April Fitness Update

It's been about a month since Treasure and I started her fitness program.  I'm so pleased with the progress she's made.  I'm taking a canine fitness class through Fenzi academy, so I've been able to learn more about how Treasure's muscles work to contribute to her balance and stability.  I'm learning specific exercises that I can use to help strengthen those various muscles to help her improve her strength and stability.  These exercises are helping with increasing Treasure's stamina and flexibility as well.  

Treasure is able to easily walk with me twice around the field by our house.  When we started, we walked to the field and then went 1/4 of the way around and then came back.  So, she has improved her strength and stamina nicely.  I have noticed her core muscles are stronger, and she has more energy.  She is always looking for something to do now, which is more like how she was before I allowed her to get used to a more sedate lifestyle.  

There are a couple ways to teach your blind and deaf dog to put her front feet up on a disc.  First, please consult with a veterinary professional before embarking on a serious fitness program with your dog.  If you don't understand the muscles and the exercises, and how to know when you've done enough, you can end up with a very sore and unhappy dog.  If your dog has an injury or a condition which affects her structure and movement, it is vitally important to get feedback from a veterinarian about a fitness program before starting, so you know if there are exercises that may make the issue worse.

When teaching your dog to put her front feet up on an object, choose an object that is fairly low and is stable.  The object should not move when your dog steps up onto it.  Remember that your dog has been using her feet to feel surfaces for a while now and stepping onto a moving surface may be scary.  You want your dog's experience to be a good one, so she will want to continue to step onto the object for you.  If she gets scared of the surface right off the bat, she will probably be more likely to avoid your teaching sessions.

You can use a sturdy book, or if you have a large dog you can use a short step stool.  Make sure the item is not going to move.  You can block it with furniture or a wall, or even your foot, to prevent it from moving.  When I first taught this, I used a combination of luring with food and shaping.  I used food to get Treasure to line up with the object and when her front legs and chest were touching it, I let her eat the food from on top of the object.  This allowed her to feel the object and learn its height, as well as begin to feel comfortable with it.  I let her sniff it and continued to feed her food from on top of it.  When she was fully comfortable with the object, I started to hold the lure a little farther from her over the top of the object so she had to lean forward to reach it.  As she leaned forward, I watched for smaller behaviors from her to reward.  When her weight shifted forward, she got the food.  Then when she lifted one front foot, she got the food.  Then when her front foot touched the object, then stepped onto it, then two feet up, etc.  

I added a touch cue to this behavior after she was doing it easily and was able to get rid of the lure, so she would easily step up onto the object when I gave the touch cue by itself.  Then I started to ask Treasure to step up onto other objects that were varying heights but still did not move.  We used this behavior for several tricks and for photo poses!  

Treasure loves to put her front feet up on things whether they move or not and she is often in position on her disc before I can even get myself situated.  When first introducing her to a surface that would move, I used my leg.  She was used to stepping up onto my leg for petting and cuddling.  When she came up, I tensed and relaxed my leg muscles to cause just a tiny bit of movement under her feet.  Because she was getting loving from me, she barely seemed to notice the movement.  Then I made it into a game and started to move my leg more and more when her feet were on it and in different directions.  She appeared to like this game, as any time I moved her off my leg, she stepped right back up on it for more!

From there it was a simple matter to introduce moving surfaces to her.  The disc in the pictures is a large one for Treasure's size.  We have smaller ones that we started with.  Also, the disc pictured is filled very full with air.  It is easier to start with discs that are slightly deflated, as they have less movement and are easier for the dogs to balance on and gain confidence and strength.

Do not be fooled!  Even though this seems like an easy exercise, don't overdo it!  Try sitting on a disc while you're sitting at the computer for an hour and then see which muscles are sore the next day!  It is hard work for muscles to work in ways they are not used to.  Keep sessions very short and build up gradually.  If your dog is sore, she won't be enjoying her lessons.  Fitness is only fun if the participants are enjoying it!  

Fun and Fitness

Treasure is learning to push a skateboard.  While this doesn't sound a lot like something that should be in a fitness program, I am finding that it is harder for her than I expected it to be.  Treasure enjoys any trick in which she can put her front feet up on something, so I thought this would be easy for her to learn.

What I am finding, however, is that it is a difficult concept for her to move only her back feet and keep her front feet in place.  She often tries to walk her front feet forward as well, and ends up walking up to the end of the skateboard instead of keeping her front feet in the middle.

