What are growth plates?

This is an X-ray of a 2 week old puppy. 

Look at how far the bones have to grow before they become a proper bony joint! This is why you should never let puppies jump, walk up/down stairs, over exercise or over train. Doing to much impact activity at a young age will cause serious issues later in life, or even at a young age as hip dysplasia and other orthopedic conditions are rising in puppies!

Remember the puppy rule for every month increase activity by 5 minuets! For example an 8 week old puppy only needs 10 minuets physical activity a day - a 6 month old only needs 30 minuets a day of physical activity!!

*physical activity includes - going for a walk, training, playing fetch, running, playing with other dogs etc. 

Enjoy your new puppy but remember you wouldn't make a 6 month old baby run a mile a day so don't make your puppy either!

I'm a professional dog trainer & I don't walk my dogs by Stacy Greer

I’ve wanted to say this out loud for so long, so I’ll say it again … I don’t walk my dogs and I’m a professional dog trainer. Oh sure I have walked my dogs –– gone on hikes, in public places, at events, at [training] classes … but regular, daily exercise such as walks down my street –– nope. My dogs don’t get those types of walks. 

This blog post may compliment my blog post from quite a while back titled “Stop walking your dog.” If you’ve not read that you should read it when you have a moment, it’s lengthy but full of lots of great information and resources. 

So, back to the topic of this post—My dogs and their lack of getting daily walks. Yeah. I know I must be a lazy dog owner right? … or maybe just a terrible dog owner—gasp! My dogs must be sad and fat, right? Actually, my dogs are quite the opposite of either of those. In the past 15 years I’ve had 5 personal dogs –– a Great Dane, a Labrador Retriever, a Jack Russell Terrier, an Australian Shepherd and a Beagle.  None of them receive(d) regular daily walks. (I currently have the Aussie and the Beagle as the others have passed.)

Each of my dogs has (had) a fulfilled life because they are (were) mentally engaged far more than the average dog. They have (had) a lovely balance of, I’d say about 90% mental exercise and 10% physical exercise. Well, my Great Dane had only about 1% physical exercise, his choice completely of course! That guy adorned a couch far better than any throw blanket ever could! Alas, I digress . . .

Let's get something straight first — exercising your dog is not wrong and it is definitely beneficial to your dog. Hey, every living creature needs to get physically active in some way, including humans, right?! So, I'm not advocating for people to never exercise their dogs. I'm simply stating that exercise isn't the "fix" that so many dog owners have been led to believe it is. This includes behavior problems as well as weight problems. Yup. That's a whole other topic in itself (weight problems in healthy dogs). So, I'll save that for a different blog post.

The issue with most dogs today is that they are not mentally stimulated properly and/or enough. Yet, is has been drilled into dog owners’ heads that physical exercise will fix all the things!  In fact, I find this to be such a myth it’s becoming a problem in the sense that people are trying to exercise their dogs to fix behavior issues and missing the boat completely. Of course, this isn’t by a fault of the owner. I get it. It’s been so ingrained in people’s minds that “an exercised dog is a tired dog and a tired dog is a good dog” that dog owners are attempting to achieve this, mostly with minimal success.

What I see most of today in the dogs I work with are stressed dogs, dogs riddled with anxiety, dogs with lack of boundaries and training, and dogs not set up to have their brains enriched in the way that they should. Please don't read this as me stating that dogs aren't being cared for properly. I'm simply stating what I see a lot of. Most, if not all of it, is by no fault of the dog's owner. People don't know what they don't know –– this is why I write this blog ... and now do free webinars on my Facebook page!

I see people who want to put forth all the time and energy to exercise their dogs. So much so that they almost have a resistance to setting up enrichment and would rather get out and walk or run their dogs. For some I know that it's the dog owner who sees it as a way for them to get out and exercise, and that's totally fine. It really is. Again, there is nothing wrong with exercising your dog or yourself! Obviously exercise is in fact important. 

But what I often see are humans who are walking their dogs because they think if they don't they are a bad dog owner, or the dog won't be fulfilled, or the dog's behavior issues will be worse or, or, or ... The guilt of not walking their dog forces them to do it. I see a lot of dog owners who would quite honestly rather not walk their dog. So if that's you, then this is directed at you. You don't have to do it. 

If you find solace in it or feel like it's something you really have to do, by all means do it! Also, I'm not stating you shouldn't walk your dog. I'm only stating that I don't personally walk mine and if you wish you could just not walk yours, I say –– then don't!

Guess what? You don't have to walk your dog. You can stop walking your dog if it’s stressing you out and/or if it’s stressing your dog out. Stop if it’s not helping the issues you thought it would help. Stop if you dread it. Just stop if you just don’t feel like doing it that day, or every day. Just don’t. And don't feel guilty about it. It's going to be alright! You can make up for it in so many other ways. I promise!

WHAT YOU CAN DO INSTEAD OF DAILY WALKS

1. Train your dog in your home or in a group class outside of your home. Maintain the training. Do it regularly, not just one class here or there. A trained dog is a good dog, even better than a tired dog ... because a trained dog is a tired dog!

