June 12, 2008

Is A Vegetarian Diet A Healthy Way To Lose Weight ?

Filed under: Medical Resources — admin @ 2:18 pm

If you’ve been to any large banquets recently, you may have noticed people passing up the red meat and chicken in order to eat a vegetarian meal. Vegetarianism seems to be gaining in popularity each year, spurred on by health concerns, weight difficulties, and celebrity endorsement. You may find that a vegetarian diet is the key to weight loss in your particular case.

You may be surprised to learn that there are actually a variety of vegetarian diets in use today.In some cases, vegetarians eat only fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts.In other cases, they may also eat cheese and drink milk, while in still other cases, they may eat eggs.

One of the advantages to the vegetarian diet is that it tends to be low in fat and cholesterol.A vegetarian diet can help you avoid heart problems and even cancer. However, you may also find that you are missing some important vitamins and minerals on a strictly vegetarian diet.

It has been said that the key to a successful vegetarian diet is planning. You must decide what you will be eating for every meal in order to ensure that you receive the proper nutrients. Otherwise, you may end up starving your body of the nutrients you need in order to be healthy.

A major benefit of the vegetarian diet is that it tends to involve a healthy serving of fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains. However, getting enough protein can be a challenge. Therefore, you might consider adding soy to your diet, which is high in protein content. Another important consideration is iron which is present in meat and needed to make red blood cells.

You’ll need to make sure that you eat spinach and beans in order to guarantee that you receive enough iron, since you will not be consuming customary sources of iron such as liver and roast beef.

You may need to supplement your diet with vitamins in order to ensure that you receive the appropriate amount of B-12, Vitamin D, calcium, and zinc. Otherwise, you’ll have to load up on cereals, soy milk, spinach, and broccoli.Also, eating a vegetarian diet means you’ll still have to restrict high-calorie foods.

You have to eat an array of fruits and vegetables.If you do use dairy, be sure that you choose non-fat or low-fat milk and cheese. Since eggs are rich in cholesterol, you should eat them only in moderation.

Studies have shown that vegetarians tend to consume fewer calories each day than meat-eaters. Also, the body mass indexa tool used to measure obesityis generally lower for vegetarians than for the population at large. However, as a vegetarian, you will still need to pay attention to portion control and calorie counts. Therefore, while vegetarianism may not be a panacea for weight loss, it can certainly help in the battle against the bulge.

However, it should be noted here that some people mistakenly look upon vegetarianism as a quick fix. They figure that if they give up meat for a couple of weeks, they’ll lose weight. Then, after their trial period is over, they go back to their old eating habits. This is a bad pattern because it encourages yo-yo dieting. If you decide to go on a vegetarian diet, it is very important that you stick with it. Otherwise, you may be greatly disappointed in your weight loss progress.

Vegetarianism is not for everyone. However, if you enjoy fruits and vegetables, are non-committal about meat, and are good at planning meals, you may want to go vegetarian. Which diet program you ultimately choose may depend greatly upon your personal preferences and what kind of diet regimen you are prepared to follow over the long run.

You should also know that just because a person eats often, that does not necessarily mean that he or she is overeating. A number of reputable diet plans recommend eating five or six small meals a day in order to keep your metabolism humming and to ward off hunger.

A survey conducted in 1999 found that 60 percent of Americans skip breakfast. However, you should be aware of the fact that eating breakfast can be a key to losing weight. If you don’t skip breakfast, you’ll find that you’ll burn calories faster, leading to weight loss.

Try to avoid eating late-night snacks. This is because your body will probably store the calories rather than burn them off.Simply changing your nightly routine may help you to keep away from food at the midnight hour.

For more related information visit: http://www.Hoodiaa.com – a site that offers product advice for coping with weight loss. Get professional knowledge on dealing with symptoms, side effects and improving your life!
Christopher Ruane

June 11, 2008

The Relationship Between Pain and Chronic or Major Depression

Filed under: Living With Psychology — admin @ 11:29 pm

When I suffered from severe depression before I was rescued by vagus nerve stimulation, my whole body would ache. From head ache, down to my shoulders and arms, I was in constant physical pain. Depression takes a toll on the body. Researchers are just beginning to recognize the relationship between depression and pain. Depression often goes undiagnosed.

