On July 6th, 2020, Dr. Chris Zink, a sports medicine veterinary specialist and a person I greatly admire, wrote a piece titled “Stop Taking Your Dog for a Walk.” You can imagine that got my attention, since I had recently written a post about the importance of, uh, taking your dog for a walk. However, it turns out what we were saying isn’t as far apart as it might look. I was advocating for, as was clear in the title–The Best Exercise for a Dog is Using it’s Nose–letting dogs walk at their own pace and use their noses as a way of exercising their brains and improving their quality of life. Let dogs be dogs, essentially.
Dr. Zink, on the other hand, is arguing that a regular leash walk is not the kind of physical exercise a dog needs to stay healthy as they age. Her point is that walking on a leash rarely improves a dog’s strength, proprioception, balance, or flexibility. Unless the owner is one heck of a fast walker and their dog is pretty small, most walks aren’t going to provide much aerobic exercise either.
Of course, getting out and stretching one’s legs has to be good for dogs who otherwise wouldn’t move around at all, but I think it’s critical to take her comment seriously, especially if you have a dog who is either aging or involved in some kind of sport. But really, surely any dog can profit by being more physically fit. The best way to do that is to create ways to add to their strength, flexibility and balance. Here are some ideas about how to do that, all advised by people much more knowledgeable than I am about canine structure and movement.
WALK ON A LONG LINE: Zink’s article advocates taking your dog out on a long line to an area where he can move normally–speed up to check out a scent, turn back fast when trotting by a bush where a rabbit slept, change gaits, etc. This, of course, has the added benefit of exercising both your dog’s body and his brain. I’d add, if at all possible, to let your dog off leash if it’s legal, if it’s safe and if your dog has a 100% (99.99?) reliable stop and recall. (I first wrote that last sentence with the IFs capitalized but it looked like I was yelling. Actually, I sort of was, but let’s just say I was speaking clearly and in an atypically low voice.) My only caution when using a long line is to please, please pay more attention to your dog around others. We’ve all seen too many dogs get themselves into trouble at the end of a long line while their owner was otherwise engaged, right?
The rest of the recommendations are from either canine fitness expert Lori Steven’s perfect article in Whole Dog Journal (Dec 2017), “Fitness for the Aging Dog,” or from my physical therapy sessions with Courtney Arnoldy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Veterinary Hospital. I’ve worked with Courtney with Willie, Maggie and Skip, and have a bevy of exercise equipment to show for it. I’m going to mention just a few exercises here, but don’t miss the chance to see Lori Steven’s great article. I tore it out and actually put the print version in Maggie’s file folder. How lucky we are it’s still online. Lori was also on a Ken Ramirez’s podcast not too long ago, here’s an outline.
SPHINX-DOWN or DOWN-UPS (From Lori Stevens) In this exercise you are asking your dog to keep her feet square underneath her while she stands up, lies down, stands up, lies down. The goal is for the dog to not move her feet as she gets up and down. It takes awhile for dogs to catch on to this, (Maggie and Skip both wanted to move their feet) and it helps to have the dog standing on a slightly raised platform just a big larger than the dog when she’s lying down. Stevens states, and Arnoldy agrees, that this simple exercise is good for core strength, hip joint flexibility and strengthening the hind end.
I’ll give their oh-so-important caution here, which relates to all exercises like this, about starting small and going slowly. These exercises might look simple, but they are actually a lot of work and the dog’s muscles can get tired very easily. I started both Maggie and Skip at 10 reps only, 1 set, and didn’t fuss too much if they didn’t do it perfectly. Gradually they got better and better. Maggie is now up to 30 reps, 3 sets, 3 times a week.
Here’s Maggie doing some reps.
This is much harder for Skip, in part because he hasn’t been doing it that long, and in part because his hind leg structure is a bit of a cartoon. It’s simply much harder for him to keep his legs directly beneath him when doing these kind of exercises. Courtney advised going slowly, not worrying about complete precision in the beginning, and paying careful attention to when he begins shifting his legs farther apart (which means his muscles are tiring).
PAWS UP (From Lori Stevens) Another way to strengthen the hind quarters is what Lori calls Two Paws Up. Simple as pie: Teach your dog to put his front paws on something 2-3 inches higher than the floor. (Make sure it’s not slippery.) Use treats to lure your dog into position, and ask them to stand still for about 10 seconds, no more, the first time. Take a break, and repeat 2 more times. She advises adding 5 seconds at a time every 7-10 days. Eventually you can raise the height of the platform, but again, caution caution caution about going too fast. Whenever you raise the height, reduce the duration. If you’re not sure, go slow. Slower. Really. It’s hard work. (Stevens adds this caution: If your dog’s hind legs are held in a wider stance than her front, it means that she is struggling to maintain the stance and it’s too difficult. Decrease the difficulty until she can stand square.
BALANCE BOARD I got a balance board to help Willie recover from his shoulder surgery, then hauled it out of the attic when Maggie tore her cruciate. I never put it away, because Maggie is always going to need her back leg muscles as strong as possible to protect her knees. She is an absolute rock star on it now, and thinks it’s the greatest game in town. We are up to 3 sets of 120 seconds, with me rocking the board as erratically as I can.
I noticed while watching the video that Maggie was putting more weight on her left foreleg than the right. Interesting, given that her injury was on her right hind, so it should have been the other way around. That will be something for me to watch. (Another good reason to tape your dog while moving or exercising. You never know what you are going to see.) FYI, I was rocking that board extra hard so that you could see it, usually it’s not quite that extreme. Given the wild ride, Maggie did great.
