PetKnows

Mosby had his first appointment with the acupuncturist last Wednesday. So far, no noticeable difference, but I know that it is rare to see results until the 3^rd or 4^th visit, which is tough when you had over checks after each appointment.

A few observations from the doctor:

• Dog’s bodies were not meant to climb stairs so a house like mine, which has a lot of stairs, is going to be a continual challenge for him.
• Keeping up gentle exercise is important. Since he extreme heat right now makes trips to the park difficult, doing exercises in the house is important. He suggested a few strengthening exercises and recommended taking him swimming.
• Hardwood floors (I have a lot of those in my house) are hard to get up from and using runners and throw rugs should help him.

Mosby loves to wander the house so keeping him off the steps is not easy, and he prefers the bare floors to carpet in the summer months, so I clearly have a few challenges ahead in retraining Mosby to reduce his trips up the steps and to take his naps on the carpeting. I will also try to get him out swimming more while the weather is still warm.

In my continuing research on acupuncture and what to expect with a dog, I came across an article in the New York Times that is worth reading if you are interested in the treatment. I emailed it around to my family this morning and got many responses that they hope Mosby’s old puppy energy will come back, as it did with Otto, the dog in the article.