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Thursday, April 23, 2015

Happy Birthday Brisbane: Double Digits!

Brisbane turned ten today, he has now graced the world with his presence for an entire decade. He has developed a bit of arthritis over the last year, and might be finally starting to slow down a little, but he's definitely still going strong.

For his birthday this year, I decided to book him an appointment with HydroPaws Animal Rehabilitation and Performance Center. We've been doing lots of core work and body awareness exercises to help mitigate Brisbane's lifelong spine issues and help keep him as active and comfortable as possible as he ages.

I joined a Canine Conditioning and Body Awareness group on Facebook last year. Since then, Briz has learned how to target things with his rear feet, walk over cavaletti poles, and perch on a small stool. We're working on handstands and holding beg and bow positions.

The Facebook group encourages everyone to visit a rehab professional at least once to learn as much as they can about their dog's structure and abilities. I've got plenty of ideas for things to do with Brisbane, but I'm a little fuzzy on the specifics. How much core work is too much? How often is too often? I'm looking forward to having a rehab professional look at him.


As I mentioned last year, the Briz-cake picture in an annual tradition.









5 comments:

  1. Happy birthday Brisbane! In honor of this special occasion, I will share one of my favorite dog quotes, from a birthday card I saw at some point:

    "There are three stages in life; being a pup, acting like a pup, and acting like a pup, only slower."

    :D

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    1. Love it! Briz isn't a whole lot slower yet, but I doubt he'll ever stop stealing food and nibbling on cats.

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    2. Yup, I don't think Lily has svn moved out of stage 1 yet. People are constantly mistaking her for a puppy, and I sometimes wonder if she has found the secret to eternal youth. (She's supposedly 3 and a half.) :)

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  2. Omg those cake pics are soo cute! Does he get a piece or are they human cakes?

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    Replies
    1. He always gets a piece! Sometimes they are dog cakes, sometimes they are lemon or carrot cake and he still gets a piece because he has a cast iron stomach and can handle it.

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