We also combine it with a leg lift (also recommended by Stevens), which loads the leg diagonal to the one being lifted. (Ex: Lifting the dog’s right forepaw asks the left hind to do more work. You can do this on the flat, but the advanced version is on a balance board. Maggie, again gets the Gold Medal on this, but Skip is working on it too.
Here’s Skip working on his form with all paws on the ground. It’s hard to get him to stand square over his paws, so you can see that I spend some time working on that in the beginning. I can see how I could have done a more perfect job setting him up, but I’m not going to go there, because perfection should never get in the way of good enough.
Full disclosure: I probably wouldn’t be doing this exercises if my dogs hadn’t been injured, but now they are part of our weekly routine. We do Down-Ups on the flat and on slightly sloped surfaces (go slow here, much harder when you add in slope), sometimes I have the dogs have forepaws on the balance board, and not hind legs, etc. etc. What’s important is to watch your dog very, very carefully, looking for any sign of discomfort. Never force anything, and take breaks more often than you think necessary. And it would be wise to have your dog checked out before doing any of these if you have the slightest suspicion that they are not sound. There are lots more exercises you can look into, I encourage you to do so when you have some time.
What about you? Do you have your dog do any exercises like this? If so, please share your experience, we’ll all profit from it. Come to think of it, I have also had both dogs walk over poles at gradually increasing heights, a good thing to do to help their proprioception. As I write, I’m thinking it’s time to get back to doing those, the equipment is in the garage. Next question: Could you please send me more hours in the day? Thank you so much, I’ll look forward to receiving them.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: In spite of the heat we had some good sheep herding lessons with Sam J this weekend. I was too busy working Maggie and Skip to get any photos of them, but here’s a sweet young thing I fell in love with on Sunday. Her name is Nan, owned by friend Merry R. This sweet young thing, whose face glows with love and the innocence of youth, can come live with me any time, although Merry, and possibly Maggie, might object.
Mid July is the height of color here at the farm. The day lilies and daisies make me smile dozens of times every time. And they are just getting started in this photo.
Here’s a ruffly day lily that makes me think of tea in a Victorian garden. Please pass the cream while I get my parasol.
The Bee Balm flowers on the right of the photo are just outside our living room window, and a female hummingbird comes about every 10-15 minutes, literally all day long. I know she has a nest somewhere very nearby and I have grown inordinately fond of her. God speed little momma, I hope your babies make it.
An Eastern Black Swallowtail Female visited the Monarda (purple flowers) this weekend. I say female because she has smaller yellow spots than a male, and more blue on the wings. I followed her around the yard but lost her when she flitted up above the wild plum trees. So many beautiful animals out and about now, they are such a lift.
I considered apologizing for posting so many flower photos lately, but if you read The Education of Will you know that, beside the dogs, they are my passion and my therapy all mixed into one. If you’re getting sick of them please tell Maggie or Skip.
Tammy says
I read this post with interest because I have been seeing long lines popping up as recommendations in many places recently. I’m interested in the long line idea. But I’m also scared to death of it. My dog looks to be part long-legged hound, maybe foxhound, and she is fast as a bullet. All I can picture is her going 0 to 60 so fast that she and I both get badly hurt in a moment when I can’t gather the long line back fast enough to prevent whiplash. I would love to see you write a post about how to use a long line safely with very fast dogs, like my sighthound-y mutt. Thank you.
Frances says
Wonderful photos – that ruffled day lily is fabulous!
I am very lucky to be able to walk my dogs safely off leash – lots of local walks over fields, by rivers and canals, along the shore and through woods. Poppy is slowing down (liver failure), and with the dogs off leash I can pootle along at a pace that suits her while Sophy roams around us, checking the peemails and running occasional zoomies. I mostly rely on walking to keep them fit and happy these days – two 1-1.5 mile walks a day, in interesting places where they meet nice dogs and people and find plenty to sniff. In between we can roam around the acre of shared wild garden that a lovely neighbour has transformed from a mess of brambles and thistles into a delight of orchard, copses and wildflowers, with meandering paths that the dogs and cats love to explore. But I must reread Lori Steven’s article, and see what more I can do to keep us all as fit as possible – thanks for the reminder!
HFR says
I have a 14-year-old, 80 pound dog with considerable nerve degeneration and muscle atrophy in his rear end. He also has laryngeal paralysis. (I just recently found out that those two conditions are connected.) I’m trying different exercises with him including taking him for underwater treadmill sessions. The problem is the exercises you show are much too difficult for him but I think I could do some simpler versions of them. He is dragging his back paws when he walks and he is just starting to have some incontinence. Unfortunately I have stairs in my house which also makes it difficult for him. Of course he gets multiple supplements and he’s on anti-inflammatories and gabapentin. He also gets acupuncture every two weeks.
The hard part is I’ve never had to put a dog down for mobility reasons and I’m dreading having to do that for the first time. It’s so hard to think that a dog would lose its life because he can’t get around anymore. We all think of our dogs as humans and most of our decisions for their welfare are based on that evaluation. While we can imagine euthanasia for humans with debilitating diseases, we would never think of that if they had mobility problems. I hope I won’t have to make that decision with him but I’m worried.
These videos and info come at the perfect time for me. Thank you!
(And who would ever get sick of beautiful pictures of flowers?)
Trisha says
Great point Tammy, a “bullet” on the end of a long line could be dangerous for you and your dog. I know right off the bat I’d teach a slow down and a stop when she is close in. But let me ponder, and let’s hear from others too about their experience.
Chris from Boise says
HFR – we’ve had to put down two dogs because of mobility issues (exacerbated by other issues). Not an easy decision, but neither dog was a candidate for a cart, and we and our vet worked closely to evaluate quality of life so we were well prepared and as OK as one can be with the decision when the time came. It really helped to have it be a team decision – helped with the inevitable second-guessing. Best of luck to you and your guy. And yes, there are “beginner” exercises that would be suitable for him.
