by Stephanie Modkins

Think your dog needs to eat grass? Well, you're wrong. The idea that canines need to eat the green stuff we call lawns is a myth. Here are four reasons why:

1. Grass isn't medicinal.

Forget all of the rumors you've heard about how grass is so medicinal for dogs. It does not contain any magic properties that will help them digest their food better or cure an ailment. You actually hold the power to prepare them a well-balanced, digestible meal and take them to the vet when their sick.

2. Treated grass has chemicals.

If you are one of those people who is competing to have the best lawn in the neighborhood, you probably use pesticides and other chemicals to treat your grass. These things might make it green, but will harm a dog. No dog should be allowed to graze on a chemically treated lawn because it can poison them causing a myriad of awful side-effects.

3. Sick dog is still a sick dog.

Some dogs like to eat grass when they feel sick to their stomach. They vomit afterward, which is why we think it's good for them to eat grass. After all, it helped empty out a bug in their stomach. Truthfully, a sick or nauseated dog can vomit without the help of grass. So, it's not really necessary for him to eat it. Also, if you think that the grass is treating the underlying reason for your dog's nausea, it could keep you from discovering the real reason he does it. If your dog is always sick after a meal, it could be for a serious reason. Instead of believing that the grass is curing it, take him to a vet and get him checked out.

4. Grass can be an "empty" food choice.

Ever try to figure out why your dog is really eating grass. Maybe it is because the diet you feed him is lacking in nutrition or isn't filling him up. So the grass is like a green salad for us - an empty food choice that makes us feel full or satisfies an unnecessary craving. Make sure he's getting the proper balance of protein, vegetables and starch.Then, if he still continues to eat grass, it's probably just a poor habit he formed because you let him.


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by Ellen Silverberg

Several years ago, a young woman from Massachusetts contacted me regarding a portrait she wanted me to do of her two dogs who had passed away in a fire. Very few photos remained of her babies but I knew this was a job I had to do. I wanted to bring them back to her in the only way I could. While I was painting, I asked the animal’s spirits for guidance as I had very little to go on from the photos she had sent. When the portrait was finished I emailed her a photo for final approval. She didn’t call me back for three days and, in those three days, I worried that I hadn’t really captured them in the way she wanted and that she was unhappy with the painting. Them I received the following letter which she posted in my guest book:

"Ellen is AMAZING. I would like to share this story with everyone to let you know what an incredible artist AND person that Ellen is. A couple of months ago we lost our home to a fire. Due to our rural location the fire was not found until it had been going for hours. Tragically our 2 dogs, Cassidy and Sega, and 2 cats, Oreo and Matty, were lost in the fire.

Cassidy and Sega were like our children. Cassidy was a 7 year old Husky/Border Collie mix that I had rescued from the pound when she was 4 months old. Sega was a 14 year old Rottweiler that my boyfriend brought home as a puppy.

When I met my boyfriend 3 years ago Sega got arthritis. We would have to make him get up to go outside. When Sega was introduced to Cassidy he somehow found his reason to get up in the morning. Cassidy was so full of vim and vigor - it was all Sega could do to get up and chase her around. Slowly but surely Sega got up on his own every day and became more and more active. At the end of a 3 month period Sega was moving better than he had in years.

The bond the 2 of the developed was a sight to be seen. People used to laugh when we would make the statement that they were like a couple until they saw it for themselves. Sega would "grunt" and Cassidy would come running to his side. They would sit next to one another and lick each others faces over and over and over again.... to the point we would tell them to stop and get a room!! Sega always knew where Cassidy was - he never let her out of his site - his way of protecting her.

After the fire I wanted to find a way that we could have something that would remind us of all the wonderful memories we had with our 2 best friends. I thought a painting would be the best way to do this and I desperately wanted to have this done. I began searching the web for artists that specialized in portraits of animals. One of my biggest limitations was the pictures I had presented. We had lost all of our photographs in the fire and I only had one of Sega and 2 of Cassidy. The pictures were dark and I was afraid it would be difficult for an artist to see the expressions and personality that I so wanted to capture.

When I contacted Ellen, her response was phenomenal. After explaining to her the lack of photos I was able to provide she stated she could work with what she had and began immediately working on the painting. She displayed no hesitation when I let her know the time frame in which I was looking to have this done - I had little control over the timing of the fire. and period of time until his birthday.

A day later she sent me a photo of her rough sketch on the canvas. I was floored. Those were my babies and there was no doubt it was them. You could see them beginning to take form. I was so anxious to see the finished painting... it could only get better from here. The day came when I opened the package that had arrived which contained the framed painting. I literally shook with excitement as I carefully opened the box. All I can say is the painting is the MOST INCREDIBLE thing I have ever seen. I could never have imagined that someone could capture every little piece of Cassidy and Sega - especially if they never saw the dogs themselves. Right down to the little scar on Sega's nose - to the ice blue color of Cassidy's eye. You can feel the bond between them just by looking at it.... Absolutely amazing.

