When the vet told me Jack needed surgery as soon as possible, I was instantly overwhelmed and felt completely unprepared. Even though my vet was fantastic at explaining all my options, the fact he was going out of town next week combined with the genetic problems Jack had that would complicate his current situation (torn ACL) left me having to make a decision extraordinarily quick.

So on Monday I booked surgery for Wednesday, hoping that within a couple of days I could inform myself of not only the surgery (and if it could be avoided) but also any holistic and alternative treatments that could be done.

I have found it somewhat hard to find the information I was looking for and then when I did find it, I felt really overwhelmed and confused by it all. I’m a “simple approach” kind of girl but then when I started to see all these ideas, supplements, food diets, options I just didn’t know where to start. Luckily I received some really good advice/tips on here (thank you, so, so, much!) and found some really useful bits online.

So after a few days of it all, the following is what I’ve learned and am doing for Jack (and as a note, please check with your Vet before doing supplements or diet changes. I can’t say what will work for your pooch only what seems to be working for mine):

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Since I travel a lot and own both a cat and a dog, I’m often asked what happens to them. Do they travel, too?

Why yes they do!

I’m a huge believer that both pets and children can be great travellers if exposed early enough and done the right way. When I first got my cat Grace, I lived in a studio flat on a beautiful tree-lined street next door to a park. So I put her on a leash and took her out for daily walks just to expose her to different sounds and situations. And since I didn’t have a car, I’d have to take her to the vet on foot which I did by putting her in a large cage that I carried through the city streets - again so she could see everything and get used to noises. She actually seemed to enjoy the outings, especially since she is 100% an indoor cat. She can do long car trips and actually loves being in hotel rooms (she explores then cuddles in).

My dog Jack, however, was different. Spending the first 10 months of his life in a shelter, he had no idea about the outside world, being a dog, or how to walk (his back leg was gimped at first from sitting so much). The day I brought him home, he had no idea how to get into the car and I had no idea how to coax him in! I tried for about half an hour until one of the shelter people came over and helped me literally push him in. He was terrified of the car (sat curled up and panted heavily), terrified of people, terrified of going anywhere. And since I travelled a lot and wanted a walking companion, that would have to change.

I took him to AKC’s Canine Good Citizen classes at the Dog Boys Ranch in Austin TX. I also boarded him there a lot and had him do a lot of day visits just to get used to being social and having the training reinforced since the trainers also worked the ranch. I also took him on lots of day trips in the car to get him used to driving and I took him to shops (he has spent a great amount of time at Anthropologie!) and places that allowed pets to get him used to being around people. All of that along with a lot of patience, Jack has become an amazing traveller - a fabulous walker, happily gets into the car and even sticks his head out the window to boot!

Now that Jack is Canine Good Citizen certified and has had a lot of exposure, having him stay in hotels hasn’t been a problem. At first, he’d do quiet woofs when he heard people walking past the door but through training and lots of hotel rooms, he no longer does this. Bringing in his certificate to check in desks, I’ve had a lot of hotels forgo the “nightly pet charge” they sometimes give. Although I tend to stay either at Kimpton Hotels or Four Seasons - both of which are very pet friendly, have no surcharge and provide treats. But having him certified and knowing he’s a great traveller, I can stay at B&B’s or house rentals with ease.

Now, both pets have driven across country several times, have done lots of day trips, and have stayed in some of the most luxurious hotels around. So here’s what I take and do whilst travelling with them:

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A few days before Christmas I popped into the Humane Society to drop off a donation but I’m sure you can guess how that works; I did leave a donation but I also picked up a dog! It was simply love at first sight and on the way home I promised to do the best for him I could. So I bought the best bed (he has issues with his back legs due to spending 10months of his life in a little cage), the best toys, the best collar, but most importantly, the best food.

With the right t.l.c. the cold he had at the shelter went away, his spirits were good and he began to walk so much better. However, about two months later, I noticed that he had become hyper, had more puppy-like behavior, and would seem to tire so much faster after play. I thought perhaps this was because I was out of town for a week and all the training I had put in went out the door or that he was just becoming comfortable and showing his “true colours.”

Today I took him to a wonderful Doggie Daycare for an evaluation to see how he would be for boarding while I’m gone for the next couple of weeks (a side-note: it felt like dropping a child off for the first time at Kindergarten. Traumatized me more than I thought it would!).

Everyone ooh’d and ahh’d at how cute and sweet he is but when I picked him up, one of the handlers mentioned that he had far too many puppy qualities for a dog his age (now 12 months) and that he was just a little hyper. She asked what I fed him and when I told her, she said that a lot of dogs that come in on that diet seem to be hyper and listen less. They handed me information on understanding your pet’s diet and suggested I make some changes.

This made complete sense to me since, for the first month, his behaviour was great and then, when I ran out of food and had to pick up some generic Iams (the store where I bought the good food was closed), his behaviour changed.

I’ve seen how food can affect health (mental and physical) first hand as I have a severe food allergy to gluten as before being diagnosed a year ago with this allergy I was literally about a month away from being dead. Numerous things happen to my body and brain when I ingest gluten but one of them is that I almost instantly become hyper, angry, with a very short attention span. This goes away after a few hours when other physical symptoms take over as my body literally shuts down. There’s nothing that can make this better except to avoid gluten. So if food can change me like that, why not my dog?

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