Dogs And Horses - Lessons Learned

Watching old cowboy movies, you would think that dogs and horses just naturally got along. But that is not always the case. And some of us have to learn it the hard way. To give you an example, my experiences with horses and dogs had almost always been pretty good. I had been lucky.

Living out in the country, it seems people just automatically thought if they dropped off dogs and puppies they didn't want or couldn't keep, someone else would take responsibility for them. So, I always had more than enough dogs around the place and for the most part, they were good dogs, but a few were real standouts.

Two of these really great dogs, were puppies, littermates, that someone had dropped off right down the road from us, along with a beautiful springer spaniel, who certainly looked like a pure bred. The puppies were solid black, but resembled a German Shepherd.

As they grew up, we still could not identify just what breed they looked like. My oldest son, decided the male was his. He eventually grew up to be around 110 pounds, with enough hair that stood out from his body to make him look even larger. His name was Wolf.

But my brother chose the female and called her Sheeba. Sheeba, on the other hand was sleek and slim, but still tipped the scales at around 75 to 80 pounds. It was Sheeba that taught me a lesson about dogs and horses.

One of my horses, a little Arab named Zarafadi, had injured his leg and it was not healing well. If left out at all, he would end up breaking open the gash, and the healing process would have to start all over again. He was about 4 years old and didn't like to lead a sedentary lifestyle, but we had no choice but to keep him confined and his only exercise was short little walks on a lead.

One Sunday morning, after about 6 weeks of confinement, Zar's injury was deemed good enough to let him out by himself in a large paddock. My brother had come over that morning and brought Sheeba, who had grown up to be an exceptionally good dog, always behaved, well trained and responded to commands.

The three of us, including Sheeba, were standing outside the stall door when I opened it up to let Zar out into his paddock. I knew he had a lot of pent up energy, but when I opened that door wide, he literally burst out at a run, bucking and kicking out.

I hadn't quite expected an explosion like that. Before we could say anything, Sheeba took off after him and ran right into one of those kicks. In a split second, she was already on the ground and we thought she was dead.

After hearing the sound of that horse's hoof ringing out against her skull, we had no reason to assume anything else, but that she was gone already.

Amazingly, she wasn't.

Carefully loading her up, we were off to the vet's. We arrived at his office a few minutes before he could get there and that whole time we really expected her to quit breathing, but she didn't, though we could see a large indentation where the hoof had hit her head.

Finally the vet arrived and his diagnosis was that part of her skull was crushed, which we had already assumed anyway and that there wasn't much we could do for the skull. But what about the damage to the brain?

We left her there, expecting a call telling us she had died, but thankfully we never got that call. Obviously, the injury to her brain had not been as extensive as we had at first thought.

After a few days, Keith took her home and nursed her back to health. After a while, none of us even noticed that her head was not as it once was. Occasionally other people did, but we were just glad to still have her.

Everywhere Keith went, Sheeba went as well, including to work. My brother's sign shop would not have been the same during those years without her. She lived a long and happy life after that incident with the horse, and Zar also lived for about 27 more years, without kicking any more dogs. He really had not kicked at her at all, she really had just run in the wrong place as he was exuberantly enjoying his freedom.

But it did teach me one lesson. And that was that you can't trust animals, or for that matter little children, to always react the way you expect them to, therefore you have to think for them in advance, to keep them safe.

We didn't think that Zar would be that excited or that Sheeba would race after him before we could even tell her not to, but I should have given that some thought before opening up that stall door. Since then, I have always tried to think of all the possibilities and prepare for them, especially in dealing with animals and small children. That isn't always possible, of course, but the only thing we can do is try.

For the most part, with thought and training, dogs and horses can live comfortably together on the same farm or stables, but it’s up to you to keep them both safe.

If you need a resource for information and products for your animals check out Dog Training at http://www.dogtraining.yourspecialpets.com and for more on the subject of Dog Training and Horses there is an article for you to read on Dogs Around Horses.

How To Move With Your Pets

Moving to a new home with your pets is not an easy task, but it's nothing to be afraid of. Below are some tips and ideas you might want to take a look at.

• Think in advance -

  It will make the process of moving less stressful, which is important both for you and your pet. Make sure you arrange every aspect of your trip, including looking for hotels that are animal-friendly or talking to the airlines if you're flying to your new destination.

• Get a pet carrier -

  It's worth investing in a well built pet carrier. If you want to keep your pet safely confined during the moving period, make sure you gradually introduce this temporary home to your animal and make sure it gets used to it.