If you have a serious medical illness, patients may not have their depression diagnosed. There’s a series of reasons for that, but one of the major reasons is that internal medicine physicians are not looking for it.They discount the depression. Sometimes the medical disorders may mask the symptoms; you have low weight, low appetite, and poor concentration due to the medical illness, so the diagnosis doesn’t occur. The key issue is that the physician does not look for the depression. It’s very hard to get the message across that a standard question in their repertoire should be: is the patient depressed? “Does the patient drink any alcohol” is fairly standard, but “is the patient depressed” is not something they look at.

One of the issues is that sometimes people just don’t want to see things even if they’re there; even though it’s there, we don’t always see it. The message for our internal medicine practioners is to look out for depression; it’s there. And if you don’t spot it, you’re increasing the mortality and morbidity of your patients, so it’s very important.

I have written many times that if you don’t get the right diagnosis, you won’t get the right treatment. Antidepressants are very effective for about 80% of the depressed population. However for about 20% of the depressed popluation (like me) antidepressants are not effective. Now the first ever FDA long term treatment option for depression is available: vagus nerve stimulation. You can learn more about this remarkable therapy at http://wwww.VagusNerveStimulator.com The ninety minute out patient procedure completely changed my life, when every other available therapy had failed.

Charles Donovan was a study subject in the investigational trial of vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for chronic depression. His remarkable recovery inspired him to write the book:

Out of the Black Hole: The Patient’s Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression

The book will be exhibited at the U.S. Psychiatric and Mental Health Congress from November 6-10th at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas and is available at Amazon.com

Profit or a Great Payday and 5 P’s

Filed under: Biz Ops — admin @ 1:06 am

The large majority, if not all of the people who would be interested in a home business website would have the idea of increasing or supplementing their incomes uppermost in their minds. Profit or a great payday on a regular basis would be the motive and I list below five words starting with “P”. Individually, these words are by no means unique, since much has been said or written about it. However, collectively they could form the nucleus of a great strategy to achieve success. First,

Preparation Prepare yourself for a big learning curve. There is much to be learnt in this business, and it will take time, effort and on the odd occasion a mistake or two. For the majority of people the dream of making a fortune in just one or two hours a day at the start is unrealistic, so be prepared to put in some hard work. The next step is:

Participation It is crucial that very early in your campaign that you sign up with and participate in Forums relating to the area in which you wish to establish your business. These can be a great source of learning, inspiration ad possibly friendships. Also it could help to give you an insight in the successes that others might have achieved, and also the difficulties and setbacks that they might have had. Next,

Practice When you are participating in these forums there is an excellent opportunity for you to post that article, congratulate a person or just make a general comment. Go on, practice makes perfect, as they say, so the more often you do this the more skilful you will become. It is also great preparation for those times when you want to start promoting your own blogs. However,

Patience is required when starting out in this kind of business, as most people will not always have success in the first few days. Do what you need to do in order to succeed and wait patiently for your efforts to produce results. It can be trying at times but just hang in there – if you have followed the examples of people who have already succeeded in this line of business then your patience will surely pay off. And lastly,

Perseverance This area is somewhat linked to patience but speaks more of your determination to continue in spite of setbacks, disappointments and other such circumstances. Your mentors would most likely be people who have made a huge success of running their businesses, and with some encouragement from them there would be no reason to give up. Every so often remind yourself of the reasons that made you want to go into this business in the first place, and that alone should be enough to encourage you never to give up. Finally,

Profits or great paydays will be the rewards of those who are prepared to put in some effort, participate, practice patience and persevere.

