My training goal for 2018 is to have two ambulatory dogs. I already had Mia on anti-inflammatories and acupuncture when Leo needed TPLO surgery in November. I already had the greatest dog step in the world for the car*, and prophetically had trained Leo to use it.
Mia got her own walks for a few days when Leo wasn’t allowed, but he was putting weight on his injured leg immediately after surgery, so he was ready for short walks. And for several weeks, Leo’s prescribed slow, short walks worked out great for Mia.
Now that’s he’s back to his old self, it’s challenging to walk both dogs together by myself. Leo wants to walk faster, and probably should for his ongoing physical therapy. I accommodate this somewhat by attaching Mia to my belt via an 8-foot leash, while Leo forges ahead on his Freedom harness with the leash attached in front and back. There’s still some tangling, and the sense that Mia is getting dragged along faster than she wants to go.
Last night, while on a ball field well away from traffic, I unhooked Mia’s leash, thinking she could trail as far behind us as she needed, but nope, she stayed within about 8 feet anyway.
Today I took her on her own walk, and let her pick the pace.
*I cannot believe I didn’t blog about the Pet Loader. This video was shot a week before Leo hurt himself.
This post is part of the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop. This month’s theme is training goals, but all positive training posts are welcome. The Hop is open until Sunday. Join Wag ‘n Woof Pets, Tenacious Little Terrier, and Travels with Barley each month to share positive training posts, starting on the first Monday of the month and lasting all week.
Kari Neumeyer 
Sometimes the only goal you need to have is to just keep plodding along! I always had to walk our senior beagle Kobi alone, because no other dog could possibly walk as slow as he did. LOL
It sounds like Leo came through his surgery well – yay! And wow, that Pet Loader looks really cool, I’ve never seen anything like that! I was fine with the ramp we had, but that looks a lot easier.
Thanks for joining the hop!!
The Pet Loader is perfect for Leo, who won’t do ramps!
I bet Mia loved getting that solo stroll! It’s so hard to feel like you’re giving everyone what they need when dogs have different speeds. I’m so thankful that both of my dogs go the same speed. My sweet senior nephew pup goes slower than a snail and none of us–not even me–can slow down enough to walk with him, so we do lots of circling back to check in on him and my sister when they’re visiting and get a lot of extra milage in!
I’m glad they are both well enough to walk, at any pace. As for the Pet Loader, I sure wish I had that when we still had mastiffs!
Good goal to have! I hope everyone is back to normal soon. It can be hard to carve out time to walk multiple separately but they usually seem to benefit from it. When we were pup sitting, another dog had a hard time keeping up with Mr. N so I ended up having to carry the visiting pup.
Forward movement is a wonderful goal! Two separate walks are tough… but it sounds like you’re working toward a great solution. And, holy moly, I love that ramp!! Thanks so much for sharing that video. I’ve been looking for something similar to that but just hadn’t discovered the perfect fit, and it looks like this might be it!
You’re welcome! My Brown Newfies had a post a few months ago, rating various ramps, and I could tell this was the only option for us! Very sturdy for big dogs who are wary of bridges and ramps.