• Security -

  make sure you get a ID tag with your new address and full contact details. Consider using up-to-date tools such as collars with imprinted ID information or collars with a digital data carrier on them, such as a USB stick or a microchip implant. The latter allows you to put very specific information on how to contact you along with the medical history of your pet. Some countries even require this when importing animal, as a proof that the animal and the vaccination record belong together. You also want to prevent your pet for getting lost on the day of your move. Place your pet in a safe place (in one particular room) so it's not possible for him or her to escape. Make this room off-limits for everyone who enters the house on that day.

• Airfare -

  Remember that the airline must check your animal in all cases for medical and other reasons. Some airlines allow passengers to carry their pets in the cabin of a plane if the cases fit under the passenger's seat. Keep in mind that certain countries require a quarantine period for specified or all animals at the owner's expense, make sure you ask your travel agent about this. Don't forget about possible medical certificates required.

• By car -

  Consider your experiences with the pet so far. How does it behave during long car journeys? Make sure your car is well ventilated and never leave your pet in the car in a parked vehicle during a warm period, as the temperature rise could kill them. Never put an animal in the trunk of a car, the open bed of a pickup truck, or the storage area of a moving van.

• Veterinarian -

  Consult with your veterinarian in detail in every single case. Make sure he or she knows all the necessary information about where are you moving and alerts you about possible difficulties. Your veterinarian might also be able to recommend a specialist in your new area.

• Feeding -

  If you travel by plane, make sure you attach feeding instruction and watering for your pet over a 24-hour period to the kennel. This is just in case your pet gets diverted from the original destination. In other cases, make sure you have everything you need for feeding with you, if you travel by car.

• Take a walk before you go -

  If you have a dog or a cat, make sure you take her out for a long walk before you start your journey.

Jay Banks has been an accomplished realtor in Vancouver BC for several years. For more information and other great tips, visit his website http://www.jaybanks.ca

Losing An Animal Can Be One Of The Biggest Emotional Traumas In Our Life

When we look deep into our animals' eyes, we think we can almost hear what they are saying. We can almost feel their pain. Sure, we can hear their groans as they get up, and yet we can also hear those unspoken words of love and commitment. They speak of their love for us, their owner, unconditionally, and a commitment of loyalty to our family forever.

Many dog and cat owners have faced the difficult decision of whether to euthanase their pet or not. In one particular example, a client had a dog who had been with her for over 12 years and the dog's health had been slowly declining over a period of months. Slower to get up in the morning. Incontinent at night-time. Still eating, but with less enthusiasm. Bumping into objects in the back-yard. Growling at the other dogs. No interest in playing games. She would still come up for a cuddle and a special treat, but the times when she seemed relaxed and happy were fewer.

Have you asked yourself these questions? Is it time? What do I do now? How will I know? Where should we bury her? Or should we cremate her? What happens next? What if I burst out crying on the phone to the vet? It is times like this when your vet and a healer will be a tremendous source of strength for you. These are people who care about an animal life as much as you do and will do their best to give you answers to questions that maybe you can not bring yourself to ask, but were wondering about.

Another example of knowing when the time is right is through communicating with your animal and looking for the response. Ask your pet (and you can do this in your mind only if you wish). Ask them 'is there anything I can do for you?' Ask 'please show me what you want me to do'.

With the 12-year-old dog I mentioned, we gave the animal a healing treatment and she feel into a deep peaceful sleep within five minutes. The next morning she passed away peacefully in the car on the way to the vets. In this case, the healing treatment merely brought a deep feeling of relaxation and freedom from pain and gave the animal an opportunity to free itself from the earthly body if it so chose to.

Of course, your animal may respond to your question with a great leap in energy the very next day. You probably made an appointment at the vet for a check-up, all the while thinking this was probably the last visit. You walk the dog in and the vet says 'gee, Buster is looking fabulous today'. Right away you got the sign you were asking for. These are the subtle answers you will get if you keep your questions to your animal clear and without an attachment to the result. In other words, be open to whatever they may wish to show you.

What else can we do?
* Place a Himalayan or other crystal near their bed to ionise the air and bring a great sleep
* Acupuncture, massage, Flower Essences or Reiki will bring great relief
* Essential oil sprays for stress relief.
* Keep them in quiet rooms away from too much noise
* Keep them to a routine
* Move away the clutter
* Tell them how much you love them

Also, when your animal is having a good day and you feel okay, give your vet a call and start asking the questions that you know will be hard to ask later on. Ask will they come to the house and if so, on what days and at what time. Ask if they know someone who offers a cremation service or a funeral service.

Keep children informed of what you are doing. Let them know that there is a heaven for animals and that one day your pet may need to go there. We do not know which day that will be, so every day we tell them how much we love them and say thank you for giving us so much joy.

Deborah Stewart is an animal healer, grief counselor and teacher. Deborah has helped many animals and their owners heal throughout the world. For more information visit http://www.naturalpetsonline.com.au/