Month: October 2012

Dim the lights, put on some relaxing spa music, light the peanut butter scented candles… you’re on the right path to give your dog a wonderful relaxing and rejuvenating massage! Just like the scent of your candles would be different to appeal to your pooch, so should your massage technique. Dogs are often very stoic creatures, and especially if it is their beloved owner, they will not react or let you know if you are massaging too hard. This is just one tip I learned from a certified professional canine massage therapist who is helping my senior dog feel as good as she possibly can in her golden years. We’ve had wonderful success with acupuncture helping her arthritis and other issues, but after one really amazing squirrel chase resulted in serious injury (of my dog, the squirrel is fine of course), we needed something more. Part of that “more” is massage. While I can’t safely teach you how to give your dog an injury rehabbing massage in a single blog article, what I can do is explain how to give a simple, gentle, and safe massage to a non-injured pet. Gentle massage can have wonderful benefits for both physically for the dog being massaged, and when done by a caring owner or foster parent, can be an enjoyable way of strengthening the bond between human and canine.

Note: This is a gentle massage technique for healthy, non-injured dogs to promote bonding and relieve stress. This should only be done on a dog you know well.

1. Pick a time of day when your pet is most relaxed. For some pets this is after their morning walk, during a mid-day snooze, or at the end of the day before bed.
2. Ask them to lie down in a comfortable, quiet place. If they don’t want to lie down, sitting or standing is fine too, though lying down is best.
3. Start petting them in their favorite spot to be pet. Most dogs prefer their chest, neck, or back. The petting should be slow and soothing, so each stroke of the pet ise a full second. You can count in your head to get the hang of it, saying “one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi.”  Count to ten.
4. The strength or pressure of your stroke should be the same gentleness you use for regular petting – NOT the strong pressure used in a human massage. You can do more harm than good with too much pressure.
5. Move to their second favorite spot, then their third. As they relax, you can try the petting massage on other spots too, like their ears, between their eyes (with your finger tips), their thighs, the sides of their chest.
6. You can cycle through all the spots they enjoyed as long as you both are enjoying it! You can also alternate the petting strokes with small circles using the tips of your fingers.

If your dog wants to move away or shows any other sign of not enjoying the massage petting at any time, you of course should let him or her move away and stop. You can try again another day. Most pets enjoy this kind of “petting massage,” but some don’t, so be respectful of your pet’s desires. For those that enjoy it, but not for long, you can build up the length of your massage sessions slowly. The goal is a relaxed and happy pet!

To get the full benefits of massage, such as increased circulation, decreased muscle pain, enhanced flexibility, and improved autoimmune response, have your dog massaged by a certified canine massage therapist, or have on safely teach you the proper technique on your dog. You can ask your vet for a recommendation to a certified doggie masseuse near you.

We are so happy to share this lovely letter which we received from Moira McLaughlin, from Dog Art Today.  We hope you enjoy reading it, and that you’re proud to be among this community of pet lovers – together we are celebrating all animals as being works of art!  “Thank you, Adopt-a-Pet.com, for all that you do! I am a big advocate for pet adoption. Adopting my new dog, Tyler, helped me heal after the heartbreak of losing my 17-year-old Dachshund, Darby.  I know that charities like yours are responsible for saving the lives of thousands of dogs like Tyler!

I have a theory that dogs are responsible for the creation of art in many cultures.  Just as dogs fended off predators and allowed humans to cultivate crops, store body fat, grow larger brains, and think new thoughts beyond survival, so too, dogs give artists the space to create, the ability to handle solitude, and the motivation to step outside, go for a walk, and look to nature for inspiration.  My video “Dogs in Art,” is a three-minute montage that celebrates this idea.

What strikes me, too, is that the feeling of joy and connection I had working on this video was similar to the feeling I had searching for a pet to adopt: clicking on each new face, discovering more about them, smiling at their smiles or empathizing with their tender looks of hope and concern.   When I think about this parallel experience, I have a new theory; that dogs don’t just help create works of art, but that dogs are works of art.

