About auntiemwrites

I'm a retired RN, full-time writer who lives in a very rural area in coastal NC. I live here with Doc and two pups, Murray, our rescue mutt (14) and Radar (2). We have 3 grown son.On a daily basis we see deer, tons of birds including blue birds and woodpeckers, shore birds and the occasional black bear, and love living on the Pungo River, perfect for a writer. My mystery, The Blue Virgin, is set in Oxford, UK, and is the first of a series featuring American Nora Tierney.

Pet Anxiety and Natural Remedies

Just when you thought you had the perfect pup, Chester starts to shiver uncontrollably when it thunders.images_003Or perhaps Pumpkin pants and trembles when new people arrive for a visit.

images_032Dogs can also get stressed if left alone too long during the day, with unhappy results for owners and pets: without socialization, exercise or mental stimulation, you are apt to get develop a dog whose patience for entertaining himself runs out and George becomes anxious waiting for you to arrive home.

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Canine experts say dog anxiety falls into three categories: noise anxiety, separation anxiety, and social anxiety.

Symptoms of anxiety can include excessive barking, pacing, panting, trembling, excessive licking, hiding, climbing up onto the owner, exhibiting destructive or aggressive behavior.

Noise anxiety is just what you think: the dog reacts to thunderstorms, fireworks, sometimes even vacuum cleaners. Our Spinone, Radar, a jolly fellow most days, was in his pen one evening when a flash storm arrived. Lightning hit a tree near his doghouse. At night he still won’t run down into his pen without encouragement–and this is three years later.DSCN1380

Separation anxiety occurs when owners are absent and the dog destroys objects in his immediate area; they can even hurt themselves.

Social anxiety happens when a pup hasn’t received enough socialization at an early age. Rather than exhibit curiosity to new circumstances, these dogs become fearful of people, which can lead to aggressive behavior, usually a sign of fear.

What are natural remedies to relieve these symptoms and make life easier for Rufus and you? There are plenty of options, once you decide which kind of anxiety has your pup in its grip.

First off, exercise your dog more. This is especially key for separation anxiety. Increase walk time and include tossing a ball or stick. Find out what kind of play your dog likes and give her a daily session in addition to walks. A tired dog is less likely to be destructive.

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Next, increase training. Stressed dogs often lack enough mental stimulation. Dogs like to have “work” that translates to obedience or agility training. Find out what your breed’s natural inclination is and highlight that. Our Spinone is a bird retriever with webbed feet for water retrieval, so he swims almost daily in our river, and has been known to chase ducks away!

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Herbal supplements. Some dogs do well with calming herbal supplements, such as chamomile, passionflower, skullcap, or valerian root. There are over-the-counter formulas available and may help noise stress and social anxiety. These often work for dogs getting used to car travel, too, without resorting to prescription medications.

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Nutritional supplements such as melatonin, a sleep aid in humans, and tryptophan, an amino acid, have been shown to decrease dog aggression without the same effects they have in humans. Always consult your vet before adding anything to your dog’s diet. Never give your dog a human product without consulting your vet for proper dosage.

Try relaxation techniques. Ever think you’d give your dog a massage? Let that big hunk of love loll on his side and rub his back along with the spine, massage those hind quarters, rub his neck. Some dogs love Epsom salt baths. Water and touch can be calming.

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Pheromones are available as sprays and plug-ins and mimic a scent from a mother dog in puppies. Available online and in pet stores, these may reduce behaviors in all categories.

Finally, pressure garments, which have been getting a lot of press lately, are used to give a dog the same swaddling effect we use on infants. These work especially well on noise anxiety, as when you hear a thunderstorm approaching, or for those dogs who lick excessively. They look like tee shirts the dogs wears at pertinent times that put pressure on acupressure points on her body.

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Reducing owner anxiety can be helpful, too, as dogs empathize with their owners’ mood. But it’s crucial that as a responsible dog owner, you create a friendly atmosphere for your dog, one filled with exercise and stimulation.

A stressed dog needs a patient owner, willing to find the right combination of training, exercise and natural remedies to find relief. However the most important ingredient in your pet’s life? images_003Quality with time with you, his human owner.

