Watch Out for Holiday Dog Hazards

Ten household holiday items that could potentially harm dogs and other pets.

Decorations may set the perfect mood this holiday season, but ornaments, tinsel, and other items can be a recipe for disaster for your furry family members. Veterinarians recommend keeping animals separated from dangerous items in your home, such as the following:
People food and table scraps. “The biggest problems we see over the holidays are emergencies related to table scraps,” explains Dr. David Bessler, emergency medicine clinician at NYC Veterinary Specialists. “Whenever we gather for large family meals, we love to include our pets as part of the family. Great idea, but do it right! Dogs should not be fed fatty ‘people-food’ – not because it will make them fat, but because it can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and pancreatitis, an often fatal disease which claims the lives of thousands of dogs every year.”
Bones. “There is no safe bone,” Bessler says. “Chicken bones, cooked or uncooked, beef bones, and fish bones have all killed dogs. Bones get stuck in the esophagus, stomach, and intestines, and can poke through the walls of those organs, meaning almost certain death. To those people who say, ‘but dogs eat bones in the wild!’ I say, ‘Bones kill dogs in the wild, too.’ A bone that fits down the throat of a wolf does not fit down the throat of a Yorkie.”
Cords and tree lights. Electrocution is prevalent in young animals, such as puppies or kittens, who are more apt to explore objects by mouthing or chewing objects such as electrical cords and tree lights.
Real Christmas trees. “A lot of pet owners are choosing to go with artificial trees,” says Dr. Sonja Olson, head of emergency services at Florida Veterinary Specialists. “It’s not that real Christmas trees are toxic to pets, but tree needles can be irritating and extremely harmful to pets’ digestive tracts when swallowed. Pets also like to drink tree water, which may sort of taste like tea, but it can also be harmful to their digestive tracts, so people have to be sure to cover up the tree water and keep pets from drinking it.”
Ornaments. “The glass tree ornaments look like regular toys to dogs, so they’ll bite into them and get a mouth full of glass,” Bessler says.
Chocolate. “It’s always best to keep a pet away from chocolate,” Bessler says. While it takes a large amount of milk chocolate to make an animal sick, dark chocolate is 10 times more poisonous than milk chocolate.
Potpourri. “Potpourri and especially the oil-based potpourri people often burn over a flame can be very harmful to pets,” says Olson. “Cats will lick it off of their paws and ingest it. This type of oil is a very significant irritant when ingested. It’s important to make sure our pets stay far away from any kind of potpourri.”
Plants. While many holiday plants are not fatally poisonous to animals, poinsettias and holly can cause mouth irritation, drooling, vomiting and diarrhea.
Bread dough and yeast. Dogs may sneak some bread dough meant for holiday treats. In the process of rising, the dough expands in the stomach and the yeast produces ethanol. This can lead to severe problems including alcohol poisoning, stomach distension, and potential bloat.
Tinsel. “Cats will play with tinsel and eat it,” Bessler says. The problem is it can become impacted in their intestines. “Sometimes the strings can cause their intestines to get bunched up into a knot. And, if the problem continues, it can actually saw through the intestines.”
Keeping your dog’s safety and well-being in mind can help ensure that all members of your family have a happy holiday!
Posted 2007 at dogchannel.com

Myth #8: If “location x” is where it hurts, then thatʼs where you must focus the massage to help.

There are two reasons that massage

attention in other areas of the body may

be more helpful than where it hurts at the

moment.

1. If there is current inflammation and

acute pain in an area, many massage

techniques would simply irritate the area

further and be counterproductive, or even

outright harmful. (However, some

techniques, such as lymphatic drainage

massage or acupressure, may still be

quite helpful!)

2. Very often the location of pain is not the location of the restriction that is

causing the pain. That is, a tightness or an adhesion, some form of a

restriction somewhere else in the body, may be (and likely is) pulling on

"neighbors", resulting in pain where sensitive structures are being stressed

by the pull. Over time, the patterns of tension, along with the body's efforts

to compensate, can create very elaborate and unique patterns of restriction.

This means that any pain could potentially have it's root cause virtually

anywhere in the body, and part of the process of receiving bodywork over

time is unraveling these layers that eventually led to the symptoms. (Why

don't the symptoms just appear right away? Because we and our animals, are

so good at compensating and adapting. Much more on this in Chapter 4:

Adaptation vs. Healing in The Dog Lover's Guide to Massage and The Horse

Lover's Guide to Massage.)

Myth #6: Sure, go ahead and try massage. It couldnʼt hurt....

