T E A M E F F O R T Wo r kw i t hy o u rv e t a n ds t a yi n f o r me d
C R A Z Y C A T Wh a t ’ su pw i t hy o u rf e l i n e ?
Y O G A . . . f o rd o g s !
VOL UME1I S S UE1
P A M P E R E D
P E T S B e c a u s eh ed e s e r v e si t !
JUNE 2010 Paws and
Whiskers
Photo: Chris Smith
7 spoiled? What if your pet is too
ON THE COVER YOGA FOR DOGS Just what the doctor ordered for your stressed out pooch. Page 13
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CRAZY CAT
Is your crazy cat’s behavior normal? Page 17
TEAM EFFORT
Make the best health choices along with your vet. Page 22
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My Dog Ate Chocolate! What to do now?
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Why do Cats Purr? We have always been amused with a cat’s ability to purr...but why do they do it?
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Injured Bird Get to know how to save its’ life!
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Do Fish Sleep? And if they do, how and when do fish sleep?
Photo: Stephanie Méndez
HEALTH
BEHAVIOR 30
Depression in Dogs Whether it’s a loss of a family member or an introduction of a new pet.
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Tabby Cat Personality Get to know your tabby cat.
PLAYTIME 34
Safe Toys for Your Dog What is your dog playing with?
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Training Your Cat Tips for successfully training your cat.
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Building Bird Boxes It’s a fun activity and a beautiful way to get in touch with nature.
NURTURE 38 Bottle Feeding Kittens If you have adopted orphan kittens, then you know how tough it is to figure out what to feed them. 39 Baby Bird Care How to properly take care of your baby bird.
Photo: Karla Hartz
TREATS 40 Healthy Homemade Dog Treats It’s not only easy, but also allows you to ensure that your dog receives the best food!
...and
5 Editorial 21 Paws and Whiskers List
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Paws and
Whiskers VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1 EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor-in-Chief Evelia Contreras Creative Director Evelia Contreras Executive Editor Morgan Morrison Managing Editor Megan Carson Photo Director Jesemanuel Ramírez Cover Photography Evelia Contreras COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mayori Ruiz Judy Wilson, MS Kelly Talerpern Jose Maldonado Evelia Contreras Tatiana Navarro, DVM Jesemanuel Ramírez Deborah Clarkson, DVM Eva Meléndez, MD ADMINISTRATION & SALES President/C.E.O. Timothy Smith Office Manager Gloria Allan Circulation & Communications Manager: Jamie Sinden IT Manager: Rick Rockford Administrative Assitant: Libby McKenzie ADVERTISING SALES National Sales Manager Lesley Saks Classified Advertising Lesia Johnson SUBMISSIONS Please send all editorial material, advertising material, photos and corresponndence to: Paws and Whiskers Magazine, 100 Roseville Drive #5, San Juan, PR 00926. We welcome previously unpublished articles and color pictures either in transparency or disc form at 300 dpi. We cannot guarantee that either articles or pictures will be used or that they will be returned We reserve the right to publish all letters received. Email your articles to: Jamie@pawsandwhiskers.com
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What if your pet is too
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Spoiled? The pampered pet
Let’s face it. We like to make our pets feel good and loved. One of the ways we do this is by spoiling them. But, could this ever be a bad thing? by Michael Plante
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} H
uddled under my umbrella the other day, I was dodging raindrops and puddles as I walked the three blocks from the parking garage to my office. As I was passing an apartment building, I saw an elderly woman standing near the entrance holding an umbrella over her little white poodle dog. Unfortunately, the umbrella wasn’t large enough to cover both her and the dog, so she was getting soaked. Unable to withhold comment, I said, “Do you think he’ll melt if he gets wet?” She responded, “Well, he’s sweet enough to melt, but the truth is that if I don’t hold the umbrella for him he gets angry and pouts and won’t eat his lunch.” And, by dinner time he’s an absolute
bear! Welcome to the world of the pampered pet.
