Yesterday I attended the Whisker Walk in Lancaster which is a fund raising event for area shelters. There were so many dogs of all shapes and sizes taking in all the sites and sounds! It was so nice to see all the dogs getting along so well and being so close to each other! On the other hand it was sobering (or just plain sad) to see so many – maybe 30-40% – still in prong/pinch collars and choke chains. Anyway, there were several very interesting businesses displaying their wares. One that really sticks out was a photographer who did 3-D images with a special camera he designed. I really felt I could reach out and touch the dog in the picture! It was a good time and I saw some familiar faces and met some new ones. Hope you get a chance to go next year.
Archive for the ‘MetroWestDog’ Category
Whisker Walk Tons of Fun
June 8, 2009Stem Cell research for dogs
April 5, 2009If your dog is suffering from arthritis and meds aren’t doing the trick. There are several alternative methods to ease the pain and keep your dog moving. One method that worked great with one of my dogs was acupuncture. Today stem cells can be used as treatment as well. For about $2,500 (a wee bit more than acupuncture treatments) your vet can extract fat tissue from your dog and send it to a special facility near San Diego. They process it and send it back for your vet to inject into your dog. They make no promises but many dogs who have tried the treatment are responding well.
Spring Fever – Training Tip 1
March 29, 2009Couped up all winter. Time to spread our wings (or feet) and run. Fido wants to explore his world beyond the fence. So what happens when you let him free to run and taste the spring weather? Well for one thing he may have forgotten what a long distance “come” command is for. What to do? Here’s a suggestion that I’ve heard twice within the past year and think may have some merit. Kneel down with your head close to the ground and pretend to whisper to the ground. Or pretend to be injured and roll around on the ground. (Yeah, I know – gross.) But what if your dog actually returned to you? That’s basically what you called him for anyway. The reason this might work? IF you’re so vested in what’s on the ground, it must be pretty good and Fido will want to check it out too. What do you have to loose? Your dignity, perhaps? Really… that was gone when you started chasing your dog down the street!
Weight Gain – It All Adds Up
February 19, 2009According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention over 44% of dogs a estimated to be overweight or obese. Does this really surprise anybody. First it’s widely known that about 50% of the people population is overweight. So it would make sense that if people consider their dogs part of the family that they too would be packing on the pounds. Second, it’s winter. It’s more difficult to get out there and go for that long walk or play outside. It’s cold out there! It’s harder to get around in all that snow.
We all know that added weight – whether you’re a dog or a person – is a leading cause of preventable disease like arthritis and diabetes (being the most well known). So now that winter is on it’s way out we can start psyching ourselves up to get out and get moving. The good thing about dogs is that they don’t think of it as exercise, they think they’re having fun.
Poo on Xmas?
December 15, 2008Two funny or sad (I’m not sure) ways to decorate your tree. http://www.week.com/news/local/35427334.html?video=YHI&t=a
http://www.prankplace.com/yuledoo.htm
Off Leash Dog Park in Newton
December 7, 2008Newton just got their first off-leash dog park. Congratulations! Thanks to Gary Lubin for letting us know.
Several metrowest communities have either official or unofficial places for dogs to play together off leash. It’s can be a great experience for many dogs.
November is Canine Cancer Awareness Month
November 25, 2008As a person who has lost 2 dogs to cancer within the last 6 years it’s no surprise to learn that cancer is one of the top reasons for loss of a dog. Most reports say the reason is that dogs are living longer. I’m not 100% sure of that. Think about all the chemicals and poisons around us and them everyday. I think this has lots to do with it, too. These chemicals and poisons are things we don’t even think about and just take for granted as part of our everyday life like household cleaners, lawn fertilizer, car exhaust fumes and (over) vaccinating our dogs. Poisons like the flea and tick preventions we squirt onto their skin. These things are not natural to an animal (and they’re not natural to us, either!) I certainly hope cancer detection methods improve and cures are found for all of us.
http://www.fetchacure.com/cancer.html
Dog Talk
August 3, 2008When we live with a dog (or dogs) we communicate with them whether or not we realize it. We get in sync with them and recognize a certain barking and what “those” eyes mean. But our dogs are communicating with us all time and we barely recognize it. Like humans, they mostly use their body to signal us and other dogs. (We do this with a raised eyebrow or hand gesture.)
Earlier this summer I met a woman named Maureen who does animal communication. Her business is called Animal Translations and can be found on the MetroWestDog.com website. I was curious how this type of (mental telepathy-like) communication worked and how it was different than the more scientifically studied body language communication. It’s much more personal.
I sent her photos of my dogs and she did her magic. (It was pretty magical!) Some of things she told me about I already knew but hadn’t told her about. She told me that my yellow lab mix was missing the old dog. I kind of had a feeling that he felt that way – but I think I’m pretty tuned in to my dog’s emotions, body language and eating habits. What I wasn’t expecting was a reference she got from him about alligators in Florida. It was mind blowing! There had been a story on the morning news about an alligator that attacked a guy. (I talk to my dogs – as I’m sure you do) and I said to him that the guy was pretty stupid to go into the water when he knew there were alligators in there. My dog let me know that he understood. Wow!
She also told me some things about my other, recently adopted dog. She said he had had an injury to his right hind leg but it was never taken care of. I wasn’t so sure about that because he has a limp that I thought was coming from the right FRONT leg. Anyway — I took him to a doggie chiropractor to see if there was anything that could be done about the limp (as it could affect his spine) and she told me that she could feel the muscles in his right hind leg were not right and that he must have had an injury at some point. OMG! I then told her about what the doggie communicator had said and we were both pretty amazed!
(To read a little more about canine body language see a related article from the Dover-Sherborn Press:
