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AnimalHouseCo.com
SERVING DOGS IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR OVER 10 YEARS
MARCH NEWS
 CANINE NUTRITION Let's review our pet food articles thus far. In last month's newsletter we learned what rendering plants were and how they affected the pet food industry. We read an article by Dr. Belfield, DVM, which essentially gave us his opinion of commercial pet foods on the market today. If you missed those articles, you can skip back to them by clicking on the link(s) below. Then you can rejoin us as we continue on.
I guess no discussion on food would be complete if we did not discuss nutritional requirements. One would think this to be a no-brainer, right? Think again. The one common denominator I discovered in doing research for this article is that no one can agree on the subject. The advocates of commercial food say one thing, the advocates of home-cooked diets say another, and the advocates of raw food diets say still another. And guess what, they can't even agree among themselves within the same group. I have read many books and articles on the subject and I am still confused as to the true nutritional needs of my dog. I guess the bottom line is to educate yourself as much as possible on the subject .... then apply common sense. Hopefully, Animal House is able to help. Our articles, however, are just an overview. Our goal is that they tickle your interest and encourage you to discover more. We want you to think about what you are feeding your dog and to question long established protocol in the area of pet food. We want you to explore the connection between food and the immunity system. (You are what you eat as it applies to dogs.) At the end of each article is a list of sources and links. Read some of them. Once you find an area that you would like more information on , there are many books, articles, and web sites devoted to any number of areas on canine eating habits. In order to understand canine nutrition, first you have to understand that each and every dog is an individual, just like us! And every dogs personal preferences and sensitivities are unique too. Dogs are not true carnivores. (Cats, on the other hand, are true carnivores.) And each individual dog, of every breed, will have slightly different needs for good nutrition. Sounds difficult? Well, it really isn't. Think about what we know of humans. A different set of nutritional rules apply to the various stages of human life: a young child vs a teenager vs a middle aged person vs an elderly person. We would also apply different rules depending on the physical condition of the person: the health conditions of the person, is the individual pregnant or wanting to become pregnant, or the daily energy expenditure of the body such as athletes, laborers, or dancers. And then we still continue to take into consideration our climate. Don't you eat differently in the summer than in the winter? So you see, we applied the common sense rule and things aren't really that difficult. Things that affect canine nutrition include:
And keep in mind, that there is no single thing that can ensure good health, the same as in your body. Good health is a puzzle with many pieces to it. Regular exercise, mental stimulation, emotional security, adequate rest, heredity, an environment free of physical dangers, excess chemicals and insecticides, grooming, and of course, good nutrition are all part of the puzzle to good health. NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS There are eight basic building blocks that should be present for good nutrition to happen:
1. CARBOHYDRATES Carbohydrates supply energy for body functions. Most carbohydrates present in foods are sugars, starches, and cellulose. Sugars and starches are easily digested by your dog and are converted to a simple sugar, such as glucose. Cellulose is not easily digested and serves as fiber. Sources of carbohydrates include grains (corn, rice, oats, wheat), potatoes, and vegetables. 2. ENZYMES In dogs, the four basic digestive enzymes are:
By breaking down the food, the nutrients in the food then become available for use by the body. A dog will manufacture their own enzymes, however, some dogs fall short in the production area and need assistance. For these dogs, enzyme supplements are available. One theory I found suggested that a dog's digestive system was built for raw food. If one feeds food which is not raw, the digestive system is asked to work overtime to produce more enzymes. Rather than forcing the pancreas to work overtime in producing these enzymes, we should add them to our dog's food. 3. FATS Fats are the primary source of energy for your dog, furnishing more than twice the number of calories (or energy) per gram than do carbohydrates or protein. Too much fat can lead to obesity and its associated problems - too little fat (or not the right kind) and your dog will have dry, flaky skin and a dull coat. A minimum of 5% for adult maintenance and 8% for reproduction & growth is the standard established by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials, see note below). 4. FIBER Fiber is the part of the food that is not digested by the dog's body. It contributes to good intestinal health by absorbing water and aiding in the formation and elimination of feces. 5. PROTEIN A minimum of 18% for adult maintenance and 22% for reproduction & growth is the standard established by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials, see note below). Proteins serve as building blocks for hair, claws, skin, muscle, tendons, cartilage and other connective tissue, growth, development and repair of body tissues, sexual development, metabolism, and they are vital parts of the bloodstream, the immune system, the digestive system, hormone production, ... well, you get the idea. Proteins are important to your dog's health.
