Posts
by Dave
1. Prioritize training. Figure out what you need to teach most.
2. Set aside time each day for training. You and your dog will be grateful for the time you invest.
3. Be consistent. Your dog needs to learn what's good and bad.
4. Talk to other dog owners. It sometimes helps to realize you are not alone in your training and it keeps you sane.
5. Read as much as you can on training. Tons of books and websites to help
6. Dogproof your home. The best lesson I learned with training was to dog proof my home so that my dog learned to stay out of trouble.
7. Treats. Make your dog's training your dog's job. Reward them for good behavior and make them earn their food. Be careful though that they don't get fat.
8. Exercise. A tired dog is a good dog and hyperactive dogs need lots of play.
9. Patience. They will learn what you train them. It just takes time.
10. Remember how much you love the dog, so you can forgive their bad behavior and keep working at the training.
About the Author
Proud Owner of a hyperactive dog
KTNV - Las Vegas
A local pet rescue organization is closing its doors in Las Vegas and now the future of about 80 cats and dogs is uncertain.
Marty Ertl, the director of TLC Animal Rescue, says he has been trying to keep his group afloat for a while and he has been having problems with funding and volunteers.
Now he is asking the public and other organizations to help take in some of these pets.
The animals are being housed at the Royal Pet Resort on Russell and Decatur.
If you would like to adopt at pet you can stop by during business hours.
You can also call 702 - 873 - SPCA (7722) for more information.
TODAY contributor Jill Rappaport talks to TODAY’s Natalie Morales about the latest looks in pooch wedding attire.
Today show
So you’ve gone for your final dress fitting at Vera Wang, picked the perfect shade of pink for your bridesmaid dresses, convinced the groom — with all your charm — that the groomsmen ties will need to match that perfect shade of pink, and finally figured out where to seat the crazy third cousin who always manages to embarrass himself at every family function. Now all you need to do is find an outfit for your canine baby. Where do you start?
Get your pup’s measurements (neck, neck to tail, girth). The key to looking good, as we all know, is wearing the right size. Also, understand your pup’s body type. Now I know you are asking yourselves, what do you mean by body type? Well, dogs, just like us humans, come in all shapes and sizes, and to look their best they need to dress appropriately. Everyone hates Chihuahuas because they are the fashion models of the dog world — perfectly proportionate and they can wear anything and rock it! On the other hand, when you have a full-figured breed like a pug, you have to be more considerate about how you dress them in order to show off the right assets.
As a designer to Hollywood’s "A-list" dogs, I am constantly keeping my client in mind while I am designing. You want the dog to wear the clothes and not the clothes to wear the dog. Otherwise they look like they are wearing a costume.
When it comes to selecting the actual outfits, here are a couple options. If you want to do what Hollywood’s celebrity A-listers do, then go designer all the way! When it comes to their pets, celebs stop at nothing to make sure that their dog’s duds make the best-dressed list. You can have your pup’s outfit custom made by your local tailor or by a high-end pet designer to replicate your bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen suits. If you had your bridesmaid dresses made to order, then ask the store for an extra yard of fabric to use in order to make your pup an outfit for the wedding day. It will integrate your little one into the wedding seamlessly, and make a serious fashion statement. If you bought your bridesmaid dresses ready-made, then go to your local fabric store and find the closest match. Your pockets need to run a little deep for these custom options; they start around $500.
Another, more affordable option for styling your pet on your big day would be to find a ready-to-wear outfit at a high-end pet boutique or online retailer. Keep in mind, you’re looking to match the color and/or feel of the wedding party. Make sure that you give yourself at least two months before your wedding to secure your pup’s wardrobe. If you are ordering online, get your order in early in case something does not fit properly. The last thing you need is a four-legged fashion catastrophe on your hands!
When in doubt, go simple. Clothing is not the only route for styling your pet on your wedding day. If your dog is not really a clothing fan then an accented collar, a jeweled necklace or bow-tie matching the groomsmen is a nice way to go. The key is making sure you add an extra-special something to accessorize your pet for this big day. Remember, your pets are an extension of you. You look fabulous and so should they.
