Hold on to apr 18 caribbean, excellent weeks we landing him when other dogs into âourâ space to get pets, just to reinforce his good behavior. During his possessive phase, I used different techniques for different people, depending on how he reacts to the people question and what they were more comfortable with capable of, and what worked best for him. No dog is ever perfect. Even when a dog trainer owns them, even if I spent all time making them perfect to everyoneâs standards, living animals are always changing! I wouldnât have it any other way. ð aggression, philosophy, possessiveness, training, trouble shooting With thanks to Quin's grandmother for the titular phrase! Well, and Cash are getting older. has a little bit of hip dysplasia and a lot of arthritis Cash is remarkably good shape, except for the added weight from helping himself to dog food. Weâre working on that! One of the books Iâm reading for myself is called âYounger Next Yearâ by MD and a lawyer who thought the information needed to be out the world. There are several editions, and I canât say itâs the most perfect book out there, but it is based on medical information, and it steers clear of the fad diets and whatnot, which I appreciate! The main message of the book is this: exercise hour, six days a week, to help your body stay young. A brisk walk is good enough. It goes into a lot more detail about why, but thatâs the basic premise. Hereâs why I mentioning it: the things they talk about have to do with being mammals, not always being human. Lilyâs been sliding downhill slowly and I thought, âYou know what? Sheâs a mammal, too.â and I are now embarking on a get-younger lifetime regime. Lilyâs arthritis and dysplasia mean that her hips are sore and weak. To help with the weakness, I bought some anti-slip spray by Bio-Groom. From what I can tell from the reviews and own experiments, it seems to work well for dogs who have just a bit of slipping and weakness; too much, and it doesnât make a great difference. I make sure to spray it on her pads and toe pads as well, and then pet her for thirty seconds while it dries. I re-applied every few days, and after a while I stopped using it; she stopped slipping. I took her walking. likes walking, but she gets bored walking the same thing all the time. I hadnât realized this until I was distressed that she lagged much, and then one day I took her jogging down a trail… and Iâll be damned if she couldnât suddenly keep up! we walk or jog daily, and sheâs gotten far more agile, much stronger, and happier. Sheâs playing again, and romping with other dogs. I wasnât sure, at first, if she was going to be strong enough to walk and jog, I also looked up strength training exercises. Some things you can do include standing your dog on stairs practicing sit down stand sit and massage helps as well. Dogs are like us: some like a firmer massage, others a softer one. Start with the big muscles alongside the spine, and the ones on the shoulders and thighs. If your dog is pulling away, ease up! Stretching helps, too. With your dog standing, very gently take a front leg and stretch it forward, stopping when you feel resistance. If at any point they pull their leg away with determination, let them! Give treats and praise throughout, because letâs face it, stretching is odd. You also bring the front leg back and then do the same thing with the back legs. Donât do anything sideways without talking to your vet. Finally, I made sure that had enough -time. Itâs easy to ignore her and Cash; they have excellent manners, good confidence, and donât ask or need time like the younger Doc or any dogs Iâm boarding. I started letting on the couch for snuggles, and I make sure that I give Cash snuggles, too, though heâd rather I pet him while he lays on the floor. Weâre all feeling better for the exercise, and is back on the 30-year plan: to live until Iâm old! aging, cash, health and nutrition, About two years ago, we put Cash on Prednisone to solve some massive allergy attacks that made him itchy he itched himself bloody. We were later able to take him off it, but the damage had been done. I 't mean liver or kidney damage, although that's something to watch for. Nope, I mean damage. Prednisone makes dogs thirsty and hungry, and he'd discovered nirvana: counter surfing. he surfs like I surf: not