Hi, thank you for responding.
We use a freedom harness and a Halti for leash walking. She doesn't need the Halti anymore because she doesn't pull ahead or lunge as we have been working on leash training for a long time. The pulling is to delay going home, or go anywhere other than home. I've been using her toys this week to excite her about the idea of home and playing in the entry way for a few minutes after our walks and that is working fine for now. Hopefully it sticks.
She hates jogging and definitely has a limp so I won't force her to do so. We do go to the dog park daily when I expect it to be empty and throw a ball around while reinforcing recall and target training. She has known targeting and tactile stimulation since the day I adopted her over a year ago.
Additionally she has an array of nylabone durachews, chew ropes, old T-shirts, several kongs, a kong wobbler, neba ball treat dispenser and other toys that I rotate on a daily basis to keep them "fresh" but they have lost their appeal and few toys can withstand the power of her jaws...
We spend a lot of time together learning new tricks with clicker training but her enthusiasm is dead, it seems. the power of the food is fading. Her vet and I are working to determine if she has GI discomfort on top of everything, but that's currently out of my control until we see if this new diet/med plan works. I'm putting off prescription science diet until all else fails because I really don't trust in hydrolyzed protein and that is the food she was supposedly on at the shelter and her condition was atrocious when I adopted her. Also, I am allergic to some of the ingredients myself.
I feel as though this surgery, while saving her life and limbs, has dented our trust and bond severely. I purchased some paw pods from fit paws to train her to stand on them for physical therapy since she does favor her right hind leg. Water therapy is extremely costly on my grad school income, espec after forking over so much for diagnostics and surgery (8K$). I was thinking of the beach but they also cost money to rent a car to get to. Likewise with Central Park being 2 miles from my apt, she can't make the walk there let alone there and back and that's the closest low impact ground I can find. Cabs cost $ and the bus won't take her because she's 50lbs. Starting to regret NYC very much...
I just considered hiking trails today, i think metro north takes dogs on weekends.
We use a freedom harness and a Halti for leash walking. She doesn't need the Halti anymore because she doesn't pull ahead or lunge as we have been working on leash training for a long time. The pulling is to delay going home, or go anywhere other than home. I've been using her toys this week to excite her about the idea of home and playing in the entry way for a few minutes after our walks and that is working fine for now. Hopefully it sticks.
She hates jogging and definitely has a limp so I won't force her to do so. We do go to the dog park daily when I expect it to be empty and throw a ball around while reinforcing recall and target training. She has known targeting and tactile stimulation since the day I adopted her over a year ago.
Additionally she has an array of nylabone durachews, chew ropes, old T-shirts, several kongs, a kong wobbler, neba ball treat dispenser and other toys that I rotate on a daily basis to keep them "fresh" but they have lost their appeal and few toys can withstand the power of her jaws...
We spend a lot of time together learning new tricks with clicker training but her enthusiasm is dead, it seems. the power of the food is fading. Her vet and I are working to determine if she has GI discomfort on top of everything, but that's currently out of my control until we see if this new diet/med plan works. I'm putting off prescription science diet until all else fails because I really don't trust in hydrolyzed protein and that is the food she was supposedly on at the shelter and her condition was atrocious when I adopted her. Also, I am allergic to some of the ingredients myself.
I feel as though this surgery, while saving her life and limbs, has dented our trust and bond severely. I purchased some paw pods from fit paws to train her to stand on them for physical therapy since she does favor her right hind leg. Water therapy is extremely costly on my grad school income, espec after forking over so much for diagnostics and surgery (8K$). I was thinking of the beach but they also cost money to rent a car to get to. Likewise with Central Park being 2 miles from my apt, she can't make the walk there let alone there and back and that's the closest low impact ground I can find. Cabs cost $ and the bus won't take her because she's 50lbs. Starting to regret NYC very much...
I just considered hiking trails today, i think metro north takes dogs on weekends.
