E290: 에린 라인스(Erin Lynes) - "노견의 건강 유지하기"

sweetest, like telling you all the stories of their youth, that is Kimber at her, at this stage of her life. She's, she's happy. She's healthy. She's got lots of energy. And she's just always wondering what you're up to and kind of in the way investigating. So we're really enjoying how, how fun she is at this stage of her life. But she's, she's more or less retired from all the things at this point too. Uh, I don't think that there's any reason she couldn't do some more nose work or something like that, but she's, uh, she's got a lot of jobs around the household fetching slippers and things. So that's, that's my senior crew at this point. Fetching slippers is a very important job. It is. Yes. So as you mentioned, it's kind of those senior, uh, pups that we wanted to talk more about today. So, um, to kind of start us off, can you share a little bit about how our dogs' needs for training and enrichment kind of change as they age? Yeah, that's, that's a good question. So I think it's, there's a lot of individual differences in the dogs. So some dogs stay pretty engaged in training and have a really high desire to, to keep learning new things and sort of pushing themselves in those, uh, you know, sort of higher adrenaline activities as they get older and it kind of gradually tapers off. And others sort of, um, lose interest in that sort of thing a little bit sooner and, you know, tame down a little bit earlier in life. So there's, there's definitely some, um, individual differences in how much they like to pursue training and when they're sort of done with the serious stuff and when they'd rather just be socializing and that sort of thing. Um, there's also, uh, lots of changes in their, their health that might affect how they age and what their pursuits are. So old injuries catch up to dogs, um, you know, bigger dogs, their bodies tend to just sort of wear a little faster than smaller dogs in many cases. So there's those considerations as well. And then what I found specifically is a lot of my older dogs have a greater need for like scent based enrichment. So they, they really, um, have a desire and show me that they want to be sniffing a lot more often. Um, and so I try to, to find activities that are going to fulfill that need for them, um, and making sure that they're still getting all their, their other needs and things met too. But I do find that that's a pretty common one is that as they age, more sniffing equals a happier dog. Interesting. Um, are there kind of early warning signs that maybe you look for as your dogs start

to get up there in age that they maybe are, um, you know, feeling that age? Yeah, there's, there's all kinds of varieties of warning signs and things that we should be watching for in our senior dogs. So, um, all the different health aspects that we want to stay on top of as they get older. So, um, working with your vet to make sure that you're doing senior appropriate checkups and catching anything that might be showing up before you see really obvious signs outwardly. Um, you know, doing your regular, uh, blood work, checking for lumps and bumps and, and making sure you know what those are in case any of them need to be off. Checking on their teeth. I find that, um, lots of dogs are really stoic when they're younger and they might even have a broken tooth or a chipped tooth or something like that that goes unnoticed. But as they get older, then they start to, maybe they eat a little less or they're a little fussier and it can sometimes come down to just a little tooth that needs to come out, something like that. So we got to watch for signs like that. And then there's always the mobility changes as our dogs get older too. So, um, arthritis and those sorts of, uh, physical concerns that come out, we see muscle wasting in the rear end of our dogs. We see that their, their spine starts to protrude a little more. Sometimes those are the earliest signs that there's something going on, um, that we should be checking into mobility wise, getting some specialist help to make sure that, uh, we're not missing something treatable that we can help, you know, prevent from getting worse as our dogs get older. And any dogs who's had injuries throughout their lives, those do tend to try to catch up to them as they get older too. So having our dogs on a, on a good fitness program so that we're keeping them as strong as we can and preventing injuries from getting worse or spiraling, you know, spiraling into other things is, is really important too. So in that framework, uh, what do you consider, how do you decide when a particular dog is ready to retire from a given sport or activity? I mean, what factors do you consider? I know you kind of listed off like your guys and what they're still doing. Um, it seems like there's a little bit of variety there. So. Yeah, that's a good question. And those are, those are kind of personal decisions for people to consider as well as, you know, based on what their dog is physically showing them. Um, for me, I like a proactive retirement. So one of my biggest joys in life is having old dogs who are as sound as they can be and can still do like dog things. Right.

