Dental care is very important to our pets

A friend of mine sent me this article titled A Pet Owner's Guide to Dental Care. You can find the article at http://www.towncaredental.com/a-pet-owners-guide-to-dental-care/

It looks like a really helpful article.

Our Airedale Connection:

Stories from Those Who Know Them Well

Joyce Miller

[This article is based on stories written by Airedale lovers from three Airedale lists: ADTshowbreeders, ADTnutrition, and TrainingAiredales. There was no way to include all the stories, but they are so good, that each of them is available in full on a blog titled Our Airedale Connection at http://airedalesinourlives.blogspot.com/]

Animals make us feel good, the experts say, and our Airedales make us feel very good. Much has been written about our relationship with animals and how they make our whole lives whole. But we also make their whole lives whole. Allen and Linda Anderson, in Angel Animals, say that when people and pets live in interdependence and harmony, all life is enriched: the animals make us feel good, and science has shown that they are good for our health. Many authors suggest that the quality of our lives and health is closely linked to our other-than-human relationships.

In an article titled Why We Need Animals in Our Lives, Wendy S. Myers cites some interesting statistics about our human-animal bond: Dog and cat people, according to a study in Australia, make fewer doctor visits and take fewer medicines than those who don‘t have pets. The lives of seniors, according to Companion Animals & Us: Exploring the Relationship Between People & Pets, are enhanced by a bond with animals. There have also been studies showing that we share similar brains and molecules of emotions as our pets. And there have been studies imaging the brains of fully awake, unrestrained dogs in an attempt to under-stand their relationship with us from their point of view. According to all these studies, our connection is so close that we save each other in times of illness and stress just by our and their presence. Allen Schoen, DVM, says: “The kindred love we share with animals can regenerate the healing potential of all of us.”

I had my first experience with how deep our connection with dogs was when I was six years old: I was petrified to walk to school because of some bullies who lived on our street. Our dog, Blackie, a dog of unknown origins, took it upon himself to walk me to school, to hang around and then walk me home at the end of the day. During the day, any time I looked out a window, no matter from what side of the building, Blackie was there looking up at me. Octan, my first Airedale, knew things that happened at a distance. Once when I was boarding a train in Washington to come home to Boston, he got very excited at the exact time the train left the station. Another time, he alerted me when my then husband was held up while leaving a research library late at night.

When I asked list members for examples of how Airedales had known things and how Airedales are connected to them, I was flooded with responses that illustrate how tightly connected we are.

Airedales are protective and they let their owners know this: Mary wrote about how her Airedale, Nell, was gifted with incredibly good sense: On a trip to a favorite park one day, they had to stop for gas; the Airedale jumped out obviously thinking they were at the park. She looked up and down the road and got back in the car, as though she was telling Mary that she had made a mistake. Susan wrote that she had trained Phoenix to “watch ‗em.”

Hiking in the woods, if they meet another hiker, Phoenix sits on her left side and “watches ‗em” until they pass and are no threat! Lin writes that her Airedale, Wilson, recognizes people that might be up to no good. One day when an older man in a trench coat approached, Wilson started growling and didn‘t stop until the man was out of sight.

In another story, Deb wrote about a puppy she gave to her sister‘s family. After lots of phone calls about bad puppy stories in the first year, she received a call from her sister telling her how the Airedale, Abby, before going to bed every night checks the whole house, doors, and the children‘s rooms. Her sister then said: “Six months ago, I was ready to give her back. Now, if she got hurt or sick, we‘d sell the house to save her.” They protect us; and they protect each other. Mary L. tells about her Airedale, Nellie, who was out watching her 10 puppies playing. Suddenly Mary‘s husband heard a man screaming. Rushing out, he found a garbage truck driver with one of Nellie‘s puppies. Nellie had the man by his pants! Mary‘s husband told him to just gently put the puppy down. He did and Nellie let go of him and tended to her pup.

Airedales will protect their people from wild animals. Margaret wrote about an Airedale, Suzy, that she had some 30 years ago. They lived on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, 15 miles from their nearest neighbor. One night, Margaret was coming home from feeding fish when Suzy, who was ahead of her, started running around the cabin, making a lot of noise. When she came back, she had two large punctures: it turned out that there was a mother bear who was living with her cubs in the woods in back of the house. The next day, the bear moved her family to another location further away!

