Tag: routine

Nature as Healer, We Need to Protect Peaceful Places

"Want Better Health? Go Outside," read the headline in a recent Next Avenue article. The author, Elizabeth Marglin, summarized some of the recent research on the benefits of spending time in natural settings.

Natural settings not only lower our stress levels, they encourage us to get up and move, may help lessen depression, and other forms of mental distress.

Anyone who walks a dog in the city knows that getting out and about increases your opportunities to socialize with friends and neighbors. This interaction also has a positive impact on our mental health.

For city dwellers, parks are our connection with nature, but every year these retreats become less serene and peaceful. Sitting or walking in the Boston Public Garden should be a restful experience.

Both of these photos were taken in the early morning when the park is at its peaceful best. Unfortunately, if you need a break in the middle of they day, your peace will be interrupted by the sounds of people using the space as an entertainment space. Their sounds will be imposed on everyone within earshot.

As special interest group, after special interest group make their case on why they should do what they want in any given space, the only group being ignored are those who want a few protected, passive places to relax, sit on a bench, read, hold a conversation, study, draw, do yoga or Tai Chi in a natural setting, or just chill.

We need fewer events, more enforcement of existing rules, and some areas set aside as protected, passive spaces. Then we can all use the magic of nature as part of our healthy living routines.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

August 4, 2017
Maybe It’s Not Old Age That’s Slowing Down Your Cat or Dog

When we come across the same interesting information twice in one week from two different sources, it quickly becomes a research topic for a future column. In this case, it was a story in The Bark by Karen B. London, PhD, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Certified Professional Dog Trainer, reminding us that illness in an older pet can go unnoticed and untreated if we assume the symptoms we are seeing are simply signs of age.

Harris is in full play mode after his recent dental treatment. (Photo by Laurie Thomas)

This was followed by a friend’s report that two of her not-so-old cats were acting livelier and eating better after scheduled dental work was completed. Fortunately she had found the problem in a regular checkup and the little guys were treated quickly.

Frequent Checkups

Your veterinarian may recommend you bring in an older dog or cat for more frequent checkups and tests. These exams should also include screenings for conditions like diabetes, arthritis, thyroid disease, kidney disease, failing vision and hearing, and cancer that are statistically more likely to occur as your pet gets older.

These visits may include blood counts, chemistry screens, and urinalysis. Be sure to ask if your pet needs any breed-specific tests.

Before the visit is a good time for you and other caregivers to really think and prepare to report any changes in routine, nutrition, and behavior. It can be very important to ask your dog walker or cat sitter to share this kind of information with you on a regular basis.

Many dogs and most cats are extremely good at hiding weakness and illness. We need as many humans picking up cues as possible. While you come in contact with your own pets, professional walkers and sitters have seen far more symptoms and helped families through far more medical issues.

Even a young dog like Poppy has her lazy days, but if a pattern appears, it's time to look for a reason beyond growing up or growing old.

With our last two Westies, increasing the frequency of checkups was never at issue because their allergy problems made them frequent visitors to their medical team. But, with our healthy little Poppy, we will have to keep a careful watch as she ages because she doesn’t have any ongoing concerns that bring her in for immediate care between annual checks.

Your dog may be acting appropriately for his breed or the symptoms below could be signs of pain.

Symptoms of Pain

Some things that we think of as old age can also be signs of pain. Changes in appetite, routine, getting up slowly, heavy panting, grumbling, and being a bit grumpy can happen as pets age, but these are all signs of pain as well. If a dog changes her sleeping position, has more accidents in the house, doesn’t want to play, avoids jumping up on a chair or sofa, you should make a note of the behavior and report it to your vet.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

(Adapted for BostonZest from one of our City Paws newspaper columns.)

July 16, 2017
Maybe It’s Not Old Age That’s Slowing Down Your Cat or Dog

When we come across the same interesting information twice in one week from two different sources, it quickly becomes a research topic for a future column. In this case, it was a story in The Bark by Karen B. London, PhD, a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Certified Professional Dog Trainer, reminding us that illness in an older pet can go unnoticed and untreated if we assume the symptoms we are seeing are simply signs of age.

Harris is in full play mode after his recent dental treatment. (Photo by Laurie Thomas)

This was followed by a friend’s report that two of her not-so-old cats were acting livelier and eating better after scheduled dental work was completed. Fortunately she had found the problem in a regular checkup and the little guys were treated quickly.

Frequent Checkups

Your veterinarian may recommend you bring in an older dog or cat for more frequent checkups and tests. These exams should also include screenings for conditions like diabetes, arthritis, thyroid disease, kidney disease, failing vision and hearing, and cancer that are statistically more likely to occur as your pet gets older.

These visits may include blood counts, chemistry screens, and urinalysis. Be sure to ask if your pet needs any breed-specific tests.

Before the visit is a good time for you and other caregivers to really think and prepare to report any changes in routine, nutrition, and behavior. It can be very important to ask your dog walker or cat sitter to share this kind of information with you on a regular basis.

Many dogs and most cats are extremely good at hiding weakness and illness. We need as many humans picking up cues as possible. While you come in contact with your own pets, professional walkers and sitters have seen far more symptoms and helped families through far more medical issues.

Even a young dog like Poppy has her lazy days, but if a pattern appears, it's time to look for a reason beyond growing up or growing old.

With our last two Westies, increasing the frequency of checkups was never at issue because their allergy problems made them frequent visitors to their medical team. But, with our healthy little Poppy, we will have to keep a careful watch as she ages because she doesn’t have any ongoing concerns that bring her in for immediate care between annual checks.

