Sadly, too many of these high-energy pets end up in shelters, abandoned through no fault of their own, because the owners weren’t aware of this simple issue: high energy in pets, just like in kids, must be managed/burned off first in order for the pet to be able to focus, listen to you, and behave. Without this simple management tool, you fail your pet and put his life in jeopardy if you end up surrendering him to a shelter. Shelters typically classify high-energy pets as unadoptable and end up euthanizing them. So listen up – the fix is simple and immediate and makes everyone’s life better!

It’s so simple and easy to manage your pet’s high energy, if you understand the difference between “suppressing” your pet’s high energy and “burning it off.” Consider this — have you traveled on a really long flight, and well into the flight you find yourself getting antsy? Your legs begin to twitch, your feet tap, you constantly shift position in your seat? That’s built-up energy, an actual physical thing, not a made-up saying. Can you convince yourself to ignore the twitching and just sit still? Of course not. Built-up energy needs to be managed, not ignored or suppressed. You have to get up and move around, shake it off, literally burn it off, before you can go back to your seat and sit quietly, comfortably, and focused.

Look at young kids – without regular exercise and physical activity, they get antsy, wiggly, and what happens then? Well, if the parents just order them to “sit still” or “be quiet,” they can’t. The kids begin to act out and get into trouble. It’s not because they want to get into trouble; it’s because they are being controlled by pent-up, unmanaged energy. It’s actually not their fault. It’s the parents’ job to help manage/diffuse their kids’ pent-up energy. And, generally, drugs are not the answer. It’s a simple biological issue — just get them active and burn off the energy. Likewise, for pets, it’s the owners’ job to manage the pets’ level of energy to keep the pet in a better state of behavior, focus, and comfort.

The body’s energy cannot be just ignored; the body continues producing more and more energy, and the energy keeps piling up inside, energy on top of energy. The ONLY way to eliminate all this increasing energy is to physically work it off. It’s the same with animals; except animals can’t rationalize that, so it’s all on the owners to take charge of this issue.

Regular small bursts of exercise is the answer. One or two or more times a day, 20-30 minute bursts of activity are all that’s needed to diffuse excess built-up energy. With the excess high energy burned away, you and your pet can both relax and de-stress better. Your pet becomes more focused and trainable, and you become more at ease and patient.

Another benefit of managing your pet’s energy is that, once the built-up energy is diffused, your pet will be able to focus better on you and actually hear you and absorb training. You’ll have an infinitely better behaved pet if you make exercise a regular part of your routine. And not just a leisurely stroll down the driveway or a quick pottie break in the back yard, but an actual 20-30 minutes of vibrant activity – a run around the block, fetch with his favorite kong toy, swimming in the pool, etc.

Or, if weather prevents you from getting outside, you can still play inside – tag up and down the halls, wrestling on the bed, tug of war with a rope toy, climbing up and down the stairs, etc. Get creative – whatever gets his heart rate up and circulation going for 20-30 minutes will help burn off the energy. One, two, even three or more times a day depending on your pet’s energy level. No big marathon runs or workouts needed. You’ll find these daily little bursts of activity are lifesavers – you and your pet will both be so much happier and relaxed. Burning off energy also burns off tension, stress, and anxiety. Everyone wins!

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God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!

With love and good wishes,
jeannie.   

About jeannie:  I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008.  Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.

The post Take Control Of Your Pet’s High Energy appeared first on BareFootPets.

This post is a throwback to an earlier post on the same topic (Upside of Pet Steps and Ramps), with some helpful added information.

All dogs in general are prone to disk disease in their backs just because of the way they’re built.  Small dogs especially are at risk of injury to their spine because of their acrobatic flare.  Add high bouncing and jumping activity to that, and now their legs are in danger, too.  Torn cruciate ligaments are VERY common, especially in small dogs.  Delicate ligaments in their legs, especially the back legs, are easily ripped from the strain and impact of high activity.  They’re terribly painful for the animal, and can even leave him totally crippled.  Sadly, torn cruciate ligaments can be repaired only by surgery.  The cost to have the ligaments surgically repaired is in the THOUSANDS of dollars.  That’s why people often ditch their pets at the pound instead — they can’t afford to save their pet’s quality of life.  A very sad ending to a preventable injury.

This is my “Bed Head” Bandit? and he wants to share a very important message with you.  Bandit is young and high energy.  He jumps up on beds and sofas when he’s zooming the house during playtime, jumps in and out of the car, and jumps up at the door handle when he’s excited to go outside. Bandit is always in motion.  This puts constant pressure and tremendous impact on his spine and legs.  We give him daily glucosamine/chondroitin and turmeric supplements to keep his joints strong and inflammation low, which are critically important to his present and future orthopedic health; but there’s still more to be done.

Going The Extra “Step”

So we went shopping online for pet steps and ramps.  There are lots out there to choose from, and some are exceptional pet products.  But two significant factors kept popping up that we didn’t like about most of them:  (1) the good ones are generally quite expensive; and (2) most of them, in any price range, are clubby and in the way.  Yes, they say you can hide them conveniently underneath the sofa or bed, but then they’re not available for your pet to be using, are they.  Duh.  So we decided to keep looking.

Then we found these dandy little footstools on Amazon.  Even though they’re not an actual pet product, they’re PERFECT!  They’re the ideal height and dimensions for the pet’s use, yet small enough to be out of the family’s way so you don’t have to shove them under the sofa at all.  Another very important detail is they’re super cushioned, which softens the impact to your pet’s joints.  Plus they’re actual furniture, so they naturally blend in with your decor.  Last but not least, they’re super affordable, so we bought several to put all around the house.  They come in faux suede, faux leather, or fabric, and also in different colors and patterns.  Bandit took to them right away and is LOVING them!  Took him all of five minutes to learn to use them.  All-around great little find!

See how nicely the footstools look in our house, unlike clunky pet ramps.

No Slip-Sliding Away.

If these footstools have a downside, it would be that they can slide around on smooth flooring.  We have all tile flooring in our house, and it’s not an issue for Bandit when he’s launching himself off them.  This photo (below) is perfectly timed to show Bandit launching himself from the footstool to the sofa without the footstool slipping out from under him.

But I can see where it could maybe be an issue for a larger dog, that the footstool could slide out from under him.  This can be easily addressed by picking up some sticky-rubber adhesive foot pads at your hardware store that you can stick to the bottoms of the footstool feet.  Poof — problem prevented.

And that’s all it took to add another level of protection to your beloved pet’s health.  Way to Go! ?

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God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!

With love and good wishes,
jeannie.   ?

About jeannie:  I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008. Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.

The post For All The High-Flying Dogs. appeared first on BareFootPets.

If you are a pet owner, you already have the great advantage of easily staying in shape during the COVID lockdown.  I noticed, when my company began its remote work environment back in March, that I right away began gaining weight, and it piled on fast.  Took about a minute to figure out I was engaging in more than my normal amount of comfort eating.  I knew I had to think outside the box to get that weight back off, because I hate exercising.  And, for a comfort eater, dieting is a very ugly word.

How Bandit Is Helping Me Lose Weight.

But it wasn’t hard to figure out the perfect answer.  I already take my awesome little dog Bandit out in the back yard every day for play time – at least twice a day, even three or four times a day sometimes now that I’m working from home during the lockdown.  It’s our time together out in the sunshine and fresh air, and we love it.  But he was the one getting all the exercise.  I just threw the ball.  So for me the answer was easy — I just started running with him.  Boom – problem solved.  Now I throw the ball and chase it right alongside Bandit.  He thinks that’s pretty cool, by the way.  Dogs love when you’re as excited about their toys as they are.  Sometimes we just get down on the floor and wrestle.  Bandit couldn’t be more thrilled for the extra attention and playtime, and I’m encouraged knowing it’s working for the good of my health as well.

How Gabriel Is Helping Me Lose Weight, Too.

I also have cats — Gabriel, SpeedBump, and Chelsea.  Although they sleep a lot more than Bandit, they do have their moments during the day when they get tickled and zoom the house.  So I’m taking advantage of those moments and zoom along with them, trailing long cat toys behind me for them to catch, or tossing squeaky toys across the room and running with them to retrieve.  Or making it a game of tag you’re it.  My cats love when I chase them through the house!

Better Than Taking A Happy Pill.

There are occasionally days during this never-ending lockdown when I don’t feel so much like running and playing, but I push on anyway.  Once we start and I feel the energy flowing, I’m very happy to be at it; almost feels like I took a happy pill!  And the pets are relieved to be shedding pent-up energy, too.  Remember — exercise benefits both you and your pets by reducing, even eliminating, stress, which we all know is bad bad bad for your body.  And Lord knows the lockdown has put a boatload of stress on everyone.  So, with the new more interactive playtime in our house, the pets are happier, I’m happier, everyone’s healthier.  And – the weight is coming off.  It’s a win-win for us all.

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God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!

With love and good wishes,
jeannie.   ?

About jeannie:  I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008. Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.

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The post Lock Down, Lighten Up. appeared first on BareFootPets.