The Importance of Good Balance & Core Strength in Dogs

So, how many of you have done the SRT test (the Sitting-Rising Test) for yourself?  You begin with ten points and your overall score decreases with each assist you need to sit down on the floor or get back up once seated. It's a test that doctors, physical therapists, etc. use to assess mobility and longevity in people, particularly older people.  While there isn't the exact same test for older dogs, most veterinarians do some similar measures on senior dogs during their wellness exams to assess balance and core strength and get ahead of any mobility challenges.  There's so much more we can do for our dogs beyond daily walks to help them build and maintain their core strength and continue to have good balance as they get older. If you start with these exercises for your young adult dog, that is a dog who is out of puppyhood with full bone development, it means you will have measurements of their mobility to compare to as they age.  A lot of these exercises can be done using things you find in nature or at the park, but you can also use your own gym equipment at home for many of them.  Here are some examples:

For Good Balance and Core Strength:  Begin by having your dog walk along a curb on leash. You can use a treat to keep your dog walking in a straight line, eyes on the treat at nose level, not looking down at their feet.  If they can do this easily, repeat the exercise having them walk on a plank on the ground.  If this is easy, lift the plank up off the ground, supported by cement blocks and have them walk across again, keeping their head up, following the treat.  We aren't looking for speed here but a steady, confident pace, no jumping off the plank.  You can also observe them walking across one of those moving bridges on a kids' playground or jumping from rock to rock as they move along on a hike. Next, position your dog at the start of a hallway.  Standing in front of your dog, step toward them slowly so that they take a step backwards.  Use a treat so that they stay focused on you as they back up, versus turning away from you and moving away facing forward. Do they back up in a straight line or do they veer to one side or the other?  If you have a BOSU balance trainer in your home gym, that works really well too.  Place the BOSU trainer with the flat base down and have your dog step up onto it with their front feet and stay in place.  Use a treat as a lure and hold onto the treat until you let them back off the dome.  Work up to all four feet on the dome, and then have them back up so that just their rear feet are on the dome.  Once they can do this with the flat side down, flip the BOSU over so it wobbles and try the exercises again.  If you have yoga blocks, you can also do balance exercises using those, you just won't be able to do the wobble version. 

Stretching and Mobility Assessment: Have your dog sit in front of you on a non-slippery surface. Step away from your dog backwards and lure them into a standing position, noting how difficult it is for them to rise from a sit to a stand.  Many senior dogs have difficulty with this exercise and it takes a couple of tries, and a bit of scooting, before they can get enough momentum going to rise up from the sit.  You can also have them lay in the down position and measure the effort needed to come up to a sit and then to a standing position.  With your dog standing at your side, use a treat to slowly have them stretch their neck to reach the treat, not moving their feet.  Next, slowly move the treat downward, encouraging them to follow the treat down, again stretching their neck, without laying down. Move the treat slowly toward one side so your dog keeps their neck level and brings their head around following that treat.  Move the treat back to center and then around to the other side slowly.  You are measuring how much flexibility they have in their neck with this exercise. Use a treat to lure your dog to turn in a circle, first one direction and then the other way. It's perfectly normal for an adult dog to only be able to easily turn one direction, but they should be able to turn a tight circle without tipping, tripping over their feet, or flopping into a down.

Finally, if you have access to a pool, you can help your dog gain mobility and core strength with swimming.  Be sure to use a dog life vest on them regardless of their swimming abilities.  That vest will help you to guide your dog along using the handle on their back.  You will want to hold them in place so that they are paddling but not moving anywhere, helping to create resistance. Next, hold that handle and let them paddle forward and then guide them to paddle in a circular motion.  If you have long enough stairs in your pool, you can have your dog walk back and forth, slowly, following a treat, so that they are moving through the water, creating resistance and building their muscle tone.

So, why am I suggesting you do this now with your young, spry, healthy dogs?  Because some day, they will be senior dogs and you want them to have the best chance at a comfortable and safe life as they navigate the aging process. Helping them with their mobility strength now means a stronger core and better mobility later in life.  

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

While mental exercise is important too for all ages of dogs, none more so than our senior dogs.  Here's Ozzie resting on his puzzle after solving it.  At 11.5 years old, Ozzie has slowed down quite a bit.  He has arthritis and spondylosis, two conditions that have led me to use a PEMF mat for him three times a day, helping reduce inflammation in his body. He also completes the exercises outlined above to the best of his abilities, though we don't have a pool, so no swimming for this sweet, old guy.

