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Category Archives: dog ownership
Hapless huskies, dumped dalmatians: let’s stop treating pets as disposable
I like this opinion piece which discusses puppy mills, exotic pets and even the link between popular culture (movies, etc.) and the demand for certain breeds of dog.
Mr Barkham (no pun intended) talks about the need to strengthen requirements to underpin a culture that expects responsible pet ownership. My favourite quote “Buying a big pet should be like obtaining a mortgage – an agonising process with loads of ludicrous red tape that ensures we really want the burden of an animal in our lives for a decade or more.”
Click on the link to read more:
‘The Blue Cross has seen a 700% increase in husky-type dogs being given up or abandoned over the past five years, with 78 taken in last year.’ Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA
Posted in animal welfare, dog breeds, dog ownership
Tagged dalmatians, dogs. disposable, exotic pets, films, Huskies, Husky, movies, online trading, pets, puppy mills, responsible pet ownership, Siberian Husky
The ultimate in pet-friendly homes
- Building a new house?
- Does your family include at least one pet?
Well then, Standard Pacific Homes in Irvine, California has the answer for you. For an additional $35,000, your new home can include a pet suite.
Pet suites are all about convenience and include dual purpose cabinets for owner/dog and dedicated laundry facilities so the dog hair stays with your dog’s bedding and coats. There’s even a camera to keep an eye on your dog when you are not at home.
More in this news item:
If I were building in Christchurch right now, I’d be seriously thinking of adding a pet suite to my new home. It would be another way of including dogs in the rebuild!
Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, Canine Catering Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted in dog care, dog ownership, Dogs
Tagged California, camera, Christchurch rebuild, Irvine, pet friendly homes, pet suite, Standard Pacific Homes
What Dog Sled Teams Can Teach Us About Leadership
Dr Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, an international business networking organization, wrote this really interesting piece on leadership. For where you work now, ask yourself – who are the leaders?
SuccessNet Online – What Dog Sled Teams Can Teach Us About Leadership
Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, Canine Catering Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand
The bond between the homeless and their pets
The Lifelines Project, based in Austin, Texas, has a mission: it is to depict the bond between people and their pets by sharing images of the homeless with their animals. This is done through the lens of photographer Norah Levine.
Profits from the project (mainly through sale of prints) go to support 4PAWS (“For People and Animals Without Shelter”), a program run by the Animal Trustees of Austin. The program provides essential veterinary care to the homeless population – things like basic vaccinations, spaying and neutering. If a homeless person’s animal needs urgent surgery, the program aims to fund these needs as well.
The Lifelines Project helps to show that responsible dog owners are not limited to those with employment and a home. Many of the homeless portrayed in the project have a strong understanding of what their pet needs – and they are grateful for the financial support to make it happen.
Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, Canine Catering Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand
Posted in dog ownership, Dogs
Tagged Austin, homeless, homeless person, homeless population, Lifelines project, Norah Levine., responsible dog ownership, Texas
Space bubbles
Have you ever been to a party and someone comes in really close to you and you don’t like it? And you step back….only to have that person step forward again? That’s the concept of personal space and comfort.
Dogs have it too!
Here’s a great video showing dogs with different degrees of comfort and personal space. It shows you how to train a shy dog to become more accustomed to getting close to you as the owner.
The truth about pets and dating
PetSmart Charities, Inc. a nonprofit animal welfare organization teamed up with Match.com, the online dating agency, to survey single people about pets and dating. The results are revealing. Here’s the synopsis:
Posted in dog ownership
Tagged dating, Inc, Match, online dating agency, pets, Petsmart Charities
Bark For Your Park!
There are 15 finalists for this year’s Bark for your Park contest, sponsored by PetSafe.
PetSafe evaluated the availability of land, civic leader support, population size, and the total number of votes in the first round of the contest to come up with the finalists.
The contest supports dog parks because they provide a venue and opportunity for dogs to get vital exercise and socialization they need, which are two major factors in reducing behavior issues. People tend to meet other dog owners, trainers and pet professionals at dog parks and are able to exchange information and resources that can further encourage responsible dog ownership.
You have until July 31 to vote. Popular vote will determine the winner, who will receive $100,000. Additionally, the runner-up city in each small, medium and large category will win $25,000. The Bark from Your Heart award winner, which will be the city with the highest vote to opportunity to vote, will win $25,000.
Winners will be announced on August 7.
The finalists are:
- Auburn, NY
- Beckley, WV
- Carrollton, TX
- East Hartford, CT
- Enfield, NH
- Hattiesburg, MS
- Manassas Park, VA
- Port Chester, NY
- Potsdam, NY
- Sanford, NC
- Springfield, IL
- Sulphur Springs, TX
- Taylor, MI
- Tehachapi, CA
- Waverly, IA
Posted in dog care, dog ownership, Dogs
Tagged Bark for your Park, behaviour, canine behavior, canine behaviour, PetSafe, vote
Pope Francis, with respect, you’ve got it wrong
I was warming up to Pope Francis and his papacy until last week. Vatican Radio reported that fifteen couples, with between 25 and 60 years’ experience in marriage, were in attendance to hear the Pope decree that part of their duties were to abide by fruitfulness – that is to have children. He said:
“These marriages, in which the spouses do not want children, in which the spouses want to remain without fertility. This culture of well-being from ten years ago convinced us: ‘It’s better not to have children! It’s better! You can go explore the world, go on holiday, you can have a villa in the countryside, you can be care-free…it might be better – more comfortable – to have a dog, two cats, and the love goes to the two cats and the dog. Is this true or is this not? Have you seen it? Then, in the end this marriage comes to old age in solitude, with the bitterness of loneliness. It is not fruitful, it does not do what Jesus does with his Church: He makes His Church fruitful.”
Pope Francis seemed to be warming to the role of dogs in our lives with the blessing last year of a guide dog owned by a visually-impaired radio journalist…
Photo by: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images
…and he welcomed the dog of a homeless man into his birthday celebrations.
But this latest directive is a step backwards. I think in a world that is overpopulated by humans, this attitude is misguided. There are many people (some with, and some without, children) who devote their lives to the care of God’s creatures. We should not pass judgment on their life choices.
Does your dog disturb your sleep?
While countless pet owners peacefully sleep with a warm pet nearby, a new Mayo Clinic study, presented this week at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, finds an increase in the number of people experiencing sleep disturbances because of their pets.
A previous Mayo Clinic study published in 2002 reported that of patients who visited the clinic’s sleep center and owned pets, only one percent reported any inconvenience from their pets at night. The new study shows a larger number of patients — 10 percent in 2013 — reported annoyance that their pets sometimes disturbed their sleep.
“The study determined that while the majority of patients did not view their pets intolerably disturbing their sleep, a higher percentage of patients experienced irritation — this may be related to the larger number of households with multiple pets,” says Lois Krahn, M.D., Mayo Clinic psychiatrist and author of the study. “When people have these kinds of sleep problems, sleep specialists should ask about companion animals and help patients think about ways to optimize their sleep.”
Between August and December 2013, 110 consecutive patients at the Mayo Clinic Center for Sleep Medicine in Arizona provided information about pets at night as part of a comprehensive sleep questionnaire. Questions covered the type and number of pets, where the animals slept, any notable behaviors and whether the patient was disturbed. The survey showed that 46 percent of the patients had pets and 42 percent of those had more than one pet. The most popular pets were dogs, cats and birds.
The disturbances by pets that patients reported included snoring, whimpering, wandering, the need to “go outside” and medical needs.
Source: Newswise press release
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