6. VITAMINS With a few exceptions, the dog's body cannot synthesize vitamins, therefore they must be supplied in the dog's food or in supplementation. Vitamins are responsible for releasing nutrients from food sources, and are required for tens of thousands of different chemical reactions. Many people believe in supplying your dog with a vitamin/mineral supplement. We'll discuss this subject in a future article. 7. MINERALS Minerals work with vitamins, with enzymes, and with each other. They help keep your dog's bones strong and the nerves healthy and reactive. A deficiency in any one mineral can have drastic effects on many systems in the body. 8. WATER Because water is so vital, dogs should be allowed free access to clean water at all times. You may want to jump ahead at this point and read the article on Willard Water. Ok, so far so good, right? That wasn't too difficult or confusing. Again, the common sense rule that I mentioned earlier applies ... doesn't the canine nutritional requirements sound a lot like the same nutritional requirements as for the human body? Perhaps different in percent of daily intake ... but the actual items - carbs, enzymes, fats, etc. - sound exactly alike. Now I think we're ready to tackle the different types of canine diets. That's where things start to get different in some areas. NOTE: The term AAFCO stands for the Association of American Feed Control Officials. A basic goal of AAFCO is to provide a mechanism for developing and implementing uniform and equitable laws, regulations, standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale of animal feeds; resulting in safe, effective, and useful feeds. The Association thereby promotes new ideas and innovative procedures and urges their adoption by member agencies, for uniformity. SOURCE: LINKS: top  SOURCE: Mutts top CANINE DIETS - COMMERCIAL PET FOODS There are essentially three types of canine diets. Many people feed a combination of two or like I do, a combination of all three. This article will discuss the Commercial Diet. The other two will be discussed in future newsletters.  The three ways to feed your pet:
The first prepared dog biscuit appeared in England after the US Civil War in the 1860s, and the industry in the US began shortly thereafter as a byproduct of breakfast cereal processing. American manufacturers included dried meat scraps in their dog meal for a balanced diet. The canning of horsemeat unsuitable for export began in the 1920s, and within 10 years, nearly 200 brands of canned food were available. The pet food industry took an enormous leap after World War II when the consumption of meat increased and the availability of by-products led to development of the rendering industry (Meat Rendering Plants - What's The Connection To Pet Foods) and new uses for meat and bone meal. At about the same time, researchers at Ralston Purina developed a new method of cooking swine and poultry feeds, which led in turn to further production of dry dog food. Dry foods gained in popularity and owners frequently top-dressed the kibble with canned meat. Thus the stage was set for an explosion in types of canned and dry foods and development of the convenient semi-moist foods and snacks now available. There are essentially 3 types of commercially prepared dog foods:
Among the groups associated with the pet food industry, there's no agency that regulates the sources of protein, fat and grain. The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), a branch of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, polices health and drug claims used on pet food labels (for example, claims such as "improves skin and coat", "prevents dry skin", and "hypoallergenic"). The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), a nongovernmental agency, approves ingredients that can be used in animal diets. Legally, if the pet food label guarantees 8 percent protein, it must contain that amount -- but the source of the protein, (or fat or fiber) can come from some very questionable sources, including, for instance, hydrolyzed hair and dried poultry, swine and ruminant waste. To take the guess-work out of canine nutrition, recommendations for the daily nutrient intake for proper growth and maintenance of dogs is outlined by the National Research Council's Nutrient Requirements of Dogs (NRC). The latest NRC publication provides a guideline for the manufacturing of good-quality commercial brand dog foods. However, dog food labels are misleading because although many of them claim to meet or exceed NRC recommendations for nutrients, the quality and thus the digestibility (bioavailability) of these nutrients are often undetermined in these dog foods. Therefore, a more reliable assurance of nutritional quality is given by labels that state that the food has passed American Association of Feed Control Officials' (AAFCO) feeding trials. (One of the ways for a pet food manufacturer to establish