Zen Dog Spotlight: Sloany

Happy Thursday, and welcome to a new Zen Dog Spotlight with adorable and sweet lab mix Sloany! She is absolutely a little love and brings a smile to everyone who meets her. Sloany always enjoys her walks with our DogZenergy team members, and the feeling is mutual. She is such a good girl, always ready for her next adventure and did we mention how photogenic she is! Sloany the floor is all your!

State your full name and let us know a bit about your background.  

"My name is Sloany Pittman, I am 8 years old and I am from West Lafayette, IN. I am a black lab mixed with a lot of other dogs, but the vet thinks I am primarily mixed with grey hound. I moved here with my mom and dad almost 3 years ago and one of my favorite parts about living here is being able to dig in the sand at the dog beach!"

 What’s your favorite toy and why?

"My favorite toy changes with which ever toy is newest and squeakiest. Right now my favorite toy is my red giraffe that my mom and dad bought me after I had my knee surgery in February."

What does your typical day consist of, and what would your ideal day include?

"Every morning I wake up and the first thing I think about is a Greenie. I guess it's a treat that is supposed to be good for my teeth, but I just think it's delicious. Sometimes if my mom and dad sleep in, I have to stare at them really close in the face until they open their eyes and then I can remind them that it's time for my Greenie. Then I get my breakfast and get a short walk outside with my mom, or sometimes dad. Usually mom and dad have to go to work and it makes me sad because I would love to spend all day with them. Thankfully the girls from DogZenergy come to hang out with me and take me on walks and give me tons of belly rubs, so days that mom and dad work aren't so bad."

 Who is your best friend and how did you meet?

"Well I don't want to hurt any feelings, so I will say my best friends are my mom and dad...but it's actually my mom. We met when she was at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She came in to the shelter where I was living with my brothers and sisters for a couple of months. I gave her my best doe eyed look and she didn't stand a chance. I went home with her that day. Mom and I met dad about a year later and I was a little shy at first, but now he's one of my favorite humans."   

What is the one question you wish your human would stop asking you, and the one question you wish your human would never stop asking you?

"I never want my human to stop asking me if I want to go on a walk. I live for my walks outside with my humans. I really wish my mom would stop asking if I'm ready to go to the vet, though because no, mom. I am never ready to go to the vet."

 If you were going to win an award at the "Oscar Pet Awards" would you want to win it for  1.) Cuteness 2.) Heroism/Courage 3.) Sassiness 4) Loyalty 5) Fashionista.  Give us a quick example/story of why we should pick you!

"I would definitely win the award for sassiness. For example, whenever I am getting belly rubs and the human gets tired and stops, I just have to shoot them a look to let the human know that the belly rub is not over and then the human will keep going. Also, I let mom and dad sleep in my bed with me because I love them, but I definitely let them know that I need my room."

Any other insight you would like us to know?  

"I am very thankful for the girls that help take care of me at DogZenergy. They always treat me like the princess I am and let my parents know how I'm doing while they're at work. I know my mom and dad are thankful to them as well especially with mom's busy job as a registered nurse and dad's busy job being a Marine Corps pilot. I am sure my mom is especially thankful to Karen for putting up with all of her last minute scheduling changes. :)"

A big thanks to Soany and her mama Courtney for participating in this week's Zen Dog Spotlight!

How to walk yourself on a leash.

A collar and leash on a dog seems so natural and most people wouldn't think twice about just throwing a collar on a puppy and pulling them out the door on a leash. However, it's important to remember that a collar and leash is far from natural for a dog to wear. Take both of your hands right now and tighten it around your neck, then try to push your head forward against your hands as if pulling against a leash. Notice how a little panic starts to set in when you feel like you can't breathe. Next, put a rope around your neck, or if you're really brave, a metal prong collar and a leash. Then ask a friend to lead you around wherever she wants to go. Next, walk past a bear that's on the loose, or better yet someone who's running at you with a knife and try to pull away from the leash. Not fun to be scared and choked at the same time with no where to run, eh?

Some would say that I'm anthropomorphizing this scenario, but all I'm trying to do is put you in your dog's shoes, or paws, for a second. It makes me absolutely cringe to see people wildly yanking on leashes and dragging their dog around without proper cues or consistent directions.The key to a well behaved dog on a leash is to also be a well behaved human. Be consistent about which side you want your dog to walk on, hold the leash at the same length for walking in a heel position and let the leash out to the end when releasing your dog for a sniff and pee break. Teach your dog the heel command without a leash in your home at first by leading him around with a treat held by your side. Then introduce the leash in your home and each and every time your dog pulls, come a dead stop and wait till your dog takes the tension off and then move forward. Once your dog is understanding the concept of a loose leash and the heel command, start working outside with the same consistency and patience. Teach your dog to follow you by switching directions often. Teach your dog to give you attention when he is startled by a stimulus or when he is nervous around other dogs. Use the kissy noise, or a cue like "this way" when you want to switch directions or "wait" when you want to come to a stop.

Whatever you do, avoid a never ending game of tug-of-war and if you don't want your dog to pull on the leash, show him the same respect by not pulling on him. Think of the leash merely as a safety device, in fact, just wrap it around your waist if the habit to pull is so deeply engrained. Imagine in your head an invisible loose leash and use your signals with your voice, hands and body to convey that there is an invisible wall that extends from your side that your dog must not cross. Leave your phone at home or in your pocket when you take your dog for a walk. Majority of dogs, will take advantage of their human being distracted and will pull or lunge like crazy when their human is talking on the phone. It may take a long time to break the habit of pulling, but the proper tools, a lot of patience and a lot of understanding will have you well on the way to enjoying walks with your best friend again. We're here for you if you'd like to learn how to make walks fun again!