And they know things before we do: Lin writes, her Airedale, Alice, always alerts the family 20 minutes before an earthquake by going ―berserk and demanding to go outside. One day, however, Alice saved their home: she kept running back and forth from the sewing room to the kitchen. Lin finally went to the sewing room and opened the door. She immediately smelled smoke and discovered that her sewing chair had been pushed up against the knee lever of her sewing machine, making the ma-chine run and causing the problem. Paula discovered that her Airedale, Brodie, knew about a danger that happened a mile away. Brodie was jumping on the door, his hair standing on end, his teeth bared, and growling and snapping. There was no one outside their home, but she later learned that at that exact time, the police were chasing a break-in suspect a mile away! Paula writes: We are still asking ourselves how did Brodie know?

They‘re quick and talented: Elaine‘s Sunshade didn‘t like to stay tied to a post while Elaine went into a shop to get a cup of coffee. Three times, she found Sunshade sitting naked next to her harness and leash which were still tied to the post!

We are just as important to our Airedales‘ comfort and peace as they are to us. Nancy writes about Hannah who came to her at two years old. She was afraid of everything, had obviously never been in a house, wouldn‘t eat, and wasn‘t house broken. On her first night with them, Nancy decided to sleep on the floor with Hannah. She laid down, then Hannah laid down. ”She nestled into the curve of my body,” Nancy says, “as close as she could get. When we awoke in the morning, I knew that Hannah had fallen in love with me and adopted me. We adore each other. “

Airedales are well known for snitching food, and they will grab anything at a dinner party from a Lindt chocolate to a large ball of cheese. In the case of the cheese, the owner was telling guests about feeding her Airedales a raw diet: one guest asked her if they ate cheese: when she said yes, he said, “I don‘t think it‘s enough, as he just went outside with that beautiful cheese ball.”

They also comfort and protect us when we are alone or sick. Exuberant dogs who love to jump on people calm down and kiss a lady in a wheelchair. A very active Airedale goes into a hospital room and gently puts her head on the hand of someone who cannot move; another who really dislikes people hugging her lets a weeping guest hug her for two whole minutes. Jessica who has trained her Airedale to help her hear writes that her Airedale “is the reason I can sleep at night.”

Another person wants to watch a special show about dogs on TV and she fears that her dog will bark incessantly as she usually does at dogs on TV; instead, the dog puts her chin on the TV table and quietly watches the whole show.

Always, they know what they want, and they often figure out how to get it. A rescue dog goes from home to home because of bad behaviors until she ends up back with the original rescuer, and with her body language obviously says to the rescuer: “Well, I‘m home.” All the bad behaviors suddenly disappeared and never showed up again as she lives out her long life with the person she wanted. An Airedale at Maureen‘s who isn‘t fond of children learns to enjoy children from a grandson who sits down on the ground with the dog, gently and patiently patting and stroking her until she lays her head in his lap and closes her eyes: a new bond is created.

Our Airedales know how to stroke our love and make us smile. Jackie writes about getting her first Airedale: They wanted a female but when Jackie picked up a very full puppy, the little guy “put his paws around my neck and held me as to say ‘take me with you. I‘m the dog for you’. . . . I‘ll never forget how he picked me with the best hug I‘ve ever had in my life.” Of course, he went home with them. Another person tells about the time he was walking his Airedale in a park one evening. The man stopped to look around and the Airedale jumped up on him, putting his paws on his shoulder, and kissed his nose with his tongue. The man told me: “He told me he loved me and I said, ‘I love you too.’”

They love us, and they increase our capacity to love. We are connected to them as much as they are connected to us. Robyn sums all the stories up: “Believe me, Lassie has nothing on Aire-dales! They‘re all experts . . . we are very connected to our Airedales in more ways than we may realize. And just as they try their best to entertain us, they also want to communicate with us, care for us, and teach us how strong our bond can be.”

Our Airedale Connection:

Stories from Those Who Know Them Well

Joyce Miller

[This article is based on stories written by Airedale lovers from three Airedale lists: ADTshowbreeders, ADTnutrition, and TrainingAiredales. There was no way to include all the stories, but they are so good, that each of them is available in full on a blog titled Our Airedale Connection at http://airedalesinourlives.blogspot.com/]

Animals make us feel good, the experts say, and our Airedales make us feel very good. Much has been written about our relationship with animals and how they make our whole lives whole. But we also make their whole lives whole. Allen and Linda Anderson, in Angel Animals, say that when people and pets live in interdependence and harmony, all life is enriched: the animals make us feel good, and science has shown that they are good for our health. Many authors suggest that the quality of our lives and health is closely linked to our other-than-human relationships.

