Sandy701's Journal, 21 January 2012

Sandy, don't you hate it when there are loose dogs? A friend of mine on facebook just had to have her dog euthanized because someone's loose dog attacked her and tore her up savagely while she was at work...makes me so sad and angry. People need to stop letting their dogs run loose. Anyway, have a great day...the reunion sounds fun! Hugs! 

Stef, I think the issue is that the dogs are fine off leash when there are no other interesting things going on, so the owner believes the dog is under control. We felt that same way ourselves when we were naive, first-time dog owners who didn't know any better and we had a friendly-to-all doggy. What we didn't know was that some dogs see another loose dog approaching them, even at a trot, and feel they need to defend their owner, or themselves. Doggy communication should take care of itself, but it doesn't always work that way, so I detour ALL loose dogs to protect my own. This owner tried calling the dog back but had to come across the street and down the block to get the dog. While the dog wasn't threatening, it had the look of a pit bull or similar mix, so I was distrustful of its intentions, because I did not know the dog. The owner says the dog is friendly. That's awful to hear about your friend's dog. With loose dogs, you just never know....  

Hi Sandy..you can never be too careful with a loose dog around..my sister's dog was attacked by too larger dogs and they almost killed her..My sister was about to kill the owner..they had gotten out of their fenced in yard and came into hers while she had hers out to do her business..she had to have over 60 or 70 stitches..So I would cut my walk short too..I don't care what the owner says..she may not have seen her dog interact with other dogs in that manner..Enjoy your Saturday... :O) 

I hate that you have loose dogs on your route - spoils the fun having to wonder if you'll get eaten. Funny you should mention reunions - my 40th (High School) is coming up and I've been wondering if anyone is going to plan anything. My college has them but I haven't kept track of one single person I graduated with so I don't really care to attend them.  

Loose dogs can be sooo dangerous. We have a guy down the road about 1/2 a mile and his dogs get out all the time. And one of them is downright mean.  

Oh gosh Bren, how terrible! All those stitches....I'm surprised she survived...must have been some fast, expert vet care there. 

Buffy, DH's class was a pretty tight-knit group. Even through multiple colleges and through all these years, they'll drop us a line from time to time and when they do get together, you'd never know any time has passed. My class however (different city, different HS), was completely different and after graduation, we all scattered to the wind. My BF from HS was in the class behind me and we're STILL in contact! Each class just has a different personality to it. 

Karen, fortunately, I don't think there are any truly mean dogs in the neighborhood; I don't think I'd even chance a walk if there were. I just want to be able to walk my dogs without worrying about whether or not any off-leash encounters will remain friendly. I suppose I should be thankful that I )and DH) really have very few problems when you consider that the dogs go out walking 6-7 days/week. 

Sandy, always so impressed with your daily walks! How old are your dogs? And when you first started - were they young? old? in shape? out of shape? I want to start walking my own dogs, but am concerned that I could make them lame or something.. they don't get enough exercise!!! just walking around the yard. Any tips? 

Sandy they about ripped her apart..neck legs, face..they were very brutal...she was a mess.. and yes she almost didn't make it..My sister wrapped her tight in a towel and rushed her to the vet...The vet said she would do what she could..poor thing had iv's bandages, there wasn't many spots that didn't have some sort of medical attention.. she was so brave though..and sooo tough to have been in that bad a shape and make it... 

They're now 5 & 7. The 7-year-old has been walking since she was a puppy ("A tired puppy is a good puppy..."). We take it easy on puppies until they're able to toughen up the leather on their feet. She was my agility dog (LOTS of exercise there)until we moved here and she was diagnosed with a rather serious heart murmur for her age. The 5-year-old didn't come to live with us until he was over 2, but has been walking since then. Both dogs always in good shape, although the 5-year-old has gained some weight on his new dog food, so I'm cutting him back and adding green beans. Both dogs are on a joint supplement (glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM) as a preventive measure going into middle age. Esp. for agility, a dog MUST be at a proper weight. To begin walking with a dog, take it easy....let those pads toughen up if they're primarily house dogs, as mine are. Assuming they're otherwise healthy dogs, nice light strolls should be just fine as a start. Don't walk them in the heat of the day and don't forget that the pavement can be a scorcher! 

Bren, your sister must have been running on pure adrenaline at that time. It must have been so traumatic for her to have to function in the midst of that emergency. So fortunate to have an emergency vet available....it's amazing what they can handle! 

thanks Sandy.. great tips. Ok, but how much is a light stroll to start with. One dog is 10, he's a sheltie, in good shape, but can get lame rather easily. The other is a little Pom, and she's a tubba! She needs to walk! LOL! What do you recommend? 1/2 mile? 1/4 mile, full mile? 

oh, sorry...Pom is about 7 yrs old, and outside of yard playing, they don't currently get much exercise. 

Paula, do you know why your Sheltie gets lame easily? At 10 years of age, it could be arthritis, hip dysplasia, an old injury acting up, toenails a bit too long, or any number of other reasons. You're already aware that don't want to push him to the point of lameness. Assuming he doesn't have any medical conditions affecting the onset of lameness, just go very short distances and see how he does....even just down to the end of the block and back. If he doesn't get lame for the next day, either go again the next day or give him that day off and go the following...little by little increasing his distance and/or number of days he goes. If there IS an underlying physical condition that affects his lameness, then he may be limited to playing in the yard so he can stop before he gets lame OR maybe he just needs a joint supplement or some minor drug to keep him more comfortable. As for the Pom...give her a shot at a half-mile walk and see how she does, esp. the next day. Of course, if she can barely make the half-mile, don't force the issue. A lot of this is just the way we'd do our own, human training when we haven't trained before...go easy, short distances initially and assess how we get through it. I'd rather err on the side of doing too little initially than risk an injury by trying to do too much, esp. at their ages. I suspect your Pom could be a great little walker once she's built up some endurance and dropped a few pounds. I'm more concerned that your Sheltie could have something else going on causing him to come up lame more readily after exertion. 

Sandy - the sheltie has always enjoyed running.. full tilt after my son. (herder by nature!) Some times he will go out and chase him around the yard, while my son is on a bike or down the hill while my son is sledding.. he wayyyyy over does it... and then regrets it the next couple of days. Perhaps two times a year, he has had this happen. It's usually a hind leg he favors - and is back to normal in a day or two. He'll let you touch and massage it, but he won't put weight on it for a day or two. Then, like nothing ever happened, he's back to his old self again. Will start very short distances, for both of them, and work into it! Thanks again for the tips. 

Ahhh.....one of THOSE poochies! You could even look into doggy stretches. I haven't used them, but a fair number of agility competitors stretch out their dogs prior to warming them up and then running the course...looks kinda funny/strange, but they swear by it.