The American Heart Association just released a new scientific statement paper in the journal Circulation, titled “Pet Ownership and Cardiovascular Risk.” The conclusions in this paper have been endorsed by numerous heart health organizations, including the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, the American Society of Hypertension, the American Society for Preventive Cardiology, the National Heart Foundation of Australia, the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, and the World Heart Federation. Heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women, so strategies to reduce heart disease risk and improve heart health are very important. Read More »
When we’re in dog training classes, the instructor invariably says, “Stop saying your dog’s name before each command. He knows it’s your voice giving the command, so he just needs to hear the command. He already knows it’s you and you’re speaking to him.” I have to say, my dogs are terrific about sitting promptly to my commands, while they ignore the same command given by the owner next to me in class when she’s talking to her dog. Read More »
Snows have given way to daffodils, tulips, and singing birds and many of us are enjoying springtime hikes in the woods. There’s nothing my dogs enjoy more than running through wooded trails, sniffing everything in sight. Once the deep snow is gone, we have to worry a bit more about picking up bloodthirsty hitchhikers – disease-carrying ticks. Read More »
When I’m having a rough day, missing departed loved ones, or feeling overwhelmed by tight deadlines, I pull out the best prescription for lifting mood and spirit–a couple well-used dog leashes that will take me and my pups for a romp in the woods. As a doctor, I’ve taken this discovery of the health-boosting power of our pets to the next level, sharing my dogs with hospital patients, elementary students struggling to read, college students cramming for finals, and seniors living in nursing homes. A day at the end of the therapy dog’s leash is all the proof I need to show me the healing power of wagging tails. Read More »
Dog can serve a wide range of roles: companions, police dogs, search and rescue dogs, military dogs, actors, and school mascots. Of course, I’m partial to therapy dogs–dogs trained to bring calm, comfort, and joy to people in need. Therapy dogs fill important roles improving moods, decreasing pain, and relieving stress in a wide range of environments. Therapy dogs may work in nursing homes, hospitals and hospices, libraries and schools, funeral homes, and even court houses. Wherever people need comfort and stress relief, you’ll find a role for a therapy dog. Read More »
Did you ever notice that some people can’t wait to get to the gym, lace up their sneakers, and start a workout, while others find lots of excuses to avoid a day’s exercise, lingering at the drink bar and cutting their time on the treadmill short? Researchers from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine are looking into the genetics of loving or avoiding exercise. Read More »
When I was a girl, our family of four always had a fifth at the table–a drooling hunting dog, begging for food. As a bit of a finicky eater, I thought this was a terrific idea, giving me a ready disposal for gristle, fat, and other bits I didn’t want to eat.
Table scraps, however, can load extra calories onto pets that they don’t need. And some foods are harmful to dogs. The ASPCA recently published a nice list of foods that are hazardous to dogs, including avocado, fresh bread dough, chocolate, grapes, onions, alcohol, and xylitol. In my house as an adult we have always lived by the rule, “I don’t eat your kibble, so you don’t eat my people food,” which keeps drooling and begging away from the dinner table. Read More »
When your spouse or roommate comes home at the end of the day, can you instantly tell how he feels by the expression on his face? Psychologists have conducted research to better understand how people recognize the meaning of facial expressions they see in others. Canadian researchers recently investigated difficulties some children with learning disabilities have understanding the significance of facial expressions they see in others in the Journal of Learning Disabilities.
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We Americans love our pets. The American Pet Products Association has released their latest report on pet ownership in the United States. Pet ownership is on the rise and nearly 7 in every 10 households includes a pet. This growing number means more people can be tapping into the health benefits humans can get from sharing their lives with a pet.
Here are some of the latest statistics about pet ownership from the new survey: Read More »
Have you ever found that you feel perfectly bright, awake, and rested, until you sit in a room with a bunch of tired looking people who are yawning? Before you know it, you find yourself yawning too. Even our dogs have been shown to yawn when they see us yawning. Watching someone else–human or animal–do something causes nerves in your brain to fire. These nerves are called mirror neurons. Read More »