I hope that Adopt-a-Pet.com can help you find not only your muse, but your masterpiece.”

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Getting ready for a new member of the family? Congratulations! Having a baby is an exciting time that also brings about a lot of change, and not just for you and the other people in your home, but also for your four-legged companions. You can get your feline friend prepared for the arrival of a baby by taking a few simple steps that are designed to make the transition easier.

Cats, like dogs, are used to their pack and will need your help adjusting to the inclusion of a new member. If you do a little work before the baby’s arrival, you will likely make it a smoother process for all, especially for yourself! It will probably be harder for you to support your cat through this change once the baby has arrived, particularly since you’ll be getting less sleep! If these efforts are addressed beforehand, your kitty can be taken care of, ready and happy to welcome home the bundle of joy. Click here for tips on how to prepare your cat for this life change.

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Start your Monday with a big smile! Here’s a happy adoption story sent to us from an adopter who used Adopt-a-Pet.com to find their new furry friend! (Want to help spread the joy of pet adoption by sharing your happy beginnings story with our readers? Email your adopted pet story and photo to info@cms.adoptapet.com.) Here’s an email we received with a great photo from Mary: “Hello folks at Adopt-a-Pet.com,  Here is a little fellow that I found on Adopt-a-Pet.com or better said, you found him for me.  He was shown as “Bravehart”, a Scottish Terrier  found in a kill shelter in Tennessee and rescued by Helping Animals Rescue Team from Franklin, NJ.  He had been neglected and was not in the best of health.  After a visit with my vet, an abscessed tooth extraction, antibiotics, and worming medication he is in tip-top health again.  He is now known as Rory and is enjoying his life in his own home and nice fenced-in yard in the country that he shares with his “sister” Zoey the Cairn Terrier.  He is a very lovable little guy, who wants to be in my company all the time.   He loves his yard, and sits outside and watches the people across the street come and go, and chases the squirrels out of his yard!!  He is a great addition to my home and he puts a smile on my face every day. Sincerely,  Mary from Massachusetts”

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Woof University is our series of pet-related training tips, and this week we’re focusing on what to do if you have a dog who uses his mouth too much! Commonly referred to as “mouthing“, this is not to be confused with biting or aggression. Mouthing commonly occurs during play, times of excitement, or sometimes during a stressful situation. Puppies tend to mouth even more as they learn proper bite inhibition. But left without proper training, mouthing can become a problem or cause someone to become uncomfortable or even afraid of your dog. Click here to watch a video on training tips for dealing with mouthiness, and learn about how you can help curb this behavior!

By using positive reinforcement, you can teach your dog to give you what you want and strengthen your human-animal bond. Please remember to seek the help of a certified, professional, positive-reinforcement based dog trainer in your area for further assistance with mouthiness or other issues.

You, too, can post your pet-related questions on Adopt-a-Pet.com’s Facebook or Twitter page with the hashtag # AskKatya and once a week, we’ll be picking a question to answer with video! Whether it’s a dog training question, how to stop an undesirable behavior, or maybe there is something that your pet is doing you’re just curious to know what it means – feel free to ask us. Did you like this article? Click an icon below to share it on Facebook, Twitter, and more!

Did you know that only 2 % of cat owners found their lost pets at shelters? That stomach-wrenching statistic was revealed in a recent issue of the journal Animals, which published the results of a survey of 1,015 pet households over a five-year period. So where do people find their lost cats? Read on to find out what I learned from our recent first-hand experience with cat finding experts!

When an indoor cat gets outside unintentionally, they are very easily spooked by “normal” outside things like cars, dogs walking by, or even people. But unlike dogs who tend to run when scared, cats are much more likely to find the first hiding place they can and hole up, sometimes for days in a row. So while having your cats microchipped and wearing an ID tag is super important, as is keeping your registered contact information accurately up-to-date, there are important actions you can take once your pet is lost that will increase the chances of your missing cat being found.

