09/20/2023
We are hoping to be able to offer some Canine Fitness activity classes so that our students can learn how to stretch out your dog before a walk, a class, or even a long drive with a rest stop. We are going through the certification course by the American Kennel Club. It is so crucial before training and trialing that you warm up your dog (and yourself), so when you go out there your dog is less likely to have an injury. Just think, would Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence jump on the field without a pre-game warm-up?? Or Venus and Serena on the tennis court, or Ms. Simone Biles (did she change her name yet? Oh well she should just be call the GOAT in Gymnastics and just being a good human being but anyway) . We may be offering that class in January 2024, maybe by then we will finally have a place leased.
We are still working on the September Newsletter, it should be out in a couple days. Trying to get back to normal after a hospital stay is always rough but this one has to be the hardest for me. I just seem to be coming back a little slower. Im still on IV Antibiotics until the 22nd for the Bilateral Pneumonia (Friday).So if my blood culture comes back negative. I can get this PICC line removed and my good ole Port put back in. So once I get the date for my port to be put back in I will know more about our class schedule from October-December.
We do have some small events we will vendor at the end of September, and on the weekends in October, November, and December. We will be posting All three months at the same time.
GLTC will be having a Rally/Obedience Trial the weekend before Halloween, the 28th & 29th Competitive Edge Agility & Dog Sports, LLC . Normally they have some fun costume stuff for the doggies. However, IF YOUR DOG IS NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE TRIAL PLEASE LEAVE THEM AT HOME. We dont say this to be mean. We say this for safety and capacity. Our shows fill up to max most of the time, and that is why last trial we had a waitlist because we only have room for two rings and two judges, and the judges can only judge so many dogs an hour. Space just really that limited. Here is some other reasons:
We dont know your dog. If this is your first time at a dog show and your dogs first time at a dog show odds are you are going to be spending your time correcting your dog from barking, biting/nipping, possibly trying to fight the other dogs or handlers. So in the end you didnt even see the sport you would like to try with your dog. Worst case scenario you may be asked to leave by the Trial Chairperson. So we welcome humans to come and watch the fun.
I have also
As your dog retrieves the first...second...third...maybe fifth or sixth ball, his muscles start to tire and soon they reach overload, where they no longer can fully control and support your dog's movements. Now, when your dog does those amazing athletic maneuvers to snag the ball, soft tissues like the cranial cruciate ligament, iliopsoas muscle and tendon, and the muscles and ligaments that support the vertebrae are overstretching. Minor tears are occurring. Now the ball is thrown 10, 12 times or more and ultimately your dog lies down, exhausted.
That period between when your dog's muscles are in overload, and when your dog lies down exhausted, is the injury zone (Figure 1). But remember, with all that adrenaline, your dog doesn't feel the injuries happening, so you have no idea that the tissues are being used beyond their capacity.
When this game is repeated day after day, month after month, the small tissue tears become large ones, and suddenly it becomes evident that your dog is in pain and has an injury. Of course, it hasn't been sudden at all-what seemed sudden is just the final result of repeated stress and strain until the tissues gave way.
Chris Zink DVM
Discovering Your Dog