Pawsitive Touch for Dogs
Looking for something new for your canine companion? Consider hydrotherapy and massage provided by local dog lover, Debbie Erb, at Pawsitive Touch for Dogs.
Massage alone has been known for many years to have a positive effect on the body, whether it is human or dog, but hydrotherapy brings things to a new level. Hydrotherapy uses water to create relaxing yet fun atmosphere, which includes an underwater treadmill. The underwater treadmill is designed for canine rehabilitation and allows dogs to begin their rehabilitation process earlier than normal. Using the natural buoyancy and resistance of the soothing warm water, the underwater treadmill creates a low-impact workout that helps the animal to increase muscle strength and endurance allowing a quicker transition to land-base therapy.
However, this is not just for dogs recovering from injury or surgery. Dogs who suffer from old 
age or arthritis can
also greatly benefit from the comforting warm water and the ability to be able to exercise without the increased pain of their own body weight. Healthy canines have room to benefit as well because this provides a way to build and strengthen muscle without causing damage to joints over time from impact.
Benefits from Treatment Include:
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Early intervention and rehabilitation
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Possibility for quicker recovery time
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Exercise for dogs of all ages and sizes
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Helps maintain a healthy weight
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Better mental health/ increased endorphin levels
Debbie has been working with dogs for many years as a massage therapist at dog agility competitions. Having a true passion for animals, Debbie provides genuine care and relief for many dogs through the use of her tank as well as massage. Each animal is treated in the best way possible and water level is adjusted to meet every dogs specific needs.
If you have been looking for another healing option for your dog, or even just an outlet of fun then give Debbie at Pawsitive Touch for Dogs a call today!
541-218-5565
www.pawsitivetouchfordogs.com
Located inside Home Away from Home at 100 NE Mill Street, Grants Pass.
Free Basic Training for First Time Fathers
How did you first learn to change a diaper, burp an infant, console it, or pack a diaper bag? I’m the eldest of five children, so in my case, it was tending siblings during the rare times my parents went on “date-night.” And I did a fair amount of childcare for other families to earn spending money.
It shouldn’t surprise you to hear that today, women have fewer children, they have those children later in life, and according to most data, 41% of those children are going to be raised by a single parent. Often that single parent will juggle both a low-wage job and childrearing. So it won’t surprise you that locally, 85% of children and youth qualify for free or reduced school lunch. 70% of youth in custody did not grow up with both parents. Generally, raising kids falls disproportionately to women. They are, traditionally, culturally, and arguably biologically, the better-suited caregivers. 72.5% of those accused of shaken baby syndrome crimes are men. Yet with more women going to college and graduating from college, women are now often the primary breadwinner. Add these findings together, and there is a need to teach men how to raise children.
As a teacher, I see the effects of kids raised in poverty daily. Many crave even negative attention from adults. They are often hungry, and often unsupervised at night, staying up to morning hours to play video games. 24% of our middle schoolers will miss 10% or more days of school in our state. Often, their reading and math skills and motor skills are behind grade level because from a young age, their caregivers are unable to afford certain toys, books, internet access, sports fees, etc. that wealthier families are.
We can either sigh and lament these statistics, or we can recognize that we are not preparing men well for two realities: 1) they will want to leave a relationship when they find out that they aren’t able to provide their family with the level of financial support that they would like to, and 2) by staying, they can provide their families with far more than financial support.
With a few weeks of my 2015 summer vacation left, I heard an NPR broadcast that taught gang members who never had fathers— how to _be_ fathers. A few phone calls later, I had financial support from AllCare to become a facilitator and establish a chapter of “Boot Camp for New Dads” in Grants Pass and Medford.
Boot Camp’s motto is: “A father for every child, no matter what.” The 3-hr. course uses “veteran dads” who have 2-12 month old babies— to teach “rookie dads”— those who are soon to deliver. It covers fears that fathers have, and how to form a parenting team; how to react when/if the female shuts out the dad as “not competent enough” to care for the child. Rookies change diapers of the veteran dad’s children; learn how to console— and they learn how to nurture their relationship with a newly hormonal, overtired mom. Changing diapers, consoling, taking the child to a park, and reading or singing to it will give her relief rest that she desperately needs.
It’s one thing to have the perfect class available at the perfect time. It’s quite another to have a gender that prides oneself on their independence— _sign up_ for the course. In Grants Pass, there are 25 distribution points where an expectant father would come across our brochures: Women’s Health Center, Southern Oregon HeadStart, Options, Child Welfare Services, and Pregnancy Care Center, are just a few.
If you know of an expectant (i.e. “rookie”) father, please tell them to register via our website: www.gpbootcampfornewdads.com.
Enthusiastic, proud veteran fathers will be ready to impart their wisdom on the 2nd Saturday of every month, at the Women’s Health Center off Ramsey at 1075 Grandview Ave. in Grants Pass, 9-12 am and from 1-4pm at La Clinica Wellness Center, 730 Biddle Road in Medford.
By Bob Bath.