My Friendly Pets

Since I spoke of the good, the bad and the ugly about Halloween for dogs yesterday, I probably shouldn’t harp on it today, so I’ll provide you with some other info that I have come across.
In case you are still wondering if you should have your dog microchipped, don’t hesitate. This weekend, a dog will be arriving home in Florida after being found in Chicago, some 1200 miles away. The dog, a Maltese named Max went missing from a woman’s yard in Brandon, Floriday several months ago. Richard Gonzalez, the woman’s father reported the dog as stolen as Gonzalez was the true owner and his daughter took the dog to spend some time with her dogs.. When the dog’s chip was scanned, Gonzalez was contacted and amazed that Max had gotten so far away from his home. He was then retrieved at the Chicago shelter by the Director of the Northcentral Maltese rescue organization, Mary Palmer in Racine, Wisconsin. The dog needed to be cleaned up quite a bit, as he had several layers of matted hair that needed to be trimmed. Max was then thoroughly checked out by a local vet and was given the o.k. to head home to Florida with a great health report. Palmer will be putting Max on a Saturday flight to Florida and other volunteers will meet Max upon his arrival. He will then be delivered to Mr. Gonzalez, who is anxiously awaiting Max’s arrival. No one quite knows how the dog got from Florida to Chicago, but I bet at this point, Richard Gonzalez will just be happy to have Max back at home with he and his family!!!! GET YOUR DOG MICROCHIPPED!!!!

O.k. Halloween is tomorrow night…I know, but there are a couple of things to remember if you are including your dog in the celebrations!!!

If you are so brave to dress your dog in a costume (which I personally wouldn’t do but a lot of people do), you should insure that the costume is safe for your dog. There shouldn’t be anything tight around the dogs neck that could lead to choking. There also shouldn’t be parts of the costume that are loose and can get caught on furniture, appliances or anything else that might hinder the dog’s movement. Beware of pieces on hats or other parts of the costume that might come off and cause the dog to want to put it in their mouth. They are famous for that, but this could lead to choking or poisoning of the animal.

We all know this rule, but we’ll repeat it for the sake of the season. Keep your dog away from chocolate. Dogs can be poisoned from chocolate and actually die due to the intake of chocolate. So if you are handing out the treats, keep the supply away and out of reach from the dog and if your dog is going with the kids trick or treating, make the tough rule that no one gives anything to the dog!!!!!

Finally, with all of the excitement of the evening and people coming and going, it can be easy to lose track of Fido. The dog could also get over excited by all of the chaos, so keep a watchful eye on the pooch. Try and keep him/her in sight at all times and watch for signs of frustration or agitation. If your dog is getting too excited and begins barking too much, take the dog to a quiet place in your home and spend some time just calming him down.

This can be a great holiday with your dog…just be careful and have others do the same!!!

Now many of us are not in a great position to be spending a lot over the holidays and maybe its time that we truly look at our spending habits and get more simplistic. That doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice on the thoughts that go into the gifts you buy, in fact you will probably think a little harder and more carefully about the gifts you purchase.

My friend (who gets tons of catalogs) recently sent me some information about pet items that would make wonderful gifts and not break the bank. They will show that you are thoughtful and fiscally conservative…both good things.

For instance the Pet Alert Vinyl Cling Signs let rescue personnel know how many of what type of pet you have in your home in case of an emergency. For a set of two (one for the front door and one for the back door) the cost is $3.99 and available from the Current Catalog. Check it out by clicking here!!!

Do you need a gift for a friend who is a baker and also loves dogs? How about a cookbook for dog biscuits that comes with 3 sizes of doggie bone cookie cutters? The book has 18 different biscuit recipes and for both the book and the cookie cutters, the cost is $10.99. A bargain for a unique and fun gift. This is also available through the Current Catalog and you can check it out by clicking here. As the season progresses, I will try and give you cost effective yet great gift ideas for the dog lover you know!!!! Happy holidays!!!!

O.K. I write about dog issues, dog news, dog food, but I had never heard of Flyball, which is a team sport for dogs. The sport itself was invented in California in the late 1970’s. The inventer of the sport, Herbert Wagner first demonstrated the sport to millions of Americans on the Johnny Carson Show. The rest, as they say, is history! In fact, the sport became so popular in the 1980’s that the NAFA (North American Flyball Association) was formed and they now are the premier authority on the sport worldwide.