A plug for Lori Stevens – she teaches an online class on “Helping Aging Dogs Thrive” through the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. Great course. The exercises I learned in that course kept Habi (and her degenerating spine) going for a year longer than we thought possible. Thanks, Lori!
That experience taught me to train these fitness exercises when the dog is younger, so Obi (11 years old) and Rowan (2.5) both do exercise routines several times a week, in addition to their active lifestyles.
PS Frances, can we come live with you?
Teddy says
We use a long line in the woods and I do like it but it takes ALL my attention. I am constantly handling the line, a lot like horseback riding and reins. When my dog comes in close, I gather it in, and when she is finished with whatever is close, I sort of ratchet out the line in increments so as not to get pulled, as Tammy is describing. It’s a lot of work. We use an Easy Walk harness for street walks, but for the long line we use the “dog sled”-type top-fastening harness, just to keep things tidier. Last little tip is that I also fasten a very short (2-foot long) leash to the harness (like for Agility training). It dangles while she’s walking and does not seem to bother her, but when we see other people approaching, I “reel her in” and hold her by the short line till we’re all past each other. (We do this out in the county forest preserves so we really do need to be especially mindful of being good walking neighbors.)
I love reading about the strengthening and balancing exercises. We do need to start doing things like that.
Thank you!!
Nikole says
I have been using long lines for exercising shelter dogs since 2008. The length of the line depends on the recall and over all responsiveness of the dog within the environment. I think trail hikes in the woods using long lines is an excellent form of enrichment for many dogs. Sometimes I think that the only beings that receive enrichment from a leash walk is the human. The longest line I typically use is 15 feet. That’s because they are shelter dogs that to be in view at all times. Know how to gently shorten the lead when needed is a useful skill. Back in my day it was trial and error to perfection!
Heather Ludwig says
I have started using a 15 ft long line with my very active golden and I use Trisha Stewart’s BAT leash skills to manage the line and that works really well. The way I coil the lead is always the same and has become automatic and the line is barely loose ready in case of bolting
Karol says
We do long line work frequently. I call it sniffari walks. I have large dogs – 100 lb – and yet I don’t worry about them hitting the end of a 30 ft line because 1) I’m always paying attention to what they’re paying attention to & I can recall them before they take off, 2) I rarely allow the full 30 ft to gather on the ground. I’m constantly reeling in the line or releasing it in order to keep the line slack between us without coils of line that can trip us, 3) Keeping the line under control allows me to start pulling them back before they hit the end of the line – coupled with a “whoa, whoa” to slow them down.
I do sniffaris with only one dog at a time and we use a harness, not a collar, to avoid any neck injuries if they do hit the end of the line.
Comment on the exercises: I was all in for doing this before I realized that it won’t work for my dogs. They mentally & physically check out if I ask for repetitive exercises. They’re sporting dogs and bred to think for themselves so repetitive work is counter-productive in that they’ll stop working with me altogether if I force them to do it. It’s still worth trying though, just in sets of 3 reps instead of 10.
Kandy says
Great post, Trisha! I’m going to work on the exercises, for sure.
I use a long leash very often to give our girl more exercise than a simple walk – usually in the woods or a wide open space. It also works well for my shelter pups, who don’t usually get that feeling of freedom. I LOVE to see them RUN!
Susan Wroble says
Thanks! Our dog is aging, and I found many of these suggestions for exercises extremely helpful. I’m about to order a balance board!
Susan says
My dog is part Beagle, so I wholeheartedly support the active walks to let him use his nose. We’re in a rut as far as activity right now so I’m interested in new ways to keep him active. He plays more naturally when he can run around in a fenced yard. Unfortunately, I’m in an urban setting and don’t have a yard and won’t take him to a dog park. I can’t wait to move to a place where he can run around. Then, of course, I’ll have to get another dog(s). But I like the balance board. I’m imagining his face the first time he uses it and can’t stop laughing.
Aoife says
Oh Trisha I’d love you know how to teach a Slow Down command.
We have one boy who forgets he’s on a long lead sometimes & could pull your shoulder out if you weren’t looking!
Thea says
We have a little kid’s chair next to the front door, and Daphne will “climb up” with her front paws to get clipped into her harness for walks. I trained this so she would hold still instead of wandering off to chew the buckles as soon as it went over her head, and it’s also nice not to have to bend down to reach under her belly. When she needs to go out she climbs up and makes plaintive noises until someone takes her. I’m glad to hear it’s good core conditioning too.
I’m trying to teach her some back leg awareness now, because the back claws are getting long and I want her to scratch them down on her emery board the way she does in front. (I don’t have the patience to counter-condition nail trimming or dremel so I covered a board with sandpaper stair grip tape.) Proprioception is such an important part of fitness. And Maggie is a champ on that wobble board! Playing tug must be a great core workout too, right? During the early pandemic lockdown it was often the only workout my abs got…
The long line is great but awkward for sure. I tied a bunch of knots and loops in mine like the ropes they use at daycare to take the kids for walks, and I can hold my end in a big bundle while Daphne earns more freedom gradually by coming back when called from shorter distances. I clip it to her back so she doesn’t get tangled, and she did once unclip it by rolling around in the grass, which made me thankful for the sequential recalls we had just been doing. And… this is probably common sense to other people, but don’t try to DIY it unless your dog is very little. Rope burns can come in all colors of the rainbow!
