Happy almost long weekend everyone ✨
It's going to be a hot one so we put together a little support pack for your furry friend.
Here's the link to the signs of heatstroke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH0f8VuKJBI
See you tuesday 😉
I really wanted to share the story of my senior rescue dog, Corky, in the hope that it might help some other pet parents navigating creaky joints.
When I first rescued Corky at 13 years old, he was ball-obsessed. However, I pretty quickly realised that his favourite game was not doing him any favours. Sometimes after chasing the ball, he would have a noticeable limp. He also had "Queen Anne legs", which is a front-leg shape often seen in Dachshunds that can put extra strain on the joints. I phased out the ball throwing, but Corky was still struggling significantly in his day-to-day movement.
That was when I decided to take the plunge, (literally!) and signed him up for hydrotherapy. What a difference it made. We started off going weekly, and Corky went from only being able to manage a fifteen-minute walk to happily walking for forty-five minutes. The wonderful hydrotherapists also recommended some very high-quality joint supplements, so please feel free to drop me a message if you would like the name of them.
Corky lived to the grand old age of seventeen and a half, creaky joints and all 💛 Looking back on our journey, I wanted to share a few top tips for protecting our pups' joints right from the very start.
First, take a look at your floors. As soon as you welcome a dog into your home, the first thing you should assess is whether your flooring is suitable. Dogs slipping and sliding around on uncarpeted floors is a huge contributing factor to arthritis later in life. Getting some rugs and runners down in high-traffic areas makes a massive difference for their stability.
Second, please reconsider repetitive ball throwing. If I can say it once, I will say it a thousand times, because repetitive high-speed ball throwing is an absolute no-no for canine joints. Instead, you can play hide-and-seek with the ball, only bring it out at the very end of walks, and ditch the plastic ball thrower entirely. Your dog will truly thank you for this later in life.
Finally, it is never too early to start a joint supplement. The more support we can give our dogs internally, the more strength we give them externally. This goes without saying always make sure your pup is a healthy weight.
Corky was the absolute best boy, and navigating his arthritis taught me so much about how we can proactively care for our dogs. Please enjoy this video of him playing the system with his hydrotherapists 🌟