About The Author:
—————————————————————–
Not long ago, I didn’t know ANYTHING about Internet marketing…
However, within just 2 weeks, I launched my own website AND
learned how to profit from an opt-in list, pull in sales with
ezines, make money with Google Adwords and setup my own BLOG!
Here’s how: http://www.PlugInProfitSite.com/main-10055
—————————————————————–

NOTE: You have full permission to reprint this
article within your website or newsletter as long
as you leave the article fully intact and include
the “About The Author” resource box. Thanks! :-)

June 10, 2008

Discover Big Trampolines in August

Filed under: Recreation Infos, Shopping Tips + More — admin @ 8:29 am

Big trampolines can be largely amusing as well as being helpful to keep your youngster engrossed and busy for a significant number of hours. Specific trampolines are not just excellent for kids, as they can be purchased by mature people as an aerobic work-out as well as a way for tightening and building muscles all together at once. Consequently, a trampoline has oodles to offer throughout June for all the family and it is of no astonishment that trampolines are such a well-liked outdoor toy all through the summer holidays.

The chief thing to note down when searching for a trampoline is to make certain it is appropriate for the age & ability of all the individuals who will probably be testing it, be it the children or the mature people.

A supplementary thing to consider is for sure going to be the location of the outdoor trampoline. Several trampolines these days can take up a substantial amount of space on the whole as you will want about three feet of space more or less around the outer surface of the trampoline in order for the toddlers to descend in one piece if they by chance fly off. If you’re planning to buy a trampoline this summer then compare prices at Toy-Shoppper.co.uk.

It’s also critical to bear in mind that several trampolines will insist to be put on flat land otherwise the stability & safety of the outdoor trampoline can be affected. Therefore, various holes possibly will need to be dug in order for the trampoline to stand properly.

Protecting Your PC for Free

Filed under: Universe Of Technology — admin @ 12:24 am

It is possible to provide very good protection for your PC without spending any money. There are four excellent software packages that are available for free. All are for home, non-commercial, use, with the exception of Spybot which is free to everyone. These four packages can provide fairly comprehensive protection for your PC. The free software packages that you should download and install are:

  1. ZoneLabs Free ZoneAlarm
    (http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp)
  2. AVG’s AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
    (http://www.grisoft.com/doc/40/lng/ww)
  3. Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware SE Personal
    (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/)
  4. Safer Networking’s Spybot Search & Destroy
    (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html)

Together they provide protection from unauthorized access to your PC, virus protection, and adware/spyware protection. Using both Ad-Aware and Spybot provides better protection than just one of them alone. Occasionally, one will catch something that the other misses.

Things to Remember

  • Keep ZoneAlarm up to date. ZoneAlarm will tell you when there is a newer version available and ask you if you want to install it. You should update ZoneAlarm when offered so that you are providing the most up-to-date firewall protection.
  • Make sure that AVG is configured to:
    1. Automatically update its virus definitions database
    2. Automatically scan for viruses at least once a week

  • Keep both Ad-Aware’s and Spybot’s adware/spyware databases up to date. When you start up Ad-Aware it will tell you when its definitions database is getting old and ask you if you want to update it. Spybot does not remind you. You should just automatically check every time you start up Spybot by clicking on the “Search for Updates” button.
  • Make sure to us Spybot’s immunization feature. You do this by clicking on the “Immunize” button on the left-hand navigation panel and then click on the “+ Immunize” button on the button bar at the top of the screen.
  • Run Ad-Aware at least once a week. Ad-Aware cannot be scheduled to run. It can, however, be configured to run at system start-up time. You do this by selecting the button at the top of the screen with a picture of a gear, then selecting “Startup” on the left, and the selecting “Perform smart system scan”.
  • Run Spybot at least once a week. Spybot can be configured to run automatically. To do this you need to access “Advanced mode” (you do this from the “Mode” menu at the top of the screen. After that select “Settings” at the bottom left-hand side of the screen. You then select “Scheduler” from the left-hand menu. Click on “+ Add” button and then the “Edit” button at the top of the screen to set up a schedule). If you do not set up an automatic schedule then you should run Spybot manually at least once a week.

Alternative Software

Alternatives are available for some of the packages listed here. Check here to see free alternatives to Free ZoneAlarm – http://www.low-cost-computing.com/Free_Firewall_Software.shtml. Check here to see free alternatives to AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition – http://www.low-cost-computing.com/Free_Antivirus_Software.shtml.