Amy Sullivan says
I liked seeing the balance board exercises. We recently got an Aussie pup (5 months old now), and he’s a confident and willing dog who likes to try new things. We thought our Bosu (that half an exercise ball thing) would be great for his mental and physical growth, and he LOVES it! We started just with the soft, round dome side, which he had zero troubles with. Then he quickly graduated to standing on the flat side which wobbles greatly (as it’s resting on its dome side). He has worked up to being able to sit and they lay down on it. Now he’s working on turning around on that wobbly side. We always take it at his pace, but as I said, he likes to try things and has great trust in us (as we have great confidence in him). It’s already such an interesting relationship, working with an Aussie, as we’ve always had (and still have) big Labradors (who I adore tremendously, but they are a distinctly different personality.)
Timaran says
May I also second Tammy’s request for guidance about long lines? I love the idea but my 100 lb, GSD, Ronan, has fear aggression with other dogs and strangers. I would love to take him to some more remote places (I live in a very urbanized area, so I would have to go somewhere away), but I’m concerned that he might try to lunge at another dog (or fox or coyote) and I might not be able to control him if he suddenly took off and I’m more than a couple of feet away. (Note: I am working with a trainer and very tolerant friends but he has proven to be a tough little nut to crack).
Lorraine says
Hi, great post!
My whippet and I were lucky enough to attend a two day seminar with Chris Zink last fall.
I sometimes use a longline and Perfect Fit harness on my whippet and usually anchor the line end around my waist so I know that he isn’t going to get away from me if he sees a rabbit. Note however that many local governments specify a maximum length of leash in their leash laws so you might want to check into that.
We live in an urban area so we have incorporated ‘urban exercises’ on our walks. We step carefully over crisscrossed elevated fallen tree branches in the park, step two-on/two-off along curbs, sidehill back and forth across loading ramps and skateboard park features, walk backwards up stairs, do front paws-ups on benches, and both front and back paws-ups on lower objects such as logs or parking dividers.
Karen says
I use a wobble cushion. My larger dog puts her front paws on and then does “cookie turns” where she follows a treat to bend to the side towards her flank – we go back and forth side to side. My smaller dog can fit all four paws on the wobble cushion so we do a combo of raised with front paws only, and then all four paws on the cushion. Also while each dog is on the cushion I gently push from all directions so they have to adjust their balance.
Sally Foraker says
Sorry if someone has already mentioned this but putting both feet on the line and keeping my energy low has my pups believing I have magical powers.
Laura Anne says
I learned about long line handling from a tracking instructor. He taught us that, for safety, the loose end of the line must always be behind the handler. That way you don’t get caught with the line tangling on your feet, thus falling. My 48 pound, 10 month old Aussie, who had had no training when I got him, gave me a huge rope burn on a long line the first time I used it. So, I now use gloves to walk dog with long lines. Better grip when needed, no long line burns on my palms.
Karen Lobdell says
Hi…Thanks so much for your posts and the flowers are always as lovely as your dogs!
I thought I would share how I train my dogs and teach my clients to use a long line with their dogs on trailwalks. I start with a 15 ft lead and reinforce the loose leash we had established with a 6 ft leash. Then i start allowing the lead to drag on the ground. If my dog moves far enough ahead that it begins to lift off the ground I stop moving and recall my dog all the way to me…I make sure she is willing to stay next to me before I cue her to walk again (Let’s Go).
Establishing a great recall is a prerequisite skill for sure! Then repeat…it only seems to take about 2-10 repetitions before the dog decides to make sure the lead drags on the ground so the walk is uninterrupted. Once 15 feet is consistent move to a 30 ft lead and when 30 ft is consistent move to a 50 ft lead. The key is to recall everytime the lead lifts off the ground! I also use a word like ‘easy’ to remind the dog to slow down or use a ‘search’ or ‘sniff’ cue to help the dog keep the lead dragging on the ground.
The hardest part for my clients seems to be keeping their focus on their dog to watch for body language indicating arousal while also scanning the environment for reasons to proactively recall their dog and avoid a chase.
Whenever possible…if I decide I need to proactively recall I do try to lift my end of the leash to stop it from dragging just before I use my recall cue. That way my dog already knows the recall cue is coming.
And, just in case I goof and don’t recall proactively ….I either get positioned where a tree can help me by wrapping the line around it or I get down on the ground and start calling like crazy with short repetitive high pitched sounds in groups of 3-4 sounds (eh-eh-eh! … eh-eh-eh!). This usually gets my dog’s attention and she comes flying back to me as soon as the prey gets away or she actually hears or sees me. Then she can do her best to help me and my old bad knees get up! Fortunately that has only been a go-to once when I missed a lone Tom Turkey in the brush. But it worked!
And I always stress….before getting hurt let go of the long line! Your recall training will likely kick in and your dog will return to you once the prey gets away. I teach clients to butterfly wrap the long line rather than loop it so it is easy to drop and not get tangled in. Practice that a lot without your dog attached so you can easily maintain that habit on the trail. Also practice in a safe area letting go of the lead and recalling your dog so they understand that to be the go-to behavior anytime you let go of a long line.
Oh yes…and years of trying to stay on top of my horse on trail rides definitely gave me the best practice in scanning and anticipating proactive recalls! It really is all about being hyper-aware of your animal and the environment…the one time we get lost in our thoughts it certainly can take a bad turn! Training for a dragging long line seems to help me and my clients stay focused and minimize the risks of a loose dog or injured person on a trailwalk. Hopefully that can help some others too! Happy trails everyone!
Karen
Agnieszka says
I agree that both we and our dogs need some to do some learning while adapting to long rope. What helped my dog and I, was using leashes of different length, so my dog could gradually learn that the “stop point” may be at a different distance from me every time we go out – he’d learn to check it out, instead of just thinking he’s off, if the rope was really long. A clear command for off the leash helps, too. And that’s very true, you should work the rope; there are also some trailing ones that are very good, not getting tangled etc. For the same reason, I wouldn’t go for an extremely long one in the beginning.
As for exercise – we do some, mostly as tricks, but really should start thinking about it more seriously, as middle age is definitely here…
HFR says
Thank you, Chris from Boise. I’m going to check out that class now!
Jenny Haskins says
I walk my ‘problem’ dog on a ‘long line’ because she is a ‘take off into the wild blue yonder’ sort of dog.
But my long lines are not as long, apparently as those you are talking bout. 3 metres to a horse lunge lead.
and I loop up the leads so, although the dog is on a slack line, it is not far short of a movement on me arm to tighten it.
Too long a lead gets really badly caught up in the scrub, so are useless except for walking in open fields — which doesn’t really cut the mustard as ‘environmental’ enrichment.
I have also finally worked out that repeated walks over the same route are insufficient for satisfying the dogs curiosity.
Since we live on acreage, our walks are ONLY for environmental enrichment and to maintain calmness in away from home places
Judy Rivard says
Thanks so much for this! My vet told me to do “Give Paw” with my Rottie after she lost some muscle in her shoulder. We also do “Puppy Push-ups” – Sit – Down – Sit – Down etc. Your flowers are gorgeous!
Trisha says
Great comments everyone. I especially appreciate the ones about handling a dog on a long line, which can be tricky and potentially dangerous. As someone who is inherently clumsy, I’ve had to learn how to handle them too. Granted, I’ve only used them lately when Skip was recovering from his injury and needed a transition between walking on a short leash and full out freight train, but I’m glad I’d had some experience. I greatly appreciate Karen Lobdell’s comments about how she uses them safely and agree completely that dogs on long lines still need to listen to us to avoid injury to either us or them. Teddy’s point is also crucial: Pay attention to your dog at all times!
And thanks so much Chris for the reference to Lori Steven’s Fitness for Aging Dogs class. What a great resource for us all!
Alison says
We have two 12 year old dogs (one who had tplo surgery on both knees) and a 6 year old (who spent about 3 years locked in a crate and came to us very out of shape and laking in muscle tone). We’re fortunate enough to have a place to do off leash walks. We also do nightly 4-5 miles on-leash walks. And the dogs regularly go kayaking and swimming.
I think we’ll work on sphinx-downs and down-ups to our indoor routine. Not sure if my tplo guy can do them as his back legs have always been wonky but we’ll see how it goes.
Kayaking can provide a similar benefit as a wobble board if the dog is standing and trying maintain balance on a moving boat. One of the dogs made this clear after a particularly long paddle on rougher water when we first got into kayaking. She was very sore after our trip. Until then I hadn’t really thought about the strength it takes them to balance. Now on long trips we take more breaks and I ask my workaholic to lay down every so often.
Kat says
Although I only grow a few highly beloved flowers myself I adore photos of flowers. My landscape philosophy is that I grow things that are useful or that I adore–most things I’ve planted fit into both categories (lilacs and violets for instance. Lilac pottage is a favorite dessert and violets make tasty jelly or candied blooms). One of my great joys is walking through the landscape picking a bit of this and that and eating it. I can do an entire lunch that way sometimes. Other times I love just sitting and smelling the gorgeous fragrances.
D’Artagnan spent most of his time in a 10′ x 10′ kennel before he came to live with us and was not very fit so one of the first things we did was to visit our awesome ortho vet to get a fitness plan. The first piece of exercise equipment she had us add was a ladder made of PVC pipe (you can find instructions online). Several times a day he walks through his ladder. It’s flat on the ground but encourages him to lift his feet just a little higher than normal which builds core strength. @HFR it might be helpful for your aging guy; scatter some treats between the rungs and let him walk through picking them up. The nose down searching posture is easy on a dog structurally (literally it is the posture they’re built for). D’Artagnan also has carpal hyperflexion–his wrist joints flex too far so he is encouraged to walk on unstable surfaces–soft sand at the beach for example–or to stand on cushions to strengthen those joints. The unstable surface forces him to make small adjustments using those muscles which strengthens them. In addition he’s encouraged to dig. He’s a Pyrenees so digging a cooling wallow is a very natural behavior for him and now that we’ve negotiated the two areas I don’t mind him digging he’s a happy digger. He’s also supposed to sit and point his nose straight up and stretch as far as he can without his paws leaving the ground. That one builds core strength as well. I’ve used that one when he does a virtual Therapy Dog visit since nursing home residents can do that exercise along with him–in their case just sitting up as tall as they can. And finally the ever popular doggy sit ups–down to sit repeat. He hates those and finds every possible down pose to sabotage them. Thank you for the tip of having him do it on a platform that’s just a bit bigger than he is. I’m definitely trying that.
My dogs learn that the leash is a means of communication between us. The amount of tension I put on it tells them if I need them to slow down or stop or check in. And they can signal me that they need to investigate the great smell over there or that something has caught their attention or… With my dogs that just naturally translated to use of a long line. Then I discovered Grisha Stewart’s long line handling in BAT 2.0 and it became even easier. For anyone wanting to learn how to safely use a long line I highly recommend checking BAT out.
Melanie Hawkes says
Long lines are very dangerous for me as I’ve connected it to my wheelchair before and my dog took off, thinking he was free! I thought he was going to break his neck 🥵 But he’s also reactive so need to keep him away from other dogs. So we do short leash walks most days, or if I go somewhere else my helper holds the long line.
We saw a rehab person last year who gave us exercises to do which has helped his back legs as well as regular acupuncture. It’s always good to try others too. Thanks for posting the videos, very impressed by Maggie!
