Rogues Gallery Kennel
We have yet to leave the starting chute
with a race team of high-powered huskies this season, but
already we have noticed positive changes in our sled dogs that
went to "Gone to the Dogs" during the summer months.
We brought four different dogs to Gone to
the Dogs. Three were among the weakest dogs in our kennel when
it came the physical stamina and cardiovascular endurance, while
the fourth was a dog that suffered a recurring injury annually.
Laurie Cramer listened to what we said about each dog, then
physically assessed each one herself before developing an
exercise regime. Over the next few weeks the dogs were brought
to her for regular therapy on the land and aquatic treadmill,
the latter seemed to be where the most progress was made in
terms of their fitness.
As fall training began weeks later, we
immediately noticed the changes in these dogs. All three of the
formerly weaker dogs looked indistinguishable from the strong
dogs in the kennel. They have all been pulling their weight
while pulling a fourwheeler on some extremely demanding runs
through the soft sand on the beach near where we live, still
showing no signs of fatigue as the runs have increased to 15-20
miles in length.
One of the dogs even positively changed
his gate after going to Laurie's. This dog had always favored a
lope, which is not an energy-conserving gait over long
distances, which may have been why this dog tired so quickly.
Laurie developed a therapy using foam "waterwings" for the dog
to wear on his wrists, while treading in the aquatic treadmill.
In addition to increasing his stamina, this also encouraged him
to move in more of a trot, and it is this gait that he now
favors while running in the team.
Additionally, bringing these dogs to
Laurie has had an added effect of making at least one of them
that was extremely skittish of strangers more calm. While she is
still not the most social dog when people meet her for the first
time, she is 100 percent better than she used to be.
In regard to the fourth dog with the
recurring injury, time will tell how she does, but we are hoping
the increased fitness in summer strengthened her muscles,
ligaments and joints and will prevent injuries this winter.
Laurie also taught us several stretching exercises to perform on
this dog, and the others, to further prevent injuries during the
training and racing season.
We will definitely be going back to Gone
to the Dogs next summer, and would encourage other mushers to
bring their dogs in during the summer for both the physical and
mental stimulation. What the dogs got out of their visits was
well worth the price.
Joseph and Colleen Robertia
Rogues Gallery Kennel
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