NEW YEAR'S SPECIAL CONSULTATION PRICE!

2010: a year FILLED with holistic consultations; I have "met" so many wonderful doggies and their pet parents. I thank everyone for all their positive feedback regarding:

• how enjoyable the consults were

• how easy it was to make the suggested changes

• the dramatically beneficial improvements those changes have made in their pets' physical and emotional lives.

2011: Let me help you start your new year right by stacking the odds against YOUR beloved pet ever developing cancer or some other degenerative disease.

Simply book via PayPal, a 1-hour holistic consultation (regular price: $120) anytime between now and January 8th at the special price of only $45! (go to bottom of PayPal drop down menu where it says: SPECIAL PROMOTION)

We can schedule the actual consult to take place at your convenience anytime before March 1, 2011.

Save on vet bills. Create a safer, healthier home environment for your entire family. Disappear chronic conditions.
For more information on consultations, please go HERE

**This is NOT a veterinary or diagnostic service**

Happy, Healthy New Year!

MY BUTTONS AND MY BUTT

Well, this post doesn't have anything to do with pet health, chemicals, or reading labels. It is, however, as the blog header states, quite literally an "all things after the book" post. The short and sweet of it is that like many of you, I spend most hours of the day at the computer and on the phone. When I'm not consulting with pet parents, I'm giving interviews or networking with pet related businesses in an effort to market my book and consultations. For me that translates into 8-10 hours/day talking about Buttons while sitting on my butt. Last week I even purchased a gel/foam desk chair seat cushion off eBay while part of me thought, "What's wrong with this picture?!"

Regardless of remembering to get up and stretch, go for a walk or run (it happens), or grab an hour at the health club I belong to (ok, that one happens... not so much) the truth is, most days I swear I can FEEL my cells that meet the chair multiplying and spreading as I sit.

As those of you who follow me on Facebook know, this past summer I completed a 92-day green juice fast. Among the many emotional and physical benefits I experienced, was a 60-pound weight loss. I knew once I weaned myself from the juice and back onto solid food, it was normal to expect a weight gain of anywhere from 6-12 pounds. As the weeks passed, that happened, and lately I've noticed that as more time passes, a few more pounds are starting to creep back on. Unacceptable.

So I reserved a few walking dvd's from the library in the hopes of being inspired to spend some time on the treadmill that gathers dust in my living room. I'm willing to admit to you that 2 of them became overdue and required I pay a fine and return them, before I watched either one. Chalk it up to my graciously supporting my local library, which I'm happy to do.

But none of that was preventing my ever-widening posterior from changing course and avoiding an unwanted destiny. Then the last dvd I'd reserved became available. Only when I went to pick it up, I found that it wasn't a dvd, it was a book: Move a Little, Lose a Lot by Dr. James A. Levine.

That evening I devoured the entire book (better than an entire box of Trader Joe's Christmas cookies, right?) which raises awareness about how little the average person moves their body during a day anymore. When you think about it, as the book goes on to say, nearly every new convenience item to hit the market robs just a little more movement from our lives. Not only are most of us spending our work (and leisure) time sitting at the computer, but then we sit in our cars to do errands, look for the closest parking space, and finally flop on the couch at night with the remote control to relax. Even using an electric can opener instead of a manual one is an issue when combined with every other appliance and convenience.

Enter, the stand-up and treadmill work stations, which Dr. Levine says are saving the lives of people tethered to their computers/desk chairs 8 or more hours/day. I walked from the couch to my desk and sat searching online. Lots of great articles, videos , and testimonials all with rave reviews. People feeling better, with more energy, weight loss, brain function and far less fatigue, all from walking while they work. But I didn't want to spend the $500 minimum to purchase the computer desk that would fit over my treadmill, so I got up, went for a walk around the block and got my creative juices flowing.

To make a long story end, I moved some furniture around including putting the hutch of my desk on the far end of the kitchen island with the treadmill moved up against it. My 20" monitor is now at the perfect height and distance while I stand on my treadmill. A quick trip to Home Depot (I drove) and a nice piece of scrap wood (they cut it to my specifications for free) and 51 cents later, and I now have the perfect treadmill work station.