In an article titled Why We Need Animals in Our Lives, Wendy S. Myers cites some interesting statistics about our human-animal bond: Dog and cat people, according to a study in Australia, make fewer doctor visits and take fewer medicines than those who don‘t have pets. The lives of seniors, according to Companion Animals & Us: Exploring the Relationship Between People & Pets, are enhanced by a bond with animals. There have also been studies showing that we share similar brains and molecules of emotions as our pets. And there have been studies imaging the brains of fully awake, unrestrained dogs in an attempt to under-stand their relationship with us from their point of view. According to all these studies, our connection is so close that we save each other in times of illness and stress just by our and their presence. Allen Schoen, DVM, says: “The kindred love we share with animals can regenerate the healing potential of all of us.”

I had my first experience with how deep our connection with dogs was when I was six years old: I was petrified to walk to school because of some bullies who lived on our street. Our dog, Blackie, a dog of unknown origins, took it upon himself to walk me to school, to hang around and then walk me home at the end of the day. During the day, any time I looked out a window, no matter from what side of the building, Blackie was there looking up at me. Octan, my first Airedale, knew things that happened at a distance. Once when I was boarding a train in Washington to come home to Boston, he got very excited at the exact time the train left the station. Another time, he alerted me when my then husband was held up while leaving a research library late at night.

When I asked list members for examples of how Airedales had known things and how Airedales are connected to them, I was flooded with responses that illustrate how tightly connected we are.

Airedales are protective and they let their owners know this: Mary wrote about how her Airedale, Nell, was gifted with incredibly good sense: On a trip to a favorite park one day, they had to stop for gas; the Airedale jumped out obviously thinking they were at the park. She looked up and down the road and got back in the car, as though she was telling Mary that she had made a mistake. Susan wrote that she had trained Phoenix to “watch ‗em.”

Hiking in the woods, if they meet another hiker, Phoenix sits on her left side and “watches ‗em” until they pass and are no threat! Lin writes that her Airedale, Wilson, recognizes people that might be up to no good. One day when an older man in a trench coat approached, Wilson started growling and didn‘t stop until the man was out of sight.

In another story, Deb wrote about a puppy she gave to her sister‘s family. After lots of phone calls about bad puppy stories in the first year, she received a call from her sister telling her how the Airedale, Abby, before going to bed every night checks the whole house, doors, and the children‘s rooms. Her sister then said: “Six months ago, I was ready to give her back. Now, if she got hurt or sick, we‘d sell the house to save her.” They protect us; and they protect each other. Mary L. tells about her Airedale, Nellie, who was out watching her 10 puppies playing. Suddenly Mary‘s husband heard a man screaming. Rushing out, he found a garbage truck driver with one of Nellie‘s puppies. Nellie had the man by his pants! Mary‘s husband told him to just gently put the puppy down. He did and Nellie let go of him and tended to her pup.

Airedales will protect their people from wild animals. Margaret wrote about an Airedale, Suzy, that she had some 30 years ago. They lived on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, 15 miles from their nearest neighbor. One night, Margaret was coming home from feeding fish when Suzy, who was ahead of her, started running around the cabin, making a lot of noise. When she came back, she had two large punctures: it turned out that there was a mother bear who was living with her cubs in the woods in back of the house. The next day, the bear moved her family to another location further away!

And they know things before we do: Lin writes, her Airedale, Alice, always alerts the family 20 minutes before an earthquake by going ―berserk and demanding to go outside. One day, however, Alice saved their home: she kept running back and forth from the sewing room to the kitchen. Lin finally went to the sewing room and opened the door. She immediately smelled smoke and discovered that her sewing chair had been pushed up against the knee lever of her sewing machine, making the ma-chine run and causing the problem. Paula discovered that her Airedale, Brodie, knew about a danger that happened a mile away. Brodie was jumping on the door, his hair standing on end, his teeth bared, and growling and snapping. There was no one outside their home, but she later learned that at that exact time, the police were chasing a break-in suspect a mile away! Paula writes: We are still asking ourselves how did Brodie know?

They‘re quick and talented: Elaine‘s Sunshade didn‘t like to stay tied to a post while Elaine went into a shop to get a cup of coffee. Three times, she found Sunshade sitting naked next to her harness and leash which were still tied to the post!