So, um, for example, I know that, uh, Shelby has some, some signs of arthritis showing in her spine. So we retired her from dock diving a little earlier than we have with other dogs, just because that particular sport tends to be a little bit hard on the dog's back. So being a bit proactive, knowing your dog's individual history so that they can still have a pretty healthy retirement is, is one approach that, that I like to take. Um, balancing it with maybe your, your other dogs needs too. So many of us who are in dog sports have a dog and then, you know, a few years later you get your next competitive dog. So changing sports as they get older so that you have the personal stamina and energy and finances and resources to train one dog really competitively. Um, and while you're easing your older dog into retirement, changing sports to something that might also be a little easier on their body is a, is another strategy. So nose work is a sport that almost all of my dogs have been able to do right until the very end. It's, it's, there's very few physical limitations with that. There's, um, some dogs who can compete in rally or do, uh, you know, tricks. Um, dog sledding surprisingly has a fairly long, um, lifespan for, you know, pulling sports as long as you're, you're careful and you know what you're doing. Um, so just watching each individual dog where their, where their body is most delicate and, and finding activities that you can do that keep them strong without aggravating anything that is maybe a little bit more tender at that age. Speaking of, so talk to me a little bit about what you do to keep those senior dogs in shape about those fitness routines or what have you. Yeah. Uh, so I think the, the number one thing to do is, um, I like to get them out on walks. So they're, they're getting that daily exercise, which is mental exercise and physical exercise because they get to go exploring and sniffing and kind of meeting all those needs at once. But the other thing is doing conditioning exercises where you can target what needs to be strengthened in your older dogs too. So like I mentioned before, a lot of senior dogs, the first signs that you see them starting to act their age, you'll see a little bit of weakness in their rear. Maybe they are a little slower to stand up in the morning after a good sleep. Um, maybe they're starting to look a little bit less balanced when they're running around with their other dogs. So, um, working on conditioning exercises that target the rear end, their core and their balance

are, are really important and you, you pretty much can't go wrong, um, with, with considering those things for an older dog. One of the things that I've heard you talk about before is this idea that older dogs can often find comfort, right? In routine or kind of knowing what's coming up. Um, but obviously it's very easy to kind of fall into a rut with that kind of thing. And then they're not getting anything new. And then, you know, that, that's not great either. So how do you kind of balance, um, providing the comfort that comes from that routine with, you know, preventing life from just becoming kind of boring? Yeah, uh, that's super important too. Um, I do find that the seniors are extremely, they're, they're very diligent about routine on like a timeline. So at nine o'clock, Melissa, we go for our walks. Don't be late now. You know, you know, that breakfast is at seven and dinner is at five and we like our mealtimes very, you know, like timeline wise, that pattern is, seems to be even more important to them as they get older. They like those sorts of routine, but they also, you can almost start to see, um, dogs who have too much of that pattern in their life. When they wake up, they eat, they go immediately back to sleep and they're just waiting for that next milestone in their day. So one of the ways that I like to keep life interesting for them is, um, as I call it, no two days the same. So we take elements of, um, their pattern that they really rely on and are comforted by, and we just change it up a little. So maybe their morning walk is always at 9am, but what if we go a little different route each day? And it doesn't have to be like every day is a whole brand new route. You need 365 different walking areas to get through the year, but just not two days in a row where you're doing the exact same thing on their walk. Um, maybe sometimes you stop and do little treat scatters and other times you, uh, you know, you're taking them to wade through a little puddle or maybe all these little mini adventures that you can do that kind of keep things interesting, keep their, their brain working about what might happen next. And looking forward, you know, a little bit of optimism about what's going to happen next. And you can do the same thing at meals. So these older dogs are very sure that I'm always going to be late with breakfast and dinner, but I can always make sure that they're getting some variety in how I feed them. Maybe they're sometimes instead of a toy or a slow feeder, maybe they're getting, uh, you know, little mushed up frozen kibble that they have to work on.

