Posts from the ‘Dog Related Information’ Category

Dogs Teach Meditation!

My friend, Kelsang Menla, wrote this very interesting guest blog post about dogs and meditation!  Based on Menla’s blog post, shown below, we have a lot to learn from our furry family members!

Menla is the Administrative Director at the Kadampa Meditation Center Maryland.  Menla has been practicing Kadampa Buddhism for 12 years and took ordination in 2001.  You can contact Menla at the following e-mail address, Director@meditationmd.org.

Dogs Teach Meditation!

Sometimes life is really stressful and there is so much to deal with.  In contending with all of the things we have to do our thoughts can get scattered and our mind can become tense.  To bring back a greater sense of well-being, a peaceful state of mind, and inner balance meditation is an excellent tool.  It’s so simple to learn to meditate that even dogs can do it (well sort of… more on this later!).  Just try sitting down in a quiet place, scanning through your body to relax your muscles and areas of tension, and then turn your mind to your breath.  Find the sensation of the breath at the opening of your nostrils, and lightly focus your attention there.  Experience the breath as you breath in and out, allowing mental and physical stress to gradually dissipate and melt away.  Thoughts may run through your mind, but simply choose to go back to your breath and leave behind whatever thoughts may be consuming you mind.  Try to remain with your breath allowing yourself to relax and gradually a refreshing feeling begins to fill your body and mind.

But you might say, “I can’t do that!  There is too much going on in my head!  I’ve got so much to do.  And anyway, I can’t stop my mind from thinking. It’s impossible.  I can’t meditate. I’ll have to try that when I have fewer things to deal with.”

Hold it right there.  It’s not impossible.  It isn’t too difficult, and if you wait until you have less to do…well let’s be honest, there’s never less to do for very long!   Your dog is teaching you to meditate all the time.  If you just watch your trusty friend in action, you’ll see how you can be an expert meditator before too long.

When you get home from work and it’s time to take doggers out for a walk, this is the perfect time to watch for his cues…

When you say, “It’s time for a WALK!” What happens???  Your little friend get’s all excited.  All he can think about is W-A-L-K.  You might be dilly-dallying, talking on the phone, looking for your phone, looking for your keys, getting distracted with opening the mail.  But, doggers won’t let you forget or get distracted for too long.  All he’s thinking about is W-A-L-Ks! He has single pointed focus on that and will remind you of it if you forget for too long.

So, you get out of the house and go down to the park.  You’ve brought his favorite ball and you start playing catch.  When you pick up that ball, his eyes are on it like a white on rice!  As you move your arm back to throw the ball, doggers is watching your hand and the motion of that ball without distraction.  With single-mindedness he chases after that ball and then brings it back to you and…repeat again, again, and again!  If you get distracted with a text message, he’s still watching that ball.  And when you stop texting the ritual of catch is restored.  It’s like meditation, you go back to your breath again, again, and again. Leaving distractions of the mind behind, you allow your mind to become absorbed into the experience of the breath.  When playing catch, you’ll probably get tired before your little friend does, which is a good lesson in itself — time flies when you’re having fun.  If you could get absorbed into meditation with the same joyful enthusiasm as doggers playing catch, you’d be able to meditate for a lot more than 10 or 15 minutes!

Then when you get home and it’s time for a little doggie treat, you decide to have a little fun.  You pull out a treat from the bag and holding it in you hand you wave it from left to right.  And doggers head goes from left to right at the same exact speed as your hand.  Then you toss it to him and yum yum it’s gone.  Then repeat!  Doggers wants that treat, he knows how yummy it is, and he’s patient enough to wait for it.  He doesn’t give up.  He’s showing us how to approach meditation.   The treat of meditation is feeling a purer form of happiness, a bliss and peace of the mind.  Having  a little bit of patience with ourselves and developing that single-minded focus we will enjoy our meditation time just as much as doggers enjoys his treat.  Then you both have your dinner and relax for the evening.

