The best daily health pratice you can do for almost zero cost...

[oldbike54]

 Brad , you are gonna have to get Pink some booties and a doggy snowsuit 

 Dusty

[Lannis]

can I Just skip reading all this and go walk my dog? we did 6 miles yesterday less than 3 today..

Why in the WORLD would you be reading all this when you've got a dog to walk?

We wanted a "rescue" Border Collie.   I've always owned Border Collies and I understand their need for exercise, their need for a job to do to occupy their minds and bodies, and their need to be a part of whatever you are doing.

Many people don't understand this, and they try buying a puppy when They Are So CUTE! and then neglect the needs of the dog, who will then invent jobs for themselves to do which generally involve chasing dangerous or unwilling things, geological explorations via huge holes in the earth, or taking things apart to see how they work (UPS packages, truck taillight wiring, furniture, etc.)

Thus the BC ends up in a shelter.   I understand that the shelter guys want the best for the dog, a dog that has already been abused once and they don't want it to happen again.   But we're in sort of a unique situation here, compared to the requirements of the shelter.   

Our house is a mile from the nearest road, and is one of two houses on 1200 acres either owned by us or the timber companies.   It's Border Collie heaven, with creeks, fields, woods, meadows ...

But the Rescue Rules say that the dog must be kept penned up, or on a leash, or under your direct control at all times, as if we were living on Central Park in NYC.   You have to keep the dog in a pen or in the house unless you are "exercising" him., and the Shelter rules say that they can come out (if they desire) at any time and see that you are following these rules.

So we said Sod that for a game of soldiers, and bought a nice male 10-week-old pup from a local breeder, last of the litter.   He goes in and out of the house as he desires.  He wears a "MarcoPolo" transponder on his collar; we have the DF module at the house, and if he gets 1/2 mile from the house (which is all ours or Weyerhauser land), it alarms, points to his location, and we call him back.   He knows exactly where his boundaries are now, so if he's out herding deer or something, he knows when to turn back to home.   

It keeps him safe, keeps him feeling secure since he knows he's being watched, and when we're out walking with him, he'll turn and ask if it's OK to go on when he gets near the limit.  He stays in an outdoor pen with a luxury 2-room BC house when we're gone for the day, and at a local boarding place when we're on vacation.

It's a wonderful situation for a dog, but the "System" doesn't understand ...

Lannis

[fotoguzzi]

Brad , you are gonna have to get Pink some booties and a doggy snowsuit 

 Dusty

we have them but she'd rather go naked.

[oldbike54]

we have them but she'd rather go naked.

 It would appear so , dog , what a sad face 

 Dusty

[lucian]

What is it with women and footwear?

[Cool Runnings]

Why in the WORLD would you be reading all this when you've got a dog to walk?

We wanted a "rescue" Border Collie.   I've always owned Border Collies and I understand their need for exercise, their need for a job to do to occupy their minds and bodies, and their need to be a part of whatever you are doing.

Many people don't understand this, and they try buying a puppy when They Are So CUTE! and then neglect the needs of the dog, who will then invent jobs for themselves to do which generally involve chasing dangerous or unwilling things, geological explorations via huge holes in the earth, or taking things apart to see how they work (UPS packages, truck taillight wiring, furniture, etc.)

Thus the BC ends up in a shelter.   I understand that the shelter guys want the best for the dog, a dog that has already been abused once and they don't want it to happen again.   But we're in sort of a unique situation here, compared to the requirements of the shelter.   

Our house is a mile from the nearest road, and is one of two houses on 1200 acres either owned by us or the timber companies.   It's Border Collie heaven, with creeks, fields, woods, meadows ...

But the Rescue Rules say that the dog must be kept penned up, or on a leash, or under your direct control at all times, as if we were living on Central Park in NYC.   You have to keep the dog in a pen or in the house unless you are "exercising" him., and the Shelter rules say that they can come out (if they desire) at any time and see that you are following these rules.

