Recently I wrote a post about the importance of exercise, and after that the importance of calming down. In both posts I mention walking being something that isn't exactly physically exhausting, but more so mentally stimulating.

Dogs are animals that like to travel. Wild dog packs walks around their territory daily in search of food. This is natural behavior for the dog. No matter a domestic dog living in the family doesn't have to search for it's food around the town it still has the factory built need to travel if it's given the chance. They sniff around, mark their path, stop to stare where ever they saw something interesting. World with all it's things and smells and sounds is like an amusement park to them.  
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Googling dog's sense of smell gives you many kinds of results on how much better dogs can smell things than people. Because of that I don't give any specific numbers but simply state the obvious; dog's can smell way better than people and their sense of smell is their most important sense. Some scientists even say while people see dreams, dogs would actually SMELL dreams. I don't know about that, but I do know my dogs really enjoy sticking their nose everywhere.

Smells matter more to dogs than anything else. Sighthounds rely on their sight while they hunt and they are more prone to investigate things they see than my non-sighthound dogs, but every dog trusts it's nose as it's most important sense. Smells even have a very important part in their social life. They smell each other to have an idea of who the other is. They smell strange people. They smell odd things they know nothing agout. They go snout first wherever they go, because their nose tells them more than any other sense they have.

While walking the dog meets a whole new world of smells. While free running preferably in open space answers to the need of exercise and while dogs stop to smell things even then, travelling forward and smelling the messages of other dogs, tracks left by prey animals and whatever the surroundings have to offer stimulate the mind in a whole another level. Based on my experience it also calms the dog down and makes it react better to for example training later. Sniffing all that information in and processing it's meaning and source calms the dog's mind. It has to focus. Letting the dog use it's nose in this way often helps the most energetic dogs to be a little less excited about everything all the time.

Just like with people, dogs like to experience things. While some people, like me, would enjoy hours after hours just laying on bed and staring out of the window, most would eventually get bored. This is exactly what happens with dogs, also. They get bored. They like to experience things. Walking to new places gives the dogs something to do. All the best if after the walk they can let out some steam by running!

While meeting other dogs and people during walks may not be that social, just passing them by, those meetings still stimulate the mind. Dogs are able to figure out many things about the passing by group by just sniffing the air or walking along their tracks to where they came from. These wild, unexpected encounters are interesting and one can often see the dog tense up and get excited when it smells the tracks of another dog. Whenever they find a place that holds many messages by other dogs, it's like visiting a very active forum. Let them sniff it out and maybe answer some date invites. It's not like they (usually) lead to any ACTUAL dates.

If you have a playful dog and just happen to meet another playful, social dog, maybe they can share a play (if the owners agree, obviously). This too adds to the effect of enriching the dog's mind when walking.  
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Like said before in this very same post, dogs are travellers. While they are not wolves, they still share their need to travel, mark their territory and check for any possible messages left by other packs and dogs.

Answering the dog's needs as a dog is equally if not even more important than answering it's needs as a member of a certain breed. Dogs are first of all dogs, second of all dogs from a certain breed/breed mix and third of all individuals. Filling the needs of a dog helps to understand the extra needs of a dog from the breed Italian Greyhound, and when you know the needs of a dog that is an Italian Greyhound you are less likely to miss the individual needs of Max, the Italian Greyhound. These needs obviously overlap, but it's important to understand we can't fill the needs of Max if we don't understand that Max is an Italian Greuhound, and we can't understand what is an Italian Greyhound if we don't know what is a dog.

This leads us back to travelling. Dogs like to travel, experience the world and it's smells. Even if you let your dog run on the same field or yard every day hours straight if it can't travel and sniff new things, that need is never fulfilled. If the dog is exercised and trained and it's mind is stimulated, it can still be a happy dog!

But would a walk ADD to it's life? Yes, it would.   

In the article Hanna Kivinen (http://www.koiraosteopatia.fi/tietoa/kaulapanta-vai-valjaat) lists eleven different parts of the dog's neck than can get affected by the use of the collar. The problems are most often caused by a sudden tug or continuing pulling. Possible injuries caused by the tug are similar to those caused by the so called whipslash-effect in car accidents, where the head moves back and forth rapidly and the neck in injured by this. Possible injuries caused by constant pulling are muscle jams, muscle pain and injuries of throat, similar to what happens if a human is choked.