Learning to isolate and only move her back feet is a new skill for her.  While she is learning new skills in proprioception and is connecting new neural pathways to allow her to learn this new motor pattern, she is also working her muscles in a different way.  So, short sessions that are kept fun are important to prevent her from getting sore and frustrated.  Chicken pieces help to keep her motivated and having fun too!

Skateboards!  Fitness AND Fun!!

Fitness for Blind and Deaf Dogs

Treasure is embarking on a new and improved fitness program.  It's hard to keep her fit and trim because she is not as active as the other dogs.  They want to go, go, go (and quickly!) on their walks and they enjoy running together in the nearby field.  Treasure's pace is one of leisure, carefully smelling her way through a walk.  She prefers to walk slightly behind me so she can follow my scent.  I would not be able to walk her with my other dogs and give them each what they need and want from a walk.  This means that I need to make it a priority to take them out separately.  

When Shelby was alive, she and Treasure both walked slower and we would take a separate walk around the yard - just us three girls.  As Shelby slowed down even more, those walks became shorter and eventually all but stopped except for her really good days.  I didn't make it a priority to take Treasure out again for a walk by herself.  So, she spent a lot of this winter in the house.  

She started to put on a couple extra pounds, so I cut back on her food amount to help with that.  And although she is now a good weight, she is out of shape.  I want her to live for a long time, so I want her muscles, heart and lungs to stay strong and for her joints to remain flexible for as long as possible.  This means - exercise!  

Now that the weather is getting nicer, I will be focusing on building up Treasure's endurance for walking with me, and then experimenting to see if we can quicken the pace just a bit.  It is unlikely that Treasure will go any faster than a slow trot, because she can't see what is in front of her, so she's learned to go at a more conservative pace to avoid smacking into something hard or falling into a hole in the ground.  But I would like for her to be able to go on longer walks with me.  

Treasure does enjoy her time with me learning tricks and doing nosework.  She does get some exercise doing various tricks that allow her body to stretch and move in different ways and improve her balance and proprioception skills.  I have balance discs, and a balance ball and peanut and each of these challenge her to use her muscles and help keep her toned.  

I know all too well that starting up a new exercise program can leave muscles sore and tired.  I also learned recently that if there is pain during a workout, the muscles protect themselves and don't work as hard, so they are not really building any strength.  So, my goal is to go slowly enough that Treasure is always having fun and ready for more when we stop, and that she never gets sore.  That's no fun for anyone, and I want her to build strength, so it's important to keep her under that pain threshold.  

Walks are such good exercise physically, but walks also allow Treasure to experience different surfaces, smells, textures, and sensations.  She loves to feel the warmth of the sunshine on her coat, and to smell all the amazing farm smells on the breeze.  Each new surface - grass, gravel, black top, wood - is a new experience for her and requires her to adjust her balance and pace somewhat.  

I'll try to keep the readers updated on our new fitness adventure.

Enjoying our longer walks together ...

March happenings

It's March already.  The time has certainly flown by.  We've all had a couple months of changes and adjustments and being cooped up inside way too much because of the winter weather.  

Our dear Shelby (Jack Russell/Dachshund mix) passed away in late January.  She had been with me for nearly 18 years, from the time she was a puppy.  She was the oldest here, and all the dogs had learned to respect her and to watch out for her.  It's interesting while going through my own grieving process to see how each of them looked for her and reacted to her being gone.  But slowly our lives have returned to some sense of normalcy.  

As many times as I have sat down to write about Shelby, there just don't seem to be adequate words to express how integral she has been in my life for the past 18 years.  So I haven't written anything yet.  But she is so very missed ... 

While we were stuck inside this winter, the dogs and I have been working on their trick dog titles.  Vegas and Treasure both earned their Intermediate Trick Dog Titles!  Owen earned his Expert Trick Dog Title, and Brinks earned his Advanced Trick Dog Title.  We've been very busy.

Trick Dogs!

A project we’re working on over the winter is for Vegas and Treasure to learn enough new tricks to earn their Intermediate Trick Dog titles.  Tricks are a great way to spend time with your dog and a good way to help their bodies and minds get exercise when all we want to do is hibernate inside where it’s warm!

Each dog needs to learn 12 new tricks to earn this new title.  Vegas has learned 8 on the list so far.  He is working on developing the muscles needed to sit pretty (beg) on his own, hide in a box, weave through my legs as I walk, and do tricks with a pedestal.  He loves his lessons, which are a time for just him and I to play and have fun!  I can’t wait to show you what he has learned!