I can't believe how easy this is. Typing is a breeze. Dr. Levine says just walking 1-1.5 mph while at your computer will translate to a 25-30 pound weight loss per year, not to mention the benefit to joints, lungs, etc. Yesterday I walked 5.5 miles without even noticing. I walked a half mile while writing this post. Actually, standing at my work station with one hand on the mouse, I kind of feel like I'm on Jeopardy! "I'll take 'Goodbye Twitter Butt' for $400, Alex."

And the answer is: anyone want to buy a hardly used gel/foam desk chair seat cushion?

Caring For Your Senior Dog

By Nadine M. Rosin For The Dog Files

My greatest wish, is that every pet parent is lucky enough to someday have to face the issue of senior canine care. When my own dog, Buttons, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 8, the vet referred to her as a senior dog. Not only was I unwilling to lose my beloved canine to an insidious disease, but I remembered as a child, dogs commonly living into their late teens. So, 8-years old… middle-aged? Maybe. But senior citizen? Definitely not!

How I implemented an intense holistic cleansing and nutritional regimen to successfully heal the cancer without the vet’s prescribed treatment of chemotherapy, radiation and amputation, is a whole other story. This article is about senior canine care. Since Buttons not only survived the cancer, but thrived for an additional 11 years, until passing peacefully of old age at 19, I am blessed to have some life experience with a canine elder.

Of course, regardless of age, a pure, clean diet and chemical-free environment are essential for a strong immune system. Dogs metabolize everything so much faster than we do-whereas our bodies can endure a certain amount of toxic abuse for 40 or 50 years before retaliating, a dog’s body will start showing disease in 5-7 years. In my experience, it’s wise to take note of what chemical exposure there is in your own home via often overlooked things as cleaning products, laundry products, and air fresheners.

Past a certain age, supplements start taking on an even greater role and I encourage every pet parent to do their own online research of the many available choices. Personally, I had a lot of success with Yucca Extract to ease any joint stiffness or swelling Buttons had. Yucca is a natural steroid with no negative side effects and is easy to mix in food. Also, after much reading on its use in Germany and Italy on human stroke victims, I began using Alpha Lipoic Acid to help with any symptoms of CDS (doggy Alzheimer’s).

The last 3 years of Buttons’ life, I was very careful to keep a steady routine, not move any furniture, and basically keep everything in her world as predictable as possible. When the time came, we experimented with different brands of diapers. For her 18th birthday I bought a cushy, fold-up baby stroller to take with us on hikes for when she got tired. At one point, due to her aging eyesight and cognitive function, I covered the sharp edges of our furniture with foam.

Ok. Now here’s the hard part- the one that isn’t so comfortable to read, but the part that is, in my opinion, essential. Take lots and lots of photos and video- they will help comfort you through the grieving process when the inevitable happens. When Butts was 17, I bought a bunch of disposable cameras. Every time I filled one up with pictures of her, I’d put it in a box in the back of my closet. It wasn’t until months after her passing that I began having them developed, one by one. What a comfort it was to have new photos of her even after she’d gone.

Take a day here and there away from your busy life to shut out the rest of the world and really connect deeply with your animal’s spirit- to consciously and uninterruptedly just BE with this unconditionally loving soul who’s been such a deep and delightful part of your life. Believe me, there will come a time when you will be so glad you did.

Do any research about what your choices are and how you will handle the details of your dog’s body after their passing. It’s so much easier to think clearly and gather facts well before the day you are thrown into that gut-wrenching grief.

Most importantly, as much as you can, treasure each moment for what it is- find the joy in it, rather than missing what was or fearing what’s to come. I mean, our dogs never stop teaching us how to do just that, right? Having a senior canine can be so precious and such a profound learning experience. Your canine may not be bounding along the beach or scampering up the trail any longer, but your relationship will be as priceless as a rare, old cognac, and by then, you’ll undoubtedly be finishing each others sentences, too.