Penny had physio today, and after her session she was introducd to the underwater treadmill. I was thrilled at how easily she took to this new experience.
If you don't want to hear the doting owner talking continually in a silly voice, you might want to turn off the sound on this one!
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Sunday, 22 August 2010
diets for weight loss for dogs
I was researching the use of cold cooked potato for weight loss in dogs, because I've read it's a good weight loss food for humans - cooked potato that has been allowed to cool, not warm or hot cooked potato. Here's a quote from the European Food Information Council:
However, I'm not going to feed potato to Penny until I know more about this, as I've never fed her potato before.
And I came across a site that looks useful, because it discusses the value of home-prepared meals without the angst that sometimes accompanies this topic. The author, who appears to be a vet, with a PhD, also says that if you're going to buy prepared foods, you should buy the reputable ones from a vet, because at least you know a properly qualified staff of nutritionists works for the company. I suppose that is logical. Interestingly, he says something that I've always thought should be true, that since dogs have lived with us for about thirty thousand years, they've adapted to the same sort of diet as we eat. (With notable exceptions such as chocolate, grapes, raisins, garlic, onions, macadamia nuts, tomatoes and avocado.)
I thought the discussion of eggs was interesting - he says eggs should be eaten cooked, not raw, which is news to me. Also, he discusses the fact that we need to assess the danger of high level of mercury in fish against the nutritional value of the omega-3 fatty acids.
The discussion of the best proportions of fat, protein and carbohydrates is one of the clearest I've read.
A small amount of the starch in potatoes resists digestion (this is called ‘resistant starch’): this particularly occurs when potatoes are eaten cold after being cooked, such as in a potato salad. Resistant starch acts in the body in a similar way to fibre.I think the effect is that the person has a feeling of fullness after eating, and isn't so hungry, yet the body can't digest the cold potato, so doesn't gain weight.
However, I'm not going to feed potato to Penny until I know more about this, as I've never fed her potato before.
And I came across a site that looks useful, because it discusses the value of home-prepared meals without the angst that sometimes accompanies this topic. The author, who appears to be a vet, with a PhD, also says that if you're going to buy prepared foods, you should buy the reputable ones from a vet, because at least you know a properly qualified staff of nutritionists works for the company. I suppose that is logical. Interestingly, he says something that I've always thought should be true, that since dogs have lived with us for about thirty thousand years, they've adapted to the same sort of diet as we eat. (With notable exceptions such as chocolate, grapes, raisins, garlic, onions, macadamia nuts, tomatoes and avocado.)
I thought the discussion of eggs was interesting - he says eggs should be eaten cooked, not raw, which is news to me. Also, he discusses the fact that we need to assess the danger of high level of mercury in fish against the nutritional value of the omega-3 fatty acids.
The discussion of the best proportions of fat, protein and carbohydrates is one of the clearest I've read.
Saturday, 21 August 2010
our dogs teach us to see how special ordinary places can be
Building on yesterday's success in taking Penny to a place where there are no other dogs, I put her in the car today and simply drove off to have a look around. I had the idea of going to a quiet on-lead path near a creek, so I pulled up and lifted her out.
To a human it was a rather ordinary, if not, horrible, place.
Except for the gorgeous street art...
As usual, Penny showed me that every place can be interesting, if you just stop to smell the flowers.
Some spots required quite intense sniffing.
The good thing about it was that she was walking slowly, which the physiotherapist says is important if we are to build up the strength around her possibly injured cruciate ligament. (I always say 'possibly', because my gut still tells me to doubt the diagnosis.)
To a human it was a rather ordinary, if not, horrible, place.
Except for the gorgeous street art...
As usual, Penny showed me that every place can be interesting, if you just stop to smell the flowers.
Some spots required quite intense sniffing.
The good thing about it was that she was walking slowly, which the physiotherapist says is important if we are to build up the strength around her possibly injured cruciate ligament. (I always say 'possibly', because my gut still tells me to doubt the diagnosis.)
Friday, 20 August 2010
Penny gets to go places at last
First, I must thank LS and Happy for the award they have given us. It's lovely to get something like that. Seeing I'm not organised enough to keep track of who I've ever passed awards on to, I'm going to just sit on it and enjoy it!
Penny got to go on a walk today!! Ta da!
It suddenly occurred to me that even though she can only go on ten minute on-lead walks, there's nothing to stop us doing it away from home, as long as the terrain is flat. So we went off to the local golf club and wandered around the car park. Yep, the car park. Penny seemed to enjoy sniffing around the garden beds and the ground was firm underfoot and I knew we wouldn't meet other dogs (who might tempt her into playing). We walked sedately down the edge of the course.
I'm feeling much better about trying to manage her possible cruciate tear with a conservative approach, as we've been to see an animal physiotherapist and she, like the vets, thinks Penny's knee is stable, and therefore possibly able to recover without surgery. Even if we do end up with surgery, we'll know we tried all avenues beforehand, and took care of her leg in the meantime.
As well as the supportive and informative Yahoo group about orthopedic issues, we've joined another one dedicated to managing without (or after) surgery, and already I've found a great article that sets out the process by which a partial tear might recover. As I understand it, the ligament can't regrow, as it has a meagre blood supply, but scar tissue can form and with the proper care, tht scar tissue will support the knee, as long as it's not too tight. In other words, we need to keep Penny moving. Seeing that's the way I'm dealing with a disk problem in my back, it seems a logical course at this stage.
I'm looking forward to posting about the underwater treadmill next week. Penny hopped in happily last Wednesday, when the vet nurse threw in some treats and soft toys, so hopefully she will adapt quickly to it when it has water in it.
There's an interesting article at Pittsburgh Dog News that describes an article in the Wall Street Journal about dog knee injuries. Apparently, in the US there are five times more knee operations on dogs than on humans, despite the fact there are five times more humans than dogs. By my calculation, that means dogs are twenty-five times more likely to have such surgery.