The thing our little friend is trying to show us is that we can become absorbed in any activity if we enjoy doing it.  And if we enjoy it, it becomes a habit.  For your pet it is walks, catch, bones, and treats.  He loves those things and can become absorbed into them.  For us it’s other things.  Maybe work, good books, favorite movies, a conversation, or a hobby.  We can enjoy and develop the positive habit of meditation too.  If we learn how to meditate properly and get the taste of peace that comes from meditation, then we’ll feel relaxed, calm, and uplifted!  We’ll learn how to become absorbed into a peaceful experience just like doggers gets absorbed into his game and before too long we’ll notice that we’re meditating.  So who says meditation is impossible or that you can’t do it?  If you ask your pet he’ll say, “Ruff Ruff?  It’s not ruff is easy!”

If you’d like to learn more about meditation and have a few tools to start, I recommend guided meditation CDs in the series Living Meditation.  You can download them as MP3 files or you can purchase theCDs here.

The dog photographs shown in this blog post are of little Biscuit!

When Dogs Come to Work Everyone Benefits

This post below is from Life With Dogs.  My husband, Doug, always says that he wishes the he could take our little Biscuit to work with him as it would be a huge “morale boost!”  Biscuit is usually always up for an adventure, except for adventures to the vet’s office!

Every day millions of lucky dogs and their humans get to go to work together, and many people support the idea that it makes the workplace feel less stressful and generally creates a happier atmosphere.  Erin McCormack, who works at Authentic Entertainment in Los Angeles agrees, saying ”They are a calming force.  When things get stressful, you can lean down and pet your dog or take a walk and pet a nearby dog.  You get a more efficient workplace, one that’s not consumed with stress.”

McCormack’s dog Molly, a Maltese mix, is one of the fortunate dogs who gets to spend every Friday at work with her mom.  In addition to making the workplace less frantic feeling, McCormack says ”It’s such a great way to create a productive atmosphere. It makes the environment more conducive to creativity.”  As well, it saves dog owners the cost of dog walkers or day care since they can walk them on lunch breaks.  There is also support for the argument that this contributes to the overall health and well being of staff since it gets them out of their chairs and out into the fresh air, also contributing to improved productivity.

An American Pet Products Association survey indicates that one in five business in the United States is pet friendly, including Google Inc. and  Amazon Inc. who both say that it helps keep employees happy and therefore boosts retention.  ”Engineering and software companies are often the type of company that is pet-friendly,” says Len Kain, cofounder and editor of DogFriendly. com, which lists dog-friendly companies in every state.

Allowing dogs to come to work is also a way for companies to show that they are “different,” that they care about people and their quality of life.  And of course, dog owners want to give their dogs the best possible quality of life, so everyone benefits.

Do you live in a dog friendly city?

If A Dog Were The Teacher

If A Dog Were The Teacher

“If a dog were the teacher you would learn stuff like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
When it’s in your best interest, practice obedience.
Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout… run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you’re not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and them gently.” ~Author Unknown

Little Biscuit is our little teacher, a Buddha, in many ways.  Biscuit has shown us how to live in the present moment.  Biscuit is always living in the present moment, as he does not know any different.  He is not concerned about the past or the future.  It takes very little to make Biscuit happy.  He is so thrilled when he gets a few treats (his kibble); and he wants and loves to be included in whatever we are doing — spanning from just sitting with us to going on vacation, which he loved.  Biscuit is very persistent and determined, and he never gives up.  Biscuit is very loyal.  In fact, he is the most loyal living being I have ever met.  Most of all, Biscuit makes each day special just by being him!  We feel very lucky to have met little Biscuit.

Pets May Make Children Healthier

I found this to be an interesting article.

Pets May Make Children Healthier

By Val Wadas-Willingham — CNN Medical Producer

Children who are born to a family with furry pets seem more able to ward off certain illnesses.

A recent study out ofFinlandfinds babies who have a cat or dog around during their first year have fewer health problems than little ones who don’t have pets.

The study, published in next month’s issue of Pediatrics, followed 397 children from before birth to age 1, and noted the number of times they had contact with either a dog or cat each week.

Although it’s a pretty common thing to see newborns with minor respiratory issues and ear infections, researchers found those babies who had more interaction with animals seemed to have fewer of these problems and needed less medication, even when they were sick.

Even though babies living with cats were still protected, their protection was not as strong as those babies who lived around dogs. And kids living in homes in which dogs went in and out of the house more often seemed to have the lowest risk of infections.

Although doctors acknowledge more research is needed, they say there’s something about animals that affect an infant’s immune system which can protect against certain childhood infections.