Ayn says
This is a great post. It makes me sad to see people dragging their dogs away from interesting odors when they are out walking. I wholeheartedly agree that sniffy walks are excellent mental stimulation. I had a dog that loved to jog with me (when I still jogged). However, I attached him to my waist. He recognized that this was different than when we walked and I held the leash in my hand. He never pulled me down or tried to pull off in another direction when attached to my waist. Perhaps it was because when we went for a walk ,I let him go sniff what he wanted as well as the direction and length of the walk.
I also completely agree that the longer the line, the more attention you have to give the dog, and I would add the better the dog should be at recall. In hunting circles 30 foot lines are used as check cords. The idea is that the dog that rockets off is stopped (checked) when they hit the end of the long line that you are holding. You have to be incredibly strong stop an 80-100 lb dog running full speed after a rabbit or bird. If not, you get burned by the line and/or knocked off your feet. When working with high drive dogs I have found it really should be a progression: first 6 feet; then 12-15 feet; then 30 feet. I only use the 30 feet while learning sit stays and recalls, or practicing for off leash walking because the line mostly stays on the ground. I will even join several thirty foot line together as I increase distance. But, boy o boy, am I glad when I believe the dog gets reliable because the thirty foot lines go away. Ultimately, I prefer the 12-15 foot line. It is long enough to give your dog more sniffy freedom but short enough to learn to handle well, which is a bonus as that is the length used in formal nosework classes and trials.
My dogs have been swimmer as I have been lucky enough to live near lake, bay, ocean and even horse pool. Swimming is great exercise for dogs. And although I still swam my old girl after her cruciate repair surgery, I kept taking her to rehab to use the underwater treadmill once a week because it was a little different, the therapist could monitor her condition as she aged over the years, and offer other helpful exercises.
Now someone needs to come up with fun exercises that work us out at the same time as our dogs that isn’t running or walking.
Trisha says
Thanks so much for sharing how you use a long line. I too find super long ones trickier to handle. I should add, just my perspective, that I wouldn’t tie a line around my waist. Feels too dangerous to me. I can always drop a line if I’m just holding it… Regarding exercise for us both–check out the way I am moving the balance board for Maggie and Skip. My inner thighs are exhausted when I’m done with Skip! He weights about 47 lbs and it’s no small effort to move that board back and forth!
Rebecca Rice says
Just some random comments:
I see a lot of people commenting about the dangers of big dogs and long lines. This is just a reminder that even small dogs can pull you off balance. Physics is in their favor: low center of mass and four potential contact points vs your higher center of mass and only two contact points. If my 9.5 pound dog decides to stop walking suddenly, it definitely jolts me.
Another fun thing about long lines and small dogs: they get caught on so much more stuff! That little 9.5 pound dog has been pulled up short because the line has gotten caught around clumps of grass and she isn’t strong enough to get the line moving over it. So yes, keep an eye on your dog.
And here is a random question: when I use a long line, I keep a hold of the end. It sounds like a lot of people allow them to drag. What are the pros and cons of each method?
Caroline says
I know some object to flexi’s but I am afraid I do not see, given the comments above, how they are more dangerous than the long lines. ?? We use Flexi’s all the time. And yes, just like with the long lines, careful monitoring is required.
Grace says
Thanks Trisha for the great topic! Lots of good comments here. I am a big fan of long lines and sniff walks. Though I can’t always get to every dog during my 2-3 times per week visits to my local Human Society shelter, they all get a sniff walk twice a week. I use a long line almost exclusively with my 6YO Basenji.
I started using a long line when I started doing tracking and nosework with my dog. There are many different kinds (lengths and materials) available from Amazon and other internet sources. Having a small dog (17 inches tall, 23 lbs) the ready-made products were wider/heavier or had larger/heavier hardware than I wanted, so I made my own 20-foot long line out of 3/8 polyester webbing and Sunbrella thread, it has a loop handle at one end and a 3/8 inch quick chain link at the other to attach to his properly-fitted harness.
Long line tips: 1) practice handling the line in a non-distracting environment until you’re comfortable with it and know how your dog will respond to your leash handling techniques, or practice with a human friend at first if you’re afraid you’ll make a mistake with your dog; 2) always be aware of how much line you have out and the stimuli/triggers in the environment; 3) have one eye on your dog, one eye out for potential trouble, and both hands available for leash handling at all times (this is not the time to have a phone conversation or listen to music); 4) only let out as much line (or reel it in) as you need, a little J between you and the dog just like on a 6-ft leash, but not ever dragging on the ground [keeps your long line cleaner, keeps you & dog from getting tangled up in the line, and prevents bugs [ticks, fire ants, etc.] from traveling the line to your dog or your hand.
Heather Ludwig mentioned BAT leash skills; BAT is an abbreviation for Behavior Adjustment Training, author is Grisha Stewart. This is a fabulous resource for leash handling skills.
Jennifer says
I was interested in Maggie’s tail position in the push up exercises and (to a lesser extent) in the balance board. I also have a Maggie (a Tervuren Belgian) who does that with her tail when practising chin rests, doing food puzzles and eating from her bowl – anything that requires her to push her head forward. From behind it makes her look like she’s terrified but from the front there’s a lot of intense engagement.
Do you think your dog does this with her tail because you’ve inadvertently conditioned it, or do you think she’s doing it for balance? Or some other reason I haven’t thought of?
Thanks. (And thank you so much for this post – so much good stuff to take away from it.)
Rebecca Rice says
@Caroline: The danger of Flexis is that most people do not use them properly (walking three dogs on Flexis on a busy urban sidewalk while talking on a phone, for example), and that they often have that thin cord, which can do a lot of damage if it wraps around something like a leg. Rope burns are one thing, having your leg cut down to the bone is another. If you have a strong stomach, google Flexi injuries. The final thing is that they can mess with loose leash walking, because there is always tension on the leash. Having said that, if they are used in the right conditions, with a proper understanding of their use, they are pretty much equivalent to a long line, and I am not going to make any comments on it if I see someone doing it.
