Tow of the reasons we most often hear when someone decides to leave the Golden Dog membership are:
“I just don’t have enough time.”
We also hear:
“I’m not sure how to make the best use of everything the membership offers.”
We understand both—and the more I think about them, the more I believe they are connected.
There will always be more things competing for our attention than hours in the day. When time already feels limited, having events, videos, experts and resources without a clear path for how to use them can easily become one more thing we intend to get to someday.
That’s something Golden Dog needs to own.
We’ve spent years building resources and opportunities for our members, but we haven’t always done enough to show people where to begin, what matters most for them and their dog, and how to put what they’re learning into practice.
That’s changing in 2027.
And much of the thinking behind that change has come from my own wellness journey.
Why Did I Make My Health a Bigger Priority?
As the owner and founder of Golden Dog Adventure Co., I spend a lot of my time thinking about how to help people and dogs live healthier, more connected lives. It’s also why I decided to pursue my wellness coaching certificate through the National Academy of Sports Medicine—to better understand human wellness and how to help others make sustainable changes.
That education also caused me to look more closely at my own health.
As I age, I want to keep doing the things I love: walking, hiking, traveling, spending time outdoors with my dogs, and running Golden Dog adventures and activities.
I don’t simply want to add years to my life. I want to remain strong, mobile and healthy enough to keep doing the things that make those years meaningful.
For me, that meant prioritizing strength training and becoming much more intentional about nutrition.
Both required time—to learn, plan, shop differently, prepare nutritious meals and exercise consistently.
My schedule didn’t suddenly clear. I had to decide that my health was important enough to take up some of the hours I already had.
What Does “I Don’t Have Time” Really Mean?
Sometimes it means exactly that.
Caregiving, health issues, work demands, financial pressures and family responsibilities can leave very little capacity for anything else.
But sometimes “I don’t have time” means something hasn’t become enough of a priority yet.
That’s what I had to recognize in myself. There was never going to be a magical week when everything else disappeared and wellness conveniently moved into the empty space.
I had to make room for it.
That realization also changed how I think about human and dog wellness.
We talk about finding time to exercise, finding time for our dogs, finding time for enrichment, finding time to get outside and finding time to take care of ourselves.
These priorities don’t have to be separate things.
How Can Your Dog Become Part of Your Wellness Journey?
Our dogs are woven into our everyday lives. We influence how much they move, what they eat, where they go and what they experience. They influence our routines, too.
A walk can provide physical activity for you while giving your dog movement, exploration and sensory enrichment.
A hike can build endurance while getting both of you outdoors.
A slower sniff walk can give your dog opportunities to investigate the world while giving you permission to slow down and be present.
Building your own strength and mobility can help you continue walking, hiking, traveling and adventuring with your dog as you both age.
And sometimes the dog who needs a walk is exactly the reason you get moving on a day when you otherwise wouldn’t.
Caring for ourselves and caring for our dogs don’t always have to compete for the same hour. Sometimes they can happen in the same hour.
What Does Science Say About Human and Dog Wellness?
The connection between human and animal health is increasingly recognized through One Health, an approach the World Health Organization describes as recognizing the close links among the health of people, animals and ecosystems.
While One Health is much broader than our relationships with companion dogs, the underlying idea matters: our health doesn’t exist in isolation.
Research involving dogs and their people provides a good example.
A 2022 international study of 3,298 dog guardians in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France and Germany found a clear relationship between owners’ exercise routines and their dogs’ exercise routines. The researchers also found that 71% of respondents reported becoming more active after getting a dog.
That relationship works in both directions:
The habits we create for ourselves can help shape the optimal lives our dogs get to live, while our dogs can also encourage healthier habits in us.
Researchers have even begun examining physiological connections between dogs and their people. One small study of 58 human-dog pairs found correlations between long-term cortisol levels in dogs and their guardians. The small sample means we shouldn’t interpret this as dogs simply “absorbing our stress,” but it adds another interesting dimension to research into the human-dog relationship.
What Is Bonded Green Exercise?
This may be the research concept that most closely aligns with where Golden Dog is headed.
In January 2026, researchers published a paper introducing bonded green exercise, defined as shared physical activity between a bonded human and dog in natural environments.
The researchers begin with a distinctly modern problem: physical inactivity, social disconnection, digital addiction and excessive time indoors can negatively affect the health and well-being of both humans and their companion dogs.
Their proposed framework brings together three elements:
Physical activity + nature + the human-animal bond.
Each has independently been associated with well-being. Bonded green exercise asks what may happen when humans and dogs experience all three together.
The researchers propose that this combination may support physical, mental, social and relational well-being in both species. They also hypothesize that dogs may act as catalysts, encouraging their humans to participate in more nature-based physical activity. Because bonded green exercise is a new conceptual framework rather than the conclusion of a clinical trial, further research is needed to test those ideas.
But the concept itself is wonderfully simple.
Head into the woods with your dog and you’re both moving. You’re outside rather than sitting indoors. You’re stepping away from screens. Your dog is exploring. You’re sharing an experience and strengthening your relationship.
That’s wellness happening at both ends of the leash.
And this emerging framework will help inform much of what we do at Golden Dog in 2027.
How Is Golden Dog Changing in 2027?
My own wellness journey has made me rethink what we’re asking our members to make time for.
I don’t want Golden Dog membership to become another collection of videos you haven’t watched, resources you’ve saved for later or events you meant to attend.
More resources aren’t necessarily the answer. Better direction is.
In 2027, we’re reimagining the Golden Dog membership around a clearer understanding of human and dog wellness and how the two fit together.
Movement, nutrition, emotional well-being, behavior, enrichment, nature, education and connection aren’t separate boxes you’re somehow expected to squeeze into an already busy week.
They’re connected.
Our goal is to help members understand where they and their dogs are now, what might help them next, and which resources and experiences can help them build healthier lives together.
Because wellness doesn’t necessarily mean finding five more hours in your week.
Sometimes it means looking differently at the hours you already have: the dog walk, the Saturday hike, the time spent learning together or the decision to become stronger so you can keep holding the leash, climbing the hill and heading out on adventures years from now.
Our dogs depend on us for much of the life they get to experience.
And they can give us another reason to take better care of ourselves.
The goal isn’t finding enough time for our health, our dog’s health and our life together…it’s recognizing how connected they already are.
More health. More connection. More life with your dog.
That’s Wellness at Both Ends of the Leash.
Learn how Golden Dog membership can help you and your dog build healthier, more connected lives together—and join the waitlist if enrollment is currently closed.