Your dog may be acting appropriately for his breed or the symptoms below could be signs of pain.

Symptoms of Pain

Some things that we think of as old age can also be signs of pain. Changes in appetite, routine, getting up slowly, heavy panting, grumbling, and being a bit grumpy can happen as pets age, but these are all signs of pain as well. If a dog changes her sleeping position, has more accidents in the house, doesn’t want to play, avoids jumping up on a chair or sofa, you should make a note of the behavior and report it to your vet.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

(Adapted for BostonZest from one of our City Paws newspaper columns.)

July 16, 2017
When Out with Your Dog, Is It Just a Walk?

For those of us with dogs, our daily routine includes a number of short walks to take care of their needs. Somewhere in that schedule is a longer walk to give you and your dog some exercise and perhaps a bit of fun. On weekends or vacations, these walks may turn into adventures in new settings with great things to see, hear, and for your dog to sniff!

Two year old Sam loves his early morning walk. He practiced his sit when I met him. His person said this daily routine gets her going too!

One friend calls this “the long walk.” We call it Poppy’s exercise because she will gladly go inside on her puppy pads to avoid being outside. But she does need to move her little body and get her pulse rate up at least once a day, so we take her for a mile or two trot around the neighborhood.

A Study on Walking the Dog

A recent study titled, “(Just) a Walk with the Dog? Animal Geographies and Negotiating Walking Spaces,” argues that “… walking with dogs represents a potentially important cultural space for making sense of human–animal relations. We show how the personalities of both dog and walker can shape not only walking practices, but also the human–animal bond. We contend that the walk is a significant arena where relations of power between animal and human are consciously mediated.”

It makes you think about the interactions you see as people walk their dogs. Is the dog having fun? Are the dog and human interacting or are they on separate missions? Who is training whom?

Be A Dog!

One command you should regularly give your pal on the other end of the leash is, “Be a Dog!” To us that means Poppy can follow her nose, sniff at the corners, or hop up on a bench and relax. She gets a turn to do what she wants on the walk.

Other times we may need some faster-paced exercise and she will have to walk along with us to allow us to get what we need from the walk.

Occasionally our nervous little pup may need to have one of us pick her up and hold her because some evil noisemaker has her scared witless. We try to do whatever it takes to keep her moving and feeling safer outside.

While other dogs romp in the off leash area on the Boston Common, this gentle giant prefers to observe from the sidelines.

Win-Win

There are aspects of your daily walks that can be win-wins for you and your dog. If you gather friends and walk in a pack, that can be a perfect outing with good conversation among the humans and socializing companionship and play among the dogs.

If you have a highly energetic dog, a long walk can help the dog settle better when you return home. You might find that increasing the length and speed of your walks can alleviate destructive behavior and lessen hyperactivity. It could result in everyone getting a better night’s sleep, as well.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Getting Us Outside: Another Way Dogs Are Good for Us

Wolfgang: Tiny Dog with a Big Name

The Polite Wet Dogs of Provincetown Harbor

May 28, 2017
When Out with Your Dog, Is It Just a Walk?

For those of us with dogs, our daily routine includes a number of short walks to take care of their needs. Somewhere in that schedule is a longer walk to give you and your dog some exercise and perhaps a bit of fun. On weekends or vacations, these walks may turn into adventures in new settings with great things to see, hear, and for your dog to sniff!

Two year old Sam loves his early morning walk. He practiced his sit when I met him. His person said this daily routine gets her going too!

One friend calls this “the long walk.” We call it Poppy’s exercise because she will gladly go inside on her puppy pads to avoid being outside. But she does need to move her little body and get her pulse rate up at least once a day, so we take her for a mile or two trot around the neighborhood.

A Study on Walking the Dog

A recent study titled, “(Just) a Walk with the Dog? Animal Geographies and Negotiating Walking Spaces,” argues that “… walking with dogs represents a potentially important cultural space for making sense of human–animal relations. We show how the personalities of both dog and walker can shape not only walking practices, but also the human–animal bond. We contend that the walk is a significant arena where relations of power between animal and human are consciously mediated.”

It makes you think about the interactions you see as people walk their dogs. Is the dog having fun? Are the dog and human interacting or are they on separate missions? Who is training whom?

Be A Dog!

One command you should regularly give your pal on the other end of the leash is, “Be a Dog!” To us that means Poppy can follow her nose, sniff at the corners, or hop up on a bench and relax. She gets a turn to do what she wants on the walk.

Other times we may need some faster-paced exercise and she will have to walk along with us to allow us to get what we need from the walk.

Occasionally our nervous little pup may need to have one of us pick her up and hold her because some evil noisemaker has her scared witless. We try to do whatever it takes to keep her moving and feeling safer outside.

While other dogs romp in the off leash area on the Boston Common, this gentle giant prefers to observe from the sidelines.

Win-Win

There are aspects of your daily walks that can be win-wins for you and your dog. If you gather friends and walk in a pack, that can be a perfect outing with good conversation among the humans and socializing companionship and play among the dogs.

If you have a highly energetic dog, a long walk can help the dog settle better when you return home. You might find that increasing the length and speed of your walks can alleviate destructive behavior and lessen hyperactivity. It could result in everyone getting a better night’s sleep, as well.

Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

Details:

Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Related articles

Getting Us Outside: Another Way Dogs Are Good for Us

Wolfgang: Tiny Dog with a Big Name

The Polite Wet Dogs of Provincetown Harbor

May 28, 2017