Taking Care of your Dog during the Summer

As we enter the hot summer months, taking good care of your dog is important. Keep your canine companions healthy by remembering these basic tips:

Heat:

• When pets are outside, be sure they have plenty of fresh water and access to shady areas.

• Don’t leave your dog inside a car on hot days.

• Exercise your dog only during the coolest times of the day.

• Watch for sunburn. Dogs are susceptible to sunburn just like people, especially those with short hair, pink skin, and white hair. Limit their exposure when the sun is the strongest and apply sunblock to ears and nose 30 minutes before going outside.

Lyme disease:

• Get a yearly Lyme disease vaccination from your vet.

• If you have a furry dog, comb him with a fine-toothed, light-colored comb. Inspect the comb for ticks, which are often tiny and easy to miss.

• Inspect all areas, including the ears and face.

• If you find a tick is attached to the skin, pull it out with tweezers.

• Wash the area with soap and water. Monitor it for signs of infection. If your dog gets Lyme disease, a rash shaped like a bull’s eye will appear at the site three to 32 days after he’s been bitten.

• Watch for symptoms like sudden, severe pain, lethargy, fever, loss of appetite, and depression.

Allergic to your pet? Breathe easy with these tips!

Pets offer us love and companionship. Unfortunately, they also offer allergies to about 10 percent of the population. If getting rid of your cat, dog, or guinea pig isn’t an option, try these tactics for keeping allergic reactions under control:

• First, get tested. If you’re experiencing allergy symptoms—sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, nasal congestion, etc.—visit the doctor first to confirm their origin. Often, the doctor will advise getting rid of your pet, but he or she can also offer suggestions on controlling your reaction.

• Create a pet-free zone. Keep one bedroom completely free of your dog or cat so you (or whoever suffers the allergy) can get regular sleep. Install high-efficiency filters in your air ducts to limit the spread of allergens throughout your home.

• Bathe pets frequently. Have your spouse, a friend, or your children wash and brush your pets at least once a week—outside your home, if possible.

• Clean house often. You may have to vacuum your carpets and fabrics daily, and dust furniture and blinds once a week. If possible, replace carpeting with tile, wood, or linoleum as much as possible to avoid trapping allergens under your feet.

• Wash hands. Whenever you pick up, cuddle, or otherwise handle your pet, wash your hands immediately, and ask family and visitors to do the same.

• Keep pets off furniture. Provide a comfortable pet bed for your animal to sleep and rest in, and train pets to stay off couches and chairs. Wash your pet’s bed often.

Family meals establish lifetime nutrition habits

Eating together establishes good habits later in life, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota. In the study of more than 1,500 people, surveyed once during high school and then again when they were 20 years old, participants were asked questions about how often they ate with their families, how much they liked sitting down to dinner with family and friends, if they had a tendency to eat and run, and how often they ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The results showed that those who ate meals with family as adolescents were more likely to eat fruit and dark green and orange vegetables and drink fewer soft drinks as young adults.

The frequency of family meals during adolescence also predicted eating meals more frequently as adults. Those who experienced more family meals were more likely to have higher intakes of key nutrients, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and the like.

The researchers say the results demonstrate that structured meal times with family are associated with improved diet quality for young adults. Families should be encouraged to share meals together as often as is practically possible.

3 Questions to Boost Your Child's Confidence

3 Questions to Boost Your Child’s Confidence

Talking about the positive events or accom­plishments in your child’s life can have a profound effect on them. It boosts their self-esteem and gives them every reason to expect better things in the future.

Help kids build their self-image by asking these questions:

• What makes you feel proud of yourself? When you know what makes them feel great, you can build on it with more questions about where they want to go in their lives.

• What family memories do you think about? When you hear how they view the family, you can ask them where they see themselves in the mix.

• Were you ever surprised by someone? Knowing what surprises them can give you hints for future reference.

How to succeed as a COACH every day

Coaching and managing are related roles, but separate ones. Managers make sure that a worker’s performance meets explicit goals; coaches strive to help people meet their potential and exceed expectations. To hone your coaching skills more keenly, follow this advice:

• Be a full-time coach. Don’t limit your coaching opportunities to regularly scheduled meetings, no matter how frequent. Look for ways to be a coach in staff meetings, workplace conversations, even voice and email messages.

• Exercise your empathy skills. Watch dramatic TV shows and movies to practice your skills at reading body language and picking up hidden emotions from nonverbal cues.

• Clarify goals. Train yourself to clearly define the behaviors you seek in other people, and what behaviors need to change. The better you can flesh these out, the better your ability to suggest improvements and offer useful feedback.

• Respond quickly. Closely monitor the people you are coaching so you’ll be able to provide timely and helpful feedback.

• Listen. The more someone talks about a new idea, the easier it is for him or her to become excited and committed to it. Let the person you’re coaching do most or all of the talking during your conversations.

• Practice what you preach. You can’t expect others to behave in a certain way if you don’t demonstrate the desired behavior yourself.

• Provide practice opportunities. When teaching a new skill, give your people plenty of opportunities to practice. This builds not only their proficiency but also their self-confidence.

• Talk positively to yourself. Some positive self-talk—affirming your own skills and talents—will keep your morale up and will, in turn, help you to lift the attitudes of others.

• Believe in people. When you anticipate great things from others, and let them know your expectations, your confidence will help them work hard to live up to your vision.

Family Meals establish lifetime nutrition habits

Eating together establishes good habits later in life, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota. In the study of more than 1,500 people, surveyed once during high school and then again when they were 20 years old, participants were asked questions about how often they ate with their families, how much they liked sitting down to dinner with family and friends, if they had a tendency to eat and run, and how often they ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The results showed that those who ate meals with family as adolescents were more likely to eat fruit and dark green and orange vegetables and drink fewer soft drinks as young adults. The frequency of family meals during adolescence also predicted eating meals more frequently as adults. Those who experienced more family meals were more likely to have higher intakes of key nutrients, such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and the like.

The researchers say the results demonstrate that structured meal times with family are associated with improved diet quality for young adults. Families should be encouraged to share meals together as often as is practically possible.

Reduce Stress throughout your day

Stress is frequently caused by time pressure—you don’t have enough minutes in the day to do everything you want and need to accomplish. The key to relieving stress in your household is being aware of what’s causing it, and then making some basic adjustments to your schedule. Here’s how to deal with the three most stress-filled times of day:

Morning:

• Get to bed early enough for a good night’s sleep.

• Rise early, avoiding pressure to get out the door fast.

• Get dressed and ready for your day before waking others.

• Have children make their own lunches.

• Take the time to eat a nutritious breakfast.

• Arrive at work on time so you can get a good start to your day.

Dinnertime:

• Prepare nutritious meals, not fast food. Have your kids help choose and prepare the meal.

• Make time after work to listen to your children talk about their day.

• Share household chores with your spouse and children.

• Coordinate meals and homework time efficiently.

• Ensure that every family member is present at the dinner table, and that everyone gets heard.

• Share cleanup duties after dinner and around the house.

• Leave some time for interruptions and emergencies.

• Prepare tomorrow’s lunches.

Bedtime:

• Stick with an agreed TV cutoff time.

• Develop a bedtime routine for your children that they can manage on their own.

• Handle some routine maintenance chores daily—paying the day’s bills, dusting, etc.

• Plan what to wear tomorrow. 

• Get to bed at a reasonable hour.