Although looks play a key factor in the big day, they are not everything. You have to think about a few other major things. Execution plays a huge part in how things will flow.
First and foremost, make sure things don’t become a circus act! Do not, in any way, depend on your dog figuring out how to walk down the aisle for itself. Unless it has a SAG card, you should have an escort like the flower girl or ring bearer walk it down the aisle.
Also, if your pup is not perfectly trained and is easily excitable, you should try enrolling your little one with a trainer. This needs to start at least six months before the big day to allow time to set in the newly learned skills. After all that, you may still find that your canine baby is just not cut out for the walk down the aisle, even with an escort, and training it may be too much. That’s OK; we are not all born to be in the spotlight.
Don’t stress; there are other options to having your pups walk down the aisle. You can have them there just for the photo ops before and after or just for the ceremony. My husband and I got married in August of 2007 and we wanted our beloved Oscar, a 4-pound Yorkie, to be a part of our special day. Oscar has a rep for speaking his mind and at times snapping when stressed. We knew that our black-tie, 400-guest wedding was not the place for Oscar’s coming-out moment. Instead, we had him take pictures with my husband and his groomsmen while they were all getting ready, and then he came in and took pictures with me as well. Then, after the ceremony, we got a few pictures of just the three of us. It worked out beautifully. We have the memories and the pictures to remind us and capture the experience of the day.
One huge detail that can possibly make or break the day is to make sure you have a dog sitter on the day. You need to have someone there at the wedding who is responsible for your dog and making sure that it is well hydrated and fed, and taking it on bathroom breaks. You will also need someone to take the dog home, or to wherever or whomever will be caring for it. Which brings me to the next don’t: Do not make your dog stay for the entire wedding! For us humans, the day is overwhelming and a lot to take in; for the pooches it is magnified by 100 and can be a huge source of stress for them. So once the ceremony and initial photography is done, call it a day and send it packing with its doggie bag!
Our dogs are a great source of love and peace for most of us animal lovers. They have the gift of calming us and at the same time bringing us into the present. This is a key element that can really help you relax on the day of your wedding. Have your pup in the room with you when you are getting ready. You are about to take one of the biggest leaps in your life; it will be a great source of calm to have your loyal canine companion by your side.
For more on styling your pets, visit www.littlelily.com
MSNBC
What to Feed your Diabetic Cat
by Bob Held
Why feeding a cat the correct diet can help with this health condition. Diabetes is a common disease found in cats. In the vast majority of cases, it is directly linked to a high carbohydrate diet of dry food (carbohydrates convert to sugar). Cats are by nature carnivores. A true carnivore is an animal that lives on a diet consisting only of meat. A cat may consume other products presented to it, but these products are not essential for good health and can actually cause damage to their health. True carnivores have difficulty digesting vegetable matter. The food you feed your cat should be appropriate to cats for the overall health of the animal and should come pretty close to what the animal would normally eat in the wild. In the wild, cats would be eating rabbits, squirrels and mice (meat). They would not go to a cornfield or a rice paddy to find a meal of grain.
Since a cats body is not made to consume a high carbohydrate diet of grains or vegetables, feeding a diabetic cat a high carbohydrate diet is the same as trying to put out a fire with gasoline. Carbohydrates are long chains of sugar molecules linked together. Your cat's normal digestive process breaks up these chains into individual sugar molecules that pass through the intestinal wall and load up your cat's blood stream with sugar. It is not recommend for any cat, much less a diabetic cat to eat any foods whose main ingredients is corn (meal), wheat, barley, rye, oats or rice. This also means no potatoes, carrots, beets, soy, peas, yams or beans. Feeding your cat this is little different than just pouring straight sugar into your cats bowl.
There is nothing magical about a diabetes-management diet for your cat. It is just a matter of finding foods that are low in carbohydrates.
About the Author
Bob Held is the Founder and President of the Wellness Support Network The Wellness Support Network's mission is to help pets with health challenges such as Diabetes. This includes a diabetic medical food to lower blood sugar and addresses the causes for high blood sugar. (http://www.petremedy.com) The company also addresses neuropathy, which is one of the side effects of the Diabetic condition.