So what is flyball actually? The relay is really interesting and works like this! Flyball is a relay race with 4 dogs on a team. “The course consists of a starting line, 4 hurdles spaced 10 feet apart and a box. The first hurdle is 6 feet from the start line and the box is 15 feet from the last hurdle for a 51 foot overall length. The dogs jump the hurdles and steps on a spring loaded box that shoots out a tennis ball. The dog catches the tennis ball and then runs back over the 4 hurdles. When the dog crosses the starting line the next dog goes. The first team to have all 4 dogs run without errors wins the heat.” I am not well versed in the “heat” and the and scoring of the sport. It doesn’t seem awfully complex, but there is more to it than just keeping score of the times. Dogs can earn titles based on the number of points they accumulate and Certificate awards start as low as 20 points and the highest award is known as the Hobbes Award, which requires 100,000 points.

According to the literature I have read, dogs love the sport and enjoy the team concept. It is great exercise and a challenge for them to get better and better time. The fastest time recorded for the race has been 15.43 seconds from a team in Michigan!!!

There is probably a local chapter of the NAFA in your neighborhood. Check out the web address by clicking here to read more about it!!!

Today in Melbourne, a southern Australian city, a mixed breed dog named Leo saved the lives of 4 newborn kittens. It appears that Leo was guarding the kittens in a house that caught fire overnight. Leo wouldn’t leave the kittens’ side and when firefighters found the dog and the kittens, all were close to losing their lives. Leo had to be revived with oxygen and a heart massage. Those at the firehouse who helped save Leo and the tiny cats have nicknamed the dog Smoky.

This isn’t the first instance of a dog saving the lives of others. There was the heroic rescue of a boy in a Indian village who was rescued by a family dog as the tsunami of the century hit this area. The boy’s mom thought the boy was lost forever as she saw him run into their family hut. She knew the hut wouldn’t protect the boy from the rage mother nature was about to bestow on them, but her arms were filled with the two younger children who couldn’t run as fast as their 7 year old brother.
As she heard about the destruction of her family hut, she was sure that her oldest son had perished in the disaster. However, Selvakumar (the dog) had other ideas. He went into the hut and retrieved the boy, nudging and pushing him to safety and out of the way of the horrific waves. The boy says the dog got him by the collar and did not let go until he was out of harm’s way.

Who ever says dogs don’t earn their keep have never been around these magnificent heros. They will often risk their own lives to save the ones of those they love.

According to news information from China, 1500 dogs have died as a result of eating food tainted with the chemical, melamine. If you recall, melamine has been recently found in the milk supply, which caused thousands of Chinese children to become severely ill and resulted in the deaths of four children in that country. Chinese authorities are concerned because they don’t fully comprehend how widespread melamine is now in the food chain.

Racoon dogs are a breed of dog that is specific to eastern Asia. The dogs are bred so that their fur can be used to trim coats and other clothing. Not a topic I want to discuss here, but that practice seems barbaric to me anyway. The dogs who died were found to have melamine in their system and had developed kidney stones that led to kidney failure. According to Zhang Wenkui who performed the autopsies on about a dozen of the dogs, “First, we found melamine in the dogs’ feed, and second, I found that 25 percent of the stones in the dogs’ kidneys were made up of melamine.” Most of the dogs have died over the past two months.

It is believed that melamine is added to the food as a nitrogen source rather than an authentic source of nitrogen, because the melamine is significantly less expensive and therefore the profit margin increases significantly for those who manufacture the food.

Unfortunately, the racoon dogs are not the only ones that have suffered as a result of the melamine. A lion cub and two baby orangutans, in a zoo near Shanghai have developed kidney stones. They were being nursed with milk from a company that is closely tied to the tainted milk crisis.

Let’s hope that China’s central government can get a hold on this situation before any other animals or people succumb to the products produced as a result of greed and lack of compassion.

