MAS-cotas por mas...

( www.neomundo.com.ar ) Toda persona que ama a las mascotas sabe que son una fuente de alegría y buen humor. Ahora se sabe -a través de investigaciones científicas realizadas en distintas instituciones- que estos simpáticos compañeros son directamente beneficiosos para la salud del poseedor: bajan la presión arterial, ayudan a hacer ejercicio y mejoran la salud mental en los hombres y las mujeres de todas las edades que saben aprovechar y gozar de su compañía.
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En la Universidad de Missouri, Estados Unidos, hay un centro médico donde se investiga la interacción entres seres humanos y animales, y el efecto que tiene en cada uno de ellos. "Las investigaciones en esta área están brindando nueva evidencia del impacto positivo que las mascotas tienen en nuestras vidas. Los animales son muy importantes para las personas, especialmente en tiempos de dificultades económicas", dijo Rebecca Johnson, profesora de este Centro.

BUENOS COMPAÑEROS DEPORTIVOS

En 2008 se realizó un programa dirigido a adultos mayores llamado "Saque a pasear a un perro, pierda una libra (500 gramos) de peso y manténganse en forma". Los voluntarios se dividieron en dos grupos: uno de ellos trabajó con perros y el otro con un amigo. Se les pidió que durante tres meses salieran a caminar cinco veces por semana con el perro o el amigo, según les hubiera tocado.

Al analizar los resultados, los científicos vieron que las personas que salieron a pasear con los perros mejoraron su capacidad de caminar en un 28%, es decir que se movían más rápido y con mayor confianza. Aquellos que salieron con un amigo solo mejoraron un 4%.

Al mismo tiempo, se continúa investigando las ventajas de que los niños y adolescentes tengan un animal. Explicaron que todavía hay pocos estudios en esta dirección, pero los que se hicieron encontraron que las mascotas tienen muchos efectos en la salud física y emocional de los más jóvenes.

Por ejemplo, un estudio realizado en la Universidad de Warwick (Gran Bretaña) en 2002 encontró que los chicos que conviven con mascotas cuentan con un mejor sistema inmunológico, es decir que cuentan con mejores defensas frente a las infecciones bacterianas y virosicas.

ANIMALES 360°

Guide horse...

Graduate student Mona Ramouni, left, and her guide horse Cali wait for class to start with classmate Cheryl Wade and her guide dog.

For Mona Ramouni, who's blind, using a guide dog was just not possible. From an observant Muslim family, Ramouni’s parents objected to having a dog in the house.

For most of her life the 28-year-old got around with the help of her family and friends. But those days are over, and Ramouni has a new companion to help navigate her way: Cali the guide horse.

The graduate student bought Cali two years ago, and sent her for training to learn to become a guide horse. She paid for the horse, its care and training from her savings work as an editor of Braille books.

"My whole world and my whole outlook on stuff has changed, because I feel that there are a lot more possibilities," Ramouni told the news service AFP in July 2009, six weeks after Cali arrived. "Before Cali, I didn't feel like I could go places on my own, although theoretically I probably could have."

Guide dogs are believed to have been leading the way for blind people for centuries, while guide horses are a more recent phenomenon. The Guide Horse Foundation has been training miniature horses as companions for the blind for nearly 11 years. There has been such demand for guide horses that the organization, which is run solely by volunteers, has had to suspend the application process.

It takes about a year to train a guide horse, and the animals have a longer lifespan than guide dogs. Miniature horses can live to be more than 50 years old and weigh around 100 pounds.

"Taking on a horse as a guide is a huge commitment, same as a dog but with more physical needs," said Dolores Arste, Cali’s trainer, to the Associated Press last year. "It is not a novelty. It is a real working animal."

Taking care of Cali is definitely different than caring for a guide dog. The diet of a guide horse consists mostly of grass or hay and oats, according to the Guide Horse Foundation, and the animals can graze on the lawn of someone's house.

Since Ramouni and Cali have joined forces, she has been able to move from her native Dearborn, Mich. to Lansing, where she is working toward a master’s degree at Michigan State University.

Cali and Ramouni attend classes together, where they are sometimes joined by the guide dog of another student.

"We've had some adventures," Ramouni told the AFP. "If she thinks she can do it, she will. If she thinks she can't or doesn't want to, I swear she's half mule because she'll just stand there."

ANIMALES 360°

Dear deer...

Grace, who loves the color pink, took books about princesses to read when she went hunting with her dad. The night before her outdoor adventure, she read a book about hunting white-tail deer. She said she learned about shot placement and hunting safety.