REWARDING FRIENDSHIP Although man’s best friend has always been his dog, the degree to which man has rewarded that friendship has quite possibly gotten out of hand. Evidence to support that statement can be found in the food we give our pets, the “attire” we put on their backs, the jewelry with which we adorn them, the amenities we provide in their surroundings and the provisions we make for their temporary care when we absolutely have to leave them behind. If necessary, we send “Rover” to counseling sessions with dog psychologists, provide outrageously expensive dental
care, clip/wash/curl their hair and make sure their nails are done so as not to embarrass them in front of their friends. How many of us have spent a restless night because “Missy”, our pug faced Pekinese, can’t seem to get comfortable in our bed or “Bull”, our six ounce Chihuahua, growls and snaps at us when we roll over on him.Yes, for those of you that are disbelievers, many people do share their beds with their doggies. In fact, I’ve heard of many cases where couples sleep apart rather than crowd the dog. PAMPERED PETS A thriving and lucrative industry has grown up around the pampered pet. Pet
owners spend multi-millions each year on their little four-legged friends. Occasionally the news media will offer a blurb about the pet owner who spent hundreds, even thousands of dollars on a diamond studded dog collar for “Fluffy.” However, this phenomenon is actually rather commonplace. Pick up the “Yellow Pages” in any city and you’ll find scads of pet salons that offer expensive pet jewelry and accessories. And just because you’ve gone to the expense of buying that ruby red sweater, with matching rubies, for “Fifi”, don’t think your obligation have been fulfilled. If “Fifi” can’t have a gold rimmed feeding bowl, like her friends have she’ll no doubt
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have to double up on her counseling sessions. The expense of this could easily exceed the cost of the bowl. And everything else. But besides the bowl, there are other things to think about. DIET Now let’s get down to diet - what can we feed “Prince”the proud Rottweiler? To be honest, Prince isn’t all that fond of dry dog food. He’ll eat some of it, but only if mixed with some of that delicious lamb gravy he likes. And, just like most of us, he prefers light fare in the mornings; perhaps a few scrambled eggs and just a slice or two of bacon. Careful not to overfeed though; he likes his lunch of broiled liver at exactly 12 noon. This scenario might involve a slight stretch, but it is certainly not too far fetched. We worry more about what our pets will eat, or if they’re “off their feed”, than we worry about what or when our kids eat. I wonder how we know that our kids will eat when they get hungry, but we can’t accept that this truism might apply to our dogs too. VETERINARIANS Speaking of Veterinarians - most of them now offer direct deposit so your entire paycheck can be directed right into their accounts.Veterinary expenses have gone through the roof and there’s no end to the elaborate medical procedures now being provided routinely. A friend who bellyached for months about the cost of dental appliances (braces) for his kid willingly shelled out $2500 to fix his dog’s overbite because “Tiger”appeared to be in discomfort when chewing on his rawhide bone. ...BUT THEY DESERVE IT! Now that we’ve clearly established that we spoil our dogs, let’s offer a word or two in our own defense. Dogs love us without reservation. Scold them, treat then meanly, tease them, leave them for long periods of time or forget to feed them and they’ll still love you and want nothing more than to be near you. Throughout history, dogs have given their lives for their masters. “Police” dogs will face an armed attacker to protect their handler and “Seeing Eye” dogs will risk death or injury to steer their charge away from a speeding car. A dog’s love for its master is pure and unquestioning. They trust completely in us. In my opinion, they deserve all the pampering they can get. Pets make us feel good. They comfort us, allow us to be ourselves and give those of us that need it, a reason for living. And, really, who can question that and think otherwise?
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Yo g a
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Yoga isn’t just for people anymore by Howard Wolinsky
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W
ith soothing Enya tunes playing in the background, Marnie Pomeroy gracefully goes through “downward facing dog,’’ a classic yoga posture that mimics the natural stretch dogs take every time they get up. Pomeroy is not doing the exercises alone. To varying degrees her yoga partner, Hailey, joins in the breathing and stretching exercises.
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Pomeroy rocks with Hailey in her arms. She uses Hailey as a yoga prop to move through her position. Sometimes, Hailey takes a break, lying on the exercise mat. Hailey is a special yoga partner: She’s Pomeroy’s dog, a shepherd mix. The twosome is among a dozen other human-dog teams attending a free monthly Paws & Flow “doggie yoga’’ class at
the Lakeshore Athletic Club at the Illinois Center in Chicago. Club general manager Roberta Duguid, who has a half dozen rescue dogs, and exercise instructor Becky Solomon, who brings her littermate Chihuahuas to class, developed the class three years ago. “We were looking for a way to help dogs socialize with each other and to encourage
interactions between busy owners and their dogs. We thought we’d do it once. But it was such a huge hit that we hold doggie yoga every month,’’ Duguid said. Solomon, an exercise instructor for 18 years, said, “I was always into dog training; I just kind of made it up myself.’’ Doga catching on The idea is gaining in popularity. Classes, sometimes called “doga,’’ rhyming with yoga, are being held in New York, California and elsewhere around the country. There’s the book Doga: Yoga For Dogs by Jennifer Brilliant and William Berloni. And the California store, Bodhi Store, offers toys for yogi doggies, such as the “Om ball,’’ which when bounced plays a recording of the om chant recorded by yogi Bhagavan Das. Solomon said dogs can’t really do yoga, other than the downward and upward dog. But she says that the goal is to give them some exercise and to socialize. She said owners also learn how to relax their dogs with massages. “The class is mostly for the people and a little bit of the yoga for the dogs. There’s only so much you can do with the dogs because they come in so many different sizes and temperaments,” Solomon said. She said the class gathers in a circle on mats. The group starts off with breathing exercises. “The dogs are so in tune with our energy. We create a calm energy in the room and see how the dogs respond,’’ said Solomon, who teaches peoplepinning, muscle conditioning and dance.
