Canistherapy, what is it and how does it help treat. Dogs are real healers Does a dog heal?

A dog is not only a faithful friend, a playmate and an attentive listener to your monologues. These animals are able to improve human health, relieve an attack and improve the condition of a seriously ill patient. Moreover, dogs are able to selflessly treat both their owners and strangers.

Interaction between owner and dog

According to studies, people who keep a dog at home live four to five years longer than those who do not have a pet. Both adult dogs and small puppies are excellent at relieving nervous tension, which can aggravate a number of health problems. Simply stroking the animal’s body, belly, running your fingers through the fur, or playing with the dog can lift the owner’s mood, lower heart rate and blood pressure, relieve muscle tension, improve digestion and lower blood cholesterol levels. The owner, interacting with the dog, stops having headaches and improves overall tone. The dog needs daily walks outside. Perhaps in cold or damp weather this does not please the owners too much, but regular stay in the fresh air is beneficial not only for the dog, but also for the person. Walking strengthens the immune system, and active games with a four-legged friend allow the muscles to receive the necessary exercise, which is especially important for people who lead a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. Japanese scientists analyzed the situation in the country and found that the presence of a dog in the house is an excellent remedy for insomnia. Both a large shaggy dog ​​and a miniature dog are able to normalize their owner’s sleep even better than other skilled “healers” - cats.

For the best sleep, you should not take your dog to bed with you, but equip it with a bed not far from the owner’s bed.

Dogs can not only treat diseases, but also prevent them. In the UK and the USA, scientists and dog handlers are closely involved in raising dogs for people suffering from epilepsy. Dogs can detect an attack a few minutes before it occurs. If the owner did not have time to take action, they will offer their own back to the falling owner so that he does not hurt himself.

Canistherapy

In recent decades, canistherapy, a method of treatment and rehabilitation with the help of specially trained dogs, has been gaining popularity. This type of therapy is often used to treat mental illness. Dogs can help the patient in the development of mental and emotional abilities, in social adaptation, as well as in the correction of motor functions.

Canistherapy was used back in the time of Hippocrates, but this technique was forgotten, and interest in it awoke only in the second half of the 20th century.

Most often, dogs are used to treat children, but canistherapy is also used with adult patients. In particular, terminally ill patients cope better with their condition and experience all stages of grief if they have a faithful and loving four-legged doctor next to them.

A dog is a living and natural energy battery, a true donor of positive energy. To get rid of a large number of different diseases and replenish your vitality, the best way is to get a dog.

When you return from work tired, your pet throws itself on your chest and gives you a huge boost of energy.

“Dog therapy” is applied very simply: it is enough to be near your pet, pet it, talk to it, walk with it.

What diseases can dogs treat?

Absolutely all dogs, of course, will bring relief from angina, ischemia, heart attack, arrhythmia, kidney disease, bronchitis, influenza, radiation sickness, various tumors, and neurodermatitis.

Large breeds of dogs (St. Bernard, Newfoundland, Moscow Watchdog, Great Dane, East European and South Russian Shepherds) will have a beneficial effect on hemorrhoids, frequent sore throats, jaundice, arthritis, and colitis. If you have heart failure, you need to place your hands on your dog's heart area for at least half an hour every day for a month. Scientists have proven that in a large dog, the alpha rhythm of its heart muscle is highly active; absolutely no pacemaker can compare with it.

If you are obese or physically inactive, you should choose an energetic dog: these may be. But we must not forget that the active breed is contraindicated for people suffering from heart disease.

Shar Pei is suitable for irritable and nervous people. This dog is considered healing; it has a special biofield. Shar Pei will cure insomnia, relieve headaches, and have a beneficial effect on phobias and epilepsy.

A hairless Mexican or Chinese dog will perfectly relieve pain from rheumatism, radiculitis, gout, and renal colic. Her body temperature reaches 42 degrees, and she has unique healing and psychic abilities.

Pat your pet on the head more often; such communication will help relieve spasms in the blood vessels of the brain and heart. A few minutes of fascinating communication will replace one tablet of no-shpa.

Osteochondrosis or radiculitis will warm up your dog better than any heating pad and help relieve pain.

: they breathe fresh air, move more, which is very useful for excess weight, rheumatism, stress and atherosclerosis.

The dog will also provide you with first aid for burns, wounds, and scratches. The saliva of this animal contains a strong antibiotic, lysozyme, which has bactericidal and wound-healing properties.

When brushing and grooming your pet, there is no need to throw away the fur. Collect it in a linen bag and you will get an excellent remedy for radiculitis and inflammation in the joints. As soon as you feel unwell, warm the bag with an iron and immediately apply it to the sore spot. But you should take into account that you cannot forcibly hold a “living battery” next to you, otherwise your four-legged healer may “catch” his owner’s illness.

