‘Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.’
– Arthur Schopenhauer, philosopher
…and Happy New Year to all my readers and customers.
Posted in dog quotes
Tagged animals, Arthur Schopenhauer, compassion, good character, good man, philosopher, quotes
I wish I could work at Petplan USA, the pet insurance company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Why? They’re pet-friendly! That’s 24/7 pet-friendly not once-a-year-we-allow-pets-to-come-to-work-friendly.
This progressive workplace allows pet parents to bring their animals to work, creating an environment that is productive and happy. A clear majority of workers surveyed by American Pet Products Manufacturers Association felt that having pets in the workplace leads to a more creative environment, lessened absenteeism and improved the relationship between managers and employees.
Workers who are allowed to bring their pets to work are more likely to work longer hours because they aren’t worried about getting home to their animals. (And let’s face it – America has a culture of working some really long hours – many New Zealand employers are heading in this direction).
Why go pet-friendly? ‘Encouraging our employees to bring their pets to work helps to foster a uniquely creative work environment,’ says Natasha Ashton, Co-Founder of Petplan. ‘Happy employees are productive employees and this ‘perk’ certainly has given us a distinct advantage in attracting new talent. So many prospective employees place a real premium on being able to bring their pets to work as it provides more quality time with their beloved companions and reduces care costs such as dog walkers or pet sitters. Most importantly though, we have found that sharing our office with our pets serves to reaffirm our strong commitment to the good health of pets – both our own and our policyholders’ pets.’
Solid policy is needed if a workplace is deciding to go pet-friendly. Petplan’s Pets at Work pledge includes the following points:
Healthy Paws. All pets must be current on their vaccinations and receive monthly flea and tick treatment.
Manners Please. Pets must be socialized and well-behaved. Aggressive behavior towards people or other pets will not be tolerated and any pet exhibiting such behavior will be asked to leave.
Port a Potty. Dogs must be housebroken and cats should use the litter tray in the mail room. In the event of an accident any damage is the responsibility of the pet parent. If a permanent stain results then said pet parent will be responsible for the cost of hiring professional cleaners to remove the stain. Three accidents and you’re out.
Off Limits. Other people’s food, the front conference room and any communal building areas outside of the Petplan offices are off limits to all four legged workers. If you need to walk your dog please always make sure that they are leashed and that you use the back door to the building and clean up any mess.
Going Solo. Pets are to be supervised at all times. If you know that you are going to be absent from the office for a period longer than 30 minutes then do not bring your pet in on that day.
Chow Hounds. Pets are not to be fed in the offices (that includes pet food and pet treats as well as human food). A water bowl is always readily available in the kitchen.
Puppy Love. Because not all pets get along with each other, as a consideration to fellow team members please send an email out to Internal Workforce the day before bringing your pet(s) into the office, if your pet(s)are selective in who they consider their friend(s).
In the Doghouse. Destructive behavior will not be tolerated. If a pet willfully causes any damage to property within Petplan then they will be asked to leave the office and their owner will be liable for any costs associated with repairs.
Following the above rules will ensure that coming into Petplan every day really is a dog’s life, whether you are a dog, a cat, or even a human.
Many holistic veterinarians are now recommending the use of cranberries in the long-term treatment of pets who are susceptible to urinary tract infections, or UTI.
Diabetic dogs, in particular, seem to develop UTI more regularly than the normal dog population. Spayed females are also more susceptible to infections.
When a dog has a UTI, they often struggle to eliminate urine or, when they do pee, not much comes out. Sometimes blood is seen in the urine, the urine may smell stronger, or it has a dark colour. If your dog has a UTI, then seeing your veterinarian for antibiotics is essential. A urinary tract infection left untreated means your dog is uncomfortable and in pain and if the infection travels to the kidneys, then your dog is in serious trouble.
Cranberries can assist when your dog is being treated for a UTI because cranberries help to acidify the urine which helps to prevent bacteria growth.
But what about prevention? This is where the cranberries come into their own. Not only does the cranberry acidify the urine, but studies show that they have the ability to prevent bacteria from sticking to the walls of the bladder and urinary tract and so they minimise the chance of an infection recurring.
Some owners treat their dog with cranberry powder because the juice is tart and unpalatable. Owners must be careful because lots of cranberry juices are full of sugar (that’s a warning for humans as well as pets).
I’m working on a wheat-free cranberry biscuit recipe now that will feature as the January/February special. I’ve just perfected my recipe and the latest batch is looking great – with the added benefit of no artificial colours!
In order to prevent recurring urinary tract infections, it’s also really important to ensure your dog has lots of fresh, clean water to drink and has lots of opportunities to go outside and pee. For diabetic dogs, care must be given to their daily diet to manage their blood sugars (another reason to watch the sugar content of any cranberry supplements).
I wish we lived in San Diego, California where DOGTV is currently aired on cable television. There are plans for rolling it out to other cable providers but who knows if it will ever make it to New Zealand?
Since I use relaxation music in my massage practice, I know that dogs respond to certain cadences of music and it makes sense that they are visually stimulated by certain movements and shapes, too.
DOGTV offers special content for a dog’s sense of vision and hearing and aims to support a confident, happy dog, who’s less likely to develop stress, separation anxiety or other related problems. It seems a must for the home-alone dog, particularly the younger dogs who have energy to spare when you are not able to be home with them.
DOGTV has been recognised by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
If you are not in San Diego, you can subscribe to a streaming online service with prices that start at US$9.99 per month. Make sure you understand the impact of this on any data caps you have with your internet provider.
Here’s a sample of DOGTV. Bring your dog over to the screen to watch!
