If you take care of your pets in a holistic way, and take them to your holistic vet regularly, you might come across the topic of "animal communicating" sooner or later. This has intrigued me for many years. Although dogs and cats don't speak our languages, the idea that our pets may somehow understand what we say to them always amuses me.

Marta Williams, an animal communicator, advises in her book Learning Their Language: Intuitive Communication with Animals and Nature that we should talk to our animals before leaving the house --- to tell them where you are going, why, how long you will be gone, and when you will return. The author tells us to speak to our animals normally, as if we were talking to a person. She believes that animals can understand the concept of time as we do. Also, she tells us that while we are away, we can tune in emotionally and mentally to our animals, send them our love and account of what we are doing, as well as reminding them when we are coming back home.

I often read about this kind of advice, and certainly have seen many pet owners who always talk to their pets as they talk to people. Such pet owners claim that their pets can understand what they say to them. I believe animal communication in a broad sense takes place every day with our pets, whether we are aware of it or not.

One evening I was talking to a dog owner whose dog had been missing for a week or so. Because of his efforts -- handing out fliers and calling around all the shelters he could find -- he and his dog were successfully reunited. A woman who found the dog on the street contacted him after seeing one of the fliers. The dog owner told me that he was very happy he found the dog, and that thanked the woman for contacting him. (He said he had been crying while the dog was missing!)

This is a happy ending story. But unfortunately, there are cases when missing dogs and their owners are never reunited -- in spite of the ID tags, microchips and persistent efforts by the dog owners. An article in the July 2006 issue of DogWatch offers a possible reason.

The article says that "the person who finds the dog is in control of what happens next." From this standpoint, the reason why many pets do not find their way home is due to the pet rescuer's good, but misguided, intentions. Many rescuers, when they see a cowering and skittish dog, mistakenly think that the dog has been beaten or abused. The article continues by saying that if the dog's finder believes that the animal has been mistreated, he/she will often keep the animal or place it "in a good home" rather than contact the owner.

To avoid this potential situation, the article suggests that the pet owner find their pet himself/herself as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the harder the search will become and the wider you must extend the search area. The DogWatch magazine article suggests hiring a pet professional (such as MAR dogs --- Missing-Animal Response dogs. Please go to www.pethunters.com for more information).

In my holistic veterinarian's client's case, the dog owner hired animal communicators, and successfully located her missing dog!

When dogs or cats are chosen as gifts for somebody, there is always a risk that these animals may be abandoned or end up in shelters as unwanted animals. There is no guarantee that the recipients will like the pets, and vice versa.

The same thing applies to adopting pets from animal shelters. Impulsive decision of buying or adopting animals without thinking about it carefully may bring misery to the life of both the pets and their new owners.

A December 2006 issue of USA Weekend talked about how shelters have been successfully helping clients adopt animals without bringing them back to the shelters later.

According to the article, more shelters screen clients these days. The shelters evaluate the personalities of the pets, and they also evaluate the personalities and the lifestyle of potential pet owners. The evaluations help the shelters find as perfect a match as possible. This program has helped participating shelters reduce their return rates by half.

If you feel an instant and irresistible bond with a dog or a cat, you are lucky. But if you aren't confident in your ability to choose the best pet, let your animal shelter evaluate you and the animals you may be interested in.

A very short article in DogWatch (December 2006 issue) talks about how the amount of food you give your dogs now might have an impact on their long-term health and quality of life . . .

Research at the universities of Pennsylvania, California-Davis and Washington St ("Lifelong diet restriction and radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis of the hip joint of dogs") shows that the dogs who were fed "ad libitum" (able to eat freely as they wished) the label-recommended amount for their size and age tend to experience more signs of canine hip dysplasia than dogs who were given 25% less food under the same feeding conditions.

Although the article doesn't provide a lot of details, the dogs who are fed less (25% diet restriction) seemed to be able to delay the onset of hip problems and enjoy more quality of life throughout their lives.

The feeding instructions on pet food labels are only suggestions. Every animal is unique. Physical size, age, appetite, energy level, emotion, metabolism are all different from animal to animal. Serving suggestions may make your particular pets overweight or underweight (most likely the former). It's always wise for pet owners to monitor their pets' weight and adjust the amount of food (including treats!) they give their pets. If you free-feed your pets, it's even more important to measure the amount of food you give them in advance.