Max's 2nd Blog

Hello Frank!

Things with Max are going pretty well, but there have been a few bumps in the road.  He is certainly a very smart dog, that's for sure.  He loves to please and will work hard to make you happy - what a good guy he is.  He has done well with all of his commands, but he is not where I would like him to be quite yet.

His house manners have improved significantly.  He is much more relaxed in the house and doesn't mark anything (at my house) anymore.  He is doing great with his social skills with other dogs.   He is doing well with sits and stays, downs, walking nicely on the leash, going public places, and riding in the car.

Although I've had him on joint supplements, which take a month or so to take effect, I still am worried about his hips.  Because he lacks strength in his back legs, he has begun to get anxious indoors when he is about to walk onto the hardwood, or tile.  This is because he can't grip them very well like he can with carpet, and you can see him wanting to follow you but being afraid to hurt his legs when he walks onto the hard floors.  Some days I will go to take him out of his kennel, and he will start to come out and then go right back in for fear of having to walk on hard floor at all.

It is for this reason that I haven't yet setup the meeting with the protection trainer.   I talked to him about Max's hips and we decided we should get him comfortable before stressing them and testing Max's protection skills.  That doesn't mean we can't still do this in the future, of course.

What I would like to propose at this time is that we return Max to you in the next couple of days, so that you can work with him where he is at right now.  I would prefer it if you would take him to the vet and get his hips X-rayed, so they can see what is really going on there.   It could be just from him laying outside on hard surfaces, but to me it seems a little more progressed than that, and I want to make sure he isn't in pain, just in terms of him being happy and healthy.

Of course, I want his obedience to keep progressing too.  So what we would do is set up a session every other week for a few times for me to come to your property and work with Max.  I see this as being a good way to make sure you aren't having problems once he returns, and that you get all that you want to get out of this board & train.   I always do unlimited follow-ups once the dog goes home, so those would not be additional fees, and we could do as many as you like to make sure you feel good about Max's skills going forward.

I would also like to see Max switch to a higher quality food that has joint supplements in it.  A few that I like and recommend are Nutro (PetSmart or Petco), Nature's Domain (Costco), Blue Buffalo (PetSmart or Costco).   Max, being a big dog,  would benefit from being on a Large Breed formula of a high quality food.  It will have some joint supplements built into it, but I would still recommend continuing the joint supplements we are doing now (the ones in the food help, but are not a high enough dose to make a huge difference).

Overall, he is doing really well - I just want to continue his training with you at home periodically, and I would like to see him get checked out by a vet to make sure we can't make him any more comfortable in his back legs.

Let me know what you think about this, and we will set up a go-home session for Max.  If you have any other questions for me, let me know, and I'll be happy to address them.

I will be taking each dog to the park to train today, so I will be in and out until about tonight.  An email is probably the easiest way to get back to me today if you want to do that (mspruell@keepthedog.com), and/or we can talk on the phone tomorrow.   If you are on board with this plan, I will also send you some go-home documents for your reference, and we will go from there.

Max's First Blog Update

Hello Frank!

Max is doing well overall so far.   He is progressing as expected with his commands and training.  Currently we are doing a lot of "proofing," which means that he has been reminded of the criteria for his behaviors and for cues, and we are generalizing them to many different environments and situations.

In the house, he is working on his manners, and a strong "place" command.  So far, he is doing well here also.  Our biggest focus is making sure to eliminate marking behaviors and ensure that he is discriminating them from regular urination.  He is progressing with this, and is adjusting to indoor dog life.

I do want to, with your permission, put Max on some joint supplements.  Although he is moving around better than when I first saw him, he still struggles with some stability in his hips, and a Glucosamine/Chondrotin tablet would help him a lot, I think.  Let me know your thoughts on this or if you want further information about it.

Other than that, we have nothing unusual to report - just working hard on getting him solid on his commands and house manners.


Thanks again for entrusting me with your boy,
Marissa

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