that its diet is "complete and balanced" or "for all life stages" is by conducting a feeding trial. The trial must follow guidelines established by AAFCO. This information is available in the annual "Official Publication" published by AAFCO, and may be ordered by visiting their website at http://www.aafco.org. For those who don't have the time or can't see your way clear to feeding your dog 'real' food, there are reputable companies that make human-grade pet food. Look beyond marketing hype and start studiously reading labels -- as some of the biggest pet food companies are the worst offenders of ambiguous labeling. Here is a list of what to avoid and what to actually seek out and remember: quality food is going to cost more. Here at the Animal House we have a saying, "You can pay for good food now, or you can pay the vet bills later." AVOID PET FOODS CONTAINING: Meat meal, meat by-products, fat, tallow, corn gluten meal, ground corn, wheat shorts, wheat middlings, brewer's rice, beet pulp, powdered cellulous, preservatives -- BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin. PURCHASE PET FOODS CONTAINING: Natural chicken, turkey or beef, organic brown rice, organic oats, rolled oats, organic millet, organic barley, organic whole wheat, organic vegetables, dried kelp, cranberries, flaxseed, sunflower oil, preservatives: mixed tocopherols, vitamin E, vitamin C. All of this may sound confusing to you right now because it's something new ... something to readjust your thinking about ... something you have to re-learn. To make your readjustment period easier, we suggest subscribing to the Whole Dog Journal, which is a monthly newsletter about natural dog care and training. We, at the Animal House, initially started reading the Journal many years ago to help us in deciding which dry foods to purchase. We enjoyed the articles and have learned so much over the years that we continue to subscribe. Every month their newsletter carries an article about dog food or nutrition in one way shape or form. They also have their annual Best Dry Dog Foods article. The article gives guidance on picking the best dog food for your pet's needs, how to read labels, what should and should not be in pet foods, and a list of some recommended foods. Well worth the $20 annual subscription fee. SOURCE: LINKS:
advice from experts in the field. We also test, review and evaluate products, a task we can take on without fear, for we are 100 percent subscriber-supported; we do not and will never carry advertising. (As taken from their About Us page) top In The Odyssey, written by Homer in 800 BC, the Greek hero Odysseus (Ulysses in Latin) is away from home for 20 years fighting the Trojan War and trying to get home against the opposition of the god Poseidon. When he finally returns home to Ithaca, he disguises himself as a beggar to discover what was going on in his palace during his absence. The only one to recognize him was his hound Argus, who is described in terms that marks him clearly as a sighthound. The myth mentions that the very old dog died just after recognizing his master having fulfilled his destiny of faith.  Argus and Odysseus (Homer, The Odyssey Book XVII) As they were thus talking, a dog that had been lying asleep raised his head and pricked up his ears. This was Argus, whom Odysseus had bred before setting out for Troy, but he had never had any work out of him. In the old days he used to be taken out by the young men when they went hunting wild goats, or deer, or hares, but now that his master was gone he was lying neglected on the heaps of mule and cow dung that lay in front of the stable doors till the men should come and draw it away to manure the great close; and he was full of fleas. As soon as he saw Odysseus standing there, he dropped his ears and wagged his tail, but he could not get close up to his master. When Odysseus saw the dog on the other side of the yard, dashed a tear from his eyes without Eumaeus seeing it, and said: "Eumaeus, what a noble hound that is over yonder on the manure heap: his build is splendid; is he as fine a fellow as he looks, or is he only one of those dogs that come begging about a table, and are kept merely for show?" "This hound," answered Eumaeus, "belonged to him who has died in a far country. If he were what he was when Odysseus left for Troy, he would soon show you what he could do. There was not a wild beast in the forest that could get away from him when he was once on its tracks. But now he has fallen on evil times, for his master is dead and gone, and the women take no care of him. Servants never do their work when their master's hand is no longer over them, for Jove takes half the goodness out of a man when he makes a slave of him." As he spoke he went inside the buildings to the cloister where the suitors were, but Argus died as soon as he had recognized his master. SOURCE: For an absolutely delightful history of the Greyhound, visit History of the Greyhound Through the Ages. You won't be disappointed you did. LINKS: top  DEPIGMENTATION OF THE NOSEVarious causes of loss of pigmentation of the nasal planum (the usually black portion of the nose) are:
AH&CO EDITOR'S NOTE: The bottom line in all of my research is that you should consult a veterinarian so that a correct diagnosis can be determined. Boo, our black Standard Poodle, has this condition (he's the one in the picture). He was tested and his nose biopsied and all came back negative. His veterinarian called him the 'Michael Jackson' of the dog world. About 2 months ago, we started to feed all of our dogs home-prepared meals. His condition is almost gone now but it is much too soon to say whether the diet change had anything to do with his pigment coming back. If anyone is interested, drop me an email and I'll keep you posted on future results and changes. SOURCE: LINKS: top  ADVICE FROM THE DOG Always give people a friendly greeting.  Thirty years ago, Dr. John Willard discovered a way to alter the molecular structure of water. The resulting solution, now known as catalyst altered water (CAW), has been used to improve health, accelerate the healing process, increase agriculture production ... even remove stubborn stains. The claims may seem unbelievable, but the results have been documented. Simply put, Willard Water (WW) concentrate is a catalyst which, when added to ordinary water, changes the structure of the water molecule, and makes ordinary water more reactive. The benefits of this new, more reactive water are many and varied. One of the immediate benefits of drinking Willard Water is improved nutrient assimilation. Because the water has been made more reactive by the addition of the catalyst, Willard Water Concentrate, digestion becomes more complete, allowing more of the nutrients of food to be absorbed into the system. Willard Water can be used for drinking and cooking purposes as it is 100% safe and non-toxic. Dr. Willard has said that the greater activity of Willard Water also seems to aid in the breakdown and removal of waste from the system. Both nutrient assimilation and waste removal are known to have significant impact on overall health. As Dr. Willard says, there are two basic reasons for poor health: "Something is needed by the body, which is not there; and, something is not needed by the body, which is there." By aiding in nutrient assimilation and helping to breakdown and remove waste from the system, Willard Water has been shown to benefit the overall well being of human, plant, and animal life Dr. Willard's Water is many things to many people, and is used in a variety of ways. What seems to be the common denominator is that Dr. Willard's Water is a more efficient form of water. Technically, the molecular structure of H2O is altered by a catalyst. As a result, the catalyst altered water acts as a normalizer on all living things not in a healthy state. When consumed regularly, Dr. Willard's Water can help assimilate nutrients more efficiently, increase enzyme activity, and strengthen the immune system. According to Sister Marmion Howe, a Professor of Biology at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, her testing has shown that in some way Willard Water has "surfactant" properties. This is similar to adding a detergent to water to wash a greasy pan - ordinary water alone would not do the job nearly as well as added soap. Willard Water in some way then seems to make water "wetter" biologically, so that reactions can occur at an incredibly higher level. Testing with animals and poultry have shown little or no undigested nutrients in their urine or feces. The digestion process involves many complex chemical reactions. Digestion begins in the mouth where saliva is mixed in with the food and water consumed. The food must be broken down by hydrolysis into minute particles that can be absorbed into the blood stream. Hydrolysis is the decomposition of materials by water. Because Willard Water is a more reactive form of water, it seems to help these processes occur more effectively. From the food consumed, fats have to be broken down into simple fatty acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and proteins into amino acids. Willard Water seems to, in some way, facilitate this process. Willard Water is not a nutrient, but a vehicle by which nutrients are carried throughout the body's cells, and by which waste is carried away from the cells with water as a means of transportation. Water which has been altered by the catalyst becomes "wetter", more efficient, and more reactive. USES FOR WILLARD WATER GENERAL
PETS AND LIVESTOCK
PLANTS
There are two concentrates of Willard Water:
The two diluted solutions are used the same way. The XXX in most cases is more versatile. Both diluted solutions should be refrigerated for maximum benefits. Boiling or freezing does not change the effectiveness of the two products.
