hooked up with international designer Matthew Adams Dolan to create a special collection of reflective gear to highlight the need for safety after dark, but you can let your own creative juices run wild or see what you can find at retailers like Petdirect.

• Take a small torch with you. You’ll need this to see where to pick up any dog poo – it’s unfair and unhygienic for others if you don’t, and frankly you’re doing all other dog owners a disservice if you don’t pick it up.

• Try and mix up the route you take with your dog. While their vision is usually better than yours after dark, they can still be easily surprised by change and may react differently than they would normally in daytime to moving trees, other people, and other dogs. It’s good to ensure they are familiar and comfortable with different environments. Change is good for you too.

• Dogs are olfactory (nose) oriented. Their sense of smell is some 100,000 to 2 million times better than ours! Allowing them to have a good scent-oriented walk is super enjoyable for them, and a bit of dark won’t make a difference to how much they enjoy those amazing smells! I’d recommend the 80/20 rule – 80% freedom to sniff and explore on lead (though not pulling!), and 20% in heel and doing general command work to keep them calm and focused. Dogs need to enjoy their walks as much as we do.

• In areas with limited space, it pays to keep your dog on a shorter leash than usual – that way you are less likely to trip, and they are less likely to get caught wrapping themselves around a tree, lamppost, letterbox or to lunge at another walker or dog. However, do find some open space that allows your dog periods of safe exploration, just remain mindful of any hazards.

• Take your training tools and treats with you, particularly if getting out in the dark is new for your dog. And of course, take your phone in case you need it.

• The most important quality for a trainer is situational awareness and that is particularly important at nighttime. This means being aware of your circumstances in an environment and how your dog might potentially react in that environment. Being in the dark may create different reactions than on your day walks. Bonus, being situationally aware is a great mindfulness practice!

• Dogs can be more reactive in the dark initially, but they will generally get used to it with practice and the diversity is good for them.

Tips for humans to stay active and healthy in the colder, darker months – wellbeing expert Rachel Grunwell

Keeping up a fitness and health routine during the cooler, darker months is the key to feeling healthier, happier, and more in balance. And, if you have a pet, regular movement is essential for their health and wellbeing too throughout the year. So, if you think you can’t get out the door to exercise for you then do it for them. The health benefits for you both are endless.

I’m a qualified personal trainer, yoga and mindfulness teacher and author of Balance: Food Health + Happiness with some simple advice on staying well.

• Walk, jog, waddle, or run early in the morning. This time of day may be darker, but it’s meditative too. It’s so quiet, peaceful and there’s nothing more magical than watching the sun come up. I recommend wearing a jacket, wool hat, and gloves as well as donning reflective clothing, wrist bands or a light. You can also get a reflective harness, bandanna, or light for your precious pet too so you can both be safer and seen. Exercising in the morning is great for getting it done and there’s no excuse to be anywhere else at this time.

• Exercise with a buddy or family. This will motivate you to show up in the morning and not snooze through your alarm because you won’t want to let your friend or family down. This is good for your heart and heart connection to keep depression at bay.

• Try waking up and stretching to get your body moving well. Google some yoga stretches online or sign up to a weekly online yoga class to do from the comfort and warmth of your own home. Signing up for a weekly yoga class locks you into turning up to move and stretch your body and feel more in balance and shake stress.

• Make the most of having more affordable Vitamin-C boosting fruits in your diet like oranges, mandarins, limes, and lemons. They are so much cheaper and are in abundance at this time of year. Freeze the juice too in icetrays for use in following months.

• Swap sugar-loaded hot chocolates and coffees for hot teas (like peppermint, cinnamon and horopito, fennel, roasted chicory and cardamon), or how about a home-made healthy and delicious Spiced-Up Turmeric Latte from my book Balance (see below for the recipe).

• Make extra dinner i.e., roasted vegetables and protein (chicken, beef, lamb, fish, or tofu etc.) so you can have this for lunch the next day. This is timesaving, cheaper than take-aways and protein helps with satiety - to keep you fuller for longer so you won’t want to snack as much.

• Put music on in your kitchen and dance with no one watching, or with your young kids or grandkids. You don’t have to be good at dancing to get the same health benefits as a professional dancer.

• Visualise yourself as the fitter you that you dream of being. Own this new identity and tell others you are committed. Believe in yourself that you can do this. You deserve to feel and be the best version of yourself.