While massage is not likely to do harm, it most certainly can. Generally,

people who believe that it can't are also not aware of how powerfully it can

affect the body for good. And anything with that kind of power can

potentially cause harm, too, if not used appropriately. This is just like

medicine, which can either heal or poison, depending on how it's used and

also on the condition of the person who takes it.

Copyright © 2010 All About Animal Massage

6

So the two factors for whether

massage will do good or harm

are,

A. how massage is applied,

and

B. the condition of the animal

(or person) receiving it.

Here are a few easy tips to help

you avoid causing harm for either of these reasons.

1. The changes caused by massage for the circulatory and neurological

systems in particular, can be harmful if your animal has a fever or is in

a state of shock. Do not massage in these situations.

2. Applying massage strokes or stretches too quickly can lead to damage

of tissue before your animal has a chance to communicate with you

about something that hurts.

3. Listen to your animal's feedback. If they don't like something, stop.

This will help you avoid most problems, but there are some important

exceptions to keep in mind. If your animal is too ill, emotionally shut

down and/or trained to politely endure whatever you do to it, you may

not get accurate feedback. On the other hand, many animals will

protest or try to avoid things that are not necessarily causing harm, but

may be uncomfortable or just plain unfamiliar to them, or the touch

may trigger an unpleasant memory. In these cases, if you stop what

they don't seem to like, you will safely avoid causing harm, a very

good thing, although you may also miss an opportunity to help with

some more healing for a problem area. Persisting when your animal is

unsure is a very fine line to walk, and training and experience

becomes much more important. When in doubt, an appointment with a

professional may be just thing to help you get more accomplished

with massage while avoiding doing any harm.

Because massage does have very real physiological effects on the body,

professional massage therapists receive training about contraindications

(when not to massage) and precautions (when and how to adapt the massage

for certain conditions). You can read more about this in Animal Massage: A

Consumer Guide, as well as in Chapter 6: Guidelines for Effectiveness and

Copyright © 2010 All About Animal Massage

Safety, in The Dog Lover's Guide to Massage and The Horse Lover's Guide

to Massage. You can also usually find information on contraindications and

precautions in any book on massage for animals or for people, though some

situations may be specific to one or the other.

While it's important to be aware that massage can indeed cause harm,

remember that as long as your animal is in good health and you're listening

to their feedback, you have little to worry about. If your animal is not in

good health, just ask your vet about whether and how massage might still be

used to support their comfort and wellness. (But if your vet says, "Sure, go

ahead and try massage. It couldn't hurt."

The Amazon Rainforest offers a healthy alternative to harsh chemicals for flea and tick control.

Would you like to offer your pet a healthy defense against fleas?

Animal massage: 2 Myth #2: No pain, no gain.

This myth is probably especially common when people are thinking about massage for themselves, but some apply the same idea to therapy for their animals. (It's a myth either way, whatever the species.) The fact is, most massage benefits can and should be achieved without inflicting pain.

Does this mean all pain is bad? No. Some pain may, at times, be necessary to accomplish a worthwhile "release," or therapeutic shift. But this is more the exception than the rule, and the practitioner must be highly skilled and accurate to reduce risk of damage in the process. Yes, damage is possible with massage and bodywork. That's one reason those without advanced skills and experience should avoid moves that the animal (or human) responds to with a defensive pain reaction.

While many benefits can be accomplished with zero pain or discomfort, some therapeutic effects fall somewhere in between. You may already be familiar with the "hurts so good" sensation, where there's some discomfort, but at the same time the body is still wanting the work because it knows a positive process is happening. You may see the animal really "tune in" and focus. They may go through moments of agitation, but then return to the inward focus and eventually display a clear sign of release and relaxation. So although it's not always true, a better rule of thumb for massage would be... Pain? No gain!

Fantasy got her winter clip!

A good, sharp clipper is essential.  Moving against the hair is key.  A smaller clipper is necessary for the face and other small areas.

 

All About Animal Massage

All About Animal Massage

Massage and bodywork can contribute significantly to your animal’s ease of movement, health, and quality of life. In addition to reducing muscle soreness, deepening your relationship, and providing well-deserved pampering, massage can also:

• Boost the immune system
• Improve the quality and symmetry of movement
• Support better joint health and function
• Promote earlier detection of stresses and strains

• Stimulate circulation for greater health of all tissues
• Help reduce risk, severity, and frequency of injuries
• Improve athletic agility and coordination
• Reduce the effects of stress
• Minimize restrictions caused by old scar tissue
• Reduce or eliminate adhesions, knots, and other restrictions
• Improve skeletal alignment for more efficient movement
• Release endorphins (natural pain killers)
• Lower blood pressure
• Improve digestion