Research by scientists has shown that dog owners, as well as cats, parrots and other pets, live 4-5 years longer than other people.

How do pets affect us? Well, firstly, communication with our beloved pets brings us a lot of positive emotions. Special studies have shown that when a person pets an animal, the pulse rate and blood pressure decrease, the tension of contracted muscles decreases, general muscle relaxation occurs, and digestion improves.

It has been found that dog owners have lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, are also less likely to catch colds, have fewer headaches, and are less likely to develop a serious illness.

It also turned out that cats and dogs have bioenergetic properties. They can clearly sense the negative energy that comes from a sick human organ. Therefore, the furry psychic accurately finds the sore spot, clings to it, purrs and warms it. And according to the results of another study, it turned out that there are significantly fewer bacteria in the room where pets are!

The most important thing is that any four-legged friend can become a doctor for a person, regardless of appearance and breed. The main thing is that you love him and take care of him, and then he will reward you many times over.

So, treatment with dogs...

If you expect health from your dog, then the most important thing is that it is loved by all members of the household. In this case, the breed does not matter much, although a large dog is still preferable, since it is believed that the larger it is, the closer in size its organs are to ours, which we would like to improve.

For tonsillitis, arrhythmia, insufficient heart function, peptic ulcers, gastritis, colitis, hemorrhoids, jaundice, goiter, otitis, gout, cirrhosis of the liver, scientists advise getting a large breed dog. For bronchitis, pneumonia, kidney failure, nephritis, angina - any is suitable. And the most desirable contact of biofields is created by training a service dog. This is both prevention and recovery from a wide variety of ailments, including genetic ones.

Dog therapy is a valuable form of psychotherapy that helps the patient return to the real world. The important role of visual contact, touch, facial expressions, gestures and other communication with a dog has been scientifically proven. Thanks to this, dogs are used in psychiatric clinics to treat patients with communication disorders, those who refuse to communicate, those who are completely self-absorbed, as well as in the treatment of deaf patients.

A dog, expressing devotion to its owner, according to psychologists, provides him with invaluable psychological support, which even exceeds the power of support from a loved one. If you are doing an important task, then the presence of a dog will help you cope with the task and maintain strength. Dogs calm, relieve tension, save from heart attacks, pressure surges, headaches, liver colic, relieve pain syndromes due to radiculitis and neuralgia, and cure inflammatory processes. Indispensable for various skin diseases: they can even treat trophic ulcers.

In the USA and Great Britain, dogs help epileptic patients. Dogs save their owners during epileptic seizures. They work both as diagnosticians and as orderlies. Some trained dogs sense the onset of their owner's epileptic seizure several minutes before it begins. Feeling an attack approaching, they place themselves under the falling owner, who is losing consciousness, so that he does not hit the floor or furniture. The presence of a dog significantly reduces the duration of the attack and the likelihood of dangerous consequences.

Dog “responsibility” in this matter is extremely necessary, since there are patients who experience epilepsy attacks 3-4 times a week. Speaking about the incredible ability of dogs to sense the state of their charges, scientists talk about the difficulty of explaining this phenomenon, in which there is a certain element of mysticism.

Dogs also treat insomnia. In Japan, where 13 million dogs live in Japanese households, pets are treated like full-fledged members of the family. It was in Japan that a study was conducted on the effect of cats and dogs on the sleep of their owners. Many people have problems sleeping, and there is still no universal cure for insomnia. As a result of the study, scientists concluded that pet owners experience fewer sleep problems than those who do not have cats or dogs. In turn, dog owners sleep better than those who keep a cat as a pet. Among dog owners, those whose animals have their own separate sleeping places, rather than sharing a sleeping place with their owners, have the best sleep.

Special studies have shown that the presence of a dog in the house determines a 50% reduction in the likelihood of allergies in a child. Early contact of the baby's immune system with various allergens carried on the fur of pets may be an explanation for this pattern.

Dogs are very hardy and strong animals. But, of course, these best friends of man can also get sick. The dog, of course, does not have the opportunity to tell the owner about his illness. Therefore, owners of such pets need to have an idea of ​​the symptoms of their most common diseases. Owners should also know how to treat their dog if it has one or another health problem.

The most common ailments

Surgical diseases of dogs include:

• eye diseases;

  ear diseases.

The most common infectious diseases are:

parvovirus enteritis;

• rabies.

What to do if you are injured

Dogs are known to be very active, so they get injured quite often. Owners of such pets should definitely have an idea of ​​how to treat a dog if it has a wound, sprain or bruise.

