If the title makes you think that I’ve succumbed to the hyperbole that permeates all things companion animal from (gross!) canine butt-covers to adopted pets as holiday gifts, fear not. The title represents the distillation of numerous good resolutions into one that will be easy to remember even when feeling the most frazzled. Can you guess what it is?
I’ll give you two hints:
- This resolution is thousands of years old and probably predates human language.
- It possesses the power to reduce even the worst pet-related situations to manageable ones.
Give up? The ultimate eons old resolution is do not be afraid. OK, I admit that I’ve discussed fear before. But the reality is that American pet-owners’ confidence in their ability to handle their animals’ health and/or behavioral problems continues to decline even as the numbers of animal healthcare professionals rises. What triggered my thoughts on the subject this time was a short article/advertisement in a veterinary newsletter entitled “Greenies Offers Tips for Giving Medications.” The tip offered, of course, was to use this manufacturer’s version of pill-pockets. For those unfamiliar with the term, pill-pockets are treats with little pockets into which you slip medication and feed it to your animal.
As far as why yet another company has entered this market, the article/advertisement informed me that studies indicate that 80% of pet-owners admit having difficulty medicating their animals. I don’t doubt this claim because I see evidence of this around me. But while this may be a boon to those who manufacture pill-pockets and flavored medications, it doesn’t bode well for our relationship with our pets.
Why not? Because experience and logic strongly suggests these survey results mean that the majority of pet-owners are afraid to restrain their animals and/or to handle their pets’ mouths. But why does this matter since we now have pill-pockets and flavored meds to render that fear irrelevant? Well, because some pets may not want to eat that pill-pocket or that flavored med for any one of several reasons. Then you’ll be stuck with a gooey mess and an unmedicated animal. Then what? Subject the animal to hospitalization or yourself and your pet to daily trips to the vet clinic so someone else can medicate the animal for you?
Or what about the day you accidentally drop the container of your own pills and the dog grabs it and refuses to drop it after one command. Are you going waste valuable time repeating the command or frantically searching for a piece of steak or other “high value” treat you can use to get him to “trade up” to instead of swallowing those potentially life-threatening drugs? Ditto if you see your cat or dog with a dead rodent in her mouth the day after your neighbor informs you he switched to a much more toxic rodenticide.
Do not be afraid. If you’re afraid to handle your animal, learn how to do it safely and properly. It could save your pet’s life.
[A totally unrelated aside here. If you do give your pet flavored medications and/or use pill-pockets that you pre-fill, do keep these in animal-proof locations. When animals perceive medication as a tasty treat, naturally some of them may want as much of it as they can get.]
In addition to resolving to eliminate any fears related to handling our own pets, eliminating fears related to any interactions with animal-care professionals also will enhance the quality of the human-animal relationship. Nobody knows you, your animals, and your limitations as well as you do. Nobody.Consequently, if an animal-care professional of any ilk—veterinarian, trainer, behaviorist, groomer, etc.—recommends you do something you know won’t work for you and/or your animal, don’t be afraid to say so. It helps no one—you, your animal, or the animal-care professional—if you inconsistently implement or don’t implement a treatment you don’t agree with because you were afraid to question it.
Conversely, if one of those professionals neglects to bring up options you believe would benefit you and your animal, don’t be afraid to raise the subject yourself. If you don’t want your pet to receive certain vaccinations every year, if you want your animal spayed or neutered at a particular time, if you want to use a different training method than the one offered, do not be afraid. Say so.
And in both of these situations, resolve to deal with what may be the greatest fear: the fear of dealing with any negative consequences of those choices we make for our animals. Let’s face it, it takes a lot less courage to passively agree or let ourselves be bullied into doing something we don’t want to do because then we can blame them if problems arise. How much braver we must be to accept the responsibility for all consequences, both the very best and the very worst, when we make those choices ourselves!
Do not be afraid. It’s amazing how many of our fears turn out to be unfounded. We discover our animals really don’t want to hurt us, they really do want to be with us and be at peace with us, they really do like and, yes, even love us. We also discover that the majority of animal care professionals are open to owner input because they want the best for the animals, too. If they don’t, well, isn’t it better to discover this and find someone who does?
I’m sure the more you think about it, the more examples you’ll find of fears that exist in your relationship with your companion animals. Some may be such silly little things that it doesn’t seem worth the effort to eliminate them. Others may seem so overwhelming, denial seems like the only possible response. But big or small, resolve to deal with them this year.
Do not be afraid.
Many years ago, a good friend of mine faced a major crisis in his life that involved making a choice that scared him to death. Being a very religious person, he decided to read the Christian Bible from cover to cover in hopes of finding the answer. The first time through, nothing popped out at him. Nothing did the second time, either, but half-way through it dawned on him that “Do not be afraid” was a recurrent theme. After he concluded his second reading and yet again found nothing that he thought addressed his problem, he decided to read the book get again. But this time his goal was to count how many times “Do not be afraid” appeared. When he finished, he’d counted 366 occurrences which he decided meant one reminder for each day of the year with one left over for Leap Year. He also realized that this simple phrase was the answer he’d been looking for all along.
So there you have it. For 2010 create your own mental daily pill-pocket. Sure, it’s good to resolve to take notice of all that is sweet in life every day. But when faced with that which is not, be equally determined to find the inner strength not to be afraid.
If you have any comments regarding subject matter, favorite links, or anything you’d like to see discussed on or added to this site, please let me know at mm@mmilani.com.
