My very loved French Bulldog Ronnie has recently been through a traumatic ordeal.
Already suffering from a heart condition which started as a heart murmur from birth. Ronnie developed a lump in his chest. This grew massively over the Christmas period and knowing it could not be normal a visit to the vet let to an emergency operation due to him having a tumour.
His heart condition made the sedation side of the operation more difficult and dangerous and so the worry on the day came from not only hoping they would be able to remove the tumorous lump but also whether Ronnie would come round.
I am a Mum as well as a dog owner and I remember my beloved son also needed a serious operation at 18. Then I had to sign before his operation and again with Ronnie who is now like my other son. I had to sign another consent form.
You must be thinking Ronnie is an old frail dog on reading this. No he isn’t! seeing him and being with him is like being with a lively puppy. He is five….. six on St Valentines day 2019. An Aquarius like my human son and its a perfect sign for him and me a Sagittarius. Happy family is how I describe us, all spiritually in tune with each other. Why are people like us so dog crazy? We love him dearly and the feeling is totally reciprocated it is like a human love totally unconditional.
Money or time does not come into it. All we have is Ronnie and we dread the day we will lose him knowing a dog’s life span is not like ours. This human dog has brought us so much pleasure for five amazing years and may that continue for as long as the universe sees fit.
I would like at this point to mention the benefits of having a dog, I’m so thankful to Ronnie for all the good he is bringing us.
Research has shown that owning a dog has a calming effect on us reducing stress and for some, improving mental health. Dog owners also have a lower rate of cardiovascular disease and stroke as well as a reduced risk of death from other causes. This is probably because having a dog makes you more active.
If that isn’t enough there is evidence that owning a dog can protect young children from developing allergies later in life and makes them happier as a lot of non human hugging and loving goes on which is different. Trust and loyalty bring just some of the gifts.
My dog is incredibly fit and has just been unfortunate health wise, but its important to help your dog exercise, I take mine out daily.
Winter months sometimes make that difficult though, so lets think about what can be done easily exercise wise in the winter.
Most small breeds of dog are high spirited and extremely active. They require more than 1 hour of work out a day, so at least 2 walks a day 1 hour each.
Even bigger breeds of dogs including Dalmatians and German Shepherds require vigorous exercise daily.
As I have previously said winter weather conditions do make it hard to take your dog on a walk especially when your tackling icy roads and fog! But there are other ways to entertain and exercise your dog from home.
First being the well known game of fetch. Its simple and easy and dogs love it.
Make use of your stairs at home, go up and down the stairs with your dog, if you have a treadmill in your home put the dog on it!
It doesn’t just need to be physical exercise, keep your dog’s mind active set food hunts out for them, leave foods or treats in various places around the house, behind doors or under tables.
There are a range of dog toys to help stimulate their minds. Kongs are excellent to keep your dog occupied its a rubber tube that you put snacks in and the dog needs to try and get it out!
Here are some photos of my adorable Ronnie. We take him to the restaurants whenever possible making sure he has a social life. As well as an energetic walk/run. I give him a good walk everyday.
Love my little Ronnie
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