I took my dog Beau to the groomer this morning and began to wonder what our dogs think about when we take them to get fully manicured and/or when we outfit them in the latest couture. They are dogs, they probably don’t really care. Do you think they look in the mirror, prance around and admire themselves? I don’t think so! It’s really for us, their owners. We want them to look cute – for most of us, they’re our children.

I read a great article in the Orlando Sentinel the other day entitled “The incredibly growing pet.” The article focused on the epidemic of fat pets in the United States. According to a recent survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than half the dogs and cats in the US are overweight or obese. And many people often don’t recognize the fact that their pet is overweight. While there are medical reasons why a pet can become overweight, the article noted the reason often given by owners with overweight dogs – it’s because we love them so much that we feed them all the time!

The holiday season is all about family and friends, including our 4-legged friends. We want our dogs to be part of the festivities, but we also need to make sure they stay safe and stress free. According to many vets, the holidays are one of the most dangerous times of the year for pets. Here are some important guidelines and tips to think about this holiday season.

Can you tell when your dog is frightened or fearful? Do you know how to read his body language, stress signals and calming/cutoff signals he exhibits when anxious or scared?

Today is a special day – 11/11/11, the only time this century the 2 digits for month, day, and year are all ones. At 11:11am today, date and time will be all ones. As a former software engineer, I think about how all programming languages have at their core the basic values of ones and zeros, one means yes, and zero means no. So on a spiritual level, today is a day for “yes.”

I read a great article in the New York Times the other day titled “Dog Massage? Isn’t Petting Enough?” The article talks in part about the controversy surrounding whether pet massage actually helps the animal or whether it is just glorified petting. While many vets may say that there is no science behind pet massage, I’ve seen first hand the positive effects of massage on dogs.

I don’t usually go to dog parks because I don’t think my dog Beau enjoys them. But it was a nice day and thought we should go out and do a little socializing. Now mind you, these are only my opinions and observations, nothing more.

I was talking with a friend and she mentioned how she has an agreement with her dog that her dog will live to be at least 20 years old. She asked how I could have a preference for bigger dogs which typically have a shortened life span. I told her we never know what’s going to happen in life. One minute everything’s fine, the next minute, not. Daily there’s news of accidents and tragic events that take the lives of young people. There’s no guarantee.

Believe it or not, I never experienced fleas until I moved to Florida – I did battle with ticks; coming from the northeast and I’m not sure which is worse. It doesn’t really matter, the fact is they were gross and my dog suffered. At the time, I was using chemicals just like so many others to eradicate or prevent infestation. Pulling off the fat ticks (Ugh!) or watching my dog scratch was difficult. So, I resorted to the recommended flea and tick control.

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Rocky's Retreat | 2826 Shader Rd. Orlando FL 32808 | info@rockysretreat.com | (407) 295-3888