In San Antonio, Texas a new $15,000,000 military hospital has opened to serve the 4-legged members of the military who rarely get the recognition or medical care they deserve. However with the opening of this facility, at Lackland Air Force Base, advanced medical care can now be given to military dogs who have suffered severe injuries as a result of their military service. There are over 2500 working military dogs serving all branches. Many currently are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. When the dogs become injured, they are treated on the battlefield. If need be, they are moved to Germany to receive more advance treatment and if more intense care is needed, the dogs will be flown now to San Antonio.

Army Col. Bob Vogelsang, director of the veterinary hospital says the following about the new facility, “We act as the Walter Reed of the veterinary world,” referring to the Washington military medical center that treats troops returning severely wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan. Up until this point dogs have been treating and rehabilitating injured combat dogs in a cramped building that was first used in 1968 when the military began to train dogs to work in Vietnam.

The demand for working military dogs has significantly increased since 9/11/2001. However, they do not have enough of the breeds necessary such as German Shepards, and Labrador Retrievers, so officials at the Lackland Air Force Base are breeding puppies at the base. The number of dogs that are being trained has doubled since 9/11 to about 750 dogs.

The new hospital is well equipped to handle all of the health and injury issues that might occur. The new hospital has operating rooms, digital radiography, CT scanning equipment and an intensive care unit with rehab rooms. There is an underwater treadmill and excercise balls to help with the intensive rehabilitation.

I don’t have any problem with my tax dollars being used to enhance the health and treat the injuries of these dogs. They are doing more for us than we could ever do for them and they deserve, at the very least, the best medical care we can provide.

Hopefully, all of my readers are as excited about reading these updates on Ratchet and his journey to the U.S. as I am about writing them. We have Operation Baghdad Pups, under the direction of Terri Crisp to thank for Ratchet’s arrival in the U.S.

If you recall from my last entry, Ratchet was taken to an airport on the outskirts of Baghdad to begin his long trip to the U.S. Well, this is how his journey went. When he left Baghdad, he went on a flight that took him to Kuwait. That was a private charter flight. From there, Ratchet was flown to Amsterdam on a commercial flight and then from Amsterdam, he was flown into Washington. Through the generosity of Northwest Airlines, which is based out of Minnesota (Gwen Beberg’s home state), they covered the cost of the last flights to bring Ratchet home. He was then taken to Clocktower Animal Hospital in Herndon, Va, where he was given his required vaccinations.
From what I hear, there wasn’t much barking, but a little bit of whimpering with those shots. The doctor who examined Ratchet, Dr. Chris Carskaddan, says that the dog is extemely healthy and also mentioned that Ratchet was “cute”!!!!

After a couple of nights in a kennel, Ratchet will take yet one more flight. He will be travelling to Minneapolis where Sgt. Beberg’s parents will pick him up at the airport. Sgt. Beberg will be home in about a month where she and Ratchet will finally be together again. I’ll bring you news of that reunion when it happens!!!!

When hearing of Ratchet’s arrival in the U.S., Beberg emailed the following message to her friends and family, “I’m very excited that Ratchet will be waiting for me when I get home from Iraq! Words can’t describe it, I hope that Ratchet’s story will inspire people to continue the efforts to bring more service members’ animals home from Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Yesterday, I brought you information about Ratchet, a dog that Sgt. Gwen Beberg unofficially adopted while deployed in Iraq. Beberg has been trying to get Ratchet out of Iraq and home to Minneapolis for a while now. She is to be released next month and would want to have Ratchet, her best friend with her when she returns stateside.

The SPCA-International and Operation Baghdad Pups, under the supervision of Terri Crisp, has made possible and financed the travel for Ratchet, but his departure from Iraq has been anything but smooth. Beberg had the dog ready to go on October 1st when Ratchet was sent with a military convoy from a base south of Baghdad to the airport for an Oct. 1st pickup. But an Army officer confiscated the dog and sent him back. This past Wednesday, they attempted to get Ratchet out to the airport and on his way, but to no avail. However, six other dogs were on the flight leaving Baghdad.

But yesterday, Sunday, October 19th, a private security firm picked Ratchet up from the small base where he was staying, put the dog into a pet carrier and off they went to an airport outside of Baghdad. The trip for Ratchet will cost about $5000, according to Crisp. Beberg’s Mom, Patricia Beberg said the dog gave so much to her daughter. “He has been her emotional support, confidante, sanity-saver and a connection with something other than a war zone,” Beberg said Sunday in a telephone interview.

