Dogs, cats and other pets :)

One doctor in Poland said, that pets are very very helpful by PD. Especially dogs and cats can help people with this disease. Did you hear about this? or maybe this doctor is wrong?
aga
Just about the worst thing for PD is stress, and one of the best solutions for relieving stress (for most people) is the symbiotic warmth and love of a warm, cuddly, responsive pet like a cat or a dog.

I have 4 cats and they all have different personalities, but they all show great affection and loyalty. They know when I'm not well, and curl up beside me providing comfort until they sense I'm better.

Wonderful!
I got a Dog 2 years ago and he is better for my PD than medication any day!

Pets give unconditional love and with a dog, it gives me a reason to stay active with taking him for walkies every day. Sometimes having to take him for a walk or play ball with him can be difficult if I'm having a bad day. However dogs (unlike children) will sit and wait until your feeling better and not throw a wobbly, if you know what i mean.......:stuck_out_tongue:
i got to dogs ,tj and abbie and i loves erm to bits,ive bin brought up with dogs at one time we had 4 ,now im down to to tj is 11 and abbie 7 ,but i do think to me self when they not with me no more do i get another or say enough now ,or go for it again cus i talk to erm in the day time like they human and there company is so good,when i feel low or poorly they sence it and are always there for me,with no back chat or nastyness ,like humans can do:smile:
My dog is very discerning. he has no time for my sister who does not rate anything that is economically unproductive. So he ignores her. He has a healthy repect for o/h & either closes his eyes or pushes his head under the pillow when caught sleeping on my bed. And me I am sure he keeps an eye on - he sits outside the bathroom door, nudges me every so often when I sleep and never brings his lead to me (only to o/h). So I think it must be a matter of you reap what you sow
Hi all

I have loved reading these posts. Pets are everything to me. Without them I'd crumble.
O/h loves them too. He walks our black labrador Brodie who is getting on a bit now which is lucky because o/h can't walk far. Brodie used to run off round the fields and have fun. Now he stays right by o/h's side, knowing he needs him I guess.

Our Newfoundland, nearly 2 but not full grown till 2 and 1/2 is still a bit boisterous and I normally walk her short distances, risking life and limb cos I couldn't stop her if she wanted to run after something in a million years, but havn't been able to in this freezing weather re the asthma. She plays with o/h in the garden with a special unpoppable ball and is more than happy.

Both dogs are rescued, and very loving. Sometimes people tell us we shouldn't have them in our states of health but as you all say they bring such comfort.

We also have two mad cats. I say that because they are always fighting and tearing round the house. Thankfully they have now reached maturity and their favourite sport is no longer to destroy my beloved Christmas tree. Godfrey is long sleek and aloof, stalking about like a panther. Wilbur the other is chunky cuddly and noisy. Comes through the cat flat like a bat out of hell. Somebody should tell him he's actually a cat. He wags his tail when pleased!
If I use a hot water bottle, one of our cats often creeps under the covers while I'm asleep and wraps himself around it!
Spent Boxing day at my mum and dads,my sister came with her family and billy the dog.It was far from a stress free day Billy his still a puppy but very strong and active,was bounding around and trying to bite everyone and thing.He is a labradoodle,although sister has taken him to dog training and learn't commands well,he is unsafe to have around her 2 children.they love him and play with him but he tries to bite not just play bite and he pins them to the ground.Hard decision but decided can't keep the dog,tried taking to RSPCA but said they wouldn't take it because of behaviour.was told option was to have it put down.They are hoping the breeder they got billy from will have him back,should find out in new year.
wanted to share this with you to make people think carefully on which type of animal and breed they chose cos could end up with more stress.

Dot x
Hi Dotty.

Very sad to hear that tale. Labradoodles are inclined to be a little crazy and they need a very firm hand. People think it's funny to get down on the floor with pups and let them roll all over them nipping them at the time. Rough and tumble - but in fact that is disastrous. It's how animals in the wild start to learn how to overpower prey. The consequences of that action should therefore be only too obvious. When the dog is full grown if it has been allowed to do just that, it becomes the dominant force in the household.

Despite loving dogs to bits I'm very firm with them, don't allow them on furniture (therefore getting the edge on the owner - sorry Yeats!) don't feed them titbits unless they've earned them and even then they're always dog treats.

A lot of my friends think I'm hard on my dogs and sneak them titbits when they think I'm not looking. If they took the trouble to observe the dogs properly, they would realise that
a) they're obedient
b) their eyes and coats are shiny and healthy looking
c) they're not overweight and our vets are high in their praise for that
d) they adore us and do what dogs love to do. Please us.

Having said all that I wish I had control over my two cats. Has anybody else noticed any odd behaviour in their cats since the weather problems? Mine are absolutely uncharacteristically manic. They used to doze all day. Now (brothers) they're fighting all the time, teasing the dogs who are getting scared of them, dive bombing us as we walk past furniture, jumping on the worktops and table (yuk) and generally being pests. Of course they're lovely a lot of the time too.
Thanks for the reply,my sisters kids are 5 and 7 as soon as they sit down the dog is all over them nipping them and chewing their hair.My sister has been taking it to dog training,showed us what he had learn't,he seemed a different dog sitting waiting leaving etc.but as soon as she had finished it was bounding about causing havoc;it draw blood on my dad and me.I just hope a new home can be found for it.

Hope your cats calm down x
Hi again Dotty

I expect there's a Labradoodle rescue site and they would almost certainly take him. The trouble with training is that it's 24/7 until the dog matures and shows that it has been socialised into good behaviour.

Even though our dogs are obedient and love children because they've been brought up with them, we would never leave them alone with little ones especially as they are rescued and we don't know what traumas the dogs may have suffered in the past which could be triggered by some incident and provoke an alarming reaction.

Our children and grandchildren have also been taught how to treat dogs with respect and kindness.
Unfortunately people just don't realise what hard work bringing up puppies is. I would say it's the same as bringing up children.
Lots of love, lots of (fair) discipline and respect all round for respective needs.
Following on from my theme.

Yesterday O/h and me had our two youngest grandchildren for a few hours while their parents hit the sales.

Still unwell from the exertions of the festive period, I was thinking oh heck! No energy for stimulating games, so put on the DVD of Beethoven I bought for all the little ones for Xmas (too much TV does not meet with parental approval.)

The little one is four and her brother seven. Four year old sat right through with just the odd sensible question but her brother was quite upset for most of the film because the daddy of the family just didn't like Beethoven. "When is he going to love him nana." He kept saying, reaching exasperation point.
All was well when the crucial time arrived.

When mummy and daddy came back they were regaled with talk of how to look after dogs and other pets properly, and definately how not to do it.
Lessons learned.

Yeats, if you happen to watch Beethoven, it really isn't great to dominate the household wearing very muddy paws, sling drool all over everything in sight, sleep on the bed leaving little room for your mum and dad and take over the sofa but if you happen to have a very loving disposition and are otherwise very well mannered not to mention seriously intelligent, anything will be forgiven.
Yeats disclaims any blood tie to Beethoven, despite the obvious genius they have in common

By the way, I recommend a google of auld lang syne. There is an arrangement by Beethoven (the composer) which makes a nice change from all those bagpipes
A lot of people say that an older dog has already set its ways. They do not try to train them. Any animal can be taught what you expect of them. Some are just harder to teach than others. They seem to learn what they can get away with faster than they learn to stop doing it.