On Saturday morning, she got up early with her dad to head into the woods. Grace said she spotted the 160-pound, 6-point deer twice before she pulled the trigger.

“Daddy took me turkey hunting and he got a turkey and he called it mine, but this is really mine because I shot. He shot the turkey; I shot the deer,” the well-spoken 6-year-old explained.

“I've got to hold the gun for her because she's so small, but she kind of sights down it and then when it's ready we check and double check and pull that trigger. She pulled that trigger,” her dad, Tim Zerbel, proudly said.

Grace and her dad were among hundreds of outdoorsmen out for the start of deer hunting season. Many Michigan hunters checked in their deer at DNR check stations.

“What we're doing is taking the age and some other measurements on the bucks. And we use that for some data analysis to monitor the health of the herd,” said Steve Chadwick, Michigan DNR wildlife biologist.

He said the herd seems healthy.

“So far they all seem pretty good. We've seen some good bucks. It's a little early to tell, but most of the deer I've seen, even through the archery season, are in good condition,” Chadwick said.

As the firearm season continues for the next month, he urged hunters to use caution.
“Just make sure of what's behind the animal you're shooting at. Be cognizant of other hunters in the area, homes, cars, etc., and just be careful out there,” Chadwick said.

Even little Grace had some safety advice.

“The safety color in hunting: bright orange,” she said.

There are more than 50 voluntary DNR deer check stations throughout Michigan. You can find more information, including the locations and hours at www.michigan.gov/dnr.

ANIMALES 360°

sacrificado por error...

PHOENIX, nov 16 (Reuters) - Un perro aclamado como héroe por alertar a soldados estadounidenses en Afganistán sobre un atacante suicida fue sacrificado por equivocación en un refugio del condado para animales en Arizona, dijeron autoridades.

Target, un ovejero alemán que apareció en el programa "The Oprah Winfrey Show" y en los medios locales por sus hazañas en Afganistán, se escapó de sus dueños el viernes y fue sacrificado el lunes luego de pasar el fin de semana en el refugio.

El trabajador que sacrificó a Target está ausente con autorización, dijo la directora del refugio Pinal County AnimalCare and Control Ruth Stalter.

"Estoy muy afectada por esto", dijo Stalter en un comunicado. "Tuve que dar la noticia al dueño del perro personalmente y él y su familia están destrozados",añadió.

Stalter dijo que el refugio trabaja mucho para reunir a las

mascotas perdidas con sus dueños y que comenzó una investigación para determinar por qué sucedió el error.

Según el sitio en internet de "The Oprah Winfrey Show",Target y otros dos perros, Sasha y Rufus, fueron adoptados por soldados estadounidenses en Afganistán luego de entrar en un complejo militar.

Los tres perros fueron aclamados como héroes luego de atacar a un suicida con bomba que había ingresado al complejo y aparentemente se dirigía hacia los barracones donde se encontraban unos 50 soldados.

Sasha resultó gravemente herida cuando el atacante detonó la bomba y tuvo que ser sacrificada, pero Target y Rufus sobrevivieron y fueron llevados a Estados Unidos por soldados que regresaban de su período en Afganistán.

(Escrito por Dan Whitcomb, Editado en español por Patricia Avila)
REUTERS@

ANIMALES 360°

Good dogs: How to get canines to stop leash pulling

Leash pulling is an issue for just about every dog owner. It's not good for your shoulder and it's not good for the dog.

Here's how to stop it, according to a new book by American Kennel Club animal behaviorist Mary Burch. Citizen Canine has the following advice.

Technique No. 1

•When Fido starts to pull on the leash, stop in your tracks. Stand still and don't move forward with the dog.
•Wait right there where you are. Your pup will pull, but he'll eventually stop.
•When he does stop pulling, praise him and move forward again.
Anytime he starts to pull, repeat the procedure and stop where you are. It won't take him too long to figure out that you're not going anywhere as long as he pulls on the leash.

Technique No. 2

•When your pup begins to pull off in his own direction, briskly turn around and begin walking in the opposite direction. Fido will have to come along, and most likely he'll hurry up to keep up with you.
•When Fido begins to follow in the direction your walking, praise him. If you're at the beginning stages of training your pup, give him a treat. This will train your dog to watch you when you're out for a walk and not pull on the leash.
The AKC's Canine Good Citizen program is a 10-step training program.

Tags:American Kennel Club

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