Tips and Tails
Pet Tips
Pet Love
There's surprisingly little research on how deeply pets' deaths affect owners, but here's one indication. Psychologist Wallace Sife, who leads the nonprofit Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement (APLB), says that 500,000 people have visited the association's website in the last eight years, and 20,000 of them have gone to the chat room to talk with pet-bereavement counselors and fellow mourners.
If people's connections to their pets aren't as complex as their human relationships, they’re often deeper, says Sife. Unlike their relationships with spouses and parents, their pet relationships are virtually free of resentments, bad memories, disappointments, failed hopes, jealousies, and empathic failures. "We bond with pets in a way we can't with another human," says Sife, author of The Loss of a Pet. "For many people, it's like sharing a secret soul. The pet reminds us of our own purity and innocence, which we seldom feel free showing to other people." More so than spouses or parents, pets are always there, especially for the young, the old, the lonely, and the vulnerable.
Sife, who trains pet-bereavement counselors and posts a registry of them at his website, explains that an important part of pet-bereavement counseling is acknowledging and validating pet owners' intense grief. Normally supportive people can fail to fully recognize the depth of a pet owner’s grief. In addition, a pet's death often triggers overwhelming guilt. People often confess to Sife or his counselors that they're grieving more over their pet's death than they did for their mother or father.
Sife isn't the only one offering help to bereaved pet owner. Several major university veterinary schools sponsor free bereavement chat lines staffed by interns. You can find these and other resources in the pet-bereavement section at www.catanddoghelp.com.
Resources
Therapy's New Wave: For more information on ACT, see www.contextualpsychology.org;
Boys Failing at School: For more information on Adam Cox's work, see www.dradamcox.com;
Also see Newsweek (January 30, 2006);
Therapy for Depressed Youths: Psychological bulletin 132, no. 1 (January 2006): 132-49
If you are in the Tampa Bay Area, you may contact Daryl at (813) 220-8926 to begin a support group. |
Foods Dogs Should Not Consume
- Onions
- Grapes
- Raisins
- Chocolate
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Corn
- Pork
Working Dogs
If you encounter a working dog, please don't talk to or pet her.
Sh-h Doggie
When telling the dog you disapprove of his/her actions, don't call their name. Make another sound like "Sh-h" and correct the action.
A little Tug Love
If your dog pulls while on the leash, give a quick firm tug on the leash to the side and say "Sh-h". This will make the dog off balance. Calm the dog down and put him or her behind you before moving. Then continue walking again without talking.
Meat Please
When choosing healthy foods for your dog, read the ingredients. The first three ingredients should be meat. To find out more, check out the September issue of Dog Fancy.
At the Spa
If your dog has a problem with getting his nails trimmed, try a nail grinder. Letting the nails grow too long makes the dog walk on the heels instead of the front pads. (Dog Fancy - Sept. 2006)
Thanks Mr. Bergh
The ASPCA began in 1866 by Henry Bergh. He persuaded the New York legislature to pass an anti-cruelty law and granted the ASPCA the authority to enforce it.
Ah that is Better
Human's blood pressure goes down when calmly petting a pet. This is why more hospitals and nursing homes are allowing pet visits.
Let's Go this Way
Awesome Aussies love to run and herd. They are not content to sit and be quiet. They will demand an activity, like fetch, agility and gatering. They are extremely intelligent and prone to problem solve. Their herding instinct is a double edge sword. They can be a nucinse at times because they run in front of things they are trying to herd. This can also be dangerous if they are trying to herd a car. They make great pets for active families.
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