Are you thinking of making changes in your life in 2014? What about your dog? The New Year is a great time to re-evaluate what you’re doing with and for your dog so you can hopefully avoid or delay common ailments or health and behavior concerns that may affect him. If you’re looking for ideas, here are a few.

Prior to 2005, I didn’t know there was such a thing as canine massage! But after a vivid dream, I researched it, and changed careers. As ridiculous as it may sound to some people, aqua therapy, massage, aromatherapy, acupressure, and other modalities are viable, proven, non-invasive, holistic options for maintaining health and treating a wide range of conditions both in humans and animals.

I don’t usually go to dog parks because I don’t think my dog Beau enjoys them. But it was a nice day and thought we should go out and do a little socializing. So off we went.

With the holidays here, many people think of bringing that cute puppy home as a Christmas gift. The kids have been begging for a puppy, so what better gift can you give them? Before you do this, stop and think, and continue reading!

Did you know that hydrotherapy, or water exercise was first used with horses and racing greyhounds? These animals were constantly exposed to the jarring effects of gravity and hard surfaces, putting extra stress on their bones and joints often causing injury. Because of its effectiveness, hydrotherapy in a warm water pool (with a temperature between 88 and 92 degrees) has become popular in most dog and cat rehabilitation centers.

What do you think is the best gift you can give your pet? Could it be your love? Or your time? Those are definitely important, but I think the best gift we can give our beloved pet companions is the gift of health.

You may or may not know this, but we spent a year researching what type of sanitation system we wanted to use in our aqua therapy center. We instinctively knew chlorine was very bad, and never considered it. We briefly considered bromine, a chlorine substitute, but again, it has many of the same harmful effects as chlorine. Then we looked at salt, but felt it would be too drying to both our skin and to the dog’s skin.

I give my dog Beau table food as I’ve done with all my other dogs. The one mistake I made in the past was giving them tidbits while I was eating and as a result they became very good at begging! Often times I’d have these eyes peering up at me from my lap and find a wet napkin from their attempt to lick off morsels of food that may have been wiped from my mouth. This of course is unacceptable especially when you have company for dinner.

There’s been a lot of discussion lately on the use of stem cells in the treatment of chronic conditions in humans. The question is whether these cells are viable or will they be rejected by the recipient. With animals, this is not a concern as stem cells are sourced and harvested from the animal’s own fat cells offering little danger of rejection.

Dogs are part of our family – many people consider them as their children. I know I do. Cats are also family members but they are so independent that the same nurturing we offer our dogs usually is not necessary.

We are the only Orlando dog boarding and Orlando doggie day care center that has an indoor heated pool for dogs. See it for yourself by scheduling a tour!

Rocky's Retreat | 2826 Shader Rd. Orlando FL 32808 | info@rockysretreat.com | (407) 295-3888