Rob Pirozzi is a freelance writer who provides timely, quality professional writing of all types. He is also the publisher of the web site Low-Cost-Computing.com which provides information on low-cost computers and low-cost or free software for the average home or small business computer user.

June 8, 2008

IT Audits: Capitalizing on Current Events

Filed under: Universe Of Technology — admin @ 4:03 pm

Worms and viruses are actually a good thing for your marketing. When they are mentioned in the news, there’s an excellent chance that the small businesses that you’re targeting are feeling the pain and feeling the pinch. There’s nothing like a massive blackout to raise tremendous awareness!

Events like these raise awareness of the need for power protection and orderly shutdowns and backup generators. And of course, the worm and the virus cleanup issues and the security ramifications are tremendous. It’s a perfect opportunity for you to do IT audits.

Marketing Plan for IT Audits

Put together some kind of fixed price IT audits package that you can deliver. Go in with a big inventory checklist, and talk with them about the physical security of their system, what they’re doing with virus protection, if they’re properly licensed, if they’re keeping it properly updated, what their firewalls look like, how that’s kept up to date, the last time they did a check of their tape drive or storage systems, etc.

With almost all small businesses, when you go into a new account, there’s a huge cleanup opportunity. Businesses all seem to think that they’re much better protected against viruses and security than they really are. If you ask them how current their antivirus software is, they’ll believe it is up to date. Through IT audits, you may find that it is over 2 years old. That’s a huge opportunity for you to do your magic.

Don’t Forget Data Backups

When you ask prospects about their data backup, you sometimes you get blank stares or they tell you want they think you want to hear. In reality, their stuff is very rarely kept current if they don’t have a good tech provider or someone good in-house to do these kinds of things.

The Bottom Line about IT audits

Those are big opportunities to identify some of the weaknesses and obviously the end result of IT audits is that you put together an organized plan of attack for what to do to fix it. It may be upgrades, more training, replacement, etc.

Copyright MMI-MMVI, Computer Consultants Secrets. All Worldwide Rights Reserved. {Attention Publishers: Live hyperlink in author resource box required for copyright compliance}

Joshua Feinberg has helped thousands of computer consultants get more steady, high-paying clients. Learn how you can too. Sign-up now for Joshua’s free Computer Consultants Secrets audio training at www.ComputerConsultantsSecrets.com/blog/

June 7, 2008

4 Easy Health and Fitness Tips

Filed under: Health Tips — admin @ 11:11 pm

The US has seen an enormous increase in the number of people considered obese by the medical community. In fact many call it an obesity epidemic. To combat this we find all sorts of pharmaceutical companies selling the “quick fix” pills, powders, and lotions that do nothing to actually help people take the fat off and keep it off.

Of course the same could be said of the diet industry as well. There are so many different diets going around now you could pick one a month and in a year’s time still have more to choose from.

What is truly needed are sensible proven weight loss tips that people can implement no matter what their present physical condition is. That said let’s dive right in.

#1 Drink more water. All too often Americans are borderline dehydrated and so their bodies are working on the water starvation reflex and not flushing the toxins and junk out. Water makes up the majority of your body so is it any wonder that when it isn’t flushed periodically that toxins build up? This leads to fat retention which is the opposite of what we want.

#2 Eat more often. I bet you thought I was going to say eat less. While it is true that to lose weight you need to eat fewer calories than you expend…you need to eat more often to get the metabolic furnace stoked up and burning right. Eating five to six times a day in small feedings is needed to get your body out of starvation mode. In starvation mode your body tells your system to burn muscle for fuel and stores the calories coming in as fat for future lean times. So start the day off with breakfast. Even an instant breakfast drink and a piece of fruit as we head out the door in the morning will get your metabolic furnace started up and burning hot.

#3 Get up from the chair or couch and move more. Depending on your physical condition you need to be moving more. Use the stairs rather than the elevator, park farther out from the office or the store, go for a walk around the block, go dancing, and play with your kids. Make it fun. Running is not the only way to burn more calories. Check with your doctor before any strenuous exercise program.