Why Man's Best Friend is Man's Best Friend
by Brent Goodman
My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am.
~Author Unknown
For over 15,000 years dogs have worked to earn the distinction of being "man's best friend." Dogs have not only offered love and affection, but worked side-by-side with their human counterpart for centuries. A vast assortment of studies have been conducted to research the physical, emotional, and social benefits of canine companionship.
Physical benefits of dog companionship
* Increase longevity after heart attacks. Dog ownership increases the odds for survival in persons who have had a heart attack from 1 in 15 to 1 in 87.
* Lower cholesterol and triglycerides. People with pets have been found to have lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels when compared to people who did not have pets, even when matched for weight, diet, and smoking habits.
* Decrease blood pressure and reduce stress. Studies of people undergoing stress tests or physical examinations have demonstrated that the presence of a dog lowered their heart rate and blood pressure during testing.
* Increase physical activity and functioning. People who own pets often have better physical health due to the need to exercise and care for their pets.
* Reduce medical appointments and minor health problems. The use of prescription drugs and the overall cost of caring for patients in nursing homes dropped in those facilities where companion animals became part of the therapy.
* Predict seizures. Some people who have periodic seizures have reported that their dogs can sense the onset of a seizure before they can. Now it has been found that dogs can be specially trained to recognize some type of change prior to a seizure, and signal the owner of the imminent seizure. These dogs are called 'seizure-alert' or 'seizure-response' dogs, and can be trained to signal their owners from 15 to 45 minutes prior to a seizure.
* Alert to hypoglycemia. There are also animals who alert their owners to episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which allows the owner to correct the level before serious symptoms develop.
Emotional benefits of dog companionship
* Adjust to serious illness and death. Children often turn to their pet for comfort if a friend or family member dies or leaves the family. Grieving adults who did not have a close source of human support were also found to have less depression if they had a pet.
* Be less anxious and feel more safe. Pet owners tend to feel less afraid of being a victim of crime when walking with a dog or having a dog in the home.
* Relax and reduce everyday stress. Pets can help us relax and focus our attention away from our problems and worries.
* Have physical contact. This ability to have something to touch and pet is very important. More and more studies show how important touch is to our physical and emotional health.
* Lift our mood. Pets decrease our feelings of loneliness and isolation by providing companionship to all generations.
* Feel less lonely. Pets can help ease the sense of loneliness or isolation we feel.
* Have something to care for. Everyone needs to feel needed and have something to care for. Many elderly citizens or people living alone will tell you their pet gives them a reason for living.
* Keep active. Having a pet can help us remain more active. We may not only get more exercise from walking a dog, but we also increase our activity through feeding, grooming, and otherwise caring for our pet.
* Have consistency. Pets provide some consistency to our lives. Caring for a pet can significantly affect our routine and gives us something to do and look forward to each day.
Social benefits of dogs
* Create a sense of closeness and well-being. Families surveyed before and after they acquired a pet reported feeling happier after adding a pet to the family.
* Offer a topic of conversation. A study in a veteran's hospital showed that the residents had more verbal interactions with each other when a dog was present in the room than when there was no dog present. Dogs were also shown to increase socialization among persons with Alzheimer's disease in a Special Care Unit of a nursing home.
* Promote interaction. Residents in long-term care facilities were more likely to attend activity sessions when an animal was going to be present.
Is there any wonder that the bond which began more than 15,000 years ago still exists today? Dogs have an extraordinary affect on many aspects of the human condition. Their ability to act the clown, be non-judgmental, help us feel needed, offer unconditional love and trust, provide an ear to our troubles, and warm fuzzy fur to hold and stroke ensures them the well-deserved title of "man's best friend."
About the Author
Brent Goodman holds degrees in English from Ripon College, a Masters of Fine Arts from Purdue University, and has extensive experience in research communications and educational publishing across various fields of study. He is currently the Senior Copywriter at Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Supplies, the nation's leading online and catalog pet supplier.
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