Daily Archives: August 7, 2012
Taking Your Dog On A Road Trip
Expert tips for traveling by car with your favorite canine companion.
It wouldn’t be a family car trip without Fido, but if you want everyone who’s along for the ride — two-legged and four-legged — to have fun, you need to do some prep work.
“People just jump in the car and think they are prepared,” says animal behaviorist Kristen Collins, MS, CPDT, with the ASPCA Animal Behavior Center. “But preparation needs to start as far in advance as you know you are going on a trip.”
Preparing for a Road Trip with Your Dog
Acclimate your pooch to the car in the weeks leading up to your trip. Collins recommends taking your dog on short car rides around town. It will help him get used to the doggy seat belt or carrier — a must for safe travels — and it will reveal any tendencies to get overly nervous or carsick. Ask your vet about motion sickness and sedation medications. If your dog gets in your vehicle only for dreaded trips to the vet, take him somewhere fun, like a park where he can run, Collins says. That way, he’ll begin to associate getting in the car with receiving a reward.
Many dogs, Collins says, only feel comfortable eliminating at home, so it’s also essential to train your dog to go to the bathroom in unfamiliar places. “The poor dog could be near exploding because it doesn’t feel right to go elsewhere,” she says.
Before you leave on vacation, spend a few weeks developing a potty cue. Whenever your dog is on the verge of eliminating, say a phrase like, “Time to go!” Then, when he’s done, praise him and give him a treat. By the time you hit the road, saying your cue should get him to do his business on demand.
Research where you will stay along your route. Not every hotel is dog-friendly. If you reserve online, don’t take a web site’s word for it; pick up the phone. “You don’t want to show up in the middle of the night and find they don’t accept pets,” says A. Chea Hall, DVM, of the Murrayhill Veterinary Hospital in Beaverton, Ore. “You need to sit down and plan where you will be each night.”
Traveling with Your Dog
Most dogs are like their humans — they can’t go too long without a potty break. Plan to stop every few hours. Look for places where your dog can get some relief but also enjoy some exercise, which will help your pet relax in the car. So will chew toys.
Stick to your dog’s feeding schedule. If he eats at 8 a.m., feed him then. And keep plenty of bottled water handy. Another rule of the road: Dogs should not be left alone in the car. Cold and hot weather can be deadly to animals. If you absolutely have to leave your dog for a short while, park somewhere where he can see you, and crack a window so he can get some fresh air.
Finally, make sure your dog’s head stays in the car window. You want to make sure everyone arrives in one piece.
Doggie Road Trip Tips
Make sure you don’t leave home without these dog travel essentials:
- Medical and vaccine records, in the event an emergency trip to the vet is needed
- Pet tags with your cell phone number in case he gets lost
- Favorite toys that will help your dog feel at home
- Your dog’s meds, if applicable
- Food, bowl, and scooper
- Leash should always be worn out of the car
- Doggie harness or travel seat
© 2011 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
Get Reappointed
by Joyce Meyer – posted August 07, 2012
We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; we are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed.
—2 Corinthians 4:8-9
All of us become disappointed when we have a plan that fails, a hope that does not materialize, a goal that is unreached. When things like that happen, for a certain period of time we experience a letdown, one that can lead to depression if it is not handled properly.
That’s when we have to make the decision to adapt and adjust, to take a new approach, to just keep going despite our feelings. That’s when we must remember that we have the Greater One residing within us, so that no matter what may happen to frustrate us, or how long it may take for our dreams and goals to become reality, we are not going to give up and quit just because of our emotions. That is when we must remember what God once told me in just such a moment: “When you get disappointed, you can always make the decision to get reappointed!” Disappointment often leads to discouragement, which is even more of a “downer.” How disappointing and discouraging it is to see the things we love senselessly destroyed by others or, even worse, by our own neglect or failure.
Regardless of how it may happen or who may be responsible, it is hard to go on when everything we have counted on falls down around us. That’s when those of us who have the creative power of the Holy Spirit on the inside can get a new vision, a new direction, and a new goal to help us overcome the downward pull of disappointment, discouragement, and destruction.
From the book New Day, New You by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2006 by Joyce Meyer. Published by InProv. All rights reserved.
Our Daily Bread – Heavenly Exclamation!
Read: 1 Kings 8:22-30
In August 2011, NASA released a composite image from the Hubble telescope that left people smiling. The image is of two galaxies beginning to collide. The collision looks like a heavenly exclamation point (!). The latest statistic I’ve read says there are about 100 billion observable galaxies in the universe. Each galaxy has hundreds of billions of stars, and more galaxies are being discovered.
When I saw the exclamation-point image on CNN, I was reminded of our awesome Creator. The heavens exclaim His glory (Ps. 19:1), but He is even greater than the heavens He has made. After Solomon built a temple for the Lord’s presence to dwell in, he prayed: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27). He knew that if the heavens couldn’t contain God’s presence, the temple he had made surely couldn’t contain Him.
The Lord is so much greater than our finite minds can grasp. Yet He has made it possible for us to know Him through His Son Jesus whom He sent to live on this earth, to die for us, and to be raised. When we believe in Him, our lives join the heavens in proclaiming His glory!
The God of all creation,
The God of power, the God of love,
The God of our salvation. —Schutz
One More Night With The Frogs
Today’s Scripture:
Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.’ ‘Tomorrow,’ Pharaoh said. – Exodus 8:9-10, NIV.
Today’s Word:
When the people of Israel were in slavery to Pharaoh, God sent different plagues to try to convince him to let them go. One of the plagues was a plague of frogs! The people were so miserable that Pharaoh finally said, “Moses, we’ve learned our lesson. The Israelites may go. Please ask your God to take away these frogs.” Moses said, “I’ll do it, Pharaoh. When do you want it to happen?” You would think Pharaoh would say, “Right now!” But no, Pharaoh said, “Take them away tomorrow.” He was saying, “We can put up with these frogs just one more night.”
How many times do we do the same thing? “Joel, I’m going to forgive, but I’m going to do it tomorrow. I’m going to have a better attitude. I’m going to quit worrying…tomorrow.” We’re saying like Pharaoh, “I can put up with this addiction, this mediocrity one more day.” No, our attitude should be, “I’m not going to spend one more night with the frogs, putting up with things that are not God’s best.”
Why don’t you start today? Today, make the change. Today, choose to forgive. Today, stop worrying. Today, get in shape. Today, take a step of faith. Shake off passivity and procrastination and get rid of anything that would hold you back!
Prayer for Today:
Father in heaven, today I choose to release everything that has tried to hold me back. I release the past; I release bitterness; I release failures and missed opportunities. Instead, I embrace Your grace and power to boldly move forward into the blessing You have for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
I Am Lady Fab 