#4 Finally, determine your “Why”. Decide why you want to discard fat. Make your reason big enough to motivate you through the slumps that invariably happen.

Personally my reason was to be able to live to see my great grandkids graduate college. My youngest kids are 4 and 6 now. Besides I wanted to get out and play with them without being out of breath all the time. It was hard looking at the kids concern when I would become out of breath form a game of tag. Between that and my doctor telling me at 43 it was only a matter of time before I had a killer heart attack I decided it was time to get in shape and get my life back. Time to get healthy and fit.

Kevin C Newman

IAPC-CPT

http://www.fitnessgenerator.com/shadowknight
http://123-fitness-and-health.blogspot.com

Gaming Halls Tendering Free Casino Sign Up Bonus Promotions — What You Should Know About It All

Filed under: Internet Gambling, Luck Online — admin @ 6:49 pm

Find out if online casino gaming is for you – Try it here.

The distress of having to drive to a betting room can be enough reason to give it up as a bad job unless you have to. All those long drives, the distress, and list of tasks entailed are too much stress merely for this opportunity of wagering at betting room, however, if you’re the type that is totally fanatic about casinos and gambling then opting for online gambling will probably be the more obvious solution. You are not required to leave your familiar environment to try your hand at online video poker for everything can be done from your home office if you own a personal computer and a broadband Internet connection. On the other hand, don’t get in a frenzy- there are various pointers which you’ll want to see about online video poker, the more so if you’re still a mere beginner. So appease that tizzy of yours and muse over the following. Here is my terse outline that will clarify what to pay attention to if you’re selecting a reliable online video poker Web site.

The top priority which a quick Web risk taker like yours truly would definitely check out is an online video poker site of the kind capable of promoting high winning odds. Make certain that the online video poker site is tied up with a reliable auditor to examine their actual online wagers pay-outs percentage on a monthly basis. This can be very useful to make certain the chips you are prepared to ante as part of your future amusement will warrant it all. Read on for a small number of alternate leads about deciding on your virtual video poker site.

Furthermore, another essential bit of advice could be to take your chances at the beginning with slight amounts in lieu of expend too much immediately. Check out the health of this particular virtual video poker setup prior to provoking any major menace– the more so money loss! And here’s another recommendation about virtual gambling casino. It is this– never to neglect that online casino wagering should entirely be about having fun and not so much about making a buck. Wagering isn’t a regular employment, but, instead, a pastime which intends to let you feel joyful and living gratifying. Just having gone with all these guidelines, you can finally go ahead cede to the draw of virtual video poker… :)

June 6, 2008

Data Entry

Filed under: Universe Of Technology — admin @ 9:43 pm

A computer is distinguished from a calculating machine, such as an electronic calculator, by being able to store a computer program (so that it can repeat its operations and make logical decisions), by the number and complexity of the operations it can perform, and by its ability to process, store, and retrieve data without human intervention.

Data entry is entering data into the computer, which includes keyboard entry, scanning and voice recognition. When transactions are entered after the fact (batch data entry), they are just stacks of source documents to the keyboard operator. Deciphering poor handwriting from a source document is a judgment call that is often error prone. In online data entry operations, in which the operator takes information in person or by phone, there is interaction and involvement with the transaction and less chance for error. A person who enters data into the computer via keyboard or other reading or scanning device is known as a computer operator.

Data entry is required for data processing or information processing, operations (e.g., handling, merging, sorting, and computing) performed upon data in accordance with strictly defined procedures, such as recording and summarizing the financial transactions of a business. In automatic or electronic data processing the operations are performed by a computer device, capable of performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations. In distributed data processing some or all of the operations are performed in different locations at computer facilities connected by telecommunications links.

In some companies the need for data entry is constant while for others there may be just a temporary requirement. Whatever the need may be, accurate and easily accessible data is a necessity. In addition, whether it is a small business or a sprawling global empire, clients are lawyers, hospitals, state courts houses, oil companies, transportation companies, Ivy League colleges, pharmaceutical companies, universities, and publishing companies among others.

