GM News - September 2021

How are you?

Hopefully (fingers crossed!), our one-to-one lessons and group programs can re-start in October. The state government has indicated that once the 70% first-dose vaccination milestone is reached, outdoor personal training will be allowed for (up to) two people plus the trainer.

Stay Strong,
Amanda & Rodna, David & Ruth
Gentle Modern School of Dog Training

Love to Bake? Does your dog love to eat your baking?

Zoetis Petcare has a great cake recipe for dogs. They describe it as a birthday cake but any day is a good day for cake!

Car Safety for Families with Dogs

Dr Alisa Baer is a pediatrician, certified child passenger safety instructor in the US, and co-founder of The Car Seat Lady. Dr Baer was the guest on Episode 35 of the Pooch Parenting podcast hosted by Michelle Stern. Car crash related issues, plus general child-dog safety during car travel were considered during the interview. Dr Baer recommended making an educated assessment of your car’s safety, and then weighing the risks and benefits with your family's needs and preferences (Safest may not be appealing/always feasible, but Safer is better than nothing.)

Key points from the podcast:

Every living creature in the car to be safely restrained; snug restraint with movement only for sitting and lying down.
If a dog and child are in the same seat row of a car, an adult should be in the back seat too for active and appropriate supervision to keep the child safe from the dog and vice versa.
Make sure barriers/canine seat belts/pet carry crates are crash tested. US Centre for Pet Safety has crash-tested harnesses and crates. Whole Dog Journal Dog Car Harnesses Review was published April 23, 2021.

Pain indicators

Dogs are stoic creatures, but there are signs to look out as indicators of pain:
(1) Change in Behaviour - grumpy, less tolerant, fearful. Your dog could be concerned that human touch or dog play will cause pain.
(2) Changes in routine - sleeping more, not wanting to get up or move, uninterested in walks
(3) Mood state - withdrawn, depressed, uninterested in greeting you when you return home
(4) Sleep cycle changes - pacing at night, extra sleepy during the day
(5) Difficulty in achieving comfort - getting up and down, readjusting position frequently
(6) Licking certain areas of the body
(7) Stiffness/Changes in gait

It may be arthritis (even at reasonably young ages) or pain can be related to a range of medical causes or physical injuries.

Canine Arthritis Management has a resources page with lots of great information, including a link to The Subtleties and Seriousness of Chronic Pain in Dogs by Gemma Johnstone. There's also a Suspicion of Chronic Pain chartthat you might find useful in clarifying any concerns you may have regarding your dog.

Three-Part Challenge

Taking some different perspectives on your dog.

Challenge 1.
Next time you're out walking with your dog:
Look intently at everything your dog looks at intently. What fascination can you make out of the object? What's the shape? What's the colour? Smell it if you dare!
When your dog lifts his head and smells the air, do likewise. Your nose isn't as powerful as your dog's, but you might surprise yourself with the odour molecules you inhale.
If your dog stops to stare at something unfamiliar to them, imagine you are looking at it through your dog's eyes. Let go of what you know it to be and speculate, what *could* it be?

Challenge 2.
What would your dog say to you about themself if they could speak human language?
For example, here’s what I reckon our dog, Pluto, would say:
Sure, I'm hot-tempered. I was born that way.
And I’m a bit of a stress-head - my tell is my right back leg shaking. You know I'm going to act-out when my right leg shakes - I'm in fight or flight mode. And you know with me it's always going to be FIGHT.
Please help me to calm down. I don't know it's hard for you to give me time to calm down when I have a knife in my mouth.
I have great points too – I love to be with other dogs – rough and tumble when that’s the play they like and kind and gentle when they’re smaller than me or nervous.

Challenge 3.
How would your dog describe his/her human family to another dog?
For example, here’s what I reckon our dog, Pluto, would say:
There’s an old human who does all the annoying stuff – putting on my harness, taking me to the doctor’s. She can get pretty frustrated with me, but she’s getting better. She’s also the one who mostly feeds me and takes me on walks. She generally lets me smell what I want to and check out bushes and stuff so that’s a big plus. There’s another old human who I don’t really have much to do with.
There’s a younger human who always wants to cuddle me – she’s all right and I sleep with her - and then a younger one than that who’s just like a big dog – sometimes we’ll be having a great time wrestling and I forget that he’s not a dog and then he’ll get annoyed because his clothes get torn.

Do you have a Pet Sitter/Kennel, Dog Walker, Groomer, Vet, Canine Massage Therapist, etc. that you would recommend to other members of the Gentle Modern School community?
If you love them, please share them!
Email Amanda with details.