Therapy dog helps Iowa students learn

By MELISSA REGENITTER Muscatine Journal

LETTS, Iowa - Scooter is always excited to go to school. The 5-year-old waits by the window for his ride to show up and is eager to see all of his new friends at Louisa-Muscatine schools. "He's such a good dog," Valerie Vineyard-Gipple said of Scooter, her yellow Labrador, which recently became a certified therapy dog. Scooter was introduced as L-M's school dog about three weeks ago and he visits three or four days a week. Much of his time is spent in the classroom of Diane Vineyard, Valeries mother. Vineyard teaches students with learning and behavior challenges and Scooter is there to bring a smile to the students. "When someone is having a challenging day he picks them right out of the classroom," Vineyard said. "There was a student that didn't want to learn and he kept taking his nose and nudging his arm." Just having Scooter around comforts students and they respect him and are nice to him, she added. Scooter will be 6 on Christmas Day. He was chosen as a family pet as a puppy by Valerie and her husband, Seth, of Wapello. He is loving and docile, which inspired Valerie to train him for certification through Therapy Dogs International. Therapy Dogs International is a volunteer, nonprofit group with many handlers and testing facilities across the United States, Canada and some other countries. Through training, Valerie learned of the Tail Waggin Tutors reading program and took on the initiative to bring it to L-M. She volunteers by taking Scooter to L-M Elementary School twice a week, allowing students to read aloud to him in a one-on-one setting. The sessions are helpful to students who need encouragement or practice reading and as a reward for good behavior. "I thought being a therapy dog would be a good way for him to share his unconditional love," Valerie said. The love he gets back is evident in the halls of L-M schools. It seems that anyone who passes Scooter cant help but smile, call his name or reach down to pat his head. Studies have shown that therapy dogs promote healing, increase well being and improve the quality of life for those they serve, according to Therapy Dogs International. Aiden "A.J." Sears, 5, has a special bond with Scooter. When he saw the dog in the library Thursday he ran to Scooter, squealed his name, and gave him a big hug. Sears told the story of how he was upset one day, which sometimes happens in kindergarten, and Scooter was there at just the right time. "I was crying and I was walking down from the library. I was having a bad day," Sears said. "I pet him and it made me feel better." Another student who cant get enough of Scooter is second-grader Gabe Hayes. He reads aloud with the dog once a week. Gabe brings books about dogs and Scooter lies nearby providing company. "It's fun to read to him and he's really calm," Hayes said, adding that reading with Scooter has encouraged him to keep trying to become a better reader.

Kona is Not an Outside Dog

Kona is not an outside dog by any means. She goes outside only if everyone else goes outside or to take of business, but then she wants right back in the house. She is one spoiled little puppy.

Here is Kona Sneezing

Here is a picture of Kona. She was caught in mid sneeze. She is not, I repeat not an outdoor dog and could be one of the most loungy dogs I have ever met. I do not think that she likes the feel of grass under her feet.

Lucy Loves Her New Backyard

Lucy is a pretty loungy dog. she loves to go outside and take some time to sun herself. She likes to patrol the backyard looking for any new scents, etc... Where Kona will come right back in after doing what she needs to do outside Lucy more often than not just wanders off into a remote part of the backyard and camps out.

Here is a picture of Lucy in her new backyard.

http://www.ellaslead.com/

We are always on the search for new products for Lucy's Dog House or for Lucy and Kona. So we spend a bit of time checking out a lot of wholesale and retail sites. We can not bring everything that we find that we like. That said there are some sites that are really cool and we like to share them with the folks that follow our blog. One such site is http://www.ellaslead.com/. It seems like it is a small company making hand made leather dog collars. They look like they use some of the same conchos that are found on the custom leather dog collars that are in our store, but in a different way. Pretty cool. Check them out when you get a chance.

8 Simple Visual Indicators Your Dog Is Fat

Here is a great article as I sit here thinking about all of the food we have had over the past few days. I thought this might be a good article to share with everyone.

Your dog is fat. OK, possibly not.But there's a very good chance he or she is, and you don't even know it.Statistics vary, but veterinarians report that as many as 25 - 44% of all dogs are overweight, and that obesity is the number-one canine health disorder. Obesity is defined as weighing over 15% more than the standard accepted weight for the dog's height.

With nearly half of our dogs weighing in on the heavy side, it's no surprise, then, that obesity-related conditions are on the rise within the pet population. These conditions include diabetes mellitus and orthopedic, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, respiratory, immune and reproductive disorders. These can be devastating conditions for your dog to live with.Doctors ascribe the rise in obesity to a combination of the general lack of fussiness of dogs, their natural gorging behavior, and insufficient exercise.

And since dogs don't do their own grocery shopping or prepare their own meals, we must add to this a prevailing ignorance among their owners in providing a nutritious, well-balanced, calorie-controlled diet.Do you know if your dog is fat or fit? Do you know her daily caloric requirements? Do you know what factors may mitigate those daily caloric requirements?Did you know regular dog food is packed with sugar and fat to make the toxic crap they put in it palatable?A healthy dog is ready to eat at any time. Some dogs quite literally can eat while flat on their side and more or less asleep. Therefore, it is pointless to use your dog's begging behavior as any indicator of how much to feed him.

Knowing how many calories he needs and how that translates into food will help keep him trim and healthy. Energy needs for the dog change throughout his life, increasing the more active he becomes, and, as you might surmise, decreasing as the dog reaches his senior years.Your vet will help you determine if your dog's weight is on target, or if she is headed for fat city, and all diet-related considerations should definitely be discussed with your vet before introducing any major changes into your dog's nutritional sphere. But, before your next office visit, you can do an assessment to determine (albeit imprecisely) your dog's general body condition and weight.Can the ribs be easily felt with slight fat cover, or are they difficult to feel under moderate or thick fat cover?From the side view, do you see an abdominal tuck?Is there thickening at the tail base?From the overhead view, is there a well-proportioned waist?Or, from the overhead view, does she have a marked hourglass shape? (an indicator of being underweight)Or, from the overhead view, is the back slightly or markedly broadened at the waist? (indicators of being moderately to severely overweight)Is your dog slow to rise or move around?

Is she reluctant to exercise, or does she tire easily with activity?Individual metabolism, exercise, age, environment and overall health will determine what your dog really needs to remain lean and healthy. Since your dog can only have so many calories every day, it is important to pack lots of nutrition, bulk and appeal into those calories.Our wildly popular Dog Food SECRETS™ information products can help you step-by-step overcome your nutritional naivete.Embracing this information doesn't mean you have to prepare every meal with a set of scales on the counter, no. Do it a few times and you can do it forever.After you determine your dog's caloric needs, the ideal solution to meet those needs is to prepare your dog's food at home, where you can have total control over the caloric and nutritional content.Our books can help you there, too -- as it includes a collection of easy, healthful, natural and delicious recipes created with your dog's palate and welfare in mind. In fact the Silver and Gold packages include over 200 easy-to-make healthy recipes.

About The Author Andrew LewisDiscover everything you need to know about http://www.thedogfoodconspiracy.com/ #1 element in dog health. Subscribe to http://www.thedogfoodconspiracy.com newsletter to learn more.keywords:

dog beds, dog health, dog carriers, dog collars, dog toys

Linking to www.lucysdoghouse.net

Links into a website are like water to a plant. At www.lucysdoghouse.net we can always use more links into our website. If you have a website, forum or blog that you own we would greatly appreciate it if you link to us. If you do shoot me an email at admin@lucysdoghouse.net , let us know where the links are located and we will send you a coupon code that will give you 30% off everytime you shop at Lucy's Dog House.

All My Best,

Hans