So we said Sod that for a game of soldiers, and bought a nice male 10-week-old pup from a local breeder, last of the litter.   He goes in and out of the house as he desires.  He wears a "MarcoPolo" transponder on his collar; we have the DF module at the house, and if he gets 1/2 mile from the house (which is all ours or Weyerhauser land), it alarms, points to his location, and we call him back.   He knows exactly where his boundaries are now, so if he's out herding deer or something, he knows when to turn back to home.   

It keeps him safe, keeps him feeling secure since he knows he's being watched, and when we're out walking with him, he'll turn and ask if it's OK to go on when he gets near the limit.  He stays in an outdoor pen with a luxury 2-room BC house when we're gone for the day, and at a local boarding place when we're on vacation.

It's a wonderful situation for a dog, but the "System" doesn't understand ...

Lannis

I have a mix, BC & Black Lab. She likes to run and swim everyday.

[Gliderjohn]

When we adopted our dog from the local shelter it basically said the same thing about not allowing it to run free. But we too live very rurally and out dog goes out pretty much as he pleases un supervised much of the time, no problem. Don't think the shelter has enough staffing or money to run someone out here to check up on us.
GliderJohn

[Cool Runnings]

If Dogs Run Free

[Dean Rose]

Cindy's Mom lived to the ripe old age of ninety three. She had couple of scotches and water and a couple handfuls of Virginia peanuts every day. Sounds like a winner to me. Although I didn't like her taste for the whiskey she bought, it was the cheapest the store had.


Dean

[Cool Runnings]

Just took a nice long cold shower, if you only knew how good it makes one feel afterwards.

[Triple Jim]

Like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, it feels SOOOO good when you stop!

[Lannis]

I've got a radish in the microwave now ....

[Cool Runnings]

 

Like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer, it feels SOOOO good when you stop!

You just don't have the mental strength to take a simple cold water shower.

They are nothing like submerging yourself in <50 F. Now that's the real treat.

According to Hippocrates, water therapy ‘allays lassitude’ (physical or mental weakness).

[Triple Jim]

You kidding?  At 58 years old, I've had many cold showers in my life.  Also many swims and water skis in the 65 degree waters around Ocean City, NJ.  I've actually water skied in the brackish water of the Wye river off the Chesapeake bay when there was ice floating around, but I did have a dry suit on that day.   

Come to think of it, I've water skied quite a few times in water that was 40 to 50 degrees F, wearing a wet suit, and as I'm sure you know, when the suit fills up, the water takes a while to warm up!

[Cool Runnings]

Cold Shower Therapy: Joel Runyon at TEDxLUC

[Randown]

The thing with medicine is it would absent standards attract plenty of scallywags with their crackpot remedies b/c there is no shortage of people that will make a leap of faith & buy in to a story-line that provides easy answers.

Yet there MIGHT be some benefit to these cold plunges / showers & the research is just sparse. I'll remain open but unconvinced especially when a Tony Robbins type motivational speaker is pointed to as evidence.

A quick search looking for something more credible turned up a 4 YO commentary by an MD...





- Boosting the immune system: a study from England found that taking daily cold showers increased the numbers of disease-fighting white blood cells (compared to people who took hot showers). The investigators at Britain�s Thrombosis Research Institute suggested that as the body tries to warm itself during and after a cold shower, metabolic rate speeds up and activates the immune system, which leads to the release of more white blood cells. And, according to a German study, an occasional winter swim in cold water causes oxidative stress, but, done regularly, such swimming leads to an adaptive antioxidant response; in other words, the body is better able to combat oxidative stress in general once it�s accustomed to cold-water swims.
   
- Preventing injury: Soaking in a cold bath (also known as an "ice bath" or "cold therapy") is said to help reduce swelling and tissue breakdown in runners after distance runs. However, the few studies actually completed and published have been inconclusive or contradictory, so until we get more definitive findings, these claimed benefits can�t be confirmed.
   
