Enjoy this Sunday in the woods

Written by Dr.Laxmi Iyer

Woods. They are just a short distance away from your home...but when was the last time you took a walk into the woods. Probably, aeons ago. Even if you did go recently, did you do so with every member of your family included. It goes without saying that family always includes all your many pets... birds, cats, dogs, parakeets, tortoises, white mice, guinea pigs, lizards, snakes and others. Can you imagine how ecstatic your animal relatives in your family will be to be there out exploring the wild?

Your dogs will go all out, jumping chasing and doing their crazy cartwheels.Your cats will romp up the trees and even chase after leaves blowing in the wind.

However, when you start out, don't go out with your caravan of pets! Make sure that your human family and friends also accompany you.

There are some rules that you need to follow. You cannot take all your pets out together in the beginning. That's because there's going to be a mad scramble, fights and pandemonium. It's going to feel like a real mad house let loose!

Besides, there's going to be all the really hungry, wild animals out in the woods who may eat up one of your smaller pets for lunch or breakfast. So, you need to take care.

There's a way to work this out. One option is that if there are 6 people in your family, then let each person take charge of one pet. In the beginning, you cannot really let them loose because they may loose their way or worse! Sometimes they may love their freedom and not want to come back. Even if you want to set them free, unless they know how to live in the wild, they will not survive.

What you can do is give them whiffs of nature. That means if your dogs are well trained, they can walk without a leash. Your cats, mice, guinea pigs and mice however may get terrified if they have never been out in the woods.

You would need to carry their basket. Every now and then you could stop and take them out of their basket and let them explore a little bit of the shrubs and trees under your watchful eyes.

Don't forget to carry a nice picnic hamper - full of all the goodies for yourself, your family and your extended family. Have a good time!