For animal lovers

[misskitty]

Originally Posted by Uncle David

misskitty, want to trade?

Nope. She's priceless.

This is really interesting:

Cats might protect owners against heart attacks.

A pet kitty can offer unconditional love, companionship, and -- if the results of a study from the U.S. are right -- some protection against heart attack or stroke.

The study found that cat owners may be less likely to die from heart attack, stroke or other types of cardiovascular disease.

And in a strange twist for dedicated cat lovers, the study found no lowered death rates among dog owners.

Researchers in Minnesota analyzed the health information of 4,435 participants in the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Study, an ongoing national government health research.

A little more than half the participants were either current or former cat owners.

They found that, over a 20-year period, those participants who had never owned a cat had a 40 per cent greater risk of death due to heart attack and a 30 per cent higher risk of death to due to any sort of cardiovascular disease than current cat owners or those who had previously owned a cat.

The researchers said they adjusted their results for differences in age, blood pressure, smoking status, diabetes, cholesterol levels and body mass index.

The researchers conclude that "cats as pets may represent a novel strategy for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in high-risk individuals."

The study was presented Thursday at the American Stroke Association meeting in New Orleans.

CTV.ca | Cats might protect owners against heart attacks

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[queenb]

Originally Posted by Chickngirl

Also, I'm wondering if I should somehow give her LESS room in her crate. When she is curled up asleep in it, she takes up only about 1/3 the room. But any shorter crate we looked at wasn't tall enough- she's very long-legged for how little she is.

When my sister crate-trained her puppies, they were so much smaller than their adult Boxer sized crates that the breeder did recommend dividing the crate into a smaller area, so they didn't have room to make a mess and stay away from it. They even make crates that come with dividers to "grow" along with the puppy.
Maybe you could look up some professional advice information on crate training. I know it does work and does not bother the dogs.I would get the vet check too though.

Misskitty, I saw that article earlier about the heart attack and stroke prevention-- interesting, and I'll keep researching here too. It's working for me so far.

[misskitty]

Originally Posted by queenb

Misskitty, I saw that article earlier about the heart attack and stroke prevention-- interesting, and I'll keep researching here too. It's working for me so far.

I've heard it's the purring that does it. I'm glad I have 3; my heart should be just fine! I just wish my Dad would have kitties. Whenever he visit, they just calm him down and make him smile immediately.

Animals are such great therapy; dogs or cats or bunnies. It would be nice to see more programs for them to interact in offices, seniors residences, children's hospitals, and maybe even Alzheimers wards.

Chickngirl: I hope you find something that works for you and your puppy. Soon.

[myrosiedog]

I was just outside with the dogs and Waldo and his stick. He has the stick in his mouth and he keeps running up to Bogie with it and then running away like he's taunting him. I can just hear him: "i've got a stick, I've got a stick, and YOU don't have one". Only problem with this? Bogie could not care less about sticks. It made Waldo happy though, so I guess that's all that counts in his mind.

[PGM35]

Originally Posted by Chickngirl

My husband HAD to get a toy fox terrier from the pound. We've now had her 5 months and it seems she has become UNhouse-broken.

We've tried both leaving her in her crate while we are gone OR leaving her and the other dog gated in the kitchen. The gating in the kitchen worked a little better, until she chewed her way out. In the past 24 hours, she has peed in her crate twice, peed on my son's homework (what a twist on the whole "my dog ate my homework"); pooped in the bathroom twice (once while The Husband was cleaning her cage), and I this morning I found that while she was out yesterday after her escape she had jumped up on the fireplace and peed on it.

I am LITERALLY at my wits' end. We've tried taking her out and standing with her. We even bought her a coat and a sweater (she ate them) because she hates the cold. I know she can hold it eight+ hours because she will do it at night if she's in our bed.

Please help. The dog is very entertaining, but I can't have this.

I pretty much have my dogs trained to go when I want them too. Both poop and pee. I get really excited and give lots of praise when they go outside. Normally, I get up and let them out. Praise them, give them mini-treats and then they (D.Bo and Jaxi) get crated during the day. I let them out at lunch time, same thing, I "tell" them to go...praise, treat. It took awhile but it helps me out in the mornings and night knowing they have "done" their business. I think the more you take her outside, the more often she'll go outside and maybe associate going "out" with "going" out. Good luck!

[Gutmutter]

I read somewhere that even though cat's sleep so much the reason they are in good shape is because purring tones their muscles. Did we discuss this here? The pitch/vibration of the purring transfers to humans if the cat is in physical contact. As of tomorrow I'll be down to 4 pets. Yinyang my elderly queen (long haired white), Kimono my teenaged Siamese, Taro my Japanese Chin who is snoring on the bed as I type, and Hedwig - a white parakeet who has thrived through impossible conditions - teens burning pizza in the next room, freezing temperatures last year when we lost electricity to name a couple. Henri, the hedgehog died this year. Chipper the guinea pig returned to my Little Sister after a year of me "babysitting" when they moved into subsidized housing, and tomorrow Frosti goes back to his home. He is getting non-stop loving from me today and is draped around my neck right now. I wish I could keep him, but he's not mine to keep.

[brunette trixie]

My dog Chico did the oddest thing yesterday. Whenever I take him out in the morning, he always gets a yummy (treat) for taking care of his outside business. When I came home after work, he still had his yummy, he never ate it. He then proceeded to tear around the house, running back and forth, taunting me to try to take his yummy back. Between me laughing, Chico growling and running around like a lunatic, it took almost 20 minutes to get his leash on for his walk. He dropped his yummy on the indoor mat when we were walking out the door, and he gobbled it up as soon as we came back in. Silly pooch.

[ArchieComic Fan]

Originally Posted by brunette trixie

My dog Chico did the oddest thing yesterday. Whenever I take him out in the morning, he always gets a yummy (treat) for taking care of his outside business. When I came home after work, he still had his yummy, he never ate it. He then proceeded to tear around the house, running back and forth, taunting me to try to take his yummy back. Between me laughing, Chico growling and running around like a lunatic, it took almost 20 minutes to get his leash on for his walk. He dropped his yummy on the indoor mat when we were walking out the door, and he gobbled it up as soon as we came back in. Silly pooch.

I almost thought you were going to say he didn't eat it because he did his business in the house . It's so funny how our pets develop routines. Whenever my husband opens the cupboard that holds the coffee cups, our dog knows. He gets so excited and jumps up and down because it usually means he gets to go sit outside on the porch while husband drinks his coffee. When I open the cupboard the dog knows it means "butt planted on couch watching tv" so he doesn't even get up.

[Rattus]

Originally Posted by ArchieComic Fan

It's so funny how our pets develop routines.

So very true. We recently added canned food to the boy's regular diet of assorted kibbly things and freeze-dried wild salmon (wildly expensive, but they love it). So now, every opening of the fridge door, which previously meant absolutely nothing to them, now has them appearing as if by magic from other ends of the house to sit behind me as I root through the contents of the vegetable drawer with the most expectant looks upon their furry little faces.

One great upside to this sort of behaviour is that every night in the warmer weather, all I need to do is go to the back door at 7:30, call "Harvey, Finley, dinner", and they come tearing around the corner, nearly knocking me off my feet, so I can feed them and shut them in for the night. Such good boys.

[prhoshay]

The visual of them running home for dinner is hilarious! What cuties! And they come stomping at full gallop!!

Strange occurence yesterday. I opened a can of tuna, and NOBODY came. That is a first. They can usually hear you, very quietly/sneakily, even opening a yogurt carton. The main, troublemaking stalker gurl eventually ambled down, and she got all of the tuna juice. Oh well.......