Big Dogs, Small Dogs & Every Dog In Between

Last week, a client asked me if I would write a reference letter for her dog.  At first, I thought she was teasing me, but then I realized how serious she was.  She was moving into a new condominium and the HOA required reference letters from two "pet professionals" for each pet belonging to a new, prospective resident.  Wow!  She'd gotten a letter from her veterinarian and was hoping I'd write one for her sweet dog too.  I had interacted with her dog on numerous occasions in classes and seminars over the years, so I didn't hesitate to write a glowing recommendation for her pup.  He's house-trained, sociable with people and other animals, doesn't bark excessively, and he walks nicely on a leash.  I told her she should include a copy of his CGC, Canine Good Citizen certificate, with the reference letters as well.  As she and I talked more about this reference request, some other interesting, and a bit disturbing, pet-related policies came to light that I thought I'd share with you. 

She told me that she'd been turned away from several upscale apartment homes, townhomes, and another condominium complex because her dog weighed over 20 pounds.  This one really irritated me.  First of all, do you want to know how many under 20 pound dogs I know whose owners have never completely house-trained them?  Meaning, they still have regular accidents in the house.  If you are concerned about property damage and that's why you are discriminating against big dogs, you really need to examine the amount of damage urine and feces can do to flooring!  Plus, some of the barkiest, least sociable dogs I know are the under 20 pounds set.  Many of us jokingly refer to this as the dogs having a "Napoleon complex," but it's true. In my opinion, apartment managers, property managers, and landlords should consider each pet on an individual basis.  Meet with the pet owner and the pet and then decide based on the behavior you see, not on some preconceived notion about them.  If it's a dog, go ahead and require a CGC certificate be submitted, or proof of obedience class attendance.  Definitely ask for references, but meet the pets yourself.  Sure, it takes a bit more time, but just have the pet come with the prospective tenant to the walk through interview.  

Now, I'm sure, I'm going to get a message from someone who reads my blog and actually is a property manager or landlord telling me that they aren't qualified to judge a pet's behavior and frankly, that's a cop-out.  Sure, you may not be a pet professional, but you know what a well-mannered dog looks like.  Well-behaved dogs come in all shapes, sizes, and breeds.  Not all Rottweilers are menaces, not all German Shepherds are barky, and not all Terriers are destructive.  Sure, some of them are, but you can figure this out when you meet them. And you should definitely meet those under 20 pounds dogs in person before having their human sign on the dotted line.  Just watch your ankles!

In all seriousness:  Dogs of any size can have behavior problems.  Whether a dog (or cat) has a behavior problem will depend much more on their genetics and upbringing than on their physical size or shape.  I would think the most important factors for property managers should be the sociability of the pet, whether they are house-trained, whether they are destructive, how loud are they, and can they be walked in common areas without issue.  I also think it's wise to have the new resident sign off that they will pick up behind their dogs when toileting outside in common areas, and have a consequence such as a fine for those dog owners who don't do it.  It's only fair!

We all know (or should know) that property managers cannot discriminate against a pet owner who has a legitimate service animal or emotional support animal seeking housing, regardless of the size of the animal.  And it is absolutely okay to ask what service the animal provides the owner and ask for proof of training and certification for those with emotional support animals. 

Story time!  Years ago, I was looking for a small house to move into near the beach in San Diego.  I had a medium-sized dog at that time (Shadow weighed 43 pounds), as well as my completely indoor cat, Katmandu.  None of the places I'd seen listed allowed dogs, or if they did, once again, the dogs had to be small in size.  So, what did I do?  I scheduled a walk through at a house I was really interested in and I brought my dog and my cat with me.  As I approached the house, the landlord was standing on the porch.  I came up the walkway, dog on a leash at my side, cat on a leash and draped around my neck.  I asked Shadow to sit and stay and asked if we could take a look inside?  He said sure, though he was clearly still trying to figure out if the cat was real!  As we entered the house, Shadow remained calmly on the porch in her sit/stay.  By the time we'd gotten to the kitchen, the landlord indicated that he thought that she should come inside too.  I called her and she calmly walked into the house and sat next to me, tail wagging. He asked if he could pet her and I told her to go say hi, which she happily did. No jumping up, no exuberance, no problem.  He then asked if he could meet the cat!  I put Katmandu on the ground and he sat there on leash, waiting to be called over.  When the landlord bent down, Katmandu approached him, rubbing against his legs and trying to bump his head on the guy's hand.  He'd never seen such well-behaved animals, he told me. He also told me I put his own pets to shame!  Needless to say, we got the place AND when we moved out two years later, he offered to write me a tenant reference letter if I ever needed one in the future. I'm pretty sure that going forward with that rental property, he knew to judge the pets and their owners by their behavior, not by the size of the animals on paper.

