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Sam’s Commonplace Book:
Entry I: April 15, 2020
It’s been a little over a month since we entered quarantine. I spend most of my days taking care of my puppy, King, who has been a superstar throughout all that is going on. His playfulness and ignorance to what’s happening in the world around him (besides squirrels and another dogs’ poo) is something I deeply admire about him.
After basically vegging out on the couch for the past month or so, eating snacks and food to my delight, sleeping at odd hours, and allowing work from my classes at Zoom University to build up I decided it was time that I put together a real, concrete schedule and begin to settle into a routine. We are in this for the long haul, it seems.
TL; DR No more going to sleep at 8:30am the next day
No snacks after 1am
Stop eating like the world will end tomorrow
Get up and be productive during the work hours (read: daylight) of the day
Wait. Stop.
I’m not giving myself enough credit. After all, with a 5-month-old puppy in tow, there’s only ever so lazy I can be.
I’ve included a copy of King’s daily schedule below, just to convince myself I’m not a complete waste of space.
King’s Daily Schedule
8:00 am: Wake up and first potty break of the day
Note: Ask him to sit before opening the crate door and should remain sitting until you say “okay” or “release”
8:10 am: Brush King’s teeth
8:15 am: Breakfast time (King gets 2 ½ cups of food)
Note: Ask King to sit and wait before you put the bowl down. To avoid bloating, you can put King back into his crate for quiet time to let everything settle (highly recommended).
8:30 am: 2nd potty time of the day to relieve himself after breakfast
8:45 am: Play time! Get King to engage in some tug of war and chew toys.
Note: If he gets too rowdy or starts to play bite, firmly correct him and ask him to sit before resuming play
9:30 am: Nap/Quiet time for King
11:00 am: Short walk around the neighborhood
11:30 am: More playtime w/ King or he can just hang out around the house
12:00 – 12:15pm: Lunchtime for King (Another 2 ½ cups)
12:30pm: Quick Potty break
12:45 – 1:00pm: Playtime
1:00 – 2:30pm: Naptime for King
2:30 – 3:30: Dedicated training session for his service dog responsibilities
4:00pm – 6:00pm: Playtime/Free roam
6:00 – 6:10pm: Dinner time for King (1 cup for King)
Feel free to turn this into a training session to give him some mental stimulation! Again, set him in his crate for quiet time to avoid bloating.
6:10 – 8:30pm: Play time/Free roam/Training session
8:30 – 9:50pm: Potty break, long walk, settle time before bed
10:30pm: Bedtime for King
For overnight, King gets let out once per night around 3am.
Note: King is fully vaccinated and can now go out to places other dogs have been
Additional note: King is 80% potty trained (getting better with excited peeing) and no longer needs to be carried down the stairs
Other things to Consider:
- Brush King’s fur at least 2x a week
- Bathe him 1x every 2-3 months, he will need a wipe down (just water) probably once every 2 weeks
- Clip his nails every 3 weeks
- Wipe his ears down with a damp cloth every once in awhile
Remember, dogs need clear and specific instructions. To raise a calm mannered dog, you need to set expectations and remain consistent.
As you can see, it is very detailed and (almost) every detail of his life has been planned out. Now that he’s older (he was originally 2 months when the schedule was made), he can hold his bowels longer and doesn’t have to go nearly as often.
Here’s a workout routine that I hope to start this coming Monday for the U.S Airforce:
Sam’s Military Workout Plan
Part I: Warm up and Stretching
- 25 jumping jacks
- 10 straight ups
- 15 tuck jumps
- 5-minute run
- Shoulder shrugs
- Neck rolls
- Small circles
- Wrist rolls
- Serpent stretch
- Torso twisters
- Hip rotations
- Knee rotations
- Ankle rotations
- Straight leg stretch
- Straight splits
- Right splits
- Backbends
- Straight raises
- Butterfly
- Reverse frog
- Side leg stretch
- Leg raises in each direction
Note: Hold each stretch for 1 minute or more!
Part II: Strength and Conditioning Training
- Sit ups (max in 2 minutes)
- 10 Push ups
- 10 Diamond push ups
- 10 knuckle pushups
- 20 Squats (start w/o weight)
- Horse stance (hold for 2 minutes)
- Bicep curls
- Triceps dip
- Handstands (against the wall)
- 1 minute plank
- 1-minute side plank
- 10 leg dips each side (hold 3 of them on your weak leg)
- 20 Russian twists
- 15 Leg lifts
- Scissors for 2 mins
- Bear crawl
Part III: Cardio and Martial Arts Training
- Drill all your kicks 10x each side
- Forms (open hand and weapons) 2x each
- 5 min Sparring
- Walk/Run on treadmill for 10 mins
Part IV: Cool down
- Light stretching, especially hips and legs
- Water break
At some point, I’ll have to write out a few conjoined schedules for myself, incorporating King, work, chores, and stuff like that but I will save that for a different day. It’s time to go eat dinner now, and I can’t wait.
Until later.
Sam (Samuel) Stewart
P.S Here’s a link to some funny twitter posts I found online about schedule. I thought it was funny and relatable, at least for me.
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