BY TREVOR HUGHES • TrevorHughes @coloradoan.com • July 26, 2008

A CSU-sponsored seminar next week intended to help pet owners use animals’ body language to zero in in on pet pain is already full, and organizers are scheduling another for this fall.

The inaugural “Is Your Pet in Pain?” seminar set for Tuesday has already drawn more than 70 registrants, said Dr. Narda Robinson, a Colorado State University professor who is also a doctor of both humans and animals.

A dog that doesn’t want to jump in the car anymore might be “saying” one thing, while a cat who refuses to climb stairs or hop into bed may be saying something else, said Robinson, director of CSU’s Center for Comparative and Integra-tive Pain Medicine.

“Once I show people how to read their animal’s posture - there’s so much information there,” Robin-son said.

Robinson is a doctor of osteopathy, which is a medical doctor for humans who focuses on the whole body and uses touch and physical manipulation to help diagnose problems, especially related to posture and pain.

In the seminar, Robinson and fellow veterinarian Dr. Bonnie Wright also will discuss treatment options, from dietary supplements and exercise regimens to drug therapies, acupuncture and other complementary therapies.

Robinson is a doctor of osteopathy, which is a medical doctor for humans who focuses on the whole body and uses touch and physical manipulation to help diagnose problems, especially related to posture and pain.

In the seminar, Robinson and fellow veterinarian Dr. Bonnie Wright also will discuss treatment options, from dietary supplements and exercise regimens to drug therapies, acupuncture and other complementary therapies.

Robinson said it’s important for pet owners to realize that they shouldn’t just blame old age for their pets’ conditions.

“More and more in veterinary medicine, we say that age is not a disease. Old age isn’t a diagnosis,” Robinson said. “Yes, they might be seven or 15 or 20, but that’s not what’s causing the problem. We need to get past disregarding further medical attention simply because of their age. There are so many treatable conditions.”

She added: “The frustrating thing is that there are so many things you can do.”

Canine hip dysplasia, is an abnormal development of the ball-in-socket joint that makes up the hip. In a dysplastic hip, the ball which is the head of the femur, or thighbone, and the socket known as the acetabulum, do not fit together properly. Therefore when the dog bears its weight on the joint, it leads to painful and damaging friction.

Kobe is a feisty 5 year old Collie mix who was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and arthritis in the winter of 2007. He is a very active dog who had been training in agility and free-style dancing. He is also a therapy dog.

Kobe’s owner began to notice that he was limping and seemed to be in pain after his training sessions. Conventional medicine was not easing his symptoms so she turned to Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Kobe began his acupuncture sessions in late winter of 2008. In addition to acupuncture, we changed his diet to a better brand of dog food which did not contain any wheat, corn or soy. These ingredients can exacerbate pain and allergies.

A few supplements such as Halo’s Hip Hip Hooray was added to his regime as well. A Chinese herbal liniment was used in conjunction with Tui Na (a form of Chinese massage). The liniment helped to ease his pain and reduced inflammation which seemed to be worse on cold damp days. Kobe seemed to enjoy his massage after each session.

After his third acupuncture session Kobe chased a rabbit and after his sixth session, Kobe was able to return to his Freestyle dance class. His owner said “He still has a bad day every now and then, but those sad, pain filled eyes are gone and my happy, loving therapy dog Kobe is back!”

To read more about Kobe and other dogs who have been helped with Traditional Chinese Medicine, visit the Happy Dogs page on the Four Paws Acupuncture website.

& Learn to beat Cancer!

I found this wonderful Golden Retriever site this week. Please take a few minutes to visit this site and learn more! landofpuregold.com

For the modern day Dr Dolittle, Dog Whisperer, Veterinarian, Vet tech, Dog walkers, K9 Acupuncturist, Dog psychic, Dog Trainer and all those who work with dogs. A pawsitive gift for all dog lovers who speak canine!

To order your “i speak canine” sticker, t-shirt or other fun products click here

Visit The Planet Calamari Shop for unique art on t-shirts, totes, stickers and other fun gifts.

