One of my dogs, Honey was diagnosed with arthritis in her hips about 2 years ago. She was only 7 years of age at the time and for a Tibetan terrier this is pretty young. Her littermate Millie is as spritely as a puppy and so having a direct comparison between both just demonstrated how bad Honey actually was. After discussions with the vet we transferred her onto Science Hill JD and Glucosamine and started her on acupuncture, I was also given Metacam that I could give to her when she needed it. She did improve after her acupuncture sessions and certainly the Metacam helped if she was in pain, but throughout the last year she had some poor periods where a short walk up to the local park resulted in her laying down half way and really swinging the hips and displaying pain afterwards. But now after 2 years I think I have finally found a balance that is working for her. In the last month I have made the following changes:
One of my dogs, Honey was diagnosed with arthritis in her hips about 2 years ago. She was only 7 years of age at the time and for a Tibetan terrier this is pretty young. Her littermate Millie is as spritely as a puppy and so having a direct comparison between both just demonstrated how bad Honey actually was. After discussions with the vet we transferred her onto Science Hill JD and Glucosamine and started her on acupuncture, I was also given Metacam that I could give to her when she needed it. She did improve after her acupuncture sessions and certainly the Metacam helped if she was in pain, but throughout the last year she had some poor periods where a short walk up to the local park resulted in her laying down half way and really swinging the hips and displaying pain afterwards. But now after 2 years I think I have finally found a balance that is working for her. In the last month I have made the following changes:
For those of you who don’t already know, in my other life I am a Karate instructor. I spend evenings teaching martial arts to a dedicated class of students who achieve amazing things both mentally and physically. Learning martial arts is partly a mechanical skill; you have to ‘do it to learn it’, rather like dog training.
Often, my private dog training clients inform me that they have tried dog training classes without success. The measure of this ‘success’ is highly personal to them, of course. They tell me their dog found the whole experience overwhelming. Some clients were asked to leave as a result of their beloved pet’s disruptive behaviour. Some struggled with a class taught using food-oriented motivation, which their dog did not find especially enticing given the other distractions on offer.
Was this entirely the class instructor’s responsibility, however?
A desire to teach the family pet to walk politely on a loose leash is one of the most frequently cited reasons pet owners seek the services of a training professional.
I'll put together a more extensive post on the methods that I like for teaching loose leash walking (hopefully with video) in a future blog entry for DSD. For the time being, let's talk about putting your dog's loose leash training to the test.
Believe it or not, some students aren't even sure what loose leash walking truly looks like.
A good loose leash will look like the letter "J". The top part of the letter will be where the leash meets the owner's hand, the bottom starting point of the letter (where you would start writing the letter "from the bottom up") should look like where the leash meets the collar. I tell my students, "if you couldn't carry a full cup of coffee in your leash hand, the leash is too tight."
It’s been a year since Mojo passed, and my search for a furry companion has officially begun. Websites like Petfinder.com and Adoptapet.com have brought the world of adoptable dogs to our fingertips, as they allow potential adopters to view a variety of pets in rescue groups and shelters. The vast majority of the listings include photographs, and, where available, a bit more information about the dog.
