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Letters: December 1998

if the dog gets soaked

No-Slip Dog Collars

No-slip collars are another special-purpose training tool that can be valuable in certain cases. I use only positive reinforcement training methods, and generally don’t allow the use of choke chains in my training classes. But occasionally a student explains that she uses a choke chain because her dog slips out of a regular collar unless it is tightened to the point of the dog’s discomfort. In the interest of helping people who have found themselves in similar circumstances, I tested three collars designed to prevent dogs from slipping away. However, these collars prohibit unlimited choking, making them much more humane options than standard choke collar.

Deworming Products and Parasite Control for Dogs

Manufacturers of deworming products have gone out of their way to let us know that, left unchecked, these pesky parasites can plague dogs that are in poor health, rob them of nutrition, attack vital organs, and cause unthriftyness, illness, and even death. If a dog's health is poor and he is hosting an uncontested parasite population, all sorts of bad things can happen. It is important to protect our dogs from parasites, but as it turns out, protection largely follows as a result of building the dog's overall health. Toxic dewormers may be unnecessary to dislodge what few worms a strong and healthy animal might have.

Alternative Acupuncture Therapy To The Rescue

Bruno was probably not more than four weeks old when found abandoned on a Hercules, California street corner. But the people who found him knew just who to call: Marilynn Hanson, a professional pet-sitter and shelter volunteer. While Hanson is often tempted to bring home the hard-luck cases she sees in the shelter, for practical reasons she usually resists. But she couldn't help but respond to this tiny foundling, taking the green-eyed pit bull-cross home right then and there, and named him Bruno.

Dogs With The Blues

Yesterday, we lost our dearest friend, Emmett. He was 13 and everyone loved him. He was kind and patient – you know, the strong, silent type. Gracie, his sister and a beagle “bon vivant,” just ADORED him. She would use him for a pillow, a step stool, a cuddle buddy, and her all-around favorite fella. They would play for hours in the back yard and even though he was an old man, he could really wear Grace to a frazzle. She has figured out that he won’t be coming back. She mopes, she sighs, and she tries to get her other dog-sister to play with her, but Annie (the sister) just isn’t the touchy-feely type.

Back Massage Techniques for Dogs

Most dogs are used to our touching them with randomly placed pats on the head or back. If you think about it, however, the primary result of this brief contact is communication. Petting your dog is one way we thank them for a job well done and convey our love or appreciation for them. Massage and other forms of touch are also ways to communicate with your dog, but in a very different manner than petting. When carried out consciously with quiet intention, the methods I will show you in this article will convey your affection AND communicate in a deep manner with the physical structures of the dog's body.

Microchip Your Dog to Get Him Home Safe

Two stunning standard poodles, one pure white, the other charcoal gray, were wandering loose on Santa Cruz’s Seacliff Beach in early June, not far from a busy road. Jeff, the concerned citizen who corralled the dogs, was dismayed to find they had no tags, so he was unable to return them to their home. He put a “Dogs Found” ad in the newspaper and kept the dogs for three days, sure that someone would be looking for such wonderful animals, but no one called. With some ambivalence, he loaded them into his car and delivered them to the nearby Santa Cruz SPCA. They are obviously well-loved dogs, he reassured himself. They will be safe; the owner will come for them.

Non-Traditional Treatments For Dogs

Like many of the people who use non-traditional treatment modalities for their dogs, Richard Beaton and Sue Kelly never planned on calling anyone but their regular veterinarian when their dog Titan first hurt his back. And if Titan, a purebred American Cocker (also known as Bryant’s Triumphant Escapade CDX,JH,SH,WDX,CGC,TT), wasn’t in the midst of an obedience career when he began having gait problems associated with his injury, his owners may have been content with heeding their regular veterinarian’s advice for treating Titan.

Answers From Experts – 04/98

In the early days of my holistic practice, I tried, like you, to tell people that they had to feed their dogs raw meat. I found, like you, that the idea scared some people so much they would leave my practice. I agree that a raw meat diet is the healthiest for many dogs, though there are always exceptions; dogs are individuals, after all, just like humans. But now, I’m more gentle and flexible about my diet recommendations, and I try to take a gradual approach with people.

Answers From Experts: November 1998

a dog trainer and animal behavior specialist from Beverly Hills

Traditional Veterinary Medicine Mixed With Holistic Treatments

For Star, an eight-year-old Springer Spaniel cross, life hasn't always been easy. But thanks to treatments by Pedro Rivera, DVM, of The Healing Oasis Veterinary Hospital in Stutevant, Wisconsin, Star's life glimmers again. In addition to traditional veterinary medicine, Dr. Rivera often treats his animal clients with chiropractic, homeopathic and Chinese remedies, and glandular therapy.

Dog Massage 101

Dogs that compete in field trials, agility or herding competitions or those that play fly-ball or Frisbee automatically come to mind as canine athletes. Then there are seeing-eye dogs, rescue dogs, police dogs, drug dogs, and a host of others whose work is just as athletically challenging. It is easy to understand how these top performance animals might benefit from massage. The fact is, however, that even our four-legged friends who aspire to perfect their skills as couch potatoes are athletes in their own right.

Latest Blog

How to Improve Your Dog’s Leash Manners

I occasionally teach a “leash manners” class at my friend’s dog-training center. In the first class, their hands are all over the place, and cues are, “NO! NO! STOP it!” I almost always see a tiny improvement in week two.