Saturday, January 21, 2012

Music CAN Soothe Pups!

Elbert with Lavonne

Excerpted from an article by Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT in The Healing Arts

From Psychology Today OnLine

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-healing-arts/200803/songs-soothe-the-panicked-pooch

If your furry best friend is feeling a little anxious or stressed, it may be time to pop a CD into that surround sound system. But what would be best: Metallica, Beatles, or Vivaldi? In the general wellness department, dogs may profit from a regular dose of the right music along with daily walks in the park and designer dog food.

The fact that music can calm the panicked pooch is no surprise to music therapists who have studied the effects of rhythm, sound, voice, and song on humans for many decades, demonstrating its health-giving affects on everyone from pregnant women to older adults with dementia.

Researchers have long known that music affects the nervous system and cardiovascular system. Now, hundreds of animal hospitals, kennels, and rescue shelters have taken notice of music as therapy for dogs, as well as devoted dog owners themselves. We can purchase specialized CDs with music designed for doggy listening and there is even a pet-friendly radio station (www.dogcatradio.com).
Much of the current knowledge about music's effects on dogs comes from the work of Belfast-based psychologist and animal behaviorist Deborah Wells.

Wells exposed numerous breeds of dogs to everything from Metallica to the classical music of Beethoven, Bach, and Vivaldi. Wells found that dogs in shelters, who are exposed to classical music, spent more time in a resting state, barking a lot less than other dogs. In contrast, heavy metal music agitated the dogs [which somehow does not come as a great surprise]. Classical music-and Bach in particular-- reduces separation anxiety and stress behavior, including reactions to loud noises such as thunderstorms.

And pop music had no effect at all, possibly because dogs, like humans, are used to hearing it regularly. So apparently, Paul McCartney and Barry Manilow pose no known harm to canine mental health.

Dogs are known also to take comfort in music with slower rhythms, fewer instruments, and simpler melodies. Because dogs hear at much higher frequencies than people do, music to calm the particularly panicked pooch should be played a low volume. But is all classical music Fido-friendly? The answer isn't in yet and dogs, like humans, seem to prefer a little variety. So, roll over Beethoven, your dog may also dig a little rhythm and blues.

Welcome to Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue!

Welcome to Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue
Bellevue, Tennessee

Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue's purpose is provide shelter and loving care, which includes food, veterinary care and any other necessity, for animals that were abused, abandoned, owner surrendered, or otherwise destined to be euthanized, due to over-crowded shelter conditions. Through the use of foster homes, Proverbs cares for these animals until good, responsible, loving homes can be found for all adoptable animals.

www.proverbs1210rescue.org
info@proverbsrescue.org

Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue
PO Box 210830
Nashville, TN 37221

Why Do Dogs Eat Grass?

Excerpt from an article by: Virginia Wells

Although dogs are primarily carnivoires, they will eat almost anything; they can survive on a well-balanced vegetarian diet. Like all living creatures, dogs need a combination of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water in a balanced diet.

We're not sure why your pup likes grass; there have been many theories offered. Primarily, dogs are descended from wild canids, which ate the entire "kill" when they hunted for food. Since they consumed many herbivores (plant-eating animals), they wound up eating a lot of plants and even berries found in the stomach and intestines of their prey. Interestingly, carnivores tend to go for the stomach and its contents first, so it's likely that dogs may eat grass because they like it and it was once part of their normal diet.

Do dogs eat grass to make themselves vomit? Or do they vomit because they eat the grass? Most veterinarians believe that dogs eat grass simply because they like it, and vomiting naturally follows. When dogs eat grass, the grass acts as an irritant and causes vomiting. However, they may not be smart enough to use grass as a medicine when they have an upset stomach. That said, one of us has seem a dog with burrs stuck in his throat pounce on a Ficus plant and voraciously start scoffing great scads of leaves until he threw up, presumably in an attempt to dislodge the foreign material.

Some veterinarians believe that dogs eat grass because their prepared diets are lacking in greens and so they eat grass.

No matter what the reason, your dog's "grass" habit is normal behavior and you need not be concerned about it. A note of caution, however: Take care that your pet does not eat grass that has been treated with fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides.