The Healing Power of Your Dog Can Save Your Life

The Healing Power of Your Dog Can Save Your Life
05Sep, 2015by Dave Hodges
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I’m covering a topic that is near and dear to my heart and that is the healing power of dogs. Most people have them. We all love them. I hope. but what many may not realize is, underneath all that unconditional love and fur is one of God’s creation that posses ultra human senses of varying degrees. Whether it be their heightened  sense of smell or empathy and dare I say love, dogs are a gift to be appreciated, respected and in many cases can be utilized for their tremendous talents.
I read a book a while back called “Dogs Never Lie About Love” and in it author
Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson- writes: “They feel more, and they feel more purely and more intensely.”


Don’t wait for the collapse of the dollar because it will be too late.
Dogs are not inhibited by the same emotional issues humans are and combined with their innate giftings, they are able to naturally tap into these “extra and ultra” senses unencumbered.
When these animals are guided and trained to communicate with humans these gifts or instinctive abilities, then we have one of the greatest natural resources in the healing world.
I have posted the link to the book – Dogs never lie about love on my blog post for this show @http://theessentialoilwell.blogspot.com/

http://jeffreymasson.com/books/dogs-never-lie-about-love.html

This topic is near and dear to me because I have a retired Animal Assisted Therapy dog. We worked together for over 5 years in the Pet Partners Program which is an international program.
I have first hand knowledge of the healing power of these beautiful animals and one story in particular I will share with you before I read from some of the reports and articles I have tonight on animal assisted therapy dogs, medical service animals. There are many kinds of service dogs which cover a variety of purposes such as, guide dogs for the blind and deaf, dogs trained to detect epileptic and diabetic seizures, psychiatric service dogs  AND a report I have on how dogs have been used for years in Cancer detection programs.

 Animal-assisted therapy: is it undervalued as an alternative treatment?
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/278173.php

What is AAT?

AAT is an intervention that uses animal interaction to aid recovery from health problems or to help people cope with certain medical conditions.
The therapy is believed to have an array of benefits, including personal and social development, increased self-esteem, improved mental health, better social skills and increased empathy and nurturing skills.
Patients with chronic heart failure, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia are just some groups who benefit from AAT.
Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study from Ohio State University, which found that equine therapy – AAT involving interaction with horses – improved symptoms for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Levinson who first came up with the idea of AAT in the 1960s, after finding that he was better able to reach a withdrawn 9-year-old boy every time his dog – called Jingles – was in the room with him. With Jingles present – who Dr. Levinson deemed his “co-therapist” – he found he was able to gain the trust of the boy, something that past therapists had failed to do.
Today, AAT is more popular than ever. A 2011 report from the US Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Health Center for Health Statistics revealed that almost 60% of hospice care providers that provide complementary and alternative therapies offer pet therapy to patients.
Individuals with physical disabilities may also benefit from AAT. Equine therapy, which can also involve horse riding, has been shown to improve patients’ strength, flexibility and balance.
AAT is not just limited to interaction with cats, dogs and horses; it can include everything from hedgehogs, rabbits and skunks, to snakes and even spiders. Critterish Allsorts – an AAT practice based in the UK – use a tarantula called Fluffy as a therapy for individuals with autism.
Many experts in the AAT field believe the therapy is undervalued and that there should be more research conducted to expose its benefits. “There is a growing body of research, but much of it is still qualitative, not quantitative,” Chris Patella, of Animal Assisted Therapy Services – a US organization that specializes in equine and canine therapy – told us.
“We need hard numeric data to convince insurance companies and legislatures that AAT should be covered like any other medical intervention.”
In addition, Patella said he believed that doctors should be recommending AAT as an alternative treatment for patients with both physical and mental health conditions.
“However,” he added, “doctors are rooted in Western medicine that promotes medication. They, too, are looking for the solid research that proves AAT is a viable intervention. Research is the key.”

Therapy Pets And Humans With Mental Health Issues

http://dogtime.com/dog-health/general/20839-pet-therapy-and-human-mental-health-issues

Animal therapy is also used extensively to treat depression. Petting an animal is believed to cause the release of endorphins (feel-good neurotransmitters) which can have an extremely positive impact in patients dealing with depressive disorders. More detailed and developed interventions are often based on the premise that by focusing on the animal and its needs, the patient’s attention is drawn away from their own problems. Patients also have an opportunity to develop their nurturing skills and are encouraged to develop a sense of empathy with the animal.

ADDICTION THERAPY
Therapy animals have also been successfully used within treatment programs for individuals with substance abuse issues. The presence of an animal can in itself help calm the patient down and prepare them to face their demons.
Addicts often focus almost exclusively on themselves. Engaging with an animal can encourage them to think about the needs of others. Delivered in a group setting, addicts are also more likely to interact socially with others if an animal is involved. Doctors observing how the addict deals with the animal also get a greater insight into the patient’s self-esteem issues, helping them identify specific coping mechanisms and healthier new behaviors [x].
Often integrated into counseling programs, animal therapy can help addicts learn more about teamwork, communication, trust, and self-expression. Animals can also introduce some fun into sessions which can help defuse tension during challenging discussions [xi].


Dogs: A medicine for mental health problems?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/01/health/mental-health-service-dogs/


His name is Valor. He’s half Labrador retriever, half Great Dane, and goes everywhere with Sgt. Charles Hernandez. But Valor is more than a pet — Hernandez considers the dog a personal physician.
When Hernandez was having seizures, Valor would nibble on the side of Hernandez’s leg before the veteran realized anything was wrong. And the dog pulls him away from conflicts and jumps on him during anxiety attacks to calm him down. In combination with medications, Hernandez says the dog has helped his symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
“I’m alive again,” says Hernandez, 49, of the Bronx, New York, now retired from the U.S. National Guard. “What keeps me going is my dog.”
A growing number of Americans are getting dogs for mental health needs, experts say.


Hernandez joined the National Guard in 1996 and was one of the first responders at ground zero on September 11, 2001. He was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2006.
While in Iraq, Hernandez suffered a spinal cord injury that limited his ability to walk and a traumatic brain injury. Inside, he had changed, too. He became violent and agitated. And he had nightmares, uncomfortable thoughts and dreams.
“Not all wounds are visible,” he said. “That’s how I explain it to people.”
Hernandez received a service dog in 2010 through Project HEAL, part of ECAD, an organization that trains and breeds assistance dogs. Project HEAL sets up veterans with PTSD with service dogs. Hernandez still volunteers with Project HEAL.
“He knows if something is wrong, and I can’t figure it out,” Hernandez said of Valor. “The dog has the extra Spider-Man sense.” Hernandez still takes medication for PTSD.
Paul Aragon, a 29-year-old retired veteran, also has PTSD, but his only treatment is his service dog. Aragon got his service dog, Zoey, in October after his medication stopped working. Zoey “keeps me calm,” he says.
Why is is so effective?
According to psychiatrist Dr. Carole Lieberman,
Caring for a pet helps people become less frightened, more self-sufficient and secure. It takes the attention off their own fears, she said. Through owning a pet, you can “prove to yourself that you can take care of another living creature,” she said. It “reassures you that you can take care of yourself.”            
Cancer sniffing dogs to aid British doctorS
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/26/us-cancer-dogs-idUSKCN0QV1RR20150826

They’re known as man’s best friend; but dogs could soon also be their greatest ally in the fight against prostate cancer. Britain’s National Health Service recently approved a trial for dogs capable of sniffing out prostate cancer in the hope that it could show up inaccuracies in the current PSA (prostate specific antigen) test.
It’s long been known that a dog’s remarkable sense of smell can detect minute odors known to be associated with many cancers which are understood to be linked to volatile organic compounds produced by malignant cells.
“Dogs have got this fantastic sense of smell; three-hundred million sensory receptors, us humans have five million. So they’re very, very good at finding minute odors. What we now know is that cancer cells that are dividing differently have different volatile organic compounds — smelly compounds — that are associated with the cells. And dogs with their incredible sense of small can find these in things like breath and urine,” said Dr. Claire Guest who co-founded charity Medical Detection Dogs in 2008 to train specialist dogs to detect human diseases.

Medical Detection Dogs gained approval from Milton Keynes University Hospital for further trials, after initial testing showed trained dogs can detect prostate tumors in urine in 93 percent of cases. The charity says dogs undergo training for a period of about six months, after which they can reliably identify urine with traces of cancer cells in it.
Dr. Guest says dogs can detect the scent of cancer almost instantly, meaning they could potentially check many more samples than a human could possibly do.
“These dogs have the ability to screen hundreds of samples in a day; it’s something they find very easy, they enjoy their work. To them it’s a hunt game – they find the cancer,” she said.
For Dr. Guest, it was this ‘game’ that potentially saved her life. In 2009 her labrador Daisy made her aware that she was suffering from the early stages of breast cancer when she began to nudge Dr. Guest’s chest. Daisy, now 11-years-old, is one of the dogs taking part in the trials in Milton Keynes.
However, a viable ‘electronic nose’  is still many years away, with no technology able to get close to the sniffing power of man’s four-legged friend.
“The problem the electronic nose scientist has is that currently their sensitivity is well below the dog. A dog can find parts per trillion; we had an electronic nose working alongside the dogs recently and they were unable to find anything below parts per million,” said Dr. Guest.
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For more information on joining Pet Partners go here.

Katy Whelan, the Health Reporter for The Common Sense Show.
For information on my specialty which is Essential Oils, please contact me by phone [url=tel:720 630 3111]720 630 3111[/url] or visit my web site http://www.familyessentialshop.com/ and click on the contact forms on the site.
I mentioned on the show that I use a myriad of Essential Oils on my own retired Animal Assist Therapy dog for a host of reason and they work as well on her as they do on me. In fact, she loves them. When she sees me near my oils table in the morning she will come over for her morning oil therapy. ;))

Dave Hodges