On my recent annual vet visit, I discovered that my 8 year old dog Yankee’s thyroid is on the low side of normal, despite the fact that he doesn’t exhibit any of the typical symptoms.

Not of great concern, but because he doesn’t present known causes, I couldn’t understand why he might this might be happening until I learned about the potential problems with dog collars.

I’ve noticed over the last six months or so that my dog Yankee has developed some anxieties. At Rocky’s, if I put him in the office with his pal Beau, he starts scratching at the door wanting to come out and be with me. He’s never done that before. He’s also started to develop some storm related anxiety, a very new development.

Does your dog have any behavioral issues such as anxieties, noise phobias, obsessive behaviors, or aggression?Is your dog older, or does he carry emotional baggage from earlier in his life?Does he have physical issues such as skin problems, arthritis, allergies, or other conditions?If so, these conditions and more can be helped using Essential Oils.As a certified animal…

Leash aggression or leash reactivity as it’s also called is a behavior problem where the dog acts aggressively on leash toward other dogs, other animals, and sometimes people. I am intimately familiar with leash reactivity because Yankee exhibits this behavior (as did Rocky). He is fine off leash with most dogs, but when out walking, if he spots another dog, he initially starts by lying down, but then as the other dog gets close to us, he lunges.

Does your dog become agitated when you prepare to leave for the day? When you come home at night, does your dog seemed stressed out? Is he exhibiting symptoms like excessive barking, salivating, urinating in the house, barking, destroying items, and more while you’re away? If so, your dog may have separation anxiety.

Does your dog give you “that look” or growl at you when he has his favorite toy and you try to take it away? What about when your other dog gets near his food bowl? If so, your dog is doing what is called “resource guarding.” According to animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell, PhD, CAAB, resource guarding is a behavior that discourages another to take, or get too close to an object or valued area in a dog’s possession.

Is your dog afraid of fireworks, thunderstorms, and other loud noises? Does he begin to pace, pant, drool, or want to hide in the closet the moment there’s a hint of a storm brewing? Experts don’t know why dogs develop noise phobias, but they say it’s real, and shouldn’t be ignored.

One of the biggest issues dog owners have is keeping their dogs busy enough so they don’t get into trouble. If you exercise your dog’s mind and body properly, you can usually avoid the destructive behavior that results from boredom.

What are some things you can do to engage your dog’s mind?

On Tuesday, our dear friend Lisa called to say that she had to put down her beloved “Eddie,” an 11 year old boxer that we all just adored. Lisa was our human massage therapist for a while and used to bring Eddie and his “sister” Emma to Rocky’s for play and fun times. As Lisa says, Eddie was a large presence and always concerned about others. It’s a very sad time for all. But it started me thinking, what about Emma, does she know what’s going on?

I have a friend who routinely mentions how she has an agreement with her dog that the dog will live to be at least 20 years old. She doesn’t understand how I could have a preference for bigger dogs which typically have a shortened life span. I told her we never know what’s going to happen in life.

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