Food!
Let's talk about food!
Does your dog eat everything or is he particular in his choices?
Puck in the video clearly shows she's not interested! 🤣
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗥𝗨𝗚𝗦, 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗦, 𝗢𝗛 𝗠𝗬!
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗥𝗨𝗚𝗦, 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗦, 𝗢𝗛 𝗠𝗬!
Training surfaces - Be mindful of they type of surface you work with your dog on. Especially when you're practicing things like position changes! Pay attention, are there certain places that they seem hesitant to do a sit, or a down? If you're attending group training classes in a place with slippery flooring, bring a mat for them as well!
Tub Time - Tubs are already slippery, and even stressful for some dogs! Add water to that mix, and it becomes a whole lot harder to keep themselves stable. Add a bath mat to help them from sliding around and potentially harming themselves!
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦
Pain is subjective! We can never say with 100% certainty that a dog is pain free, because we will simply never know. As humans, we can let others know that we are in pain by telling them, but even then some won't agree or understand. Our dogs do not have the luxury of speech. They are masters at hiding their pain, and some will continue to push themselves to take part in their favorite activities even when they are hurting. Ever tried to keep your rambunctious puppy calm after a neuter?
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
These invisible injuries can look like:
Stretched tendons and ligaments, cracks in cartilage, potentially even small cracks in bones.
This intensifies when we start playing with toys on these floors - It brings much faster movements, the dogs limbs splaying, and joints being unstable -potentially moving in ways they are not meant to as the dog attempts to stop.
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
Puppies are born out of balance! They stay out of balance for quite a few months - We need to provide them with as much stability as possible in order for them to grow into sturdy, healthy dogs!
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
Puppies are born quite wobbly - they are off balance, and still developing, growing and learning how their own bodies move.
Add to that a slippery surface - it's just a recipe for disaster and potential injury! Imagine being a small child, asked to navigate a skating rink while wearing unstable shoes, do you think you'll make it to the other side unscathed?
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
Non slip material allows puppies full grip in order to move about and to find Mom. It assists with developing normal joint function within the hips, as well as natural development of the limbs. It also reduces puppy laxity (looseness), which is one of many contributing factors of developing hip dysplasia - this will pave the way for osteoarthritis in your pup!
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
Puppies and young dogs are 1.6x as likely to develop hip dysplasia when raised on slippery floors*.
*Witte, Philip Georg. “Hip dysplasia — understanding the disease.” Companion Animal (2019): n. pag.
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗥𝗦 - 𝗣𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗦
Is it really as funny as it looks? Let's discover this week what is lurking beneath those "cute" videos of puppy slips.
Intro!
Hello all! Just thought that I would pop on super quickly and introduce myself! 😁
“It is just the way he is put together”
“He is not in pain, he is still running and happy”
Those are statements I often hear when we express our concerns about a dog.
Is it possible to be certain about that?
No!
This is my husband, do you see his gait?
Do you see the shape of his legs?
Meeting him you wouldn’t know he is in pain, 24 hours a day. He still laughs, talks, works, runs errands, builds sheds.
But he also sleeps more, is grumpy when you are not around and doesn’t walk our dog anymore, because one pull and he is out of balance.
This man gets a new knee very soon and probably -due to overcompensating- the other knee follows after.
What does this teach us about our dogs?
This is the video that shows how difficult it is to stand on slippery flooring.
It looks like a joke, but it isn’t!
Dogs get injured and have more risk to develop arthritis because of slippery flooring. And for those dogs that already suffer from injuries and have pain it’s even harder to navigate our ‘easy to clean floors’.
Watch Gemma’s talk (see earlier post); she explains why slippery flooring is so hard on our dogs.