Dogs usually damage their skin and tissues during fights. If such an injury is detected in an animal, it needs to be given first aid at home and then contact a veterinarian. The wound is first carefully examined, after which foreign objects are removed from it (if necessary). Next, you should cut the hair along the edges of the damaged area and treat it with an antiseptic composition.

If an unsuccessful jump or fall occurs, the dog may suffer a bruise or sprain. Such injuries are usually not too serious, so you probably won’t need to visit a veterinarian in this case. The main sign of a bruise is swelling. Something cold should be applied to the bruised area on the dog’s body for 30 minutes. Then this procedure must be repeated every 2 hours.

If the dog is sprained, apply an elastic bandage and make sure that it moves less in the coming days. On the first day, you can also give the animal some kind of analgesic.

The most common eye diseases

Of course, owners of such pets should also know how to treat a dog if it has eye problems. These occur quite rarely, but sometimes they do occur.

Most often dogs are diagnosed with:

turning of the eyelids;

protrusion of the eyeball;

conjunctivitis.

Entropion of the eyelids is a hereditary disease in dogs. This disease usually manifests itself in the first year of life. Representatives of breeds with folded skin on the head are most susceptible to it. Unfortunately, there is no answer to the question of how to treat a dog’s eyes at home with entropion. This defect can only be corrected surgically.

Symptoms of eyeball protrusion are:

abnormally wide palpebral fissure;

strabismus;

prolapse of the third eyelid.

This disease can only be cured in a veterinary clinic through surgery.

Many people, of course, are interested in how to treat a dog at home with conjunctivitis. This disease in dogs can develop due to allergen or pathogenic microorganisms getting into the eyes. Conjunctivitis is also often caused by poor diet. With this disease, the dog's mucous membranes turn red and swelling occurs.

For allergic conjunctivitis, the dog's eyes should be wiped with saline solution. You can also use chamomile decoction for this purpose. But how to treat a dog’s eyes with purulent discharge? Antibiotics will help solve this problem. This conjunctivitis is usually caused by harmful bacteria.

Ear problems: how to treat a dog

How to treat a dog's ears if ticks are detected? There is such a remedy - “Bars”. Before using this drug, the pet's ear canal should be carefully cleaned of plaque with a cotton swab dipped in vegetable oil.

Sometimes dogs develop a disease such as otitis media. In this case, serious hearing impairment is observed, and the animal also experiences obvious pain in the ears. In some cases, a sick dog's lymph nodes may become inflamed.

Otitis media should only be treated by a veterinarian. In this case, specific remedies are chosen taking into account the type of disease. For example, for external otitis, compresses are given to the dog, for purulent otitis, antibiotics are prescribed, etc.

in dogs

This disease in dogs is considered one of the most serious and dangerous. The following symptoms are observed:

apathy and lethargy;

increased body temperature;

vomiting and diarrhea.

A sick dog experiences severe pain and arches its back when trying to pet it. Dogs infected with parvovirus enteritis require emergency medical care. Unfortunately, this disease is deadly.

As first aid, the animal is given an injection of “No-shpa” and “Cordiamin”. The dog is then taken to the veterinarian. At the clinic, the animal is usually placed on a drip with a crystalloid solution and prescribed antibacterial and antiemetic agents.

Dog rabies

This disease is rare in dogs. However, rabies is the most dangerous infection in dogs. In this case, it is impossible to cure a sick animal - the dog has to be euthanized. Among other things, rabies, as is known, can be transmitted to humans. The main symptoms of this disease in dogs are:

chills and malaise;

irritability;

refusal to eat and sudden weight loss;

diarrhea and vomiting;

photophobia;

increased salivation.

In the later stages of the disease, the dog begins to hide from its owners in secluded places or, on the contrary, becomes very intrusive. After some time, the dog begins a period of aggression: the dog can attack anyone, including its owners. Rabies ends with paralysis and death of the animal.

Plague

This is another very dangerous disease in dogs. Adult dogs that catch this infection still have a chance to recover, but puppies almost always die. The first signs of this disease may be:

weakness;

refusal to eat.

After some time, the animal’s temperature rises strongly, and the dog experiences extreme thirst. Sometimes plague is accompanied by various kinds of complications: hearing loss, enlargement of internal organs, paralysis.

The symptoms of this disease may be different - it all depends on what particular form of distemper the animal has become infected with. So, for example, with a nervous form of the disease, the dog’s coordination of movements may be impaired.

Distemper in dogs is treated taking into account its type. At the same time, there is a set of drugs most often prescribed to animals with the following diseases:

calcium gluconate - 10%;

methenamine - 40%;

glucose - 40%;

diphenhydramine - 1%;

sodium chloride isotonic;

aspirin - 5%.

