The Purrfect Nanny & Purrfect Pet Health Blog

Whether your family exchanges gifts around a Christmas tree or exchanges gifts each night during Hanukkah, chances are your mind has recently turned to gift giving. For us pet lovers, that often includes our furry family members as well.

Particularly for dogs, the right ‘gift’ can make a huge difference in their happiness and fulfillment day-to-day.

Dogs are pack animals. They’re loyal and socially dependent on their ‘pack’ — which is you and your family! When you aren’t around, they may become lonely or even dreadfully bored! Many behavior problems like crying, barking, chewing, digging and other destructive behaviors can be a direct symptom of boredom.

Recently, while trying to solve a problem for a friend’s dog who is probably one of the world’s most TERRIBLE chewers, I came across a great article on how to keep dogs mentally stimulated. I’ve included excerpts below, as well as a link to the full article. Through the online article, you can further link to “Instructions on how to creatively stuff KONG toys!”, “How to clicker train your dog” and a chart on three common types of rawhide that the author feels are “Good” vs. “Dangerous”, including pictures of each.”

BORED DOGS ARE DESTRUCTIVE DOGS

After you’ve been gone for awhile, your dog quits sulking and starts looking for something to do other than lie around bored in an empty house all day.

Enter destructive behavior. They live for the moment their pack returns. But in the meantime…
They may help themselves to your socks, shoes, or clothing left lying around, your furniture, your kitchen cabinets, your child’s stuffed animals, or whatever they can find to relieve their boredom.
So your dog — who protects you and loves you — now creates frustration when you return home from wherever you’ve been.
What to do…?

Read the rest of this entry »

I loved this article, forwarded to me from a friend… It seems I’m not the only crazy pet owner who considers my pets part of the family!

When it comes to pampering pets, the sky’s the limit
BY JEFF SEIDEL
DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

When the stock market took a nose dive this summer, Steve Sturn was bummed about the performance of his 401(k). But the uncertain economy didn’t stop him from splurging on Bruno, his French bulldog. Sturn bought a $15.95 bone-shaped cake from Three Dog Bakery in Plymouth to celebrate Bruno’s one-year birthday.

“He loved it,” said Sturn, 31, of Ann Arbor, who works for a mortgage company. “He went at it.”

Sturn, who is engaged, doesn’t have any children, unless you count Bruno and his other dog, Rod, a 10-month-old Boston terrier. “They are like family members,” Sturn said. “This is a special occasion. It’s like a kid’s birthday.”

Despite a weak economy, pet owners continue to spend big money on their pets, pampering them with everything from massages to treats to teeth whitening.
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I’d like to share a terrific “tip of the week” that just hit my inbox from the Whole Dog Journal.

Your Dog’s Drinking Water

The purity of your pet’s drinking water is a serious consideration. In his book Pet Allergies, Alfred Plechner lists contaminated drinking water as a common cause of health problems. The simple act of replacing tap water with distilled, bottled or filtered water can bring surprising, dramatic improvements.

Read the rest of this entry »

Time to brighten your day…

The Purrfect Nanny thanks the wonderful parent/dog owner who originally took these photos and uploaded them onto the web. They’ve been circulating the web and emails for a while, but perhaps you haven’t yet seen this fantastic tutorial for dogs!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROPERLY HUGGING A BABY
(from a dog’s point of view):

1. Uh, find a baby.

Read the rest of this entry »

I recently discovered, completely by accident, one of the most fascinating books I have ever read.

As an animal lover I have always been curious about animal behavior. And in recent years I have loved seeing our eldest son’s amazing ability to relate to our pets in ways that far exceed his years. So when I discovered a book Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals, I was curious enough to buy it – ostensibly for my son.

Beginning in the chapter about dogs, I was immediately drawn in by the author’s fascinating observations. She revealed an entirely new way of looking at what makes animals tick. In the days that followed, when I had spare time, I’d open to some new chapter and discover more fascinating tidbits.

Her compassion for and understanding of animals is remarkable. Read the rest of this entry »

We at The Purrfect Nanny are proud to brag about the delicious (and nutritious!) home-made dog treats being offered by Jennifer Featherstone, one of our wonderful sitters.

As Jennifer writes on her website: “In an effort to give my dogs the best nutritional diet, I discovered that the FDA does not require pre-market approval of pet products. The FDA only ensures that the ingredients used in pet food are safe and have an appropriate function. This means that commercial foods may contain low nutritional value. Just as with humans, if dogs are eating a low nutritional value diet, over time, they may become ill and develop diseases. Read the rest of this entry »

No, that can’t be right can it? The only thing perilous about Valentine’s Day is the pounds we’ll put on from all the chocolate, right?

So…in celebration of this day of “sweets for the sweet.” I had just finished making a double batch of double dark chocolate brownies (with chocolate chips added just for kicks) to treat my co-workers. Tightly sealed in an airtight plastic container they were safely (or so I thought) esconced on the kitchen table. The usual rush to get ready for work, round up the pups to put them up…you guessed it. Chocolate crumbs and swollen bellies told a tale of thievery! Read the rest of this entry »

The Association of Professional Dog Trainers has dubbed January “Train Your Dog Month” in an effort to promote public awareness about positive training methods. APDT member and positive reinforcement trainer, Susan Howard, of Ruff Diamond Dogs in Woodstock, Georgia, has this to say on the subject.

The Power of Positivity

What would you say if I told you that I have a “magic wand” that can turn your unruly dog into a well behaved member of the family? That’s right, bring on your worst barkers, pullers, diggers, jumpers and I will show you how a three-inch piece of plastic can change your life. But first (you know the drill, there is always a “but” after the teaser) you need to acquire a working knowledge of the principles of reinforcement training. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. Jane Bicks has some good points here in her article about “Why do cats purr?”

Most people believe cats purr when they are content or happy. While cats do purr when they are content, researchers attempting to uncover the answer to this 3,000-year-old mystery are finding the answer more complicated than previously thought. All domestic cats purr, as well as many wild cats, like pumas, ocelots, lions and cheetahs. Purring can occur in a variety of situations. When cats purr in the presence of other unknown cats or kittens, the behavior may serve to convey submissiveness or a friendly greeting. While it is true that cats purr contentedly while on their pet parent’s lap, they also purr when they give birth, when they are frightened, severely injured and even while dying. Because kitties clearly cannot be content in all these situations, contentment or friendliness cannot be the only reason they purr.

So why else would they purr?

Continue reading here!

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Probiotics have received a great deal of attention lately, and this focus is absolutely justified. An increasing number of products, from yogurts to pet foods, contain probiotics. Often referred to as “healthy” and/or “friendly” bacteria (or microorganisms) in the media, their proper notation is “direct fed microbials” when used in pet foods. Basically, probiotics are helpful bacteria that reside in the intestinal tract. In fact, every digestive system contains millions of bacteria, both those with a healthful purpose (like probiotics) and some that are not so beneficial. While some kinds of bacteria can be harmful, many (like direct fed microbials) actually help the immune system adapt to internal changes within the body and thus naturally support good health.

Most people do not realize that located within the digestive system is one a very important group of immune cells called the Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue (GALT), which communicate with the immune cells located throughout the body. In some respects, the GALT is the first line of defense against unhealthy microorganisms in the body. Whereas most of the cells in our body receive nutrition from the blood, this is not true for the GALT – it receives the majority of its nutrients from these helpful bacteria. Read the rest of this entry »