Take a scroll on social media, it won’t take you long to find a video of a dog doing competition heelwork, you know the type. Head arched up towards the handler, dancing forelimbs, snappy editing with inspiring audio playing over the top
“Never lose sight of who you are, show up every day”
I paraphrase, but you get the gist.
Now this is no hate to the people who make these videos, hats off to you. You clearly have dedicated a lot of time to your dog, crafting that positioning and is it a flex? Well yeah, it looks cool and it's nice to see that connection between dog and handler.
The same principle can be applied to gundogs retrieving over tricky terrain and flyball dogs thundering over hurdles. All of these dogs are at the top of their game, athletes if you will. Watching dogs compete is rewarding for handlers and spectators, but most of all the dogs love it!
WHY ISN'T PAIN SEXY?
Pain is emotive, the very word PAIN can cause upset, offence or straight-up denial.
Perhaps it’s because we don’t want to address potential issues, a scuff on that polished image of a winner?
Sometimes people aren’t ready to ask the questions, because they’re not going to like the answer.
It’s personal, people may feel it is a reflection of the care they provide their dog.
It could be a mix of all of the above, no matter where you sit know that if you want to get to grips with your dog's pain management my door is always open (during opening hours) but you get what I mean.
LET'S MAKE PAIN MANAGEMENT SEXY!
I’m on a mission, to make pain management sexy, well maybe not sexy but just get people interested in the topic.
Want to know the flexes I love the most,
- My dog can now get out of bed without being stiff
- My dog has started climbing on the sofa again
- The Vet is really happy with how my dog is progressing
- Pain medication has made a difference to my dog's behaviour
- The hydrotherapist said my dog worked really well today
If you’re a Canine Professional looking to level up your pain knowledge or a Pet Parent hungry for more information check out my online training courses, in particular
Love Yaz, Lily, Rodney & Peggy x