Collars were developed for the very same reason as we have bits for horses; to gain control. Collar is easy to attach, you can make a loop from almost every piece of rope or string and the neck is a sensitive area so the dog reacts to the instructions given via the leash. This, however, does not mean that the dog's neck would be any more adjusted to the wear of the collar than a human neck. It's a common misbelief that a dog has it's neck, muscles, vertebra and throat somehow used to the pressure of the collar. This is not true.  
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One common rule to collars is that is should be about the width of two vertebra at least. It should not be used high up on the throat but lower so any possible injuries of throat can be avoided. The dog should not pull when using a collar and the collar should be snug enough to not jump around but loose enough so it doesn't cause unnecessary pressure and affect breathing. Padded and soft collars are the most easy ones to the throat. They are also the most comfortable ones and great for small puppies, also.

Collars to avoid are choke collars that tighten around the dog's neck without any stop. Martingale collars, or the so called ”half chokers” never get too tight if they are picked and measured properly and from my own experience I can say it also seems to be the most comfortable for my dogs. When there is no pulling, the collar is loose and doesn't choke, and when there IS pulling, the collar can't get too tight around the neck. Normal collars are good also.

I use collars mainly as accessories or when we are in a show or in a place I can be sure the dog is not pulling too much. I use wide collars mainly made from fabric or padded leather to try and avoid any possible injuries. I do use a collar during walks along with a harness so I can take a hold of the collar if I need added physical control. Unfortunately sometimes it is needed, and it's better to hold the dog by the collar than let it run away, for example chasing a prey, and get seriously injured.
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Because it's more ergonomic for the dog, simply put. A good, fit harness is always a better option for the dog than a collar, and despite many people say their dogs dislike the feeling of the harness it's not about the harness itself but about not being used to it's touch. It's the same as with collars and small puppies. Dogs are not born used to collars and they are not born used to harnesses either. Some dogs need more help getting familiar with the sensation that others, but all dogs can be taught to wear a harness.

A good harness sits nicely and tight enough. It should not move around when the dog moves, but it should let the dog breath properly. The pull should concentrate on the chest instead of the throat or neck. There should be no straps going over shoulder plates to allow maximum mobility, no rubbing against armpits and the ring for leash attachment should preferably be more on the back than closer to the neck.  

Pulling and sleighing harnesses have slightly different structure, but they are meant for that; pulling. There are harnesses fit for both, such as the model I use for Ms. Dominance, DC Zero Short, and they are more or less like the described harnesses for general use. They are also pretty good for dogs with deep chest.  You can see from the picture above the harness fits nicely and snug, the chest part is low enough not to press the neck and the leash attachment is pretty far back. The harness is also padded for added comfort.

Another good solution I like is the Swedish sighthound harness that I use for Mrs. Aloofness and Mr. Hyperactivity (seen above), or just plain simple old Y-shape harnesses I have for Mr. Arthritis. The problem with regular Y-harnesses can be that their leash attachment is a tad too close to the neck for my liking. I have never had problems with it, however, since Mr. Arth... ah, so depressing nickname! I have no problems with regular Y-harness because Mr. I-have-arthritis-but-I-am-still-very-active-and-happy-and-lively-dog doesn't pull when leashed and therefore there is no unnecessary pressure.  

Oh, and to answer a question I myself wondered for a long time; can you use regular harness as a pulling/sleighing harness for fun? Well, that is not recommended as pulling harnesses are built for it and they are better distributing the pressure and making sure the pulling feels as comfortable as it can. Regular harnesses are not meant for pulling purposes and they can possibly cause muscle jams if constantly used for that purpose. Much like shoes; you can run with just a regular Converse All Stars, but sneakers are way better for that and it's less likely your legs get sore.

Arthritis is not actually a single disease. It is an informal way of referring to joint pain or joint disease. That is also why there are so many ways to treat arthritis and why there are so many dogs diagnosed with it. In this post I talk mostly about degenerative arthritis, also called osteoarthritis. This is the arthritis caused by structural problems such as old injuries or inheritable weaknesses in bone structure (the so called ”bad hips”, ”bad elbows” etc.).

”Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. When the cartilage – the slick, cushioning surface on the ends of bones – wears away, bone rubs against bone, causing pain, swelling and stiffness. Over time, joints can lose strength and pain may become chronic. Risk factors include excess weight, family history, age and previous injury (an anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, tear, for example).” (www.arthritis.org)
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Structural problems of dogs wary, but what is common for all of them is that the dog is not built in a balanced, optimal way. Sometimes it's just bad luck, sometimes it's bad breeding, and sometimes unfortunately it's because the breed itself is not healthy in shape. We have many breeds that are shaped in a way that affects their normal every day life, affecting their moving, breathing, even reproducing. Sometimes their build also causes problems with their joints, as is the case with too straight or too exaggerated angulations or too heavy body. These problems can lead to arthritis, and it can happen fast. Even a young dog can have arthritis caused by major structural issues.

Arthritis doesn't read the breed standard. It doesn't respect ”but this is how the breed is supposed to look like!”
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In general, with any dog that has arthritis it's good to remember some basic tips on how to ease the situation and make the dogs life less painful. The list below is meant for people, but it just happens to also fit dogs:

• using hot and cold therapies
• regular physical activity
• maintaining a healthy weight 
• strengthening the muscles around the joint for added support
• balancing activity with rest

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It's a common misbelief that resting and avoiding exercise is the best way to deal with arthritis. Obviously rest is important, but so is exercise. The type of exercise is important, and so is the surface the exercise is happening on. Calm, continuing moving on soft surfaces is best for dogs with arthritis. This includes for example calm walks in a forest where the dog can move on it's own phase. Swimming is also a great way to exercise a dog with arthritis as the water floats the dog, this way taking off the weight from the joints. When the joints are able to move without holding the weight, the mobility is increased, muscles supporting the joint are trained and the joint gains flexibility.

Avoiding repetitive and heavy tasks, such as everyone's favorite game ”fetch the ball”, is encouraged. Also, hard surfaces cause more stress to the joint, so it's best to try and avoid long walks on asfalt. Thsi can be tricky specially in big cities.

Healthy weight is crucial. None of the above save the situation if the dog is morbidly obese. The less there is weight for the joints to support, the less there is pain.

Sometimes pain medication or assistive devices can be needed. There are some companies in the world that manufacture devices for dogs with joint related problems. These devides can however be extremely expensive.

My own experiences with laser treatment on dogs have also been very positive. It seemed to reduce both pain and swelling and the effect lasted for quite some time after just a few treatments.

Both chondroitin and Glucosamine are natural chemical compounds in your body that support the joint. With age the amount of both lessen, and therefore eating them as a supplement is often recommended for older dogs and dogs with arthritis. As it is with any supplement, however, the effectivity of these kind of products is modest at it's best, so they work best as a supportive method combined with possible pain medication and right kind of exercise. It is also to be noted that these supplements work best TOGETHER.

MSM is an organic sulfur compoud that is said to reduce inflammation and ease pain. Like with the supplements above, studies can't really prove if it's super effective or not, but as there are reports of it reducing the pain when used together with chondroitin and glucosamine, there is no real reason to not give it. Many people, including me, have seen drastic changes in their dogs with arthritis after giving them all three together.

Something to remember when choosing a brand is to make sure the amounts of supplements in their products are high enough. My own recommendations would be Cartivet MSM, which we used successfully for years when Mr. Arthritis was younger, and Working Dog Hyaluron 365. The latter has proven itself to be best product I have seen by far, and all my dogs use it. Mr. Arthritis and Mr. Hyperactivity for their arthritis and Mrs. Aloofness and Ms. Dominance to have just some added general support.

All in all, after living with arthritis for quite some time I have learned that it 's not a death sentence. Yes, it requires some extra effort, but the dog can live good life even with arthritis. We do some occasional fetching with my boys no matter they may be a little stiff after that. With right supplements, painmeds when needed and optimal exercise they live very happy, mostly painfree and definitely fun and fulfilling lives.

It's a nasty thing, but don't let it stop you, or your dog.