Tomorrow is the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Even though disasters continue to plague pet owners, many still don’t take action to help themselves or their companion animals in the event of such a crisis.
Since it is hurricane season, I thought I’d put all of my links related to hurricane preparedness in one location:
Pet Fashion Week has come and gone and I ignored it this year. Why?
First, it isn’t really a week but only a couple of days. But I guess it doesn’t have the same zing to say “pet fashion weekend” or perhaps they plan to expand the show for a full week.
Mainly, I am not a huge fan because–much like the fashion industry shows for humans–it tends to be a little over the top for my taste.
I don’t particularly care for seeing dogs appear as accessories or in matching garb (personally I just change collars and leash for fashion coordination) and I’d rather animals be appreciated for who they are.
So here is my confession…I am keeping up on trends and writing a Canine Couture column for C.H.I.C.K. Scene Magazine. Now I have plans to expand the topics since the mag focuses on Charity, Hope, Inspiration, Community, and Karma. (CHICK–get it?)
On the upside, I did find a product I liked from the United Kingdom called the HugX dog bowl. The bowl, is angled at 32.5° which allows food to fall into the center of the bowl.
According to the description, “Each bowl has specific grips characterized subtly as ears and a tongue to prevent the user from touching food.”
The aluminum holder allegedly mimics a dog’s body and the narrow “waist” creates an easy grip for the human and raises the bowl above floor level.
Another feature is the high grip rubber feet which are set wide apart to prevent toppling or movement.
This pet product is available with a few different color bowls such as pink, blue, red, and white.
I’d like to see a large dog version but other than that I think it is a super idea. You can check out the HugX dog bowl which incidentally was one of the pick of the litter in the doggie dining category at Pet Fashion Week.
Acupuncture is considered an newer alternative health practice and is becoming more popular for furry family members. But acupuncture has been around a long, long time.
I’ve written on this topic before and you can read my article about pet acupuncture but I got a question specific to dogs and thought I’d tackle the topic again.
Acupuncture is based on the belief that energy, known as chi, flows through the body but can be upset or get out of balance due to injury or disease.
To restore the healthy flow of chi acupuncture needles are placed at points on energy pathways known as meridians.
To become a canine acupuncturist takes years of training and a good investment of time and money.
In most cases, people train for human acupuncture and then get additional specialty training and special certification.
I was asked about the Animal Acupuncture Academy based out of Australia which is registered to David Gilchirst a veterinary surgeon. The site has been up since 2001 so it hasn’t been around a long time.
Since the Animal Acupuncture Academy it is not an accredited program and doesn’t have any background history available, I’d encourage seeking education from one of the sources I list below instead.
Time investment needed to become a dog acupuncturist? Four to eight years.
Each state has different certification requirements which can be located through an Acupuncture Society Standards Board in your area or the the American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture.
In addition, it would be a good idea to get some business training because running a practice requires record keeping and other skills.
An average treatment session may be as long as ten minutes up to thirty minutes depending how cooperative the dog remains. Fees for treatment start from around $50 and go up from there.
The field is growing…remember when I mentioned SimDog?
There are two views about studying for an animal career–be a generalist or be a specialist.
I am a product of the generalist approach which has worked wonders because of my broad background, training and hands-on experience.
However, specialty fields of practice are becoming more advantageous due to increased demands and vast advances in certain areas that can be hard to keep up with if you are a generalist.
So, specializing in canine acupuncture would be a very specialist practice instead of attempting to treat various species but either way the field is growing.
Do you like what you are reading? 
The bowl, is angled at 32.5° which allows food to fall into the center of the bowl.