A mixture of these drugs is prepared immediately before use and administered by infusion over a course of 10 days.

One of the most common problems that dog owners face with these pets are:

• pallor of the skin and mucous membranes;

  itching in the anus;

  sour eyes;

  hiccups and belching;

Symptoms of poisoning and first aid

Intoxication in dogs can be food or non-food. Poisoning of the first type most often occurs:

when your dog eats spoiled food;

sniffing toxic substances.

Non-food intoxications include:

bites of poisonous insects and snakes;

drug overdose;

gasoline vapor poisoning, etc.

In any case, the main signs of poisoning are:

(Canis (Latin) - dog, therapeia (Greek) - treatment, recovery) is a method of treatment and rehabilitation with the participation of specially selected and trained dogs and is a type of pet therapy that is actively used in medical and social rehabilitation. This therapy helps to recover faster and also copes well with mental disorders

Most often, dogs and cats are involved in pet therapy. However, fish, guinea pigs, horses and other animals that meet the selection criteria may also be included. The choice of animal depends on the individual's therapeutic goals and treatment plan.

What is canistherapy based on?

This treatment is based on the connection between humans and animals, which has existed for many centuries. Interacting with a friendly pet helps cope with physical and psychological problems, lowers blood pressure and improves overall cardiovascular health.

During canistherapy, a large amount of endorphins are released, which have a calming effect, which leads to pain relief, stress reduction and an improvement in overall psychological well-being.

Canistherapy can be used to improve a range of conditions. An important part of therapy is goal setting, as well as progress tracking, which is necessary to structure the therapy session.

Canistherapy can be carried out to achieve the following goals:

Improving motor skills
Improving motor ability
Increased self-esteem
Improving verbal communication
Development of social skills
Developing readiness to participate in events
Improved interactions with people and animals

Other benefits of canistherapy:

Makes a person happier, relieving depression and making him look at the world positively
Relieves feelings of loneliness and isolation
Relieves boredom or melancholy
Relieves feelings of anxiety
Helps children learn empathy and parenting skills

Who will benefit from this therapy?

Canistherapy may be useful

During chemotherapy
For patients staying in a hospital department for a long time
People with chronic heart failure
Veterans with PTSD
Children with physical or psychological problems
Stroke victims and people undergoing procedures to restore motor skills
People with mental disorders

Having a dog present during an unpleasant or painful medical procedure can help manage anxiety. And people undergoing rehabilitation recover faster if they undergo canistherapy at the same time.

In addition, animals help in the treatment of such diseases:

Emotional and behavioral disorders
Depression
Anxiety
Alcoholism and drug addiction
Attachment disorder
Psychological trauma, grief or loss
Alzheimer's disease
Autism
Dementia

What are the risks of canistherapy

The main risks of canistherapy are related to safety and sanitary standards. People with animal allergies may experience an allergic reaction when interacting with a dog.

Animals that participate in canistherapy programs are tested for behavior and health. The owner of the animal or the person carrying out the practice must train the dog. After all, animals can also suffer from injuries or improper handling.

In some cases, people become so attached to animals that they do not want to leave after the session.

How canistherapy works

It is best to carry out canistherapy in the presence of the patient’s attending physician.

The canine therapist, who is often a pet owner, brings the animal to each appointment and conducts sessions under the direction of your therapist. In most cases, canine therapists are volunteers. To ensure the safety of both the person receiving treatment and the pet, it is important to discuss proper handling of the dog.

Pyrenean mountain dog

The first step is to choose the right breed. For example, for children with deviant behavior, psychological disorders or disabilities, northern sled dogs are often used - Malamutes, Huskies, Samoyeds, Chinooks, Chukchi and Taimyr sled dogs.

Before the dog and canine therapist can participate in therapy, a series of procedures are performed, which usually includes:

Physical examination of the animal, checking for necessary vaccinations
Obedience training course to ensure proper control
Training course to train canister therapists to interact with patients
Assessment of the animal's character and behavior
Certification from a sponsoring organization

In Ukraine, canistherapy is just developing. This is mainly done by cynologist enthusiasts. However, there are several centers where such therapy is still practiced.

Psychology Center “I+Family”, which is located in Kyiv at st. Heroes of Stalingrad, 48-A, became one of the first to use canistherapy. At this center, dog handlers and therapists work together to develop sets of exercises for children with different needs.

Valeria Kuksa – head of the psychology center “I+Family”

The Kiev Canine Center "Larmon" has been engaged in canister therapy for more than six years, providing children with the opportunity to study with their specialists. Sessions are held in Kyiv and the region.

Center for psychological assistance “Balance” http://neurocorrection.com.ua/

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