Data Entry provides detailed information on Data Entry, Data Entry Services, Offshore Data Entry, Data Entry Outsourcing and more. Data Entry is affiliated with Business Intelligence Data Mining.

Traveling With Your Dog: Some Tips From The Road

Filed under: Animal Stuff — admin @ 7:58 pm

We enjoy camping, and love to take our yellow lab, Kayla, along with us. With Illinois currently as our home base, we’ve taken her on trips as far away as California, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and South Carolina for wonderful camping trips. Being prepared for road trips with your dog is very important. And in this article I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned from our experiences.

Before you hit the road:

*There’s nothing worse than loading up the car and heading off for a long-awaited family vacation, only to discover your carsick dog is throwing up all over the back seat sixty miles from home. So make sure your dog can handle long car trips well before you leave town. Take you your dog on several “practice runs” of varying time/distance, and if your dog does experience car sickness, consult your vet about possible remedies, or consider leaving your dog home.

*Speaking of the vet, we get print-outs of all our of dog’s most recent records to take with us on the road. We do this in case she has to visit a vet while we are away, and some kennels require them for short-term boarding and/or grooming. And we make sure she’s up to date on all of her vaccinations. If one will expire while we are away, we make sure she gets it before we leave, even if it’s early.

*If you’ll be staying in motels along the way, make sure you are familiar with chains that accept dogs in the room. Don’t wait until you are tired from a long drive to start looking for a motel, because many won’t allow pets, and you could be searching for quite a while. We do one of two things. Either we call ahead and reserve a room at a motel we know accepts pets. Or we plan to stay at a chain we know allows pets. Motel Six and Holiday Inn have pretty broad acceptance policies, as do many Super 8’s and Day’s Inn (though not all, so make sure you know which ones do). Some motels will allow pets on an individual basis. Just make sure you have travel guides, or have done internet searches, so that you are know where you will be welcome with your pet before you leave home. (For example, AAA guides list which motels allow pets, and there are many pet-travel websites that list them as well.)

*If you’ll be camping, make sure you know the rules for dogs in campgrounds before you arrive. Most private and public campgrounds will allow pets, but require them to be leashed at all times. We have discovered that National Parks allow leashed dogs in parking areas and paved walkways, but most won’t allow them on hiking trails. Zion National Park has a 2 mile paved trail on which dogs are allowed, and they welcome in their campgrounds. Grand Canyon allows dogs on the paved “Rim” trail, but not on hikes down into the canyon. Bryce Canyon allows dogs, but only in cars on in parking areas. However, Red Rock Canyon in the Dixie National Forest, near Bryce, allows dogs not only in campgrounds, but also on all of their hiking trails (as long as they are leashed). My advice is to find out before you go by visiting web sites or calling ahead so that you aren’t disappointed by the restrictions when you arrive.

What to bring:

*Kayla has her own “suitcase” – and whenever she sees us take it out of the closet, she knows we are about to take her on a trip (and she gets very excited). Here is what we keep in her bag:

1. A couple of towels (she’s a lab, likes to swim wherever she sees water, so they are handy for drying her off, or if she has an unexpected accident, throws up, etc.).

2. Plenty of plastic grocery bags for picking up after her while on the road. One of the reasons pet owners are unwelcome in many places is because they don’t pick up after their dogs in rest areas, motel lawns, campgrounds, etc. So make sure you always clean up after your dog.

3. A couple of filled water bottles and water dish. We offer Kayla water at every rest stop, and occasionally even on the road if she seems thirsty. Keep her hydrated. As much as dogs love to travel, it can also be stressful for them.

4. Individual baggies of food portions, if her mealtimes will occur on the road. We also include a few treats, to reward her for being such a good girl in the car.

5. Chew toys/balls: Kayla doesn’t usually like to chew things while we are driving, but some dogs do, and it helps alleviate boredom.

6. We also bring wet wipes and paper towels, in case of any spillage or accidents.

7. Bringing a dog bed of some sort is helpful because motels don’t like dogs on the beds. If your dog uses their bed regularly at home, it also brings something familiar along with them. If it will fit, you might put it on the seat where the dog will ride as well. The familiar scent is comforting, and offers more comfortable ride for the dog.