I’m sure the next time I write to you about Ratchet and Gwen, it will be the story of Ratchet’s arrival in the U.S. and their precious reunion!!!

If you have read some of my prior entries, you may have read about what is called Operation Baghdad Pups, which is run by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - International. Their latest quest is to rescue a dog named Ratchet who has been unofficially adopted by Army Stg. Gwen Begerg. Beberg and another soldier rescued the dog from behind some burning trash when it was a small puppy. Beberg fears that the dog will be killed because the Iraqis view dogs and cats as nuisances rather than as family member pets and will simply kill those that they deem as too much of a pest.

Terry Crisp, the program coordinator of Operation Baghdad Pups, (whom I have also written about) is heading to Iraq on Wednesday to try and facilitate the adoption and move of Ratchet to the U.S. to be with Beberg when she is released next month. There is strong support for this to happen, as 10,000 people have signed an online petition hoping to convince the U.S. Army to allow Gwen to adopt and bring Ratchet home with her. Official Army policy is that Defense Department rules prohibit soldiers in the U.S. Central Command, which includes Iraq, from adopting pets. However, as a result of the efforts of Terry Crisp and Operation Baghdad pups, about 50 dogs and 8 cats have been transferred to the United States in the past eight months. For many soldiers, these animals bring them comfort and happiness and may be the closest thing to family that they have while deployed.

I wish Terry Crisp the best of luck and hopefully will be able to write about Gwen and Ratchet and their happy reunion right her in the U.S.!!!!

Scientists recently discovered what they believe to be the world’s first canine. The remains of the canine that was discovered is estimated to be approximately 31,700 years old. Prior to this discovery, the oldest dog was thought to be about 14,000 years old and was discovered in what is now Russia. This older prehistoric dog was found in the Goyet Cave in Belguim and suggests to many scientists that the dogs of this period were perhaps the first domesticated canines. The dogs of this period are believed to be large and powerful and lived on a diet of horse, musk ox and reindeer.

According to a paleontologist from Belgium, the dog of that time would most closely resemble what we know as the Siberian Husky. This dog would today be known for its strength and its bite. Analysis of some of the remains of these dogs showed that “the Paleolithic dogs had wider and shorter snouts and relatively wider brain cases than fossil and recent wolves”

More than likely, the first domesticated dogs were required to earn their keep. Dogs were most likely used for hunting, tracking and transporting of other types of game that was caught.

There is evidence from Chauvet Cave in France of footprints of both a child and a dog that would indicate domestication of these animals took place over 26,000 years ago. This clearly supports the idea of dogs as pets as well as workers for the family. The evolution of dogs from wolves is still an active theory and hypothesis in science today, but it is also believed dogs may have undergone “self-domestication” from wolves more than once over history, because there are periods of time archeologically where dogs appear and then disappear.

We are living in some turbulent times. The economy is on the skids, people are losing their jobs and in some cases their homes. What people had saved for education or retirement is quickly diminishing due to the volatility in the stock market. All of these factors, coupled with the pending election have people majorly stressed out. You aren’t the only one who feels the stress. Your dog feels your stress and reacts to it as well.

If you are not up to your usual self, your dog can sense that and dealing with it can be difficult for him/her. Remember, they exist to make you happy and if you aren’t happy, they know it. They may act out and behave abnormally because they are reacting to the emotions that you are showing. Dogs who are under stress for long periods of time can develop physiological, behavior and anatomical responses. Studies on shelter dogs demonstrated that excessive noise from barking that went on for long periods of time would cause stress in many of the shelter dogs. They would get physically ill and many would act out in ways that were not common for them.

Chemically, the responses that dogs demonstrate as a result of stress are very close to that of humans. Stress causes the body to release adrenaline and cortisol hormones. These chemicals cause heart rate and respiration to speed up, and suppress the immune system. And even though we believe dogs do what nature tells them to do in the reproductive sense, stress can lower the urge dogs have to mate. This lowers reproductive hormones that can lead to cardiovascular disease in the dogs.

So while we all are going through some tough times right now, remember the ones who love us most unconditionally need us too. Try and keep a positive attitude, smile and play with your pooch. It will be good for both of you.

