12 Golden Rules for Dogs and their Humans

There are many pet owners that tend to forget that pet ownership comes with the responsibility to take care of them. Your responsible to a living and breathing creature that's why before you decide to get one you should know first the basic needs of your pet. Your responsibilities doesnt end in giving your pet food and shelter because they also need other stuff like health, attention and care.

Dogs are attentive, loyal, life-affirming, and understanding companions. But owning a dog means taking responsibility for him and making sure your relationship is built on a solid foundation. That's where these rules come into play: They can help you create a tighter bond with your pet by establishing roles, rules, and routines.

12 Golden Rules

1. Love, admire and respect your dog. Your dog is a wonderful, beautiful and intelligent member of the canine species. Be patient with him. Don't hurt, abandon, or ignore him. Get help before you give up on him.

2. Spay/neuter. Consult your veterinarian about spaying or neutering your dog if you know you will not breed him. These procedures help to control the severe pet population problem, and also have health benefits for both male and female dogs.

3. Routine health care. Provide regular veterinary care for your dog. Annual vaccinations, checkups, and dental exams are essential to good health.

4. Dog license and ID. Rabies vaccination and licensing are required by law in most states. In addition, you should identify your dog with a name tag, tattoo, or computer chip in case he gets lost.

5. Healthy diet. Feed your dog a balanced diet and provide fresh water at all times.

6. Train your dog. After all, good manners don't just happen. So be patient and follow a proper training routine. If you need help training your dog, there are many articles on this site that can help. And if you still need assistance, ask your vet to recommend a good trainer or dog obedience school in your area.

7. Keep your dog clean and groomed. Regular grooming keeps your dog looking his best and helps to detect and control skin parasites that could be passed to people.

8. Play with your dog. Playtime should last at 20–30 minutes a day. Avoid chase games, tug of war, and wrestling.

9. Exercise your dog. Depending on the age and breed of your dog, a good exercise session should last at least 30 minutes daily. And it's not just good for your dog—it's a great way for both of you to keep in shape.

10. Socialize your dog. Provide your dog with a chance to socialize with people and other dogs. Try not to keep him cooped up in the house or yard because it could lead to barking and aggressive behavior.

11. Know and obey local leash laws. When in doubt, keep him leashed when you're both out and about.

12. Scoop that poop. Always clean up after your dog in public places.

Information courtesy of Mars, Incorporated and its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved 2011.

Therapy dogs bring smiles to people in need

Hospitalized for severe depression, Gayle F. looked forward to spending time with her "therapists," who coaxed her back to health with non-judgmental support, frisky good humor and occasional wet kisses.

For Rocket, bringing smiles to people in need is her job as a therapy dog.

Owned by Patricia DeMeo of Wellesley, the bright-eyed mini-pinscher is one of 37 dogs providing "therapy on a leash" in MetroWest Medical Center's pet therapy program.

Discharged from the hospital a week ago, Gayle F., a 30-ish MetroWest resident who asked not to be identified, described those several-times-a-week, half-hour sessions with Rocket, Katie Bear and a giant Great Dane nicknamed Libby as "bright spots that provided light during a really tough time."

"I was very sick. I felt I was fighting for my life. Just sitting on the floor playing with Rocket and the others was the highlight of my week. I can't describe how valuable it was to getting back on my feet. Spending time with therapy dogs was instrumental in my ability to pull through," she said.

About three years ago, DeMeo enrolled Rocket as as a therapy dog at the hospital as a way to return the kindness and support her late parents received at a cancer hospice.
She said therapy dogs must learn at least a dozen task-specific commands, such as leaving treats or potentially dangerous objects they might encounter in a hospital, and moving carefully around patients using walkers or wheelchairs without being startled by sharp noises like dropping bedpans.

Throughout about 200 visits to the hospital and area nursing homes, DeMeo said Rocket has demonstrated an intuitive understanding of patients' varied needs.

"Dogs sense things humans don't. One patient might want Rocket to sit in her lap. Someone else might want kisses. Someone else might just want to touch her or talk about the dogs they used to own. Everyone wants something different. But Rocket just seems to know what they need," she said.

Sherri Hebert, administrative assistant in the behavioral medicine department who coordinates the pet therapy program, said the hospital has been using therapy dogs since 2002 to boost patients' spirits, encourage interaction and reduce stress.

Accompanied by an owner, therapy dogs visit the hospital's child development unit and behavioral medicine department, which includes geriatric and adult units. A dog owner who's enrolled her Pembroke Welsh corgi, Katie Bear, in the program, Hebert said individual dogs might make 30-minute visits to different units four to eight times a week, including weekends and evenings.

Director of Behavioral Medicine Mary Mullany said anecdotal evidence suggests spending time with therapy dogs can elevate patients' moods, lower blood pressure and relieve stress among patients and staff.

"We've seen patients with dementia calm down, and a man, almost immobilized by depression for several years, begin to communicate. With geriatric patients, I think spending time with therapy dogs can promote verbal skills. When therapy dogs come into a hospital setting, it's a time patients can laugh and enjoy themselves," she said.

That's no surprise to Susan Piraino, whose 135-pound Great Dane Liberty - nicknamed Libby - visits several hospital units, cheering up children as well as older patients who have diminishing communication skills.

