It's already been nearly a month since I brought Frankie to a surgeon to have acl surgery, to then (thank you God!) find out that she didn't need it! In that time I've completely changed the way my dogs do things. Everybody is on joint suppliments now. Jake already was, Maggie because she's a Corgi and she's that age where backs and limbs might start giving her grief. Frankie and Kirby are also on the stuff now. Both of them are under five years old, so I hadn't put them on it initially. It's for older dogs, I thought. But then the acl scare happened and with the Aussies being sport dogs, regardless of age, they are going to require it to keep them comfortable down the road.
I'm doing a lot more hands on stuff with them too these days. Massage, stretching, lots more 'grooming' time, I call it. Mostly its just me petting and hugging my dogs all the time. Lol! But the Furminator is right there so why not brush more fur away.
But most importantly, for my piece of mind, I've been walking Frankie differently. Frankie's natural speed is usually a gallop of sorts. She doesn't do anything slowly or calmly. When she's galloping or loping or cantering, I can't gauge her gait very well. Everytime I'm outside with Frankie, I'm watching her movement like a hawk.
I might be the slightest bit paranoid.
I've always walked multiple dogs at a time. It made more sense, there are four of them and I can hold on to two leashes. But this also makes for more work, less focus and shorter leashes to keep from getting all tangled up.
Now, after I work with Frankie on disc dog stuff, we cool down with a walk by ourselves on a flexi. Frankie can go out ahead of me, I can watch her walk and most importantly, I can control her speed. I can watch for any hitches in her step, limping, favoring, weight distribution, anything that could tip me off about her comfort.
And then afterwards, she's just the right amount of tired that I can brush on her some more.
Last night's fur load.
I'm doing a lot more hands on stuff with them too these days. Massage, stretching, lots more 'grooming' time, I call it. Mostly its just me petting and hugging my dogs all the time. Lol! But the Furminator is right there so why not brush more fur away.
But most importantly, for my piece of mind, I've been walking Frankie differently. Frankie's natural speed is usually a gallop of sorts. She doesn't do anything slowly or calmly. When she's galloping or loping or cantering, I can't gauge her gait very well. Everytime I'm outside with Frankie, I'm watching her movement like a hawk.
I might be the slightest bit paranoid.
I've always walked multiple dogs at a time. It made more sense, there are four of them and I can hold on to two leashes. But this also makes for more work, less focus and shorter leashes to keep from getting all tangled up.
Now, after I work with Frankie on disc dog stuff, we cool down with a walk by ourselves on a flexi. Frankie can go out ahead of me, I can watch her walk and most importantly, I can control her speed. I can watch for any hitches in her step, limping, favoring, weight distribution, anything that could tip me off about her comfort.
And then afterwards, she's just the right amount of tired that I can brush on her some more.
Last night's fur load.
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