Session One:  ​

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THE MAJOR COMPONENTS THAT MAKE A DOG A DOG

Digestion: Let’s start with something we can all sink our teeth into: the canine digestive system. We will look at the parts that process all of the food that energizes your dog, from teeth to anus, with stops along the way in the stomach and the intestines.

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Circulation: All of that energy from feeding needs to get moved around, so we will look into the circulatory system. You may think your dog is all heart, but there is so much more in the blood and the vessels that carry that life sustaining fluid.

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Movement: Much of that food energy distributed by the blood ends up in muscles to move about, and the skeleton without which the muscles would be just a quivering mass on the floor. No, you won’t have to learn the names of all 200 bones and 600 muscles, but knowing how they work will help you know when trouble is developing.

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Thinking: The largest energy using organ of the body is the brain, so we need to look into the nervous system to see what it keeps track of and what it coordinates. We will also take a look at looking, and nose around a bit in smelling, because sensing is different in dogs than us. Same parts, different outcomes.

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Reproduction: Dogs are so wonderful, we seem to always want more of them. What are the parts that go into making more dogs? We will examine gonads (that is a sentence you were not likely expecting) and the parts that move genetic material form one dog to another.

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 Session Two: 

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KEEPING THE MAJOR SYSTEMS WORKING WELL
 

Feeding the beast: What are the important parts of food your dog needs, and why? What happens if there is too much of a good things? What should you make sure never goes into your dog?

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Cardio-Fitness: Why should you worry about canine cardio fitness, and how can you achieve that without getting fit yourself? (Spoiler alert: you can both benefit by improving your fitness from wherever you are now).

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Structure: Muscles and bones need to be fit, too. What are some good exercises to do (besides the best: walking!) to keep your dog limber and strong? Note that best post-surgical rehabilitation happens long before the injury that needed fixing. Start now and beat the rush. Also note that we will look into the biology of the exercises, not just talk strength training techniques.

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Working the Brain: what are some good ways to stimulate your dog’s brain so that mental fitness keeps pace with fit dog? Like structural work, we will look into brain activity to see why different activities are so powerful.

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Breeds: We will look a the biology of breeds and how the different selection for traits has carried some interesting but also some worrisome traits. We will also look at the biology of breeds so that you can figure out what the best breed is. (Another spoiler alert: there is a reason so many breeds and mixes exist! Read the fine print before you get your next dog.)

 

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