The people who had dogs that were mostly kept inside appeared to have less protection from the illnesses, said Dr. Eija Bergroth, a pediatrician at the Kuopio University Hospital in Kuopio, Finland and one of the study’s authors. “So, we speculated that the more the dog is outside, the more dirt (and microbes) it might bring inside.”

And what does dirt have to do with keeping an infant healthy?

“The microbes in the dirt might somehow stimulate the child’s immune system and the immunologic responses to respiratory viruses and bacteria later could then be more composed,” said Bergroth. “Or it might be something to do with the dog itself as an animal, like dander, but this also unsure.”

The researchers were not able to objectively analyze whether inner city children had different results than kids from rural and suburban areas. Since living environment can impact microbes in the dirt, children in different conditions might show different effects.

According to the authors, the children in the study are being followed as a part of a larger study mainly concentrating on allergies. So, there may be a possibility, they said to analyze the effect on respiratory infections later, as the children grow older.

One Nation Under Dog: Stories of Fear, Loss, and Betrayal

Last night, my husband and I began watching HBO’s documentary entitled, One Nation Under Dog: Stories of Fear, Loss, and Betrayal.  We have not yet completed watching this documentary, but so far, it seems to be very well-done.  Below is a brief summary of this HBO documentary.

Americans have always had a love affair with canines, but lost amidst the pampering are unpleasant truths about dog ownership, care and commerce. ONE NATION UNDER DOG: STORIES OF FEAR, LOSS & BETRAYAL offers an eye-opening, three-part portrait ofAmerica’s complex relationship with dogs.

“Part One – Fear”: In the opening segment, Dr. Robert Taffet is taken to court by neighbors after several bite incidents involving his Rhodesian Ridgebacks in New Jersey.  Despite the severity of some of the attacks, he is deeply committed to his pets and wins his cases, including one in which a three-year-old girl’s ear was bitten off.  Eight months later, after the same dog bites a teenager, Dr. Taffet puts him down.

“Part Two – Loss”: The second section focuses on people coping with the loss of beloved pets.  This segment features a group of mourners sharing deep grief over recently deceased dogs in a pet-loss support group at the San Francisco SPCA; two women laying their dog to rest in the oldest pet cemetery in the U.S.; and a couple attempting to replace a beloved dog by cloning him. Also featured is Julie Adams, whose own love and loss of dogs has inspired her rescue work; with no shelters in her rural area, she’s taken it upon herself to care for and shelter more than 100 stray and abandoned dogs.

“Part Three – Betrayal”: The final section explores issues of overpopulation, shelters, rescuing, spaying and neutering. Approximately two million dogs are destroyed in animal shelters each year. This segment features three minutes of graphic footage shot by a film student showing dogs and puppies being euthanized.

Many people do not know that 25% of dogs in shelters are actually purebreds, and many pet store dogs come from mass breeding operations known as puppy mills.  For many dogs from mills and animal shelters, rescue is the only hope of survival.  This segment follows volunteers saving some 200 puppy mill dogs from these dire conditions, including rescuer-trainer John Gagnon, who rehabilitates aggressive, difficult-to-adopt dogs and works with an organization to find them good homes, and Shawn South-Aswad, who raises money to rescue dogs and place them with foster families.

ONE NATION UNDER DOG: STORIES OF FEAR, LOSS & BETRAYAL is produced by Ellen Goosenberg Kent; supervising editor, Geof Bartz, A.C.E.; co-producer, Larissa Bills; directed by Jenny Carchman, Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Amanda Micheli; editors, Geof Bartz, A.C.E., Joe Beshenkovsky, Seth Bomse, Traci Loth; producers, Larissa Bills, R.J. Cutler, Julie Goldman, Allyson Luchak, Amanda Micheli, Danielle Renfrew Behrens; inspired by the book “One Nation Under Dog,” by Michael Schaffer. For HBO: supervising producer, Lisa Heller; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.

For further reading, check out this article.

Dogs 101: Shetland Sheepdog

Click here to view an Animal Planet video on Shetland Sheepdogs – for all of you Shetland Sheepdog lovers or for those who are considering adopting/rescuing a Shetland Sheepdog!  Our little Biscuit is very loyal and loving any my husband and I highly recommend shelties to anyone!