SURFACE is everything folks. When a dog lives most of his life on a slippery surface the dog will continually contract their muscles for balance, traction and stability. The dog will rarely relax when standing and moving on a slippery surface. This over use of the muscles will cause stress to the dog’s joints and surrounding tissue. Many of us have more EXTREME dogs:
To keep your dog on a stable surface, put carpet runners down, or something that provides traction. If using carpet runners, make sure to put the liner underneath to prevent the carpet from moving as the dog moves over it. In my house I have interlocking mats over my Pergo flooring to help my dogs have better traction, comfort and balance. How about stairs? Carpeted stairs can be as slick as wood stairs. Teaching your dog to walk up and down the stairs slowly at your side is the best way to keep your dog free of injury. You can also teach your dog to back up the stairs. Either walking forward or backward improves limb awareness and core strength if you teach the dog to put one foot on each step. Barreling down the stairs has caused injury to the shoulders, knees and backs of many dogs. When training tricks, K9 Conditioning exercises or any other behaviors be mindful of the type of surface your dog is on. What kind of surface does your dog live on??? Bobbie Lyons Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.pawsitive-performance.com/blog.html Comments are closed.
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AuthorBobbie Lyons, CCFT, KPA CPT Archives
April 2019
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