Treasure knows 10 of the intermediate level tricks!  Only 2 more to go!  She is learning to work with a pedestal and do different tricks with it, go to a mat (which is proving to be easier than I thought with a blind/deaf dog!), and to weave through my legs (this one is tricky for her).  She is also working with paw pods and learning to put one paw up on each pod.  She can do the front two pods very well.  It’s much harder for her to find the pod with her back feet. 

While we play with intermediate tricks, they are also both learning some tricks from the advanced and expert trick lists.  This is really great fun!  It challenges my skills as a trainer – doing shaping with a tactile marker (clicker signal that Treasure can feel), figuring out how to adapt each exercise for Vegas’ limited vision – and it is fun for the dogs to get one on one time with me and lots of praise, treats, and fun!  

Welcome 2015!

The start of 2015!  So much to look forward to in the coming year!  And, we are stuck inside here due to the bitter cold.  So, once again, I look for new ways to keep my dogs busy and using their brains.  Doing puzzles and learning activities for their meals is always a popular activity.  Since my dogs do like to eat, giving them a game to play to get their food and treats stimulates their brains and problem solving abilities.  As a matter of fact, my dogs get so much more excited to eat when they see the puzzle games coming out rather than their food bowls. 

I saw online something called a snuffle mat.  There are many different kinds of mat, some are sewn with intricate pockets and closures to hide goodies.  Some look like a version of a shag carpet, with high fibers for the treats to fall into and the dog to search and “snuffle” about for.  I thought perhaps I could figure out how to make one of these mats myself.  I found a plastic sink liner with one inch square holes in it and I cut strips from some old fleece I had in the basement.  By tying the fleece strips to the sink liner, I created this snuffle mat. 

On the left of the mat, you can see some of the sink mat that doesn't have fleece on it yet.  Sorry, forgot to take a picture before I started making it.

This is very definitely a supervised toy with my dogs.  I have one dog in particular that enjoys the game, but if I left him alone with it, he might start to chew off and eat the fleece pieces (he enjoys doing this with his toys).  So I am careful to be nearby when they are playing with it, and then I pick it up and put it out of reach until we use it again.  Plus, it’s just  more fun to play with the toy with my dogs! 

While we have some of the fancy manufactured dog puzzle games and Kong toys, some of our favorite food toys are from the recycle bin.  Of course, these are also always supervised, because most materials from the recycle bin are not dog-teeth safe. 

An empty and dry water bottle is a fun toy at my house.  For the dogs that can hear, the crinkling sound of chomping a bottle is so much fun!  For the others, it moves and spins across the floor dumping tasty pieces of treat all over to search and find!  Easy enough to dispose of after playtime, and replace the next time!  

This is a tea bottle, so a bit more sturdy than a water bottle, but any bottle can work. Remove the cap and any plastic rings on the top.  Put treats inside - simple!

A plastic container can be used to make frosty dog snacks, just watch that your dog isn't trying to eat the plastic part as they chew at the frozen snack.  You can easily run the outside of the container under warm water enough to loosen the frozen snack so it pops out and into a bowl for licking if your dog is eating the plastic part. 

This frosty snack happens to be yogurt mixed with ground meat and frozen.  You can use any number of dog-friendly foods to freeze.  

Some dogs like to lick out a yogurt container that you’re finished with.  This can keep them busy for a little bit.  Please make sure your dog is OK to have yogurt, and that the yogurt is not flavored with anything that may be harmful to your dog (Xylitol or other sweeteners, for instance).  You can also smear a little bit of other foods around the inside of a plastic container – peanut butter, canned pumpkin, and other dog-safe foods.  It doesn’t take much to keep your dog busy and too much of a rich food may cause your dog to have an upset tummy. 

The dogs and I love learning new tricks together!  Using their meals for some of our lessons helps to ensure that they aren’t getting too many extra calories.  It is winter and they aren’t getting as much running around with us being inside more now.  If I gave their regular meals and then lots of treats on top of that, they might get upset tummies, but they would certainly gain weight which wouldn’t be healthy for them. 

Stay warm and have fun learning new things with your dogs! 

A White Christmas

May each of you and your families (furry and otherwise) have a very Blessed Christmas!!  

The Treasure Claus

T'was the Night Before Christmas ... (Treasure)

White Christmas (Vegas)

Handsome Boy Vegas