Stop Taking Your Dog for a Walk! (Try a Saunter Instead)
Stop Taking Your Dog for a Walk! (Try a Saunter Instead) By Chris Zink DVM PhD DACVSMR Pretty well everyone agrees that taking your dog for a walk is just about the best exercise your dog can get, right? Maybe… or maybe not. What is Exercise Anyway?When we talk about exercise, we are typically talking […]
The Gift of Being the Only Dog
The Gift of Being the Only Dog By Chris Zink DVM PhD DACVSMR Some roads lead on from what you knowTo what you need to find— Della Mae My very first Golden Retriever, Cajun, was the dog who really got me hooked on canine sports. We competed in obedience, conformation, hunt tests, and the then-new sport […]
It’s a Real Pain
It’s a Real Pain By Chris Zink DVM PhD DACVSMR “MAKE him do it!” “He’s just giving you the doggie dew claw!” “Pick him up and throw him over the jump!” These were some of the comments I heard as I tried to understand why my experienced obedience dog would not jump the bar jump. This was a […]
Who is That Dog in the Mirror?
Who is That Dog in the Mirror? By Chris Zink DVM PhD DACVSMR Does your dog think about itself? How we perceive ourselves, or our self-image, greatly influences how we think, feel, and relate to the rest of the world. You recognize, for example, that you have a physical body, and you might describe yourself as tall, short, […]
Yeast – Yuck!
Yeast – Yuck! By Chris Zink DVM PhD DACVSMR We have all seen dogs that have reddish-brown tear stains under the eyes. But lots of dogs also have red-brown stains on the fur of their mustaches, ears, between the toes, and at the base of the toenails. People often dismiss these stains, thinking they are just part of the […]
Inflammatory Food?
Inflammatory Food? By Chris Zink DVM PhD DACVSMR and co-authored by Donna Raditic DVM DACVN Fifty years ago, the sugar industry quietly paid researchers at Harvard University to indicate that dietary fat was the major nutritional cause of heart disease (1). Their study was published in the prominent New England Journal of Medicine, and it […]
Build Stamina – Prevent Injuries!
Build Stamina – Prevent Injuries! By Chris Zink DVM PhD DACVSMR Stamina is the strength and energy that allows your dog to sustain physical and/or mental effort for long periods of time. Increasing your dog’s stamina reduces fatigue and exhaustion and therefore helps prevent injuries. That’s important to all of us, whether we have a competition dog or a family dog.Stamina is often […]
Play Ball!…Safely
When Can He Play Ball Again? Cody strained at his leash as he entered my examination room. A brown and white pitbull mix with soft eyes, large neck and shoulder muscles, and a beautiful sheen to his coat, he rubbed the side of his big body against my legs then flipped over onto his back, […]
Proprioception – How To Hone Your Dog’s Injury-Prevention System
Proprio – what? Proprioception is from Latin proprius, meaning “one’s own,” and capere, meaning to grasp. Thus, proprioception means to grasp one’s own position in space, including the position of the limbs in relation to each other and the body as a whole. Proprioception is how a baseball player hits a 3” ball going 95 mph with […]
Overloaded! (It’s Not About Reps and Sets)
Overload. Despite how it sounds, it may be a good thing for your dog’s fitness and health! Strength is a major key to canine health and longevity. A dog with strong muscles is less likely to suffer injuries, both acute injuries and chronic injuries such as arthritis, which is one of the most common conditions in senior and […]