All I want for Christmas

All I Want for Christmas is a Dog!

Most dog experts will say that Christmas is the worst time to bring a dog in your family. In many ways they are right. A dog needs your time and attention and you probably do not have that much available around the Holidays.
On the other hand if the little fur ball caught your heart at the shelter, with a bit of organization it could work out very well.
Five Tips to Bring Your Pup home at Christmas and Make it Work.


#1 – Take a break and spend time together

Your dog is going to need extra attention at first. Especially if he comes from a shelter. Anxious, may be a bit worried he has to adapt to his new environment and life. Make a schedule for regular outing, walks and spend time with your dog. It can be done as a family or everyone individually. It is very important to spend some quality time together as your new four legged friend settles in.

#2 – Give him some space

This cannot be emphasized enough. Christmas or not, it is important to have an area in the house that is just his. It could be his crate, his bed or a corner in the living room where he can sees everyone and be alone at the same time. If you have children or visitors, make sure they know the dog cannot be disturbed when he is in his quiet spot.

#3 – Time to play and time out

Dogs are playful and so are kids. The two together will have a wonderful time together. Younger children and dogs can be all play and no stop. It would be best to have some adult supervision during play time. Then you need to create some time out and some quiet time so things stay under control. With to much play and attention, dogs can get stressed and this is when they can snapped.

Make sure they get involved with the training. To avoid incident teach your kids how to respect the dog. Non verbal communicator, dogs communicate with us with body language. Knowing sign of stress will help avoid problems.

#4 – Have a structure in place

Dogs love routine and structure. When your dog arrive in your house structure and routine will help him relax and understand the rules of the house. What is allowed – what is not allowed – what to expect – so he can adapt, learn quickly. and fit into your daily life. But be patient. It might take a little while to adjust.

#5 – Minimize alone time

I know it is difficult, but dogs do not like being alone. This is something you seriously need to think about before getting your dog. How long is he going to spend alone?. Is there a way you can take him along to work if you are gone for eight hours? If not think twice before you bring a dog in your life.

With a little bit of planning bringing a dog home for Christmas will give a different slant to the Holidays. You can make it work if you are ready to put some time and energy into it. Owning a dog is a responsibility, they cost money, they need our time, attention and love. But it is one of the most memorable and fulfilling journey you will ever undertake … no matter when you start it.

#6 - A good ID Tag

It is important that all pets have both permanent and visible forms of ID. Lost pets often lose their collar and ID tag/license and can only be identified by their microchip. Conversely, since microchips are embedded under the skin, ID tags and licenses serve as physical proof of ownership, alerting someone who has found your pet that he or she has an owner. Multiple forms of ID drastically increase the likelihood that you will be reunited with your lost pet. Remember, identification is your pet's ticket home!

source : happytail.com

Therapy Dog Saves Little Girl's Life

A young girl overcame a rare autoimmune disease thanks to the help of a therapy dog program at a Minnesota children’s hospital.

Ally Gillen was just like any normal 10-year old until one day in 2008 when she began to have trouble walking. Almost overnight, Ally’s condition deteriorated and got to the point where she had trouble making simple movements. Doctors ran tests and she was diagnosed with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM), an extremely rare autoimmune connective tissue disease that affects one in a million children.

Upon receiving her diagnosis, Ally was checked into Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, where she spent the next seven weeks. Ally’s mother, Heather Gillen, says that her daughter was in so much pain that she could barely lift her head up from the hospital bed. “When the occupational therapists would come into her room to get her to move, she would cry because it hurt so much. I wanted to yell ‘don’t touch my daughter.’”

During the course of her treatment, an occupational therapist brought a therapy dog in to visit Ally. After spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, and her birthday in the hospital, Ally missed her own dog, Angel, and was excited to spend some time with the therapy dog. “The occupational therapist would place a dog on my shoulder so I could pet him. Then she would move the dog to my other shoulder or other part of my body. I would reach down and pet the dog,” explains Ally.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Ally engaged in a variety of rehabilitation exercises which involved therapy dogs. She moved her arms around to pet the dogs and redeveloped her fine motor skills by dressing them up costumes and taking them for walks in her wheelchair. A small dog bearing a tic-tac-toe board game on its back kept Ally challenged, as she had to get on the floor and move the pieces of the board game around in order to play.

Forty-nine days after the therapy dogs began visiting, Ally was able to move out of a hospital bed and into a wheelchair. She resumed her therapy with Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota on an outpatient basis, where she continued to work with the dogs. Now at twelve years old, Ally has decided that she wants to become an occupational therapist and work with therapy dogs down the line. She enrolled her seven-year-old dog, Angel, in the Delta Therapy Dog Certification program, which she completed alongside her mother. Ally and Angel visit Children’s once a week and bring joy to many of the hospital’s patients.

Ally attributes working with the pet therapy program to saving her life. “Dogs are a big part of my life and always will be. Now that all of this has happened, I’m going to get a degree in OT when I’m older. And I will train a few dogs to be therapy dogs.”

source : Nicole Pajer