Maybe sometimes it's raw food, different aspects of how they're fed, what they're fed, different ways that we're, we're navigating our walks, our training sessions. We don't have to do it in the exact same order routine every day, that sort of thing. So just keeping, keeping something interesting while you're maintaining those patterns that they really, um, kind of feel that are important to them. What skills do you teach specifically to kind of help your dogs transition, um, as they go into the kind of those golden years? Oh, okay. Um, so the, the basic skills that we want to make sure that our seniors have. As they're, you know, transitioning into retirement and maybe not so reliant on sports skills are, um, the, the skills that relate to our conditioning exercises and care and handling stuff. So as they tend to need a little more veterinary care, maybe a little more extra help with grooming as they get older, we want to make sure that those things aren't scary and stressful for them. So, um, can your dog, can you, do you have a way that you can help your dog up the stairs? Can you lift them? Can you look and check their teeth? Because those need checking. You might need to be doing more teeth brushing as they get older. Um, you, you're definitely going to need to build on the skills that relate to the conditioning exercises themselves. So, um, having your dog learn to stand still and hold positions to lure so that we can move them into tiny micro motions for, um, getting them the motions that we want. Um, we do some hands-on stuff for the conditioning to help with balance. So are they okay with being handled that way? Um, there's, there's quite a lot of things that many dogs might have covered as puppies, but a lot of dogs actually haven't. So when you get to this stage of life, especially if you've got a dog who's been kind of like relatively no maintenance, you might start to find that at this age is when you see, oh, I wish I had taught a chin rest or I wish I had taught, you know, um, a little bit more on the mouth handling, that kind of thing. So that's, that's the stuff we focus on here. You've got your class coming up, uh, age to perfection, keeping your senior fit in mind and body on the schedule for December. So it'll be open for registration when this airs. Um, do you want to just talk a little bit about what else you kind of cover in class? Yeah. So I love this class so much. So there's sort of different components that we cover in class each week. At the start of every week, I'll release some lectures about different aspects of aging

that you can watch for as a handler, um, and sort of things you can do in regular day-to-day life to help your senior have a little easier time. So these might be things like how to plan for veterinary care, how to increase traction so that they aren't slipping on your, you know, your nice hardwood floors, that sort of thing makes them a little bit easier to get around the house. That is one of the sections. Then we talk about, uh, conditioning exercises that are suitable for healthy senior dogs. So there's some progressive setups for building up, um, as the weeks go on in class so that we're, we're building on the things that we've worked on the week before doing some exercises that, uh, target strength building in the rear and the core and working on balance. Um, and also putting a little bit of fun in there for them because that's important too. One of the other subsections is enrichment exercises. So I give you some games to work on, uh, some ways to help with their cognitive health, because that's another aspect that tends to decline in senior dogs at some point. And it usually comes on sort of rapidly and noticeably. But science tells us that if we keep up with our enrichment, challenge them with scent games and training games and stuff, we could actually help delay the onset of cognitive stuff. So that's, that's a big section in there. And then the last little thing that we cover in class are some husbandry tips and training, because, um, as our dogs get older, sometimes they find it harder to groom themselves. Their nails grow longer, their general grooming and care, their needs change a little bit. So we want to make sure that we're able to keep up with that and help them out, you know, in a way that is not scary or stressful for them. So that's, that's basically the entire class in a nutshell. So who should consider taking it? So this class is for anyone with a dog who's just entering their senior years and they want to be proactive about, um, looking for this, the signs that they may need to do a little bit more with them. They may need, um, some health concerns addressed. Um, it'll give you, start to give you a really good eye for what to watch for there and get them prepped with the skills. But it's also for people with, that have dogs who are already starting to act their age a little bit and want to work on building their strength, helping them with their balance, um, giving them a little bit more fulfillment in their life through the enrichment exercises and maybe helping even with the extra grooming and care.

Um, it's not going to be the right class for somebody who has a dog who has like a major physical issue, um, maybe more appropriate for like rehab, that sort of thing. But for the average senior dog who's, you know, um, just starting to look or feel like they're getting up there in years and people want to help extend the quality of their life. That's who I'm targeting with this class. Awesome. Um, so kind of round out our chat. One last question. Um, if we were to kind of drill all of this down into a key takeaway or piece of information you really want people to understand, um, what would that be? So our older dogs deserve all kinds of care and attention. And we often don't know exactly what to give them to help them. Um, sometimes we worry about retiring them because we worry they won't have any joy in their life. And I'm here to tell you that there's many, many things you can do with your senior dog, even outside of sports to help them have a happy, fulfilled life. And, um, yeah, there's, there's a, there's a lot we can do and it's, it's a lot of fun and it's things that they can look forward to on an everyday basis. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming back on the podcast, Erin. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. And thanks to all of our listeners for tuning in. We'll be back next week with Lucy Newton to talk about tracking. If you haven't already subscribed to the podcast in iTunes or the podcast app of your choice to have our next episode automatically downloaded to your phone as soon as it becomes available. Today's show is brought to you by the Fensi Dog Sports Academy. Special thanks to Denise Fensi for supporting this podcast. Music provided royalty free by BenSound.com. The track featured here is called Buddy. Audio editing provided by Chris Lang. Thanks again for tuning in and happy training. See you in the second half. See you in the second half. See you in the second half. Thank you.