It explains that dogs' knees don't lock, as humans knees do, and so the dogs' knees are always bent. However, I have to wonder how wild dogs manage without access to modern surgery, and how dogs have managed over the centuries. I wonder if we have bred this problem into the species.
Penny got to go on a walk today!! Ta da!
It suddenly occurred to me that even though she can only go on ten minute on-lead walks, there's nothing to stop us doing it away from home, as long as the terrain is flat. So we went off to the local golf club and wandered around the car park. Yep, the car park. Penny seemed to enjoy sniffing around the garden beds and the ground was firm underfoot and I knew we wouldn't meet other dogs (who might tempt her into playing). We walked sedately down the edge of the course.
I'm feeling much better about trying to manage her possible cruciate tear with a conservative approach, as we've been to see an animal physiotherapist and she, like the vets, thinks Penny's knee is stable, and therefore possibly able to recover without surgery. Even if we do end up with surgery, we'll know we tried all avenues beforehand, and took care of her leg in the meantime.
As well as the supportive and informative Yahoo group about orthopedic issues, we've joined another one dedicated to managing without (or after) surgery, and already I've found a great article that sets out the process by which a partial tear might recover. As I understand it, the ligament can't regrow, as it has a meagre blood supply, but scar tissue can form and with the proper care, tht scar tissue will support the knee, as long as it's not too tight. In other words, we need to keep Penny moving. Seeing that's the way I'm dealing with a disk problem in my back, it seems a logical course at this stage.
I'm looking forward to posting about the underwater treadmill next week. Penny hopped in happily last Wednesday, when the vet nurse threw in some treats and soft toys, so hopefully she will adapt quickly to it when it has water in it.
There's an interesting article at Pittsburgh Dog News that describes an article in the Wall Street Journal about dog knee injuries. Apparently, in the US there are five times more knee operations on dogs than on humans, despite the fact there are five times more humans than dogs. By my calculation, that means dogs are twenty-five times more likely to have such surgery.
It explains that dogs' knees don't lock, as humans knees do, and so the dogs' knees are always bent. However, I have to wonder how wild dogs manage without access to modern surgery, and how dogs have managed over the centuries. I wonder if we have bred this problem into the species.
Monday, 16 August 2010
dogs in the Northern Territory communities in Australia
In the current edition of The Big Issue, there's an article about a program in the Northern Territory - the Maningrida Dog Health Program. Photographer Dave Tacon accompanied Dr Ted Donelan, a Melbourne vet who regularly visits the area to administer the program, and there are interesting photos on Tacon's site.
The relationship of indigenous Australians to dogs varies in different places, but Maningrida is 'dog dreaming' country, where people have a special relationship to dogs and want to be free to live with as many dogs as they wish. There are some problems with aggressive dogs, though, and the Dog Health Program aims to help foster responsible dog ownership, both for the dogs' sake and for the safety of humans.
What I loved about the photos on Tacon's site was the way the dogs were an integral part of people's lives, lolling around with their human companions or joining them in their daily activities, with not a leash or collar in sight.
The University of Melbourne's Vet News has an article about a veterinary visit to Kunbarllanjnja Community.
The relationship of indigenous Australians to dogs varies in different places, but Maningrida is 'dog dreaming' country, where people have a special relationship to dogs and want to be free to live with as many dogs as they wish. There are some problems with aggressive dogs, though, and the Dog Health Program aims to help foster responsible dog ownership, both for the dogs' sake and for the safety of humans.
What I loved about the photos on Tacon's site was the way the dogs were an integral part of people's lives, lolling around with their human companions or joining them in their daily activities, with not a leash or collar in sight.
The University of Melbourne's Vet News has an article about a veterinary visit to Kunbarllanjnja Community.
a ramp to help a limping dog
We've been lifting Penny up and down the thirteen - thirteen! - steps out the back and the one big step out the front, and we're sure getting tired of it, so I thought we'd better set up a ramp. Living in a household where nothing is ever thrown out has its advantages; just a glance around the garden and there they were, three big planks of wood.
Set up a couple of warning posts, so humans don't go for a sixer on the front patio, and we're set...
Now to train her to use it... clicker, treats, yep, we're ready to go. But what is this? She doesn't need any training - looks like all those 'dog walks' at agility with Cindy have paid off.
Set up a couple of warning posts, so humans don't go for a sixer on the front patio, and we're set...
Now to train her to use it... clicker, treats, yep, we're ready to go. But what is this? She doesn't need any training - looks like all those 'dog walks' at agility with Cindy have paid off.
Sunday, 15 August 2010
a pig is training at Kintala, where Penny used to train
A pig amidst the puppies? Will it work? Only time will tell. But the committee of Kintala, the club where Penny trained for a couple of years, from puppyhood, has accepted a pet pig for training. Kintala, as I understand it, was the pioneer in Australia of the Gentle Modern method of training dogs (ie reward-based). I am thankful that we started there, because training is all off-lead, and I'm sure that gave Penny a good start in life.
The club's senior trainer, Katarina Behan, say that seeing food is used as a means of inducing behaviours and rewarding them, the method should suit a piglet. At first the little piggy will train independently, but eventually it will be introduced to dogs, starting with a gentle rottweiler-labrador cross.
If you'd like to read more, here is a link to Carolyn Webb's article in The Age newspaper.
The club's senior trainer, Katarina Behan, say that seeing food is used as a means of inducing behaviours and rewarding them, the method should suit a piglet. At first the little piggy will train independently, but eventually it will be introduced to dogs, starting with a gentle rottweiler-labrador cross.
If you'd like to read more, here is a link to Carolyn Webb's article in The Age newspaper.
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