The Ashland resident is convinced Libby "absolutely senses" the different needs of children, elderly and emotionally troubled patients.

And while Libby reaches her waist, Piraino said her personality is so placid she never snaps with roughhousing children or gets startled by unexpected noises.

Like several other owners, she said Libby becomes excited by the prospect of a hospital visit, signified when a special bandanna is wrapped around her neck. "She's ecstatic when she gets in the car to come here," said Piraino.

For several years, Pat Gipp has been bringing Penny, an alert Australian shepherd, to the hospital and hospice where patients nearing the ends of their lives seem comforted by stroking her coat.

The Holliston resident said Penny has entertained young patients by accepting high-fives and playing soccer with them.

Her voice turning serious, she recalled being asked to bring Penny to an area hospice where a dying patient had slipped into a coma. Without prompting, Penny laid next to him.

Three other dog owners nodded.

Stroking her Great Dane, Piraino said, "Love is the best medicine you can give."

Accountant follows her passion for animals

Like many people who love animals, Sue James' childhood dream was to become a veterinarian.

"I looked into going to vet school but my parents, they wanted me to pursue a more traditional career," said James, a Danville resident who grew up in a house in New York state where the family pets included dogs, rabbits -- even a monkey.

After a long stint in the corporate world at accounting giant Ernst & Young, working with some of Silicon Valley's leading high-tech companies, James found an outlet for her lifelong love of animals at Tri-Valley Animal Rescue, an all-volunteer group founded in 1992 whose mission is to prevent the unnecessary euthanasia of shelter animals.

The group finds foster homes for adoptable dogs and cats at the East County Animal Shelter in Dublin and other area shelters until permanent homes can be found at adoption events. Last year, the group found homes for 980 cats and dogs through its foster programs.

Besides her love for animals, James found she had a penchant for numbers. After teaching math and science in New York, she decided to make a career change and moved to California in 1969.

"Accounting is a natural adjunct to math, so I went back to school and got my degree in accounting, and then I went into public accounting," she said.
She started volunteering in 2005 as she was winding down a long and successful career as a partner at Ernst & Young.

Working at the firm, she learned the importance of teamwork to meet the needs of clients. That focus also carries over to her volunteer work. "It's about the cats and dogs," she said. "But also, for me, it's how can we work effectively as a team."

Tony Owens, animal control supervisor at the East County shelter, which is run by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, praised James. "She's here all the time, almost every day, doing anything from helping to facilitate adoptions to coordinating fostering. She's definitely an instrumental volunteer and a great coordinator between us and Tri-Valley Animal Rescue."

Aside from her volunteer work, she also serves on the boards of Yahoo (YHOO), Applied Materials and Coherent.

"For a corporate board, our goal obviously is to represent the shareholders and to get the returns for the shareholders. With a nonprofit board, it's to further the mission, which in our case is rescuing adoptable animals," she said. "Most of the people on the TVAR board are actively involved in managing TVAR operations. On a corporate board, that's not the case, you are not managing, you're there for oversight."

While some nonprofit boards are more advisory in nature, TVAR is a hands-on board, she said.

James' first assignment as a volunteer with the rescue group was to walk dogs at the East County shelter.

While a few volunteers such as herself were providing a needed service to get the restless shelter dogs out for walks, James decided she wanted to do more. So, she started the shelter dog program. The idea was to encourage more adoptions of shelter dogs by providing incentives such as free dog training lessons and pet supplies with each paid adoption fee.

"The dog walkers were dedicated people, but it was not an organized endeavor," she said.

After the program was launched, the rescue group began hosting occasional adoption fairs for the dogs at the shelter and brought in dog trainers to work with volunteers.

"We thought if we hook a trainer up with the new adopters, it would help the dogs and help the adopters. We found that adoption returns went way down," James said. "So the dogs learned, and the volunteers learned to be better handlers. I used to tell volunteers that while correcting them or trying to get them to behave sounds like tough love, euthanasia is a lot tougher."

Of course, not all of the animals can be saved, she said.

"One of the things about volunteering that is critical is that you need to be realistic. There are some you will save, and without that effort none would be saved," said James, who became president of the group's board of directors this year. "Without the volunteers, we can't save any animals. It's just that simple."

It's always hard to find enough people who will provide foster homes.

"It is a big commitment," said James, who has taken in several foster dogs. "That dog or cat is in your home 24 hours a day, and we ask the fosterer to show the dog or cat at adoption events. We supply everything a fosterer needs, including telephone help, but it is still opening your house to a new animal. But it's how we save lives."

Cindy Churchill is a fellow volunteer and rescue board member who runs the shelter dog program that James helped launch.

"Sue does not ask any volunteer to do anything she wouldn't do. She takes the time to let them know how much their work helps the animals," Churchill said.
While James is fond of cats, she is allergic to them. When she met the man she later married, he happened to have a cat. So James ended up getting allergy shots.

The couple now have a dog named Ozzie, an 18-month-old Spaniel-pit bull mix adopted from the East County Animal Shelter last year.

"He's very, very cute but he's a handful," she said.

By Eve Mitchell
Contra Costa Times