I could never have asked for a more precious memory of Cassidy and Sega. Every time I look at it I see the light in their eyes and I remember how special they were to us and to each other. I would like to thank Ellen with all my heart for giving this memory to us. She went out of her way for us - I truly believe she connected with both of them while she was creating this painting. There is no other way she could have captured their spirit like she did."

Since then, I have done many paintings of pets who have passed over the rainbow bridge and the reaction is always the same, “how could you know about that little scare on his nose?”; “I can’t believe you knew he had a spot on his other side. That wasn’t in the photo!”; but most of all, “thank you for bringing our baby back to us!” This is why I do the work I do and I truly believe that the spirits of deceased animals remain with us always and can be summoned up when we need them most.

With love,

Ellen


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via Fox News

Dog owners have no one to blame but themselves when they think their canine pals give them that familiar "guilty look."
You see guilt, but the dog doesn't necessarily feel it, a new study shows.

By setting up conditions where the owner was misinformed as to whether his or her dog had really committed an offense, researcher Alexandra Horowitz of Barnard College in New York uncovered the origins of dogs' allegedly downcast mugs.

Horowitz was able to show that the human tendency to attribute a guilty look to a dog was not due to whether the dog was indeed guilty. Instead, people see guilt in a dog's body language when they believe the dog has done something it shouldn't have, even if the dog is in fact completely innocent of any offense.

During the study, owners were asked to leave the room after ordering their dogs not to eat a tasty treat. While the owner was away, Horowitz gave some of the dogs this forbidden treat before asking the owners back into the room. In some trials, the owners were told that their dog had eaten the forbidden treat; in others, they were told their dog had behaved properly and left the treat alone. What the owners were told, however, often did not correlate with reality.

Whether the dogs' demeanor included elements of the "guilty look" had little to do with whether the dogs had actually eaten the forbidden treat or not. Dogs looked most "guilty" if they were admonished by their owners for eating the treat. In fact, dogs that had been obedient and had not eaten the treat, but were scolded by their (misinformed) owners, looked more "guilty" than those that had, in fact, eaten the treat.

Thus the dog's guilty look is a response to the owner's behavior, and not necessarily indicative of any appreciation of its own misdeeds.

This study sheds new light on anthropomorphism — the natural human tendency to interpret animal behavior in human terms, Horowitz said. Anthropomorphism involves comparing animal behavior to human behavior, and if there is some superficial similarity, then the animal behavior will be interpreted in the same terms as superficially similar human actions. This can include the attribution of higher-order emotions, such as guilt or remorse, to the animal.


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via HealthDay News

Forget about joining a gym. If you want to get into shape, all you need is a four-legged pal. Dr. Robert Kushner, a human obesity expert and professor of medicine at Northwestern University said that dogs make great workout partners in winning the battle of the bulge."They are natural exercise machines on a leash," he said.

Research has shown that it's easier to be physically active and stick with an exercise program when you team up with a workout buddy, Kushner said. But unlike human partners, who might make excuses for not wanting to go for a walk or run, a dog never will. They will generally be the first ones at the door, ready to go, rain or shine.

Deborah Wood, an animal shelter manager in Portland, Ore., lost 140 pounds in two years after enrolling in a national weight loss program and going for three-mile daily walks with her three papillons -- pushing the two oldest in a doggie stroller.

But enthusiasm for exercise is just one of the healthy behaviors humans can learn from dogs, said Marcus, who last year wrote Fit as Fido: Follow Your Dog to Better Health. Dogs instinctively get enough sleep and maintain good hydration -- traits that have, for instance, been linked with weight loss in people.
 
Kushner said that pets really do motivate people to stick with a diet and exercise plan until the pounds come off and stay off. People in the study reported that their dogs not only gave them incentive to work out but made the experience more enjoyable -- two predictors of sustaining an exercise program long term, he said. For Wood, taking long treks with her dogs has paid off. She's now half the woman she used to be, dropping in dress size from a 3X to an 8.

"Walking a dog is absolutely fun," Wood said. "It's good for the dog; it's good for the human."


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Furry fashionistas are no doubt were wagging their tails in anticipation of Pet Fashion Week that kicked off late last month in Vancouver. The one-day inaugural event saw Olympic athletes manning the leashes as local dogs showcased the latest in canine couture.

Whenever possible, the human models were dressed in styles that complemented their four-legged counterparts, explains organizer and founder, Olympia Devine. "The event was quite a success with Vancouverites", she explained adding it will eventually expand to seven days. "We are pet-crazy," says Divine, who has a rescued Chihuahua. "We are a city of animal lovers."

Admission to the event was free with donations for SAINTS, an animal shelter that cares for seniors or special needs pets, were accepted at the event.


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