So in addition to following the advice in our comprehensive Lost Pet Guide (click here), here are some additional tips for finding a lost cat that has going missing outside:

1. If you can afford to hire a pet detective, and have one in your area, the good ones are worth their weight in gold for their experience. Ask for references, and hire them sooner if you can, before the trail grows cold. You can also consider a local phone calling service like FindToto.com
2. If possible and safe to do so, close your pets in other rooms of your home, and put their litter box right outside your front or back door (cats can smell great distances and they can recognize their scent) and leave the cracked open enough so your cat can squeeze inside late at night, when cats are more likely to be on the move.
3. If you live in a suburban or urban environment: Put a LOST CAT flyer with a photo on every one of your neighbor’s doorsteps, and on their car windshields. Walk around at times when dog owners may be out walking their dogs, hand them a flyer, ask them if they’ve seen your pet, explain how heartbroken you are. The more people that are helping look for your cat, the better chances you are of getting a “sighting” and being able to set a humane trap in that area and catch your cat. This is what worked for Lil C in the poster above, after weeks of searching for her she was trapped inside of a neighbor’s carport just a few houses down from where she escaped.
4. The next day, knock on neighbor’s doors and ask if they have seen your cat, hand them another flyer, and ask if you can look in their garage. (Them looking is not the same thing, as the cat will likely not come out for them.)
5. Set up a cat feeding spot outside your home: a plastic bowl with some of your cat’s favorite food works well. Refresh daily, you can set it in a pie plate of water if ants are an issue. Ask neighbors if they can do the same.  If you notice the food is being touched at all, move the food into a humane cat trap and set it for a few hours each late night. Only set the trap while you can directly monitor it, i.e. you are sitting nearby listening, or watching from your home with a clear view of the trap. Never leave a trap unwatched, even for a few minutes. Sadly, there are cases of mentally ill people who think pouring gasoline and lighting cats in cages on fire is fun. Also, opossums and other wildlife can fatally injure themselves trying to get out of a trap, and should be released immediately if caught.

Don’t give up too soon! Cats are often found weeks after they’ve gone missing. We hope these tips help you find your lost cat!

PEOPLEPets.com and Adopt-a-Pet.com continue working together to raise awareness and promote pet adoption! Each month we feature an adoptable sweetheart on PEOPLEPets.com to help him or her find a happy home. Today we want you to meet Shasta, September’s star! She is a beautiful Weimaraner who was sadly given up by her owners. But the Great Lakes Weimaraner Rescue stepped up to help Shasta, providing her with a loving foster home as she waits for her forever family. She is enjoying playing with her foster brother, and even though she is eight years old she still acts like a puppy! Shasta is friendly and social, adores children, and is fondly referred to as a “velcro dog” because she just wants to be near her people.

We sure appreciate the amazing work that Great Lakes Weimaraner Rescue does! They are an all volunteer, nonprofit rescue group with a mission to help save Weimaraners in the Great Lakes region including Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. They take in Weimaraners of all ages and stages of life, and they go above and beyond to provide them all with the safety, care, and love the deserve.  You can read more about Shasta and how to adopt her by clicking here!

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Who doesn’t love hearing happy adoption stories? (You can email us yours at info@cms.adoptapet.com.) Our day got a lot brighter when we received an email with this sweet note about a family’s newly adopted Yorkie. She found him thanks to one of Adopt-a-Pet.com’s Search Saver emails! “We lost our sweet Yorkie in early December last year and were not sure we could love another, but then you sent me the pix of a little guy picked up in the Tampa, Florida area.  He was being fostered for being underweight, flear ridden and bald!  His foster mother like my adoption application and agreed to hold him until I was back in Florida in February.  Picked him up on my birthday, Feb 12, and we have been inseparable ever since.  He gets along well with my husband and his dog, an adopted Cavachon.  Can’t imagine our lives without him!  He is now a good weight, sleek and shiny, and so happy to be our constant companion.  Keep up the great work! Sincerely,  Judy VZ”

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