SOURCE: LINKS: top  RECIPE OF THE MONTH ... WHEAT OR RYE CRISPS Recipe from The Healthy Dog and Cat Cookbook, Joan Harper. Ingredients Combine the dry ingredients. Add the water (or broth) and mix well. Roll out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown. Break into bite size chunks. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast if your dog is fond of it. top  SENSE-ABILITYBy Joan Capuzzi Giresi, VMD Police took several hours to jackhammer their way to the body -- through a brick wall, then a carefully cemented layer of cinder blocks, a stratum of tile and debris, and, finally, a cinder-block tomb. Amazingly, a 5-year-old cadaver dog named Azeem needed just a few minutes to sniff out the female murder victim -- wrapped in plastic, canvas, and duct tape -- through the solid wall of building materials. Officer Paul Bryant, Azeem's handler, wasn't surprised. Of the five senses through which the dog navigates the complexities of his environment, the nose is what steers the canine ship. "It's the most important tool a dog has," says Bryant, senior trainer at the Philadelphia Police Canine Unit. "It's what keeps us in business at the police department." Read on to learn more about the dog's remarkable sense of smell as well as his other primary senses. SMELL Your dog's nose is like man's opposable thumb - that singular, stunning evolutionary gift that opens the beholder to a whole world the unendowed can never know. Much of the dog's contact with his environment occurs through his sense of olfaction, or smell. Dogs use scent detection to locate prey, identify territories, and recognize their offspring. The olfactory lobe in your dog's brain - his smell center - is, pound for pound, larger than your own. Plus, differences in the surface area of the nasal mucus membranes bestow your dog with some 40 times more olfactory cells than you have. While "smell-ability" may vary among breeds depending on the size of their nasal passages (consider the muzzle length of the German Shepherd Dog vs. that of the Pug), the average dog's sense of smell is thought to be some 1,000 times stronger than ours. Humans have found many constructive uses for the dog's keen sense of smell (see "The nose knows," left). The most groundbreaking of these, perhaps, is the detection of cancers. There have been several reports of dogs sniffing out skin, breast, and, most recently, bladder cancers in people. TASTE What people call taste buds are really microscopic nests of cells located on the surface of the tongue and, in small numbers, on the soft palate and rear of the mouth. When food is dissolved in saliva, the taste receptors send messages to the brain via the lingual and glossopharyngeal nerves. As in humans, your dog's main taste sensations are sweetness, sourness, and saltiness. While sour substances are discerned over his entire tongue, sweetness and saltiness are perceived only in the front two-thirds of the tongue. SIGHT Your dog's eyes serve his predatory existence. Thus, his eyes are set forward (compare them to the lateral-set eyes of prey animals like cows and horses), providing adequate depth perception for the chase. The dog's depth perception and ability to focus on objects at varying distances are, however, inferior to ours. For your dog, field depth gives way to field breadth. The average dog has a visual field of about 240 degrees (vs. 180 degrees in people and 200 degrees in cats), and therefore greater peripheral vision than we do ... the better to scan the horizon rapidly. Visual field may vary by breed, as some - Shih Tzu, for instance - have more wide-set eyes and perhaps slightly better peripheral vision. The canine retina refreshes more rapidly than does the human retina, lending dogs superb ability to perceive moving objects. To understand this high "flicker" rate, consider television. To your dog, the rapidly changing images on the screen -- which appear fluid to us -- probably look choppy. Dogs do come in second to humans in the ability to see shapes and details. They average 20:75 vision, which means your dog sees at a distance of 20 feet what a person with normal vision sees from a distance of 75 feet. It's okay, though -- rare is the dog that must see the blackboard or thread a needle. Color vision? Dogs have fewer color-sensitive cone photoreceptors, specialized cells responsible for defining color and detail in daylight, than we do. Consequently, they likely are green-red colorblind. Their world is probably tinted in blues, yellows, and shades of gray. What your dog lacks in acuity and color vision, he makes up for once the lights go out. Because the canine retina is comprised of mainly rod photoreceptors, which function well in dim light, he has good night vision and can probably differentiate shades of gray finely. His other nocturnal adaptation is a specialized layer of tissue called the tapetum lucidum, located behind the retina. This luminescent layer -- which causes the greenish "eye shine" that shows up in the low light and also in photographs of our dogs -- helps the dog assimilate depleted amounts of light by reflecting it back on the retina a second time. HEARING What your dog perceives as a noise starts out as sound waves "captured" by his ears, which he can swivel like radars. These sound waves are then conducted through the external ear canal to the tympanic membrane, where they produce vibrations. These vibrations are amplified in the middle ear and then mechanically conducted to the inner ear. A fluid-filled chamber that houses the cochlea -- the neural apparatus of hearing -- the inner ear (which also houses the balance apparatus) then conducts neural impulses to the auditory processing center of the brain. The dog has adapted the ability to hear the sound frequencies critical to his survival in