For those in the northern hemisphere, Christmas is a winter holiday and why not enjoy it with your dog? Skijoring is a winter sport where a cross-country skier is drawn across the snow pulled by their dog. In some cases, skiers will skijor with more than one dog. In Norwegian, the term literally means ‘ski driving.’
Breeds like Huskies, Malamutes and Samoyeds are obvious choices for this sport, where the owner and dog get their exercise together. However Pointers and Pointer crosses are also good sled dogs (Daisy likes that idea – although at her advanced age she will be a spectator only).
In this sport, the cross-country skier provides power with skis and poles, and the dog adds additional power by running and pulling. The skier wears a skijoring harness, the dog wears a sled dog harness, and the two are connected by a length of rope. There are specialist suppliers of skijor equipment to get you started.
Of course, careful winter paw care is needed and some dogs may be fitted with protective footwear for the sport.
Christmas skijor anyone?
Posted in dog breeds, Dogs
Tagged animals, cross-country skiing, Huskies, Malamute, nature, Norway, outdoors, pointer, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, skiing with dogs, skijoring, winter
Take a look at the chart above. It shows you how to spot ideal body condition on a dog. Earlier this week, I was speaking with someone and she commented that she felt Daisy was too thin. In fact, Daisy had just been to the veterinarian for her health check and was declared to be in ideal condition with an excellent body score.
The problem is that the person speaking with me owns several obese and overweight dogs. She knows her dogs must lose weight, but she has become so accustomed to seeing an overweight dog that a dog in good condition looks too thin to her.
I work with dogs who need to lose weight by recommending exercise programmes combined with making the dog comfortable through massage, acupressure and laser therapies. Dogs don’t get fat overnight; their weight loss programmes take a bit of time too.
Over these holidays, please don’t overfeed your dog. And take the time to review the body conditions listed above. If your dog isn’t in ideal condition, what do you need to do to get them there?
Posted in dog care
Tagged body condition, dog care, dogs, obesity, waistline, weight control, weight loss
A client rang me this week to say that her dog had a major case of runny poos – the runs – or diarrhea to be exact. She said her dog was her normal happy self but was going to the toilet regularly with fairly dramatic consequences – would I keep our massage appointment?
My answer was ‘no’ – not advisable – not because I was concerned that I’d have poo all over my massage table but because this dog’s body was telling us something. Diarrhea is a symptom and not a disorder in itself and the dog’s body was working double-time to rid itself of an irritant. Her system had enough to handle and a massage would only add to her metabolic load as lactic acid was released by the massage. She didn’t need that.
My advice was to withhold food for 12 to 24 hours and to keep up the fluids. Some people add low salt chicken or vegetable stock to the dog’s water bowl to encourage them to drink and keep hydrated, for example. When food was again on the menu, I suggested replacing half the normal volume of food with cooked pumpkin to add fibre to the diet that the dog could easily tolerate and to keep this up for a few days until the stools returned to a normal consistency.
Other home remedies include a diet of boiled chicken with white rice, for example.
Typically, diarrhea is the result of a digestive indiscretion but it can be the result of poisoning from household or garden chemicals, a symptom of parasites such as hookworm, or a food allergy. Some worming treatments can also stimulate a bought of diarrhea.
If a dog has additional symptoms such as lethargy, weakness, abdominal pain, blood in the diarrhea, vomiting and fever then you need to see your veterinarian as soon as possible. In this case, the dog seemed happy in herself and so that was a sign that she was probably not in danger.
A trip to the vet is a good idea if the diarrhea lasts for more than five days or so.
Diarrhea isn’t any fun for the dog owner or the dog. Keeping an eye on symptoms is critically important to ensure you do the right thing when your dog has the runs…
Posted in dog care
Tagged acute, cooked pumpkin, diarrhea, dog care, garden chemicals, health, massage appointment, medicine, veterinary care
Cliff, a Beagle, is a specially trained detector dog working in two Dutch teaching hospitals. He’s been the centre of a major study into detection of Clostridium difficile (‘C diff’ for those who are professionals in the field), an infectious bacteria that can run rampant through hospitals, rest homes and other healthcare facilities.
Symptoms range from mild diarrhoea to more severe conditions like colitis. The bacterium can be transmitted through either personal contact or the environment and the testing for the bacteria is time consuming.
The research involved 300 patients, 30 which had C diff infection. Cliff was guided along the wards by his trainer and the trainer had no idea if the person was infected or not. Cliff was trained to sit or lie down when C diff was detected.
The Results? Cliff was an expert at identifying infections of C diff – with around 90% accuracy – regardless of whether he was sniffing out stool samples or identifying infected patients in the hospital. Cliff is only one dog, but with these results, the concept of using dogs to identify C diff infections has been proved.
This comprehensive video explains Cliff’s training and the research:
Source: British Medical Journal
Posted in dog breeds, research
Tagged beagle, Cliff, Clostridium difficile, research, YouTube
Dogs have a connection to many human events. In the case of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, dogs have helped to provide comfort to the residents left traumatised by the mass shooting there last week.
Comfort dogs, typically Golden Retrievers, have been sent to the area to work with the children and adults to help them through their grief and loss.
The unconditional love and support given by dogs to humans is well documented, with physiological effects such as a lowering of blood pressure proving the impact that petting a dog can have.
Given what has happened in Newtown, any comfort that can be directed to this community will be welcomed.
Posted in special dogs and awards
Tagged Comfort Dogs, Connecticut, Golden Retriever, Lutheran Church Charities, Newtown, shooting, trauma
In this busy holiday season, remember that the affection your dog shows you is absolutely FREE! Don’t buy anything today – simply enjoy time with your dog.
DoggyMom.com 