If you are a pet owner, you don’t need to be told that animals have the power to relax and calm.  Studies find that interacting with pets can actually reduce the rate of healing time for the sick and emotionally stressed.

Pet therapy is becoming a standard in many hospitals, including children’s hospitals.  There are pet therapy volunteer programs that bring dogs and other animals directly to patients and staff alike.   Some children’s hospitals even have “baseball cards” featuring each therapy animal that the children can collect during extended stays.

Touching a pet can lower blood pressure, help a disturbed patient to connect quickly to health care workers and speed healing for both children and adults alike.  Amazingly, interaction with a pet can bring an Alzheimer’s patient back to “the present.”  It can also calm children with attention deficit disorder and reduce depression rates in hospitals and elderly care facilities.

Do you think your dog or other pet would be a good therapy animal?  Hospitals in particular have necessary strict guidelines for animals that enter the facility.

Dogs must usually be at least a year old and have been owned by one person for at least six months.  The dog cannot have any bite history and might be required to graduate from a certified training course.

Your dog or other pet must be calm as many hands come near the animal.  Facilities will also require bathing and grooming to be performed before visits, and certification of health by a veterinarian is a must.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has a pet therapy program with a straightforward behavior test for potential dog volunteers.  They have an excellent standardized dog therapy test that can give you an idea of whether your dog has the potential to work in therapy situations.

If you think your pet would make an excellent therapy animal, talk to your local hospital or elderly care center about their pet therapy requirements.  The benefit both you and your pet receive will far outweigh the time it takes to complete the pet therapy prerequisites!

This guest post is brought to you be Dog Fence DIY’s staff veterinarian Dr. Susan Wright. Dog Fence DIY will help you choose the right pet containment system for your pet, help you install it properly, and help train your pet to use the new system. Dog Fence DIY has a variety of electric dog fences at the best available prices. 

You may have heard of probiotics. They are good for your digestive system, and now there are suggestions that they may also benefit your dog. 

Here are the facts about probiotics, and how they can be beneficial in our dogs. 

1. Probiotics are food supplements which contain bacteria or yeasts. These organisms are completely harmless, but may be useful in adding healthy bacteria to your dog’s intestinal tract.

 2. Probiotics protect your dog from infection by bacteria that may make him ill. They usually work in his gastro-intestinal tract, doing their job in several ways. They kill any harmful bacteria in his intestines, and they also support his own immune sytem so he can fight off unhealthy bacteria. 

3. They appear to be particularly beneficial to those dogs with bacterial overgrowth in their intestines. Many vets find them helpful in treating dogs with diarrhea and flatulence. Some studies also suggest that they may be of some use in cases of infection elsewhere in the body, particularly the skin. If a dog is on antibiotics for a long period of time, the medication may also affect the numbers of bacteria in his intestines, causing a secondary diarrhea. Probiotics can help restore his intestinal bacterial population to normal.

4. Natural yogurt contains lactobacillus, bacteria that are often used as a probiotic. So, can you give your dog yogurt to keep his intestines healthy? Not necessarily. There’s no proof that all bacteria are effective in all species, and in fact, some probiotics work better in people than in other species, and vice versa. So, lactobacillus may not work in your dog. Even if you feed him a commercial human probiotic, it still may not do him any good. You may want to use a probiotic that has been specifically formulated for dogs. One such product is Fortiflora, manufactured by Purina. As an alternative, you may choose a dry dog kibble which has a probiotic in it, so each time your dog has dinner, he’s giving his intestines a dose of healthy bacteria.

5. Probiotics need to be stored carefully. They are living bacteria, and can die off if they become too hot, if they’re exposed to excessive light or if they’re left on the shelf for a long time. If you’re buying a probiotic, check the expiration date, and ask how it has been stored, so you know whether or not the bacterial count may have been reduced by poor storage. 

So, do you use a probiotic in your dog, or not?  It’s not something that you’d necessarily feed a healthy dog. However if your dog has an upset stomach or loose bowels, it’s worth considering. They are very safe, have no side effects, and you can sneak them into your dog’s food or water. Why not try them out? They may just make a difference.