Competent...Not

So once again I leave the shelter with an uneasy feeling. I worry about the staff running this particular shelter. Today I inquired about my idea of having the high energy dogs wear a mildly weighted backpack on their walks to increase their energy output since what they really need, a fast jog for half an hour or more, I can't give them. I don't have that level of fitness yet. The answer was no, as expected, but that's not why I'm upset. I was expecting to be told no. I'm upset because of the reasons given for why I can't use the packs. They don't want to build a better athlete in the dogs. Now I suppose to the average joe with no education in the building and strengthening of muscles that MIGHT seem like reasoning of solid foundation. It's not. For starters the dog is already an athlete by design. Not using the energy and athleticism it is born with will not reduce the level of athleticism it will simply store up all that energy not being used and let it be manifest in what we often view as 'bad behavior' like jumping spinning and pulling. Secondly, to build a 'better athlete' you must build up the muscle, which takes large amounts of weight and lots of repetition. You have to max out the amount of weight you can lift and then increase it from there. The doggie packs are not designed for this and you would have to overload them. They ARE designed for small/medium amounts of weight that do not even approach the threshold for building muscle which means that you are keeping the muscle tone and defined but not increasing the athleticism. The lady did suggest I roller skate and have the dog pull me instead. This is a great suggestion if I could roller skate but it is contradictory. Having to pull the weight of a person(even if on wheels) would be more weight involved than a pack combined with the exertion of running and MORE likely to increase the dog's athleticism. Her one intelligent comment was that adding weight to the dog's back to cause injury. This is correct if the pack is used irresponsibly and poorly designed. Sometimes I wonder just how much of the shelter is actually about the animals....I feel a little calmer now that I've written all this out.

On to the doggie of the day!

Only 8 months old this little Yorkshire Terrier is a doll! He naturally fell in at my side walking loose leash, is a curious chipper guy and absolutely lives for your attentions! He's perfect for an owner that wants a small dog, a puppy, and to get one with no bad habits to unlearn!