Posted by admin on March 4, 2009
It goes without saying that your dog needs suitable nutrition to remain healthy. Vets and pet food manufacturers often have differing views on appropriate nutrition for your dog. Although commercial pet food manufacturers are motivated in large part by profits, commercially prepared foods are routinely recommended as part of an adequate, or good, diet for your dog. Sometimes your vet or dog breeder may approve of commercially prepared foods as your dog�s sole diet. Many experts, however, tend to prefer a largely natural diet which for dogs is invariably comprised of meat and bones. Raw is preferable to cooked, as some of the minerals are definitely lost in the cooking process.
The reason why the commercially prepared pet food is so often fed to our dogs, is because, apart from the convenience, it can (depending upon the quality) actually contain many of the nutrients which are essential to your dog�s wellbeing. The key word here is quality. There are in fact very, very few commercial manufacturers which produce nutrient-rich food. And they’re not the brands you find in your supermarket, or even in most pet stores or vetinarians.
Raw bones with a little dry food as well as occasional rice or pasta, and perhaps the odd quality food scrap from your table, will generally contain most of the nutrients which your dog needs.
All dogs must obtain reasonable nutrition from their food to maintain excellent health and performance. The main nutrients required by your dog are water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Vitamin or mineral deficiency in dogs fed a commercially manufactured diet today is not widely publicised. But then again, the slosh and dried formulae which are readily available from your vet or the local supermarket are not your dog�s natural diet. If your dog was left to fend for itself in the wild (assuming it could manage to adapt, that is), would choose raw meat. And one of the reasons why meat, and especially bones, are so good, is the chewing action and the teeth cleaning function which the bones perform. Of course, there are also commercially prepared substitutes which can also effectively clean your dog�s teeth and satisfy his/her need to chew.
A lesser known fact is that to feed your dog only meat (with no bones and no cereals or other carbohydrate source) can cause severe deficiencies: your dog is likely to become lethargic, sick, and even death has been known to occur from an all meat diet. But what about dogs in the wild, I hear you ask? Isn�t meat a dog�s natural diet? Isn�t that what you just said, Brigitte? Well, yes and no: in the wild dogs eat the whole of their prey, not simply muscle meat - they thus obtain vegetable matter from the digestive tract of their prey, and calcium from the bones. As well, wild dogs occasionally, but routinely, add to their diet with plants, fruit and berries.
Most dogs relish some raw fruit and vegetables in their diet, so long as that’s what they’re used to. A dog who has been fed commercially prepared dog food all of its life won’t be used to the taste of fresh food, so may well turn up his/her nose if you introduce such healthy food later in life. But persevere - try hand feeding pieces of carrot or apple to begin with. And if your dog is still very young, all the better. Start as you mean to go on and feed him/her some raw fruit and vegetables from time to time. Your dog’s health will benefit!
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Most of us are “regular” people. We don’t eat the perfect diet
all the time and have our struggles with food, same as everyone
else. But having an awareness of this fact and knowing a little
bit about our health and food nutrition can help when it comes to
making wise decisions.
Many people struggle with food “cravings.” Studies tell us that
it’s fairly common for food cravings to happen at certain times,
quite often at around bedtime. Your guard may be down, you may
have had an unusually hard day, and off you go on your
not-so-merry way to find that tasty treat. Fatigue and stress
often combine to take their toll on the best of intentions.
When food cravings are unconstrained, what starts out as a
bedtime snack quickly turns into a full blown feeding
frenzy…not something most of us fully understand or appreciate.
We head to kitchen and every other place where food can hide,
clearing a path as we go.
Most food cravings are not about satisfying a nutritional need or
imbalance. They seem to be more emotionally related, or God
forbid, are caused by plain old gluttony. Exactly why we
over-indulge is not completely understood, however our knowledge
about this subject continues to grow.
