tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16695392762290898532024-03-14T03:52:04.491-04:00Gone to the DogsDogs, cats, backyard birds, veterinary issues, and whatever other random thoughts run through my mind...Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-19403872880272941672021-05-30T21:49:00.003-04:002021-05-30T21:49:45.475-04:00Detective Trials<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-59ut5Xwff7A/YK2zKp5tNpI/AAAAAAAABok/7lWObVH5JRQosRfVuA5wLuV0ZEVFW13XACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="564" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-59ut5Xwff7A/YK2zKp5tNpI/AAAAAAAABok/7lWObVH5JRQosRfVuA5wLuV0ZEVFW13XACLcBGAsYHQ/w423-h564/image.png" width="423" /></a></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Last weekend Saffron and I had our second attempt at a detective trial; it was a really great learning experience and I thought it might be of interest to some of my fellow competitors. It's always helpful to see other trials/searches and get an idea what to expect.</p><p>For my friends who are not scentwork competitors, detective trials are the highest level of AKC scentwork. In order to enter your dog must have earned at least one Master level title. To earn the Scent Detective title (SWD) you must qualify at ten different trials. Since the AKC scentwork program started in the fall of 2017 through Feb of 2021, only 20 teams have earned their SWD. The first two were earned in July of 2019 at what I did not realize at the time was Robbie's last trial. A detective test will encompass both indoor and outdoor areas, with 2000-5000 ft2 total to search; there will be 5-10 hides with the number unknown to the handler, and there will be a time limit of between 7 and 15 minutes, depending on the area to cover and the number of hides.</p><p>Saffron and I had entered a two trial, one day detective event at the last minute back before Christmas when a relatively close one failed to fill. I figured we would just give it a dry run and see how she did and what to expect. To be honest, it didn't go well at all. She was overfaced, there were a number of hides high on walls which she struggles with, the searches were relatively large areas with small entries so you did not have a lot of down time between the two runs to recover, which is hard for me. In her first run she missed several hides and then PEED directly on the one exterior hide. I was mortified- it figures my intact male would never be excused for eliminating but my darn spayed bitch would be the one! That didn't exactly set us up to be in a good frame of mind for the second search and she again missed several hides and ran out of time. There were about 7-8 other dogs showing and no passes in either trial that day.</p><p>I knew we needed to polish up some skills and we have worked on them a little bit, but to be honest I haven't been too motivated lately and especially since she finished her masters overall title. I was really looking forward to detective with Robbie and I think part of it is still missing him, but also Saffron is not as good a problem solver, has a lower frustration threshold, and didn't have the best foundation since she came to me when Robbie died and I got her ready to trial pretty quickly so I would have a dog to show. I've done much less with her outside of class than I did with Cory and Robbie and it shows.</p><p>So I had planned to enter a weekend of detective trials next month and give it a go again, though I hadn't really made a good effort to prepare. When the email came that there were openings in a local trial on a day I had free, I figured what the heck and entered that one too. The day before I set up a detective-ish search at work using our pharmacy, front desk, two exam rooms, hallway and waiting room. Saffron had a hard time with one elevated hide (surprise), did ok on the one deep in a file cabinet and one inside an exam room cabinet, had a bit of trouble with one on the bottom of a fire extinguisher (universally my shelties have struggled with this, I don't know why), and had one hide on a low windowsill I thought was pretty straightforward that she could NOT find. I wasn't exactly encouraged by her performance. However today I realized that the one she couldn't find was a new, empty slider with no swab in it that I had mistakenly thought had odor! DUH! <br /></p><p>The trail was only about an hour drive in a location I was fairly familiar with. As it turns out it was set up really well for us because we could park right outside the door and wait in the car and then walk right in, so no long trudges through the center to search areas (it was held at Roberts Center in Wilmington Ohio with the Clumber Spaniel National). I was a bit encouraged on our walk through because it was a fairly small area (about 2500 ft2) and with only a 7 minute time limit, so presumably a lower number of hides and less time on my feet. The judge was very pleasant and accommodating and my fellow exhibitors were really helpful in making sure I got a walk through since I hadn't been entered the day before, and that I didn't have to walk any further than necessary. </p><p>The map of our search area is posted above, I added a little more detail than was on the original. We had a large indoor room with a table and chairs in the middle and a few more chairs and "stuff" along the walls. Saffron went in and immediately went into odor on the chairs around the table, she investigated along several chairs and under them, but never really committed IMO and then sort of lost interest. I took her around the walls and to all the other objects; she investigated the chairs on the other side of the table a little but more kind of like she was cataloging the ghosts of banquets past and their food odors than really in odor; the only other place she showed any interest was under the chair just to the right of the door which she checked out but then came back out, looked at me, and offered a sit...which is not a trained alert for her and I KNOW almost always means it is a false alert (unless it's a really deep inaccessible hide, and even then, probably STILL not real) but boy it's hard not to call! I hesitated and then told her let's check outside first. I'm actually really proud that I did not talk myself into a false alert anywhere in that room, at that point we were through half of our time AND half of our area and we hadn't found a hide yet! Talk about nerve wracking! Saffron was visibly deflating a little bit too, she wanted to get PAID! </p><p>The outdoor area was a small