Well, who would think that male puppies would know how to please the lady pups…but recent studies of puppies at play showed just that. There may be a method to the madness of these male puppies. Losing at play might mean winning at love later on.

Camille Ward, a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan. She studied puppy litters from four different breeds. Ward and her colleagues watched puppies play from the age of 3 weeks up to about 40 weeks and some very interesting information was found. Male dogs were found to put themselves in positions that were not adventagous to them when playing with female pups. They would position themselves into vulnerable spots which under usual circumstances could pose the males to be attacked.

Female dogs were found to initiate play more with dogs of their own sex than male dogs. The studies also showed that male dogs were less likely to initiate sex with other male dogs, but are extremely eager to play and continue playing with female dogs, even if they have to assume a submissive position. To show their interest in play with the females, the male pups would sometimes lick the muzzles of their opponents, giving the female a chance to bite them in a vulnerable position. It is said that with the male puppies doing this, they are allowing themselves to get to know the female better and perhaps put her in a position to be around when it is time to mate.

I guess we’ll never know if they make a love connection, but we can only hope. In the meantime, these guy puppies are like any other….they lure the girl into their web with their charms and then the female is hooked!!!

Sammy is a 10 year old Shetland sheepdog. She was rescued by Linda Eroh in Douglassville, Pennsylvania two years ago. Sammy had odd behaviors, like cowering in the corner, eating mouthfuls of dirt and refusing to touch his food. What Linda found out is that Sammy had been used as a stud at a puppy mill for over 8 years and rarely was ever let out of a cage, unless it was to service the females, in addition to other abuses that he suffered.

Pennsylvania was known as one of the worst states on the east coast for unregulated puppy mills. However, what happened to Sammy, will hopefully not happen to any other dogs in Pennnsylvania due to a bill that was signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell last Thursday. While many are aware of the abuse that takes place in these facilities, it was brought to national attention when people in a suburban shelter organization outside of Philadelphia put up a billboard in Chicago asking Oprah Winfrey to do a show on dog breeder abuse. As a result, the issue has gotten the attention it has long deserved. The issue was moved even farther into the public eye when last August to eastern Pennsylvania kennels shot 80 dogs when they were told that there were going to be veterinary inspections of their facilities and the dogs housed there.

The new law will address how the dogs have to be housed, treated, and cared for. It will also will track kennels and the dogs that they sell privately or to pet shops to insure that the dogs are not being overbred and mistreated in respect to their reproductive capabilities. There are also some administrative aspects to the law which will increase the authority animal wardens have in regards to allegations of violations of the law. Previously, only police and humane officers had any authority to act upon allegations.

Let’s hope that other problem states respond the way Pennsylvania has. It will make it a safer place for all puppies and dogs!!

Would you send your dog to Doggie Boot Camp? If the instructor had 40 years in dog training experience and is currently the only canine instructor that is certified by both New York City and New York State, I bet you would!!! In fact, the boot camp is FREE and that makes it even more enticing!! Anthony Jeone’s School of Dog Training and Career
train both dogs and people who want to work with and train dogs.

While watching a local news program this morning, I saw a short clip with Mr. Jerone and one of his boot camp dog graduates. The level of obedience that this dog demonstrated was fantastic. The “boot camp” is offered every Sunday from 1:00 pm -4:00 pm (except when the temperature falls below 40 degrees!! And yes, it is truly free!!! Jerone mentions on his website that a $10.00 donation is encouraged, but not required. The classes are small and reservations are needed, but for 3 hours of free dog training, I’d wait a couple of weeks or so.

What makes Jerone’s establishment unique was mentioned above; his dual certification from both New York City and the state of New York. In Vietnam, Mr. Jerone was a canine specialist and he founded the New York City Transit Authority Canine Unit.

For those who have the desire to work with and train dogs, Jerone’s academy can provide you with the in depth knowledge and experience that you need, not only in dog training, but in running a dog training business. There are both 6 week programs, which run full time, and a part time program that runs for 12 weeks. While the investment seems steep (about $4000); those who truly have this calling in life will see a huge return on their investment.

I would encourage those who are interested in having your dog trained or learning to be the dog trainer, to check out Anthony Jerone’s website by clicking here.