the wild. (An obvious exception are those store-bought dog whistles that bring your dog to attention but are inaudible to you.) Capable of perceiving sounds in the frequency range of 67 to 45,000 Hz. (vs. 20 to 23,000 Hz. in man), your dog can hear higher-pitched sounds than you can. TOUCH The central nervous system gathers information about your dog's environment through specialized nerve endings in his skin. The sensations that result are touch (via mechanoreceptors), pressure (mechanoreceptors), pain (nociceptors), and heat and cold (thermoreceptors). Your dog also perceives touch through tactile hairs, or whiskers. These modified hairs are thick, long, and generally located on his muzzle and around the eyes. Their roots are surrounded by sinuses that contain numerous nerve endings. When the tips of these hairs are touched -- perhaps when he makes contact with a food source or with a threat -- these nerve endings are stimulated and an alert is wired over to his brain. Your dog, like you, depends upon his special senses to gather information about his world. But dogs and people ... we live worlds apart, due to the quirks of our respective senses. Still, we've capably merged our two very different perspectives, and in doing so have formed one of the greatest symbioses of the animal kingdom. SOURCE top  ALLERGIES TO PETS Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Being a pet owner is never easy. While pets bring us joy and companionship on a daily basis, they also require training, veterinary care, time, love, attention, and even tolerance. Tolerance is especially necessary when a pet owner is allergic to his or her companion animal. Studies show that approximately 15% of the population is allergic to dogs or cats. An estimated one-third of Americans who are allergic to cats (about two million people) live with at least one cat in their household anyway. In a study of 341 adults who were allergic to cats or dogs and had been advised by their physicians to give up their pets, only one out of five did. What's more, 122 of them obtained another pet after a previous one had died. It's clear the benefits of pet companionship outweigh the drawbacks of pet allergies for many owners. Living comfortably with a companion animal despite being allergic to him requires a good understanding of the allergic condition and an adherence to a few rules. All cats and dogs are allergenic (allergy-causing) to people who are allergic to animals. Cats tend to be more allergenic than dogs for allergic people, although some people are more sensitive to dogs than cats. Contrary to popular belief, there are no "non-allergenic" breeds of dogs or cats; even hairless breeds may be highly allergenic. Dogs with soft, constantly-growing hair--the Poodle or the Bichon Frise, for example--may be less irritating to some individuals, although this may be because they are bathed and groomed more frequently. One dog or cat of a particular breed may be more irritating to an individual allergy sufferer than another animal of that same breed. The source of irritation to pet-allergic humans? Glands in the animal's skin secrete tiny allergy-triggering proteins, called allergens, that linger in the animal's fur but also float easily in the air. Allergens are present in the animal's saliva and urine, too, and may become airborne when saliva dries on the fur. The severity of reaction to these allergens varies from one person to the next, ranging from mild sniffling and sneezing to life-threatening asthma, and can be complicated by simultaneous allergies to other irritants in the environment. If your or a family member's allergies are simply miserable, but not life-threatening, take these steps to reduce the symptoms:
Of course, if you do not currently have a pet and are considering one, and know you are pet-allergic, be sure to consider carefully whether you can live with the allergy before you bring a new pet home. Except in the case of children, who sometimes outgrow allergies, few allergy sufferers become accustomed to pets to whom they are allergic. Too many allergic owners obtain pets without thinking through the difficulties of living with them. And too often, they end up relinquishing pets, a decision that is difficult for the owner and can be life-threatening for the pet. SOURCE: HSUS, Allergies To Pets.. top  PET ASTROLOGY - PISCESFebruary 20 - March 20 Pisceans are born to love ... and to be hurt because of their sensitive nature. Shy and insecure, Piscean pets can be brought out of their shell with gentle affection and a stable, peaceful home environment. These intuitive animals are warm, sensitive, sympathetic, and understanding ... and can be very emotional. Ignored, they grow into shy, timid adults. They are the kindest and most caring of pets, though they tend to be in their own little world, not always aware of their surroundings ... their focus can wander and they are the dreamers of the zodiac. Pisceans innately understand things other canines do not ...being wise beyond their years and their animal form. They know what you feel, need, and want almost before you do. Pisceans require solitude ... from it comes their peaceful, calm demeanor. They love their homes and view them as a retreat ... a peaceful place where they can be free from the upheavals found outside. How exciting or loving or compatible Pisces dogs are with humans is dependent on how exciting, loving, and compatible their human guardians are. These canines are mirror reflections of your treatment ... because that's what they think you want, based on your behavior. top  SEVEN WAYS TO MEMORIALIZE YOUR PET Dog Fancy Magazine
SOURCE: top REFLECTION FOR THE MONTH
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we may as well dance.
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