@Grace: I learned that my one dog was not being a dramatic baby after getting an ant bite when I managed to get bit by one between the fingers while reeling in a long line that had dragged through an ant mound. Not nice at all!
Barbara says
I’d like to respond to Caroline’s comment: I know I’m in the minority here but I have been using a Flexi leash for 12 years and absolutely love it. I have a 28 lb. dog and have never had any problems with entanglement or injuries. It’s a 16 foot retractable leash and it gives Rocky more opportunity to explore and sniff than he would have on a 4 or 6 foot leash while I maintain control. What is interesting about this is that Rocky has become attuned to the sound of the leash lock being released and when he hears it, he immediately moves away to do his thing. He also knows about how far he can go before that leash will stop him so he doesn’t get jerked backward. I’m not imagining this. I’m not advocating for this type of leash, I’m just saying that it works great for us. I did look at a few of those injury photos and am still trying to figure out how that person got a rope burn on her NECK…???
Leslie Sachlis says
Thank-you for this wonderful post.
I have been using a long line (different lengths if in neighborhood or on the fields in the park) for years. A trainer introduced it to work with an athletic fear reactive young athletic Golden Retriever that we had adopted. Prior to work with the trainer, pup had introduced me to grass skiing and sidewalk skiing which were my attempts to hold on to the leash/not loose him when he reacted on lead. We first worked with 6 and 8 ft leashes. Later, the long line seemed to make him less reactive to other dogs. It also taught me to be more observant of my dog. If you are constantly managing the “spaghetti” leash so that he does not get tangled up in it, you learn a lot about how your dog moves and reacts. Since then I have used long lines with all of our dogs. All of them seem to prefer that the leash not drag on the ground. I will be a little more cautious when we adopt another – perhaps try a short leash first. At this point I really prefer the long line. There is a lot of communication between pup and I when he/she is on a long line. I love it.
Thank-you also for your exercises for keeping pups in shape. I will try some of these with our new one when we he/she arrives. It looks like they are great tools to help the pups stay comfortably mobile as they age. We usually adopt older dogs so this is a great find.
To HFR. I once promised myself that I would never have to put a dog down due to mobility issues. Breaking that promise was heartbreaking, but also merciful for the pup. Once with a different dog, my Vet suggested that I consider giving him Benadryl an hour or so before his last vet visit. I would not do that without checking it out with the vet first, but if I am faced with a pup that cannot physically function without great pain and suffering whose spirit will not let him/ her relax, I will ask the question. It sounds like you are doing wonderful things for your very loved pup. Every day is gold.
Dot RoiseLodsin says
Thank you for all the pup centered insights. It is wonderful to be a dog trainer these days while prong and choke collars have been banned and sensitive exercise like scent walks are encouraged. But I love hiking with the pup scouts, and six foot leashes are required during COVID19 concerns. Some of my pup troops are good on the extension leash, That way the lead doesn’t get dragged thru poison ivy, which for some reason, often seems to harbor interesting smells. I am confused over so much emphasis on scent and detraction from the almighty walk. Up to recently “ok, sniff away” was used as a reward, like “Go play!”. Most of the leash time being focused on the holy walk. I love our hikes with the carpet wolves, please don’t take that away.
Marcela Garcia Bonini says
I love the recommendation about using a long line. I’ve been using one with my German Shepherd for five years now. When I trained as a Cognitive Emotional Dog trainer with Educan last year they insisted so much on the benefits of using a long leash, I love Julius K9 Super grip 9 feet long one, it’s a game changer and it does give you a lot of control. I’d make sure to stress that a long leash does in no way mean a retractable one, one of those horrible contraptions that are so popular and are so bad and negative indeed, they should be banned in fact.
maree says
I wondered if people could give an indication of the best type of material for a long line. I’m thinking that light weight and nontangling would have to be important factors, yes?
Kirsty says
I’ve found that the enriched environment sessions I have run for the ageing dogs are some of the most wonderful ones to observe. They have just drank it in. The core of what my business does is to offer a collection of items that I think will be novel, interesting but non edible to dogs to investigate, set out in a complex enclosed and safe setting on a non slip floor with their human family. There are food items to find as well so that they can choose chewing or eating but they spend most of the time sniffing. What has been really interesting is seeing how creating opportunities for them to choose gentle flexing, balancing and stretching postures, as well as being mindful of all four of their feet while sniffing seems to add to the experience and seems to have an invigorating effect that lasts for several days afterwards. My own senior dog has really benefited from having regular access to the space and I believe it has extended his active life. I have a ton of pictures and videos if you would be interested ☺️
Tammy says
Inspired by your post and everyone’s responses to my earlier comment, I decided to try the long line with my fast-moving dog. She always wears a harness instead of a collar, and I had a 15′ long line we use when we take her swimming in leash-required areas (a nice soft 1/2′ line from Mendota). She’s an agility dog with a fairly solid moving wait in the ring, and I’ve focused on staying tuned into her when usng the long line and managing the length of the line to keep us both safe. I’ve pretty much kept the max length at 12′ so that I have 3′ to spare for safety. I’ve also let the line drag on the ground as a signal this is a different kind of walk than on the 5′ normal leash.
