Just like people, each dog ages differently. In general, mixed breeds and smaller dogs tend to live longer than purebreds or larger dogs. Dogs less than 20 pounds may not seem to show any signs of age until they’re around 12, 50-pound dogs around 10, while larger dogs begin to show their age between 7 to 9 years old. As a general rule, a dog who is 7 years or older should be considered middle to senior aged.

Why would you want to be concerned about your dog’s core muscles? Because dogs rely on their core muscles to control their body when jumping, turning, and running. Ensuring your dog’s core muscles are strong can reduce and prevent injuries. Whether you have a performance dog or a pet, core strength is essential. Below is a video of Emma…

This past Saturday we attended a great workshop in Ocala taught by Liz McGuire, a physical therapist for humans and someone who works with dogs for injury prevention and sports specific conditioning. While the primary focus of the workshop was on canine athletes, the techniques we learned can be applied to any dog to help keep them in…

In the last month or so, we’ve had calls from several people who unfortunately we were not able to help. One was a dog that was morbidly obese and as a result had heart issues. Another had a degenerative disease that had progressed to the point of hind end paralysis and loss of bladder and…

It’s another new year again and as we go about making resolutions for how we can improve during the year, I’d like us to include ways we can help our 4-legged friends! So here yet again, is a list of suggestions for ways to improve the lives of our dogs.

I read a great article in the Orlando Sentinel the other day entitled “The incredibly growing pet.” The article focused on the epidemic of fat pets in the United States. According to a recent survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than half the dogs and cats in the US are overweight or obese. And many people often don’t recognize the fact that their pet is overweight. While there are medical reasons why a pet can become overweight, the article noted the reason often given by owners with overweight dogs – it’s because we love them so much that we feed them all the time!

When exercising your puppy or young dog, you need to be aware of how much exercise he is getting at one time.

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