Stretching with doggies
During doggie yoga, owners go through stretches and try to put their dogs into some yoga poses. “You practice deep breathing.You make your movements slow. Nothing is fast. Nothing is loud,’’ Solomon said. She said the group does stretches that stretch both humans and dogs. “For instance, you’ll be standing with the dog in front of you, you take a deep breath, and you do a forward fold.You bring your hands underneath the dog and you gently pull them up as you’re pulling yourself down.” Not that all the dogs cooperate. Sometimes, they just wander through the exercise studio during the 45-minute class.
Chaos mixed with fun While he was lying on his back doing a stretch with Bart, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, in his arms, Steve Maza was visited by a Chihuahua and a West Highland terrier. The dogs sniffed Maza and Bart. “Sometimes, it seems like a lot of chaos. But it’s a lot of fun. The massage techniques are very useful,’’ Maza said. The class finishes with playtime when dogs receive treats and toys and run around the studio. A table in the studio contains treats, water bottles, bowls and some Frisbees. There is also a disinfectant and a roll of paper for clean-ups. “Sometimes, the kids get a little excited,’’ Solomon said. Debra Watkins said the class gives her miniature long-haired
dachshund, Marlow, an unusual English Cream, a chance to socialize with other dogs and to bond with her and her husband, Dave. Solomon said dogs become pals and seek each other out during the sessions. Ernie Ward, DVM, of Calabash, N.C., recently observed a doga class in California. “There’s not a lot of workout for the dogs in doggie yoga,’’ said Ward, a personal trainer of people and an Ironman triathlon competitor. “But I am in favor of anything that gets humans and the dogs to interact more. Doggie yoga is great for that.’’
Most people who practice yoga refer to the poses and terms in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is known as a classical language once used in India. Here are some of the most common terms:
Doga: Yoga for dogs
Dogi: A dog who practices yoga
Yoga: The union of mind and body
Yogi: A human who practices yoga.
Tadasana: Mountain Pose
Adho Mukha Svanasana: Downward-Facing Dog
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Non Shedding DogsList By Batul Nafisa Baxamusa
on shedding dogs are preferred by dog lovers, who suffer from dog allergies. Hypoallergenic dogs are those dog breeds that cause less occurrences of allergic reactions than other dog breeds. However, there is no dog that is 100% non-shedding and hypoallergenic. The non shedding dog breeds are those that shed very little hair and dander than other dogs. It is found that dogs that are hairless or have continuously growing hair are the most hypoallergenic.   If you are thinking of getting a pet dog and worried about the allergies, the following non shedding dogs list will help you consider the least allergy causing dogs.You should spend some time around these dogs before getting one as a pet. If you do not develop any allergies, then this is the right non shedding dog breed for your home
Small Non Shedding Dogs
Medium Non Shedding Dogs
Large Non Shedding Dogs
Shih Tzu
Pumi
Greyhound
Yorkshire Terrier
Puli
Airdale Terrier
West Highland
Peke-A-Poo
Portuguese Water Dog
White Terrier Dachshund
Affenpinscher
Irish Water Spaniel
Bichon Frise
Belgian
Old English Sheepdog
Italian Greyhound
Laekenois
Bergamasco
Border Terrier
Fox Terrier Wirehaired
Komondor
Cairn Terrier
Kerry Blue Terrier
Giant Schnauzer
Havanese
Xoloitzcuintli
Bouvier
Miniature Schnauzer
Wirehaired
Bedlington Terrier
Miniature Poodle
Standard Schnauzer
Peruvian Inca Orchid
Maltese
Dalmatian
Standard Poodle
Photo: Icekitty37
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Photo: Clauddia
Photo: crs771
T E A M E F F O R T Wo r kw i t hy o u rv e t a n ds t a yi n f o r me d
C R A Z Y C A T Wh a t ’ su pw i t hy o u rf e l i n e ?
P A M P E R E D P E T S B e c a u s eh ed e s e r v e si t !
Y O G A . . . f o rd o g s ! VOL UME1I S S UE1