Wanting to include your pet in what you enjoy is part of the fun. We all love to pull up next to a dog in a window at a stop light, quite honestly, it's a relief to see someone not picking their nose at one once in a while. Getting a pet in on the action however can take a minute especially when it comes to some of the more thing we do that a pet would find completely foreign until they get the vibe.
Getting a pet comfortable with a new experience or surroundings has been a repeating topic here on Dog Blessed with Jodi Jarvis-Therrian. The idea of jumping in with both feet is fun for people in some instances but if you are a dog and you come across a kayak for the first time and your owner wants you to jump right in and go for a ride...you might be thinking that it's time for your owner to take a flying leap. Convincing a pet that a car ride is fun, usually....it might even be an easy adventure to get them on a boat to get out and experience some fun, but imagine a kayak? It's plastic...it's takes an awful lot of balance, there's not much between you and the water and your pet parent is back there with this big stick in their hands splashing water around. Something ain't right here, and I ain't getting in that thing.
Master dog whisperer Jodi is coming to the rescue. What she's going to teach ya about getting a large dog in a kayak can be applied to any situation that's "new". Start slow. Let the pet become familiar with what you have and want to do. Be generous with a treat or two in and around what's "new" and encourage baby steps. As familiarity grows, so can your ambition to do more with the pet. This week you are going to get the blow by blow on how Jodi has gotten 2 dogs used to life on the lake in a kayak and how she's made it a fun and comfortable experience for both! Take a listen.
Like anything new or foreign to us, immediate immersion can be a bit much. Slow and steady wins the race and if you'd like to assure that you and your pet enjoy the best relationship there can be, learning from Jodi here or at any of her classes offered through Dog Blessed are an OUTSTANDING way to get more out of that relationship. Next week, we're heading up to The CBD Store of Michigan where Jodi will talk to owner Rod Glupker about CBD for pets and you'll get to meet Paula Smith too! The other half of the Dog Blessed Dynamic Duo! Come on back and see us! Our thanks to Clock's Timeless Pets and Must Love Dogs Boutique in Grand Haven for their sponsorship of Dog Blessed on the Muskegon Channel.