Listed below are some thoughts and ideas about food cravings:
- If the food isn’t available, you can’t eat it! Empty the cookie
jar and keep it that way! Keep healthy food choices on-hand.
- Recognize the feelings and emotions that lead-up to a food
craving. Do you have food cravings when you�re bored, lonely, or
stressed? If you can identify a trigger, you can deal with the
emotion that�s making you desire a certain food. Try to deal with
the triggers in the best way you can.
- Sometimes, even recognizing that a craving is about to happen
doesn’t seem to help. Don’t beat yourself-up. There is always
tomorrow. Call a friend, make good use of your support network
and share your feelings with someone.
- Get enough sleep. When you�re tired, you�re more likely to
crave things.
- Never give-up. When you “slip”, press-in, bear-down, get a
grip, do whatever is necessary to re-gain control. Try to
practice restraint most of the time, but don’t get legalistic and
un-balanced in your weight loss approach. Think moderation and
not abstinence at all times!
- Understand that self-control and discipline by themselves,
won’t cut it! If you depend totally on yourself for control, you
will fail. Forming caring and supportive relationships is
required. If you do not currently have a support network, start
building one TODAY.
- Exercise. It increases feel-good endorphins that cut down on
your cravings. Try to get at least 30 minutes of physical
activity every day.
- Use moderation. Instead of stuffing yourself with every kind of
food hoping that your craving will go away, eat 100 to 200
calories of your “craved” food.
- Substitute with low-fat foods and complex carbs. If you�re
hungry for chocolate, eat non-fat chocolate yogurt. Try fig bars
or raisins for a sweet craving.
- Never skip a meal. Eat every three to five hours. Try six
smaller meals or regular meals with nutritious snacks.
- Understand that hunger craving are oftentimes stress related.
Practice other ways to treat chronic stress � a walk in the park,
spiritual connections, a cozy fireplace, baths…all these
stimulate neurochemicals that activate regions of the brain that
stimulate pleasure. Relaxation techniques may work by reducing
the psychological drives on stress output, which can be the root
causes of stress. Bottom line, substitute pleasurable experiences
for comfort foods.
- Beware of certain medications. They can stimulate appetite.
Drugs used for the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder
can be appetite stimulants. Other drugs, both prescription and
over the counter, may influence appetite as well. If you are on a
medication, and troubled by food cravings, discuss this with your
doctor or pharmacist. You may be able to find an alternative that
doesn’t send your cravings out of control.
- Distract Yourself. What’s that old expression…idle hands are
the devils workshop? Get busy. Do anything other than cave-in to
your desire for food, and keep doing it until the cravings
subside.
- One final thought, take a look inside your refrigerator and
kitchen cabinets and do some general “house cleaning.” Throw-out
all that unhealthy stuff that is waiting to sabotage your diet,
and start shopping more wisely. A little forethought and careful
planning will go a long way for improving your chances of
success.
Eat wisely, be happy, and live long!
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes
only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any
disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any
health care program.
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9 Tips to Stop Food Cravings and Help You With Your Diet medication, and troubled by food cravings, discuss this with your. doctor or pharmacist.
9 tips to stop food cravings and help you with your diet
9 Tips to Stop Food Cravings and Help You With Your Diet medication, and troubled by food cravings, discuss this with your. doctor or pharmacist.
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Posted by admin on March 3, 2009
Can a dog understand our language? If so, how much of it? The question poses possibly as many answers as there are dogs. Certainly the boundaries of a canine’s lexicon vary, according to his age, environment, training and inborn intelligence.
The average house dog is thought to develop a functional vocabulary of close to a dozen-and-a-half different words by the time he reaches five to six years of age. Additional phrases containing up to three key words can boost this total to a potential of about thirty.
While impressive, such a hefty vocabulary brings little to the average dog’s trainability. In fact, the more the dog’s vocabulary can be pruned, the better. Contradictory? Hardly. Our spoken words, though meaningful to us, are simply sounds to the dog. Heard initially, they express about as much to him as gobbledygook would to us. Only by demonstration and constant repetition can he be made to understand how each word applies to him, in terms of expected behavior response.