- Enhancing male fertility: Here, the main argument for cold showers assisting conception is that they�re not hot showers. Higher scrotal temperatures depress sperm production, so much so that long-standing belief holds that hot baths might be an effective method of male contraception. According to a study published in 1992, the "wet heat" method of contraception has been known since the 4th century B.C. and involves placing the testes in hot water (116 degrees Fahrenheit) for 45 minutes every night for three weeks. This is supposed to provide protection for six months, but it isn�t a very practical method. And there�s no proof that taking cold showers will have the opposite effect.

Cold water may do all that and more, but the science behind the claims for health benefits is very thin. Showering or swimming in cold water is a matter of personal preference � there is no compelling health reason to switch to cold showers or dive into frigid water. In fact, I advise against it for anyone who has high blood pressure. Low temperatures (including cold weather) constrict blood vessels. As a result, blood pressure rises because more pressure is needed to force blood though narrowed blood vessels.

Andrew Weil, M.D.

[Arizona Wayne]

Dog breeds are like people........some like to get wet and some don't.  Labs, spaniels yes.  Lhasa Apsos, no.   Now the Lhasa loves to frolic in snow.  I mean, its breed comes from Tibet.

As for dog booties, would you like to walk barefoot on asphalt when it's 105F ambient?   Heck, my feet are so tender I can't walk on asphalt comfortably even when it's 70F.   We have a Chihuahua dog whose small paws can't handle hot asphalt either, so my wife got it booties.  We don't have sidewalks.

[Lannis]

Dog breeds are like people........some like to get wet and some don't.  Labs, spaniels yes.  Lhasa Apsos, no.   Now the Lhasa loves to frolic in snow.  I mean, its breed comes from Tibet.

As for dog booties, would you like to walk barefoot on asphalt when it's 105F ambient?   Heck, my feet are so tender I can't walk on asphalt comfortably even when it's 70F.   We have a Chihuahua dog whose small paws can't handle hot asphalt either, so my wife got it booties.  We don't have sidewalks.

Some dogs (like Border Collies, I can't speak for many others) have an "undercoat" of fur that is impervious to water.    Their outer, rougher coat sheds much of the water, and their lanolin-coated undercoat keeps their skin dry no matter how long they are in the water.   

It might explain why the thing that Jack the Border Collie hates more than anything in the world is Taking a Bath.   When he gets a bath, we use shampoo on him that gets the oil out of his undercoat and wets him to the skin, and he KNOWS there's something weird and uncomfortable about that.    When he gets out of a long swim in the river, or a full day in the rain, he still looks like his normal self, because his undercoat is still fluffy.   When he gets a bath, he looks like he's lost 30 pounds and is an anorexic greyhound or something ...

Regardless, it's a lot of fun watching a dog that loves the water or the snow having fun in that environment.   There are YouTube videos of dogs playing in deep snow that are hilarious to watch ....

Lannis

[Triple Jim]

Regardless, it's a lot of fun watching a dog that loves the water or the snow having fun in that environment.   There are YouTube videos of dogs playing in deep snow that are hilarious to watch ....

A few years ago, my family stood on the lake shore and watched our Lab chase a family of ducks across the lake.  He got about half a mile or so out, and realized he didn't want to continue.  He turned around and headed back toward us, and the mother duck also turned around and chased him.  She followed him at least halfway back, and occasionally our dog would turn around to go after her for a few feet.  Eventually the duck got tired of the activity and swam back toward her ducklings, and our dog made it back to shore.  We just marveled with interspersed laughter at the whole scene as it unfolded.

[Arizona Wayne]

That reminds me, we had a house in Vancouver, Wa. that had filbert trees in the back yard.  We had cats and wild squirrels that would tease our cats by hanging on a tree branch by their front legs, and wiggle their tails and chirp 'till a cat would try to get to them.  Then the squirrel would jump to another branch and start all over.   After awhile the cats got to ignoring the squirrels because there's no way they could ever catch them. 

[Sheepdog]

I cut my serving size in half at meals, avoid processed foods, drink plenty of water, and ride my bicycles when I can. I also shy away from fried stuff and don't drink to excess. This is woefully difficult here in the New Orleans area, but I'm hanging in there...