We are just as important to our Airedales‘ comfort and peace as they are to us. Nancy writes about Hannah who came to her at two years old. She was afraid of everything, had obviously never been in a house, wouldn‘t eat, and wasn‘t house broken. On her first night with them, Nancy decided to sleep on the floor with Hannah. She laid down, then Hannah laid down. ”She nestled into the curve of my body,” Nancy says, “as close as she could get. When we awoke in the morning, I knew that Hannah had fallen in love with me and adopted me. We adore each other. “

Airedales are well known for snitching food, and they will grab anything at a dinner party from a Lindt chocolate to a large ball of cheese. In the case of the cheese, the owner was telling guests about feeding her Airedales a raw diet: one guest asked her if they ate cheese: when she said yes, he said, “I don‘t think it‘s enough, as he just went outside with that beautiful cheese ball.”

They also comfort and protect us when we are alone or sick. Exuberant dogs who love to jump on people calm down and kiss a lady in a wheelchair. A very active Airedale goes into a hospital room and gently puts her head on the hand of someone who cannot move; another who really dislikes people hugging her lets a weeping guest hug her for two whole minutes. Jessica who has trained her Airedale to help her hear writes that her Airedale “is the reason I can sleep at night.”

Another person wants to watch a special show about dogs on TV and she fears that her dog will bark incessantly as she usually does at dogs on TV; instead, the dog puts her chin on the TV table and quietly watches the whole show.

Always, they know what they want, and they often figure out how to get it. A rescue dog goes from home to home because of bad behaviors until she ends up back with the original rescuer, and with her body language obviously says to the rescuer: “Well, I‘m home.” All the bad behaviors suddenly disappeared and never showed up again as she lives out her long life with the person she wanted. An Airedale at Maureen‘s who isn‘t fond of children learns to enjoy children from a grandson who sits down on the ground with the dog, gently and patiently patting and stroking her until she lays her head in his lap and closes her eyes: a new bond is created.

Our Airedales know how to stroke our love and make us smile. Jackie writes about getting her first Airedale: They wanted a female but when Jackie picked up a very full puppy, the little guy “put his paws around my neck and held me as to say ‘take me with you. I‘m the dog for you’. . . . I‘ll never forget how he picked me with the best hug I‘ve ever had in my life.” Of course, he went home with them. Another person tells about the time he was walking his Airedale in a park one evening. The man stopped to look around and the Airedale jumped up on him, putting his paws on his shoulder, and kissed his nose with his tongue. The man told me: “He told me he loved me and I said, ‘I love you too.’”

They love us, and they increase our capacity to love. We are connected to them as much as they are connected to us. Robyn sums all the stories up: “Believe me, Lassie has nothing on Aire-dales! They‘re all experts . . . we are very connected to our Airedales in more ways than we may realize. And just as they try their best to entertain us, they also want to communicate with us, care for us, and teach us how strong our bond can be.”

We Used To Have Airedales

Mary writes: The Delaware Kennel Clubs held its annual "Dog Show" at the Delaware State Fair. This is not a real "dog show:" it is a deisplay of as many different breeds as we can get together to be available for the public to meet them and ask questions. We also do demos of obedience, agility, a CGC test, dancing dogs, trick dogs -- just a day of dog fun that the public can enjoy.

Well, we were in between special attractions and the spectators were going from dog to dog, petting them and asking about the breeds. I had our oldest Airedale, Cola (age 10), with us to accept scratches and pets from the people.

A couple in their mid-twenties was going by and suddenly the man stopped, looking at Cola like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"An Airedae!!!" he exclaimed. "That IS an Airedale I'm seeing."
"Yes, this is Cola and she is an Airedale."
"Can I pet her?" the man asked.
"Of course. That is why she is here."

He proceeded to sit down on the asphalt ground and called Cola to him. Then, he knew what to do: He started scratching her behind the years, under the chin, on her tummy, and Cola just sat soaking it all up.

"I grew up with an airedale. toby had to be the best dog ever. He was by far my best friend." He continued his story, all the time giving Cola a good amount of scratches and petting. "Right after my dog died, I joined the Air Force. I've been stationed in California for two years. I never saw an Airedale for all that time. Now I've been transferred to Dover AFB and right here, two weeks later, I've found an Airedale. Do you think Cola will let me hug her?"

"You can try and see." I replied.

He called Cola as close as he could get her and held her right up next to his face and whispered sweet nothing in her ear. I think he was telling her about his dog becaise I heard him mention Toby. Boy, did he hug her!

And in return, Cola licked away the tears that were running down his face.

A couple of minutes went by and with a final long hug, he thanked Cola and Joe and myself and said: "This made my day. I don't need to see the rest of the fair. I can go home happy. I saw an Aireale."