What is the sound of one paw clapping? Check out the new Zen inspired dog art on clothing, totes and other cool gifts at the
Tao of Dog Depot

If you live in Salem, Marblehead or Beverly you probably are aware of the strange rusty black colored soot on your porches, cars and parts of your home. Imagine what it is doing to your lungs!

Thanks to the Dominion Power Plant in Salem, MA, asthma, lung problems and cancer is at an all time high on the North Shore. The Power Plant is 50 years old and is one of the top five plants in the USA that is considered most toxic.

Stop The Power Plant is an organization committed to shutting down this coal fired chemical spewing furnace. Isn’t it time the people and animals of the North Shore were able to breath clean air?

If you would like more information on the Power Plant or would like to be involved in
helping to shut it down, here are a few websites to visit:

Health Link healthlink.org

Salem Alliance for the Environment salemsafe.org

Sign the petition to close the plant
citizensinaction.org

Stop the Plant Now Stoptheplantnow.org

Get ready for pup rallies — that’s what animal welfare advocates are calling the protests they’re launching at pet stores that sell puppies from puppy mills.

It’s all part of a campaign on the part of two animal welfare groups, Last Chance for Animals and Best Friends Animal Society, to publicize conditions at puppy mills, tighten existing regulations on them and let people know that the majority of pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills.

“If they ever tell you anything other than that, they’re lying,” says Chris DeRose, the founder of Last Chance for Animals, which has done its own investigations of puppy mills and pet stores.

If they ever tell you anything other than that, they’re lying,” says Chris DeRose, the founder of Last Chance for Animals, which has done its own investigations of puppy mills and pet stores.

Taking in the scene at the “Puppy-Store-Free L.A.” news conference in Brentwood on Wednesday morning was Lovey (pictured above with Chris DeRose) — a Yorkshire terrier rescued from a Lancaster puppy mill cited for overcrowding. Lovey had been used as a breeding dog. Her right back foot was amputated after it got caught in a puppy mill cage, activists say, but the 4-year-old Yorkie seemed oblivious to that as she easily scampered around a meeting room at the Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard.

Puppy mills are legal and licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but they are considered a scourge by animal welfare groups. The Humane Society of the United States, which has done its own undercover investigations of puppy mills, has made campaigning against them a primary focus. Animal welfare activists say mills are often in violation of USDA rules and are little more than badly run factory farms for dogs — overcrowded and filthy, with small cages where puppies are housed and females are relentlessly bred.

“It’s not just about the puppies but the parents of the puppies and the wretched conditions they live in,” L.A. City Councilman Tony Cardenas said at the news conference.

Overly inbred mill puppies can end up with serious illnesses and behavior problems, activists say.

Puppy mills supply many of the minuscule dogs that have become trendy. “Unfortunately, a handful of quasi-talented actors have been using these animals as accessories,” said DeRose (a sometime actor). Also present at the news conference was Maggie Q, the actress and animal rescuer who co-starred in “Mission: Impossible III.” She has eight rescued dogs. (They did not attend with her.)

The groups have already been demonstrating outside pet stores, telling potential buyers that the stores are getting their puppies from mills. “It’s the blood diamond equivalent to us,” says Julie Castle of Best Friends.

But they’re going for a gentle approach, they say — no yelling and screaming at pet store patrons. “We’re educating people,” Castle says. “We set up tables. We say, ‘Do you want to know where these animals come from?’ ” But they will exhibit giant photos of puppy mills — which increasingly, DeRose says, are being run here in California, not just in the East and Midwest.

To read the rest of this article visit latimesblogs.com/inleashed

I get several calls each week from all over the country asking for referrals for veterinary acupuncturists and other alternative medicine practitioners. Due to the number of calls, I am not able to respond in a timely manner. Nor do I know many practitioners out of my area that I can refer. At this time I only make canine acupuncture house-calls on the North Shore of MA and do nutritional and herbal phone consultations for those out of the area.

I highly recommend visiting www.altMD.com. It is a great health and wellness site with tons of information about Acupuncture, Holistic Pet Health and over 100 other wellness specialties and over 400 common health conditions. It is also a valuable resource to help you find a practitioner in your area.

Dog’s senses are much more acute than ours. Sounds such as fireworks, thunder and loud booming noises can sound threatening and overwhelming to them.