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Of course, my daughter had heard that story about Shadow and Katmandu, so she planned accordingly when she went to meet the landlord of a house in Los Angeles that she was very interested in renting. It was in a great neighborhood, close to the UCLA campus where she was in law school, with a nice backyard for Westley.  There would be lots of competition, so she was going to need Westley to not just show off what a great dog he was, but how his mom should be the one chosen for this place. He showed up in a bow tie and the deal was sealed. How could anyone resist?

The 4th of July: A Postscript

I used to really enjoy the 4th of July.  As a kid, it meant swim parties, hot dogs, and staying up late to watch fireworks.  Our family dog, Tosh, didn't care about fireworks at all, so we could be home or gone, he was always just fine either way.  As a grad student, I had Shadow, my border collie mix.  She, like Tosh, wasn't fazed by fireworks. In fact, she seemed to be fascinated by them!  I took her with me to the big, town fireworks display provided every year at a city park by the Davis Fire Department.  She would sit or lay on my picnic blanket, surrounded by college kids and snacks, and watch the proceedings.  It seemed I was on a roll as the next few dogs also didn't care about fireworks.  All of that changed, however, when Desi became a senior dog.

While Desi was unfazed by fireworks for the first several years we had him, he became agitated with the fireworks, pacing and panting the year he turned ten.  From then on, he'd need to be inside with fans going, the A/C on, the TV on, and people there to comfort him when needed. Ozzie seemed more worried about Desi than he did about the fireworks, so I figured he was okay.  Funny thing though...Ozzie was fine until he turned ten, and lo and behold, the fireworks bothered him as well.  As his hearing diminished, it seemed his agitation grew with the booming feelings he felt inside of his body, more than the sounds or lights. While he'd watch with interest the lights from the fireworks you can see from my yard, the booming vibrations that seemed to fill the air after some of the stronger ones, really upset him, causing him to pace and pant, just like Desi.  Henley who had never been bothered by them was suddenly hyper-vigilant about them too, coming to get me as soon as my neighbors started setting them off in mid-June, and becoming fixated on looking and listening for them every evening as the 4th of July became imminent. 

The year Ozzie turned ten, I researched ear protection for dogs as his behavior after the fireworks on New Year's Eve was enough to make me want to do something preemptively before July rolled around.  Why ear protection if his hearing was going?  Because I knew he heard some things and I knew I could control what he saw by keeping him indoors with the blinds closed.  All that would be left was waiting to see if removing what he saw and heard was enough to overcome what he felt if there were visceral level "booms."  I figured getting Henley used to wearing ear protection now was a good idea as well since it seems my run of "my dogs don't care one way or the other about fireworks" was over.

I spent a bit of time every day for several weeks, putting the noise canceling headphones on Ozzie and Henley, pairing wearing them with high value treats and praise.  It didn't take long for them to acclimate to the headphones, with both dogs just falling asleep while wearing them.  I knew that the headphones really worked when I opened up food containers in the kitchen nearby and neither dog came to investigate!  What they couldn't see (they were in the other room) and couldn't hear, wasn't happening.  Success!  By the time the 4th of July rolled around that year, both dogs had been wearing their headphones in the evening for a couple of weeks.  If I kept the boys inside with the blinds closed and their headphones on, they were fine, sleeping the festivities away on their beds.  That was until this year's 250th celebration.

This year, the fireworks were of the sonic-boom variety, going off for several hours from before it got dark until well past 2 a.m.  While I can appreciate that my community wanted to celebrate, the air was filled with smoke and many dogs in my neighborhood were clearly agitated based on the barking and howling, not to mention my neighbor who is a veteran of the Iraq war. He told me the next day that his PTSD was off the charts and I felt awful for him.  When he bent down to hug Ozzie and tell him he knew how he felt, my heart broke into a million pieces.  I know my dogs and my neighbor aren't the only ones who suffer and that makes this a big deal.  We need community education beyond the obvious "fireworks are illegal in Contra Costa County" signs and messages.  A move on a bigger level to drone displays would go a long way to change people's minds about fireworks.  A move to drones would also mean less haze and air pollution and reduce fire risk in our already compromised state where fire season never really ends.  I've seen drone shows and think they are spectacular.  Let's all hope that they are the wave of the future.