It’s been terrific! And I’ve learned some things about my dog. First, long-line walks are a nice option for her on the 1-2 days per week when I don’t take her for an off-leash hike up a local mountain. I’ve been using these long-line walks to let her do her own thing — sniff and walk at her own pace, stop, look and dismiss, etc. I think they’ve been a good mental health outlet that’s very different for her than the daily hikes where she runs a lot. Second, she’s been really responsive to my gentle “eeeeaasy” warning when she’s near the max line length and she has not pulled me once — she just backs off when she feels the pressure (there has not been a single squirrel to bait her, though). I’ve taught her to be decent on a leash, with little to no pulling, but I find her even easier to walk on the long line; that was unexpected. Third, she pretty much stays about 10′ in front of me when we’re on a trail and she’s not sniffing off to the side. It almost seems like 10′ ahead feels to her like the natural lead distance she wants to have. That’s been interesting to notice.
Thanks for the inspiration to try this. It gives us an additional kind of walk and also additional places we can go (lots of leash laws here, even on many hiking trails and wilderness areas).
Trisha says
Love hearing this Tammy, and no doubt much of your success lies in your training and observation skills!
Aura says
I have Samoyeds, trained to mush in the winter as well as go on long wilderness backpacks and hikes in the summers. It is critical that my dogs have a reliable recall and be able to go off leash since we often backcountry ski trails that are too hard to skijor and hike in places that have tricky footing.
I regularly tie the dogs to my waist after they have a reliable STOP command and EASY (slow down) because we run canicross on wilderness trails and skijor. I have taught this, using clicker training, on leash, of course before they were ever tied to my waist. I have NEVER been dragged or fallen because of my dogs. This is where a great lead dog is invaluable to help control the others.
I use all of the well known methods of teaching recall. However, before I ever let them off leash in the wilderness, I proof using a retractable long line. Since they are Samoyeds capable of pulling over 3,000 lbs, I have the huge one for St Bernards. The breaking mechanism makes a loud CLICK. I work on the command EASY a lot. I also work on their STOP from infancy. (I do not want to die skijoring and I am not a great skier.)
I have them in a mushing harness to make sure that they will not be hurt if they hit the end of the line. However, I do not want to get hurt either! We begin by running a little and when they are not so far away that they have a lot of leverage I click the break of the leash on and off and slow to a stop. They learn pretty fast that the clicking means it is time to slow down or stop. I do this at a safe, but very interesting place like the beach.
Now it is time to work on recall in the forest on the hiking trails. When they begin to get interested in a chipmunk or get their heads down a gopher hole, I keep walking and call them to COME. I always have a super high value treat, baked hamburger or liver.
So, this is how I proof recall to my dogs. I need them to be so reliable that if there are deer, quail, marmots or bears, they will not hunt, they will come back to me.
As for sniffy walks, my dogs are always free to sniff on the end of the 6 foot leash. However, do not make me stop or pull for you, keep your eyes on me and keep up. I am not setting any speed records out there and I stop so often just for a breather, water and pictures that they have plenty of opportunity for sniffing.
Before you think me cruel for not dedicating my walks to standing around and sniffing, my monster puppy has become so proficient at “dipping” (the mushing term for grabbing bites of snow on the run.) that on one cross country, (off trail) hike, we were going up a drainage filled with lots of branches and other wood debris. Suddenly, without missing a stride, she was holding a skull in her mouth!!! Yes, my girl managed to find a dear skull in that drainage. Then, about a mile later, I suddenly see that she exchanged the skull for what looked like a femur!!! In 35 years of hiking, I never saw many bones and she managed to sniff out and find 2 within 2 miles…All while behaving nicely and carrying her pack with a steady pace so I would not fall.
Anonomous says
I love, love, LOVE the flowers. I too have a lovely garden! I happen to be reading the Education of Will now and read the flower part this morning!
I know that this is really off topic, but thank you so much, Trisha, for writing that book.
In the past couple of years, nothing but bad things have happened to destroy my perfectly happy life. The worst two have been my wonderful, young lead dog developing epilepsy and my daughter developing debilitating vestibular migraines but there has been much more.
I couldn’t stop crying this morning reading the Education of Will. So much of it hit home even though my sadness and depression is for such different reasons. I even thought, as you did, I have no right to be depressed, hers is so much worse.
Anyway, I could go on, but, in short your book is about feeling safe and trusting in life. If you do not do it for yourself, do it for those who love you, both canine and human. Thank you for being brave enough to write it.
Sharon says
I have enjoyed reading your blog and learning about snifari walks with dogs and the mental exercise it provides. Over the years I’ve gone from wanting a dog to heel to wanting a dog to enjoy the walk in a multitude of ways. From watching them I can see where the little foxes have been on their travels thru town.
I have a recumbent trike that I got after my balance was affected post stroke. It is a lovely way to be able to go at any speed the dog wants to go from sitting still while he enjoys a sniff, to a full out run. And I’m not risking my life like I would be on a 2 wheeler!
My current dog is a bit reactive and with my at his level seems to be reassuring as we face the things that he reacts to. It was so exciting to see him turn to me when he saw a person running, to get his reward. Another thing I can thank you for!
Thank you also for your lovely flower pictures.
Jenny Haskins says
But how long is a ‘long line’?
I use a longer leash for Mad Millie because she is a runaway. But it is probably more like 9ft than 20ft.
It is easy to shorten it when we approach other dogs, roads or hurtling cycles 🙁
It make our walks much easier for me.
Jenny Haskins says
On the other hand, few of the exercises here would suit my aging German Shepherds. The are both now ‘slow droppers’.
Ironbark hurt his back about 20 moths ago so I am at pains to stopping him tearing around (as is his wont).
Sallee seems to have transient lameness in her hind legs. I HOPE it is nothing more than arthritis.
Walking, some RallyO exercises and a little distance handling with “modified agility” is what I do with all three of my aging dogs.
I have just resurrected my ‘barrels for Barrel Racing (which my DH so kindle put away safely so they wouldn’t deteriorate.)
I think that will be easy for me too (aging arthritic!) 🙂