Canine Advocacy Network

Canine Advocacy Network Canine Wellness Coaching - When your dog needs more than standard care.

Since we missed his first 8-9 months…I asked AI to generate me images of how he would have looked as a puppy 😩🖤
08/19/2026

Since we missed his first 8-9 months…I asked AI to generate me images of how he would have looked as a puppy 😩🖤

08/18/2026

When we first got Pork Chop I basically had to ride him like a horse to get a medication in his mouth. Both arms around him, sweating, apologizing the whole time, and him absolutely certain I was the villain in this story. It was awful for both of us.

This dog came to us with some PTSD. Not “he’s a little nervous,” actual trauma. So every single thing we asked of him was filtered through a nervous system that had already learned that a lot of things can’t be trusted. Now he takes his meds without flinching. Not because we out-stubborned him. Because we spent months teaching him that when we ask him to do something, it’s because it’s safe. That’s the whole thing. That’s the entire trick and it’s not a trick at all.

How we actually got there… we stopped rushing. We worked below his threshold, not through it. We paid him for tolerating a thing before we ever asked him to accept the thing. We let him opt out and never punished the opt out. We handled his mouth and paws and ears on days when nothing was wrong so those touches stopped predicting something bad. And we kept the sessions short and boring and repetitive until boring was the point. If a dog with that much baggage can learn to sit calmly while someone puts their hand in his mouth… your dog can learn the hard stuff too. Nail trims. Vet handling. Eye drops. The ear cleaning he currently thinks is a personal attack.

You’re not going to force it out of him and you shouldn’t want to. You build it. And please don’t let anyone tell you your dog is “just like that” and you should give up on the handling stuff. That’s not a temperament problem, that’s patience and training nobody bothered to give them…and they deserve it 🖤

Sunday afternoon with Pork Chop 🖤I’ll be honest, I already think about how long I get with him 🥹. He’s a mastiff and he’...
08/16/2026

Sunday afternoon with Pork Chop 🖤
I’ll be honest, I already think about how long I get with him 🥹. He’s a mastiff and he’s 1.5. Giant breeds often only get 8 to 10 years, and that’s a brutal number to sit with, but also not foreign to me after having a boxer.
I also don’t believe that number is fixed, but the most important thing is staying ahead of problems and not waiting until something starts falling apart to treat it.

The stuff that actually makes a difference starts now:
Keep him lean. A long term study on Labs found the dogs kept lean lived almost two years longer than their littermates who were fed more. Two years. That costs nothing (actually it will save you on food…).
Keep muscle on him. Muscle protects joints. Structured walking, hills, varied terrain, controlled play. Not just zoomies in the yard.
Lower the inflammatory load. Omega 3s, real food, less ultra processed junk, and pay attention to the gut because a lot of it starts there.
Body work before you need it. Canine physio, hydrotherapy, massage, laser. Same as us… you don’t wait until you can’t walk to start rehab.
Sleep and stress count more than people think. An anxious dog is living in a low grade inflammatory state all day.
Baseline bloodwork while he’s healthy, so when something shifts you have something to compare it to.
Dental health is NOT cosmetic. That bacteria goes straight into the bloodstream and it wrecks organs.

There’s also more testing available than most people realise… genetic testing that tells you what your specific dog is predisposed to, blood screening that can catch cancer signals before symptoms show up.

Most of us accept whatever number comes attached to the breed and never once ask what else is on the table.
DM me to find out more about customized plans and guidance to give your dog the best chance at a long, happy, healthy life 🙏🏻

Have you ever left the vet feeling more confused and unsure about whether or not you’re making the right decision and wh...
08/12/2026

Have you ever left the vet feeling more confused and unsure about whether or not you’re making the right decision and what you need to do next?

Boxers are supposed to get maybe 10 years if you’re lucky. Cancer, heart stuff, the list is long and everybody with a boxer knows it. Ludo made it to 15 and a half.

That did not happen by accident and it wasn’t good genes. It happened because I walked into every single appointment with a timeline written down, videos on my phone of whatever I was worried about, and a ranked list of what I needed answered. Because you get about twelve minutes in that room and half of it disappears into small talk 🫠

I asked what else this could be. I asked what we were ruling out and what we weren’t testing for. I asked if we were managing a symptom or actually treating something. I asked what this looks like in six months, in two years. I asked what they’d do if it was their dog. And when I didn’t like the answer I asked them to walk me through how they got there instead of just accepting it and googling it in the parking lot.

Then I did the reading. Every time.
“He’s just getting older” is not a diagnosis. Age is the context, it’s not the answer, and I never once let it be the end of the conversation.

You’re not a difficult client for asking. You’re the only person in that room who is there for your dog and nobody else.

Comment VET and I’ll send you the full script I used. What to bring, what to ask, what to say when you’re being rushed out the door.

Most dog owners have no idea how many supportive services are actually available for their dogs.We tend to think our opt...
08/03/2026

Most dog owners have no idea how many supportive services are actually available for their dogs.

We tend to think our options are limited to a traditional vet appointment, medication or surgery…but there’s an entire world of care most people are never told about.

Depending on your dog’s needs, options may include:

• Holistic and integrative veterinarians
• Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine
• Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine
• Food therapy and nutrition consultations
• Physiotherapy and rehabilitation
• Hydrotherapy and underwater treadmill
• Therapeutic laser treatment
• Massage, myofascial release and chiropractic care
• Strength, mobility and conditioning programs
• Behavioural therapy
• In-home veterinary and rehabilitation services
• Pain management, hospice and palliative care
• End-of-life and quality-of-life consultations
• In-home euthanasia
• Cremation, burial, funeral and memorial services
• Grief support for families

Some of these services help dogs recover or manage chronic conditions. Others provide comfort and dignity when a cure is no longer possible. Many also help you give your dogs the best chance at living longer, happier, healthier lives!

Holistic care also doesn’t mean rejecting conventional medicine. It means looking at the entire dog and combining appropriate veterinary treatment with nutrition, rehabilitation, pain management and other supportive therapies.

Your dog doesn’t need to be completely broken down before they deserve support, and you don’t have to navigate their final chapter without help. There are often more options available than people realize. We just need to know they exist.

Which of these services did you not know were available? Comment below! ⬇️

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