*In addition to the items we bring in Kayla’s suitcase, we keep her medical records in a safe place.

*Some dogs get pretty excited when traveling, and are hard to restrain. This can cause dangerous situations for drivers. If your dog has a hard time sitting still during the trip, you might consider a dog harness which attaches to seat belts. There are many out there, and make the trip safer for you, and more comfortable for the dog (like when you make those sudden stops or turns that throw the dog onto the floor).

While on the road:

*Frequent stops: We try to stop every couple of hours at a rest stop. Normally Kayla doesn’t need to go potty that often at home, but being in the car for long stretches can be stressful and/or boring for a dog. So we stop more frequently to let her get out and stretch her legs. She LOVES rests stops (all those new smells) and sniffs every blade of grass she can. We find it is good for us as well, because when we travel without her, we stop very rarely. But with Kayla, we find our travel experience more enjoyable because we get to take a break from driving and stretch our legs too. Just remember to always pick up after your dog. It’s the right thing to do, and in some places, it’s the law.

*We don’t let Kayla stick her head out the window when we are driving, particularly at high speeds. As much as dogs love doing this, it can be harmful for them. Objects flying through the air may strike their faces and do damage to eyes and ears. When we do open the window to let her hang her head out, we do so only at lower speeds.

*Never leave your pet alone in your motel room. It’s against motel policy, and if a dog destroys objects in a room, you have to pay for them. In addition, if a barking dog annoys other guests, you may be asked to leave. If a motel has several problems with pets, they may change their pet policy, so for your sake and other pet lovers, always stay with your dog.

*On a warm or hot days, we try to never leave Kayla in our parked car for long periods of time. On the rare occasions that it’s unavoidable, we try to find shade and leave the windows cracked, and get back as soon as possible. Most of the time we can avoid leaving her alone by splitting up to do shopping and other errands, always leaving one of us with her.

*Related to the suggestion above, we tend to eat “on the road.” We get fast food or other take-out food while driving, and eat it in the car so as not to leave Kayla unattended for long periods. If we do go in to eat at a restaurant, we try to go after dark, when the sun is down, and leave the window cracked. Then one of us checks on her every half hour or so (particularly when it’s very hot) and makes sure she has water and is doing okay. Traveling in the cooler months makes this less necessary – but if your dog is a barker it can quickly become a nuisance to other patrons, so be respectful of them.

Other general suggestions:

*The reality is that sometimes while on the road, we like to visit places Kayla isn’t allowed. So rather than leave her alone at camp or in the car, what we do is check around at local kennels for day boarding possibilities, or even overnight boarding. For instance, we spent a day at Disneyland a few years ago, and for $10, she was boarded at the Disney Kennels for the day (she even got a certificate after her stay). On a rafting trip in Colorado, we found another day kennel nearby where we could leave her. And for an evening excursion, we know we can leave her overnight. Sure she’ll miss us, and we’ll miss her. But she’ll be safe and well cared for, which is what is most important. (Be prepared that this is where you may need a copy of her medical records – and make sure her Bordetella (Kennel Cough) Vaccine is up to date.)

*Be patient with your pet. Traveling is an exciting experience for them, but can also be stressful because you are removing them from their regular routine. Just like children, they may not behave as they normally do at home. Kayla tends to bark at anyone who wanders near our campground, and is hard to handle on her leash when we get anywhere near a river. Be calm and consistent with your dog, understanding that this is a new situation for them. And if it seems to be causing more problems for you and your dog than it’s worth, you may have to consider leaving your pet at home in the future. Hopefully that won’t happen – but if it’s what is best for your beloved dog, then you do have to keep it under consideration.

These are just a few suggestions I have from several trips with our dog, Kayla. It certainly isn’t exhaustive, and I may add things as they occur to me or I experience them in future travels. But I hope the suggestions are helpful for you as you consider traveling with you dog.

Susan Ryder is an animal lover and creative writer. This article has been submitted in affiliation with (http://www.PetLovers.Com/) which is a site for Pet Forums.

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