2. Take your dog camping or hiking as you see fit (if it suits you or your schedule). I know that hiking is exercise but it's not a daily walk in your 'hood. This is actually a great form of enrichment for dogs that would be suited for this.

3. Play with your dog. Tug? Ball? Fetch? Play with your dog is great, even better if you incorporate some impulse control exercises (drop, go get it, sit, etc.) in with the play.

4. Provide mental enrichment & stimulation (see my blog post on this) This is your golden goose right here, and there are soooo many ways you can enrich your dog. My blog post explains many different ways to do this.

5. Work on relaxation exercises. Teach your dog to chill. (Great read on this here.) Many dogs that are amped up or energetic need more downtime not more exercise. I actually go into great detail in another blog post I wrote on this. You can read it here.

6. Let your dog sleep. Most dogs don't get enough sleep, just like humans! Did you know that dogs should sleep 16-18 hours a day?! Interesting read on sleep in dogs here.

So, see. You're not a bad owner if you don't walk your dog regularly. There are tons of ways to meet your dog's needs. But, again, if you do enjoy walking daily or weekly with your dog by all means do that. Just note that adding in some of the above things to your dog's exercise routine will have increasingly great outcomes for your dog's mental and behavioral health!

Source: https://stacythetrainer.blogspot.com/2019/05/im-professional-dog-trainer-i-dont-walk.html?fbclid=IwAR0bCj_nhrfIkJ7cP0QSqWiqYLKF4X5jCmLMP4XcvLcL9dH0QYxsk-ySC2c Stacy Greer, Sunshine Dog Training & Behavior, LLC

Are you ready to get a puppy?

Are you ready to get a puppy?

Sharing from Vizsla Puppies Facebook group -- A MUST READ!

Ready everyone??!! Before you buy your first puppy, take this test to find out if you can cope with living and looking after your puppy:

This test is best taken in the autumn or mid winter!

1. Buy a lead and tie it to a big stone, walk around dragging the stone behind you

2. Get up at 5am, go out in the pouring rain and walk up and down a muddy path, repeating good girl/boy, "wee wees...poo poos, quickly please"

3. Stuff your pockets with plastic bags and pick up all the dog poo you can find, obviously not your dog's as you have not bought it yet

4. Start wearing your shoes indoors, especially during muddy times

5. Collect leaves off the ground and spread them on the floor

6. Carry sticks and branches indoors and chop them up on your carpet

7. Pour cold applejuice on the rug and floor....walk barefooted over it in the dark

8. Drop some chocolate pudding on your carpet in the morning and then try to clean it in the evening

9. Wear socks to which you have made holes using a blender

10. Jump out of your favorite chair just before the movie ends and run to open the back door

11. Cover all your best clothes with dog hair, dark clothes with blond hairs and light clothes with dark hairs

12. Tip all just ironed clothes on the floor

13. Make little pin holes in all your funiture, especially chair and table legs

14. When doing dishes, splash water all over the place and don't wipe it.

15. Spread toilet paper all over the house when you leave the house and tidy up when you get back home

16. Forget any impulse holidays and/or breaks

17. Always go home straight after work or school

18. Go walkies no matter what the weather, and inspect every dirty paper, chewing gum and dead fly you might find

19. Stand at your back door at five in the morning shouting "Bring Mr Bumble and Mr Lion in, it's raining!"

20. Wake up at 3am. Place a bag of flour on top of yourself and try to sleep, while wiping your face with a wet dishcloth, which you have left next to your bed in a bowl last week.

Repeat everyday over 6 months and if you still think getting a puppy sounds like a good idea, congratulations, you might be ready to get your puppy! 😆😆😆

"A Dog's Emotional Cup"

"A Dog's Emotional Cup" by Sarah Owings and Lili Chin. Inspired by "Emotional Cup" ☕ https://www.facebook.com/upbilitynet/

Time to reconsider "fetch"?

Many dogs derive a great deal of pleasure from chasing a ball, and many owners undoubtedly derive pleasure from throwing a ball and watching their dog having fun.

What many owners and their dogs don’t realize however is that this activity may not be as beneficial as it seems, and in dogs with underlying conditions such as arthritis this activity is likely to cause harm.

Read the full article: https://bharcsblog.wordpress.com/2019/04/14/whats-all-the-fuss-about-fetch/?fbclid=IwAR3ghXpU6ffj41KL7WYg14cjgKv79pp7r03-o2rry9Tk5wOSNqFir-lUAuo

In young puppies, the game of fetch is more complex, if you "Take your young puppy out with your adult dogs who already play fetch. Throw the ball or toy. Your adult dogs will do what they have always done; enthusiastically run out to fetch! And your smart puppy will do the smart thing; chase the adult dogs and have a fantastic time with live prey!

If you think about it; at this stage of the game, it’s a win-win. The adult dog gets the ball, which is what they wanted. The puppy has a fantastic time chasing the adults and doesn’t risk the wrath of the adult dog by trying to actually touch a prized object. And the human gets everybody exercised.

The problem shows up long term. Your puppy is learning to focus on running dogs rather than objects that you want your puppy to value. That’s not much good if your sport might involve working around other running dogs."

More reading: https://denisefenzi.com/2017/12/removing-your-puppys-desire-to-play-fetch-with-you/