If the title makes you think that I’ve succumbed to the hyperbole that permeates all things companion animal from (gross!) canine butt-covers to adopted pets as holiday gifts, fear not. The title represents the distillation of numerous good resolutions into one that will be easy to remember even when feeling the most frazzled. Can you guess what it is?
I’ll give you two hints:
Give up? The ultimate eons old resolution is do not be afraid. OK, I admit that I’ve discussed fear before. But the reality is that American pet-owners’ confidence in their ability to handle their animals’ health and/or behavioral problems continues to decline even as the numbers of animal healthcare professionals rises. What triggered my thoughts on the subject this time was a short article/advertisement in a veterinary newsletter entitled “Greenies Offers Tips for Giving Medications.” The tip offered, of course, was to use this manufacturer’s version of pill-pockets. For those unfamiliar with the term, pill-pockets are treats with little pockets into which you slip medication and feed it to your animal.
As far as why yet another company has entered this market, the article/advertisement informed me that studies indicate that 80% of pet-owners admit having difficulty medicating their animals. I don’t doubt this claim because I see evidence of this around me. But while this may be a boon to those who manufacture pill-pockets and flavored medications, it doesn’t bode well for our relationship with our pets.
Why not? Because experience and logic strongly suggests these survey results mean that the majority of pet-owners are afraid to restrain their animals and/or to handle their pets’ mouths. But why does this matter since we now have pill-pockets and flavored meds to render that fear irrelevant? Well, because some pets may not want to eat that pill-pocket or that flavored med for any one of several reasons. Then you’ll be stuck with a gooey mess and an unmedicated animal. Then what? Subject the animal to hospitalization or yourself and your pet to daily trips to the vet clinic so someone else can medicate the animal for you?
Or what about the day you accidentally drop the container of your own pills and the dog grabs it and refuses to drop it after one command. Are you going waste valuable time repeating the command or frantically searching for a piece of steak or other “high value” treat you can use to get him to “trade up” to instead of swallowing those potentially life-threatening drugs? Ditto if you see your cat or dog with a dead rodent in her mouth the day after your neighbor informs you he switched to a much more toxic rodenticide.
Do not be afraid. If you’re afraid to handle your animal, learn how to do it safely and properly. It could save your pet’s life.
[A totally unrelated aside here. If you do give your pet flavored medications and/or use pill-pockets that you pre-fill, do keep these in animal-proof locations. When animals perceive medication as a tasty treat, naturally some of them may want as much of it as they can get.]In addition to resolving to eliminate any fears related to handling our own pets, eliminating fears related to any interactions with animal-care professionals also will enhance the quality of the human-animal relationship. Nobody knows you, your animals, and your limitations as well as you do. Nobody.Consequently, if an animal-care professional of any ilk—veterinarian, trainer, behaviorist, groomer, etc.—recommends you do something you know won’t work for you and/or your animal, don’t be afraid to say so. It helps no one—you, your animal, or the animal-care professional—if you inconsistently implement or don’t implement a treatment you don’t agree with because you were afraid to question it.
Conversely, if one of those professionals neglects to bring up options you believe would benefit you and your animal, don’t be afraid to raise the subject yourself. If you don’t want your pet to receive certain vaccinations every year, if you want your animal spayed or neutered at a particular time, if you want to use a different training method than the one offered, do not be afraid. Say so.
And in both of these situations, resolve to deal with what may be the greatest fear: the fear of dealing with any negative consequences of those choices we make for our animals. Let’s face it, it takes a lot less courage to passively agree or let ourselves be bullied into doing something we don’t want to do because then we can blame them if problems arise. How much braver we must be to accept the responsibility for all consequences, both the very best and the very worst, when we make those choices ourselves!
Do not be afraid. It’s amazing how many of our fears turn out to be unfounded. We discover our animals really don’t want to hurt us, they really do want to be with us and be at peace with us, they really do like and, yes, even love us. We also discover that the majority of animal care professionals are open to owner input because they want the best for the animals, too. If they don’t, well, isn’t it better to discover this and find someone who does?
I’m sure the more you think about it, the more examples you’ll find of fears that exist in your relationship with your companion animals. Some may be such silly little things that it doesn’t seem worth the effort to eliminate them. Others may seem so overwhelming, denial seems like the only possible response. But big or small, resolve to deal with them this year.
Do not be afraid.
Many years ago, a good friend of mine faced a major crisis in his life that involved making a choice that scared him to death. Being a very religious person, he decided to read the Christian Bible from cover to cover in hopes of finding the answer. The first time through, nothing popped out at him. Nothing did the second time, either, but half-way through it dawned on him that “Do not be afraid” was a recurrent theme. After he concluded his second reading and yet again found nothing that he thought addressed his problem, he decided to read the book get again. But this time his goal was to count how many times “Do not be afraid” appeared. When he finished, he’d counted 366 occurrences which he decided meant one reminder for each day of the year with one left over for Leap Year. He also realized that this simple phrase was the answer he’d been looking for all along.
So there you have it. For 2010 create your own mental daily pill-pocket. Sure, it’s good to resolve to take notice of all that is sweet in life every day. But when faced with that which is not, be equally determined to find the inner strength not to be afraid.
If you have any comments regarding subject matter, favorite links, or anything you’d like to see discussed on or added to this site, please let me know at mm@mmilani.com.