Stocking Stuffers

Christmas Eco LassieEco Lassie loves Christmas, especially finding eco-friendly stocking stuffers, which are such a delight to find on Christmas morning. She combed through catalogs and websites to bring you some of the neatest ideas for those on your list who deserve a little treat. Most of these items are available for under $10, some less, only one a bit more. Whether you need a small treat for a friend or neighbor or that little child who is visiting, these items will see you through a variety of situations and gifting needs.

Check them out!

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New Uses of Old Gear

Eco Lassie likes to find new uses for old gear before tossing something. That’s why she’s always looking for ways to re-purpose items that may have outlived their original purpose.

So when she was cleaning out her sock basket and ended up with socks that had holes in the feet, had shrunk, or were stretched out beyond their true use, she pulled out the softest  and cutest and investigated new lives for them.

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Eco Fall Decor

Eco Lassie loves autumn. Even in her coastal part of North Carolina there is a change of season, and fall recalls tramping through crunchy leaves, campfires, and those new school clothes and fresh, crisp notebooks starting to feel familiar.

It’s also the season to bring out the comfy throws for the couches for frosty evenings. Here are some suggestions for bringing fall into your home.

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Cutting Edge Eco Ideas

Eco Lassie thought it would be fun to check out what’s new and inventive in the world of eco products.

In the US, Samsonite is now selling the cutest solar charger for all of your charging needs.

Checkout his little guy. Just attach it to your window and the sun does the work. Neat.

Available for under $40 from several stores that carry Samsonite, such as Sears and Radio Shack.

Then she found a neat item from Faeries Dance: A tofu bra!

Really. This bra is made from discarded soybean casings.

It’s carrying eco-ness to a whole new edge. And right now the bra comes in white or black for around $25.

Eco Lassie then sought out cutting edge ideas in other countries with  amazing results.

In France, researchers developed a rain poncho made from twenty varieties of … potatoes!

 

 

 

This cutie is 100% biodegradable, made from recycled materials and composts.

It comes with a little packet of potato seeds, too. And when you’re done with it, throw it in your compost pile.

Italy has devised a set of combs and brushes made from biodegradable cellulose acetate.

These milky, almost transparent brushes are durable and easy to clean. They are also free of dyes.

They have been developed as a toothbrush, regular hair comb and brush, and as  bath brush.

Leave it to the Italians!

But then Eco Lassie checked out the UK ..

And here she was amazed to find the technology that Pavegen has developed.The photo above shows an installation of Pavagen tiles in the West Ham tube station that led to London’s Olympic Village.

Over 1.3 million people walked along this installation, which chalked up electricity, off grid, by converting kinetic energy into electricity. Sweet. Several other installations are in place around the world, and the tiles are being tried in schools and other heavy traffic areas.

These are just a few of the new things coming along as people get eco savvy and new technology helps us find ways to conserve, recycle and reuse.

The Cost of Pets on Your Budget

Being a real dog person,Eco Lassie is nuts about her Spinone, Radar, and couldn’t imagine life without his funny face.

But the reality of having a pet in your home goes far beyond the cute factor. There’s the commitment to caring for a member of your family for many years, when they’re young and frisky or older and have issues. There are also varying costs involved that potential pet owners should remember when deciding what pet will round out their family.

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Eco Back-To-School: Paper, Pencils and More~

Eco Lassie knows that parents with school-aged children have specific shopping lists for school supplies provided by most districts. Here are few of her thoughts on how to keep those shopping days eco-oriented.

Before you run to the store, take a good look at what’s hiding in desks, junk drawers and arts and crafts areas. Take an inventory of what you already own before heading out to shop. Many items, like pencil cases, can do double duty more than one school year.

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Button, button, who’s got the button?

Eco Lassie was recently in Baltimore with her writing group and visited Papermoon Diner, an eclectic eatery decorated in a funky style had that all of us taking pictures of their giant Pez collections and naked mannequins decorated covered with glued-on plastic army men and toys from an earlier era. Talk about recycling!

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Get out the Hair Spray!

Eco-Lassie loves to find new uses for household items, and when she was cleaning out a closet recently, she came across a can of hair spray. Now the last time Eco Lassie used hair spray was for her a wedding in 2005–when an updo needed to be tamed. But here was a perfectly good, almost full can of hair spray. Surely there had to be more uses for it.

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