Some canine behaviorists compare that process to how a child learns. To a limited extent, the similarity may hold true. Still, there is scant valid basis for real comparison. True, a parent commonly uses phrases and often whole sentences to convey ideas and meaning to a baby. Yet, besides the meaning of words, the infant must also learn the more complicated process of mimicking their sounds for eventual speech. For the child then, speech sound patterns, to be imitated, swiftly vie in importance with word meanings. The dog, however, has neither the human intelligence level nor our need or ability to speak. It follows, then, that phrases and full sentences serve no purpose in enhancing the dog’s training. They should in fact, be considered excess baggage. Really, in the early and middle stages of his education, they tend only to create confusion and dilute his ability to absorb training
Unfortunately, too many new owners tend to muddle up their dog’s tutoring with surplus verbiage. It’s human nature for us to speak in whole sentences, but �Come on now, King, big fella, be a good boy and come right in here now when I call you,� can’t possibly pass muster as a good command to teach a young dog to come to you. Bet you can’t repeat that �command� from memory. So, how can you expect a dog to respond to something you can’t even remember yourself? Then, when he fails to comply or reacts erratically, the �command� often gets a few angry words added to it, further compounding the poor animal’s bewilderment and slowing the learning process..
It’s not impossible to train a dog using such excessively wordy commands. After all, most dogs are amazingly adaptable. Sooner or later, they will catch on to what’s wanted. But, your goal should be to speed the pace of training using the simplest, most direct orders to teach the young dog what’s expected
of him.
This means using the basic commands so important to all his future training. These are: his name, “No,” “Here,” “Sit,” “Stay” and “Kennel.” Equipped with this fundamental lexicon alone, any pup can become acceptably “civilized” in a matter of four or five weeks.
Choose a short, crisp, distinctive name for your dog that sounds nothing like any of the commands to be used now or later. It serves a two-fold purpose: 1) to give the pup identity, and 2) to get his attention to receive further orders.
�No,” is the most direct and practical negative; it interchanges effectively for several otherwise superfluous commands such as “Shame on You,” “Quiet,” “Get Down,” “Bad Dog.” “Dirty” (for housebreaking errors).
“Here,” of course, is the terse call in order that tells the pup to come to you. It is obviously more concise and effectual than “Come on in to me, now” or “Get in here, right now” and helps to avoid confusion.
“Sit” and/or “Stay” are the crisp directives that set up both the owner’s authority and grab the pup’s attention. Actually, the �Sit� command should also mean for the dog to �Stay,� until released with �OK,� or �Alright.�
“Kennel,” is a short, business-like order that encompasses a variety of meanings and eliminates the need for additional commands. For the dog it means �Get in the house,� “Get in your bed,” “Get in your kennel run,” “Get in your doghouse,” “Get in the car,” or “Get in the crate in the car,” depending on the circumstances of the moment. Obviously, such single-word commands are much more effective and time-saving than all of the above-mentioned separate ones Thus, his vocabulary has been slimmed, but not his understanding of, or obedience to, your various orders.
His later training will expand his vocabulary with the new directives of “Heel,” “Wait” and “Down.” Since you’ve used “No” to stop your dog’s various unwanted acts, such as jumping up on people, the word “Down” can now specify only one thing to the dog: lie down.
Eventually, he can be taught still more commands, such as �Off,� to tell to get off the furniture or your bed. Always keep in mind that these should be selected on the basis of crispness, simplicity and whenever possible, pertinence to a variety of situations.
The use of the fewest and shortest commands possible cannot fail to make your job of training and the dog’s job of learning much faster and easier. There’s just no sense in overloading his vocabulary. Keep it and his body lean and you’ll raise an alert, responsive, well-behaved, healthy dog�a pooch you can be proud to own.
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