As always, if you questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here's Henley on the 4th of July relaxing on a dog bed while fireworks are going off outside.  He kept them on all night, even when he hunkered down in his crate in my bedroom to sleep. It's sad that he has to wear them, but a relief that it works for him nonetheless.

Hello My Name Is...

Did you start singing when you read the title of this week's blog post?  When I was thinking about this week's blog topic, that song popped into my head and then it just stuck there!

When you are naming your dog, there are a couple of good rules to keep in mind.  Two syllable names are often the best choice as they allow you, the human, to change the pitch of your voice when addressing your dog, which can help grab your dog's attention and let them know your intent.  What type of inflection you use lets your dog know if you are happy with them, displeased, etc.  While a lot of dog owners will opt for one syllable names, these often become two syllable nicknames in the long run because, again, two syllable names allow for those pitch changes that one syllable names do not. So, what are one syllable names good for? They are good for grabbing attention in situations where there are a lot of distractions.  And for those folks choosing longer, multi-syllable names for their dogs, you just need to know that you will likely be shortening said name or going with a nickname anyway.  And you know what?  Dogs are good with that too!  Most of us use nicknames for our dogs and it doesn't confuse them or keep them from responding. It's just one more amazing attribute of dogs.

Last week, I heard from a new puppy owner who was concerned that perhaps his name choice for the new dog would be confusing given how the name sounded like the word, "no."  I once had a client whose dog came with the name "Jess" and she had similar concerns since Jess sounds like "yes."  The bottom line?  It really doesn't matter as dogs use context with our verbal cues; they use our body language, including facial expressions, as much as, if not more than, the actual words we say.  So, while the name "Beau" sounds like "no," for example, your dog isn't going to get confused if you give them a stern "NO!"  I will say, however, that if you want to avoid sounding like Dr. Seuss when talking to your dog, you might want to steer clear of the one syllable names that sound a lot like commands you might give your dog. "Hey! Kit Sit," being a good example! 

I think the bigger take home message with this one is that you really want to think more about how you use "no" and "yes." Overuse of either can dilute the value.  Plus, you also run the risk of not giving your dog enough context to understand what they did that you liked or didn't like.  The word "no" in and of itself lacks information. Sure, if you yell it at your dog, they're likely to stop what they are doing momentarily, but truthfully? You could yell "Rot!" and they'd stop momentarily for that as well, because they'd be responding to the tone of your voice more so than the word itself.  So, rather than saying "No!" tell your dog what they should be doing instead.  For example, if your puppy has grabbed your new running shoe, don't just tell her "NO!"  Instead, tell her to "drop it!" and then trade her your shoe for a toy or bone instead.  Basically, don't chew my shoes, chew on your own stuff. I prefer "leave it!" and "drop it" to a generic "no" every time.  Now, if your dog bolts the front door and is heading for a busy street, then definitely yell "NO!"  If you don't overuse that word, they will absolutely stop dead in their tracks, just long enough for you to collect them before they head into harm's way.

I love the process of coming up with names for my dogs.  I like to think about their personality traits and about my goals or aspirations for them.  I always joke that people who name their pets after questionably behaved characters in literature or movies often end up with adult animals who live up to their names. Any of you remember the movie, "Gremlins?" The cute, little creature in that movie was named "Gizmo." Funny thing though: If you got him wet, exposed him to bright lights, or fed him after midnight, he changed into something less than cute and cuddly, wreaking havoc and leaving destruction in his wake.  I had a client who named her Shih Tzu puppy "Gizmo" because he looked just like the sweet movie character.  Funny thing though.  When he tore up her couch, managed to rip down the curtains, and took a chunk out of an antique table leg, he resembled a gremlin more than she would have liked!  

Share the story of how your dog got their name, and as always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here is sweet Westley, "Midnight's As You Wish," named after the iconic prince in the movie, "The Princess Bride," one of my daughter's favorites.  Westley absolutely lived up to his name with behavior and characteristics befitting his namesake: He was kind, chivalrous, and always a gentleman. He loved fiercely, was loyal to a fault, and was reliable and steady. Aptly named indeed.