Dogs
At the risk of sounding like the Dog Whisperer, I will repeat his mantra: Exercise, Discipline, Affection--in this order. He is so right.
My first experience at beginning to understand this came with Xena, when she was little miss hyperactive at dog training classes. When the instructor decided to allow "recess" or playtime in the beginning of class, she calmed right down after a vigorous play, and was ready to focus and learn. Wow! Such a revelation, and that was before we even knew about Cesar Milan.
Now, exercise before discipline is my own rule. Before obedience classes with Tanner and Oliver, I always found time, somehow, to fit in a long walk, bike ride, dog park run or a good fetch game in the pool. Once or twice, during long downpours, I actually took my long walk inside of Petsmart. Thank goodness they allowed that.
With obedience classes behind us, we are now venturing into a new challenge: Agility training. Running an agility course definitely involves both exercise and discipline; however, in my humble opinion, it is more discipline than exercise. Tanner can easily outrun me, and when he does he finds himself with confusion as to where he is supposed to go next. At first, he would just pick his favorite and have a blast, but now I see him beginning to stay with me and keep his attention on me more. That is the goal, so I guess we are making progress in discipline.
I do have to work at it, though. Each day that we have class, I take Tanner to a doggie play date. He runs for hours with a group of fun dog friends, and comes home good and worn out. Then we go to Agility class. Without that play date, Tanner would be a hyperactive nutcase. Well, maybe that is a bit harsh. Just hyperactive.
In my next few posts, I'll write a little about some of various ways I assure these pups get their exercise. I'd love to hear about your creative methods also. Feel free to COMMENT at the link below. Have a great weekend, and don't forget to walk the dog.
- The Special Needs Of Your 'only Dog'
Find me on Facebook Follow me on Twitter Write to Dr. Jacki, ASK THE VET I'm an only child, so this is a great topic for me. I can totally relate to what my dogs need because kids need much of the same stuff as dogs. It's just common sense, but...
- Cesar Millan Vs. Positive Reinforcement With Treats: Must It Be All Or Nothing?
Find me on Facebook Follow me on Twitter Write to Dr. Jacki, ASK THE VET Is it me, or are all the dog trainers in the country ganging up on Cesar Millan? I really don't get it. We all know treats work. We all know leadership works. We all know...
- Help For Toy Challenged Dogs
Have you got a dog who would rather play with you than a toy--24/7? Or perhaps your pup is the first to greet every human that enters the park? And then there is the doorbell. Of course, that human out there is here to see the dog. Right? That's...
- Teaching Your Dog To Fetch
© photo copyright Carrie BoykoPlease Play Fetch with Me After reading a blog post at The Happy Wag, a Roanoke, Virginia pet blog, I learned about Stormy, who hasn't yet mastered the art of Fetch. This post is dedicated to Stormy and all of the rest...
- Dog Parks Are Not Our Whole Life: Just Three Days A Week!
Now that I have been a regular at my local dog park for two years, I don't have to introduce myself around much. Tanner, Xena and Oliver don't either. (Oh yeah, it's them again.) But this visit was different. This cute boxer was here for...
Dogs
The Importance of Exercising Your Dog--Mentally and Physically
The Pack Leader at Work
At the risk of sounding like the Dog Whisperer, I will repeat his mantra: Exercise, Discipline, Affection--in this order. He is so right.
My first experience at beginning to understand this came with Xena, when she was little miss hyperactive at dog training classes. When the instructor decided to allow "recess" or playtime in the beginning of class, she calmed right down after a vigorous play, and was ready to focus and learn. Wow! Such a revelation, and that was before we even knew about Cesar Milan.
Now, exercise before discipline is my own rule. Before obedience classes with Tanner and Oliver, I always found time, somehow, to fit in a long walk, bike ride, dog park run or a good fetch game in the pool. Once or twice, during long downpours, I actually took my long walk inside of Petsmart. Thank goodness they allowed that.
With obedience classes behind us, we are now venturing into a new challenge: Agility training. Running an agility course definitely involves both exercise and discipline; however, in my humble opinion, it is more discipline than exercise. Tanner can easily outrun me, and when he does he finds himself with confusion as to where he is supposed to go next. At first, he would just pick his favorite and have a blast, but now I see him beginning to stay with me and keep his attention on me more. That is the goal, so I guess we are making progress in discipline.
I do have to work at it, though. Each day that we have class, I take Tanner to a doggie play date. He runs for hours with a group of fun dog friends, and comes home good and worn out. Then we go to Agility class. Without that play date, Tanner would be a hyperactive nutcase. Well, maybe that is a bit harsh. Just hyperactive.
In my next few posts, I'll write a little about some of various ways I assure these pups get their exercise. I'd love to hear about your creative methods also. Feel free to COMMENT at the link below. Have a great weekend, and don't forget to walk the dog.
- The Special Needs Of Your 'only Dog'
Find me on Facebook Follow me on Twitter Write to Dr. Jacki, ASK THE VET I'm an only child, so this is a great topic for me. I can totally relate to what my dogs need because kids need much of the same stuff as dogs. It's just common sense, but...
- Cesar Millan Vs. Positive Reinforcement With Treats: Must It Be All Or Nothing?
Find me on Facebook Follow me on Twitter Write to Dr. Jacki, ASK THE VET Is it me, or are all the dog trainers in the country ganging up on Cesar Millan? I really don't get it. We all know treats work. We all know leadership works. We all know...
- Help For Toy Challenged Dogs
Have you got a dog who would rather play with you than a toy--24/7? Or perhaps your pup is the first to greet every human that enters the park? And then there is the doorbell. Of course, that human out there is here to see the dog. Right? That's...
- Teaching Your Dog To Fetch
© photo copyright Carrie BoykoPlease Play Fetch with Me After reading a blog post at The Happy Wag, a Roanoke, Virginia pet blog, I learned about Stormy, who hasn't yet mastered the art of Fetch. This post is dedicated to Stormy and all of the rest...
- Dog Parks Are Not Our Whole Life: Just Three Days A Week!
Now that I have been a regular at my local dog park for two years, I don't have to introduce myself around much. Tanner, Xena and Oliver don't either. (Oh yeah, it's them again.) But this visit was different. This cute boxer was here for...