Walking is great exercise. A woman my weight (mumbledy-something) can burn 80-100 calories an hour simply by putting one foot in front of the other. Adding a dog can increase the calories burned – either from trying to keep up or by trying to drag him or her away from hydrants, bushes, other dogs, etc. It can also give you the added bonus of getting your dog in shape.

But why stop with one when you can walk five dogs?

That’s the challenge I take on once or twice a week. I have three of my own – two twenty-pound standard dachshunds and a thirteen-pound miniature dachshund. I started adopting dachshunds into my family when I was training for marathons because they were the only dogs who ran my speed. The other two dogs – one fifteen-pound miniature dachshund and one thirteen-pound Chihuahua/dingo mix – belong to my friend and neighbor, Marcy. All in all, they total one full-size dog in weight, only they have twenty legs and five distinct personalities.

Anyone who has ever laughed at the hilarity of a professional dog-walker would really enjoy watching an amateur take on the same task. But if you’re looking for a great workout, I highly recommend Walking Five Dogs. (Doesn’t that sound like a yoga position?) Here are just some of the many benefits you get in addition to burning extra calories.

· Flexibility. Multiple dogs means multiple ideas for how fast to go and in which direction. One dog will never be in the same position for more than two seconds, so you have to continually reach behind your back and through your legs to untangle leashes. This is an excellent way to keep your shoulders and neck muscles stretched and flexible. Especially if you laugh the entire time.

· Mental gymnastics. I use five different-colored leashes, so every walk is the equivalent of a moving Rubik’s Cube. If Maddy Lou’s leash is red and she’s pulling up the rear, but I have hers in the same hand as Penny’s which is green with paw prints and she wants to be in the lead, I have to mentally decide how to move those two leashes into different hands without for one nanosecond losing my grip on Justin’s (blue), Pumpkin’s (purple), and Buddy’s (black). Who needs Sudoku?

· Patience. While you can zip through a weight workout or speed up your Nia, there is no forcing five dogs to do anything faster than they want. Especially when it is clear that you are not the alpha dog. If the pack wants to stop and smell the dumpster, that’s what we do.

· Learning to take the road not traveled. Dogs don’t like to stick to sidewalks. Small dogs in particular prefer traveling under shrubbery and into any hole they find. Thus, a walk around the neighborhood is less of a straight-line affair and more of a serpentine journey, as we travel over and around small obstacles, with me occasionally stopping to disentangle a leash from a hydrangea or lift a pooch over a cat who refuses to budge from the path. Not only do I see more scenery this way, but a six -block walk which takes me on average ten minutes by myself, can easily require up to half an hour. And I can tell you things about my neighbor’s yards they’d probably prefer to keep secret.

So the next time you’re looking for a way to ratchet up your workout, consider offering to walk neighborhood dogs. If you really want a challenge, use flexi-leads. In my world, that’s known as Extreme Dog Walking. You’ll get your exercise and the neighbors get their laughs for the day.