courtyard with building walls on three sides and a privacy fence along the back. There were three large flowerbeds with gravel instead of mulch, a wicker bench and ottoman to the left, and a wrought iron bar height table/chairs in the middle. As we went out the judge told us the flower bed to the left was not in play, but the retaining wall around it was. This made me think we'd better darn well check out the wall closely and I'd better keep her out of the flower bed because it made me wonder if someone had peed there! She found three hides pretty quickly; I can't remember exactly the order but I think that she found them pretty much moving left to right (there was a light breeze blowing from left to right as well). There was one on the wicker bench to the left; we checked and she dismissed the left hand corner and moved on to one on the metal chair above her head by the table, and then one in the retaining wall in front. I asked her to go down the sidewalk between the retaining wall and the building and check; she did not go deep into the corner and I did not push her as far down as I should have. We moved back towards the back of the area and I was trying to remember for sure if that flower bed on the back right was in play; about the only thing in it was a tree and I was a little afraid (given her history) if other dogs had marked there she might decide to pee; while I was debating whether to ask or push her onto the gravel she went into odor again standing on her hind legs now on this side of the table/chairs. I had a brain fart moment where I couldn't remember exactly where the hide there had been, and was trying to decide if it was blowing odor from the original hide or a second converging hide. What I knew we NEEDED to do was let her work it to its source, but we still had at least two hides to find and I knew we had to get back into the interior area because there was almost certainly one there, so I was feeling time pressure with I think about 2 minutes or less left. I ended up calling it and got a no; it was all blowing from the original hide on the chair. There was one in the flowerbed behind us that I had started towards to cover just in the gravel, and another in the retaining wall around the corner and back by the building that we had missed when I did not ask her to go far enough back (it was anise, I suspect if it had been clove or birch she probably would have picked it up a little easier). On the interior, the judge told us she came in and immediately put her nose almost on the hide, which was on the underside of the table and was cypress. Cypress is not used until master level and higher, and Saffron has not had as much opportunity to build a reinforcement history for finding it, so her lack of commitment/lukewarm interest suddenly made sense. After I started thinking about it, I realized I couldn't remember actually introducing her to cypress or using it in training myself, and my instructor only uses it occasionally. I strongly suspect she may never have really been taught that "cypress pays" which is a BIG hole in my training. Sometimes it's hard to remember what you've done with a specific dog when you've trained several! So we will be going to cypress bootcamp before the next trial! Now suddenly a few masters runs where she just didn't indicate odor at all or seemed tentative maybe start to make sense. I can be sure that once Saffron realizes cypress= cookie she will NEVER forget! <br /></p><p>All in all I felt much more optimistic after this search. Had she given me a little stronger alert on the cypress, I would have called it (I almost did to start with but hesitated just long enough that she moved on) and then I would have felt pretty confident that we had found what there was to find on the interior and not felt such a time crunch pressure outside; I think odds are good I would have taken a little more time and made the right call on the table this time, and I think we would have covered the flowerbed and likely found that hide. We might/probably would not have gotten back in the corner to pick up the anise hide she missed. So while EVERY detective trial may not suite our weaknesses well, I think we may be successful in some and they certainly will be a learning experience. You can be we will be working on building motivation for cypress this week! </p><p>I believe there was only one qualifier on this search out of 8 dogs, which surprised me because there were some very experienced dogs there and I thought this was a very fair and doable search. I thought the biggest challenge was NOT calling false alerts in the big interior space with only one hide, and making sure you covered the entire area thoroughly. To my way of thinking more challenging for the handler than for the dogs. It was well worth the price of admission for the learning experience- thank you to the Clumber Club, judge Dave Conroy and Buggy Barb the trial secretary!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-61355016476793660712019-08-04T23:23:00.004-04:002019-08-04T23:23:54.985-04:00How to get a cat in the new millenium...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Finding a cat has changed a bit in recent years. I have been catless at home for about a year; my two litter brothers Toby and Tyler had somewhat suicidal tendencies that contributed to their passing. Between the two of them, they had seven (yes, seven) surgeries to remove GI foreign bodies...always the same thing. I had a lovely training room for the dogs in my basement, set up with EVA foam "jigsaw" style matting for good footing for the dogs. For some reason, the cats found this absolutely irresistible and over the years managed to eat the edges off of 1600 ft2 of matting. Keeping them upstairs wasn't an option, as no matter how carefully I cat-proofed they usually took about 20 seconds to find the hairband or month old bag of hot dog buns way on the back of the top of the fridge and get into trouble; at least when they were downstairs I knew exactly what they'd eaten and usually knew pretty early when there was a problem. I could have made them outdoor cats, but they probably would have been coyote food pretty quickly; and they were not great candidates for clinic cats (plus we sure didn't need any more cats at the clinic anyway). Many types of enrichment activities failed to distract them, many things designed to make the mats unattractive had no impact. I even briefly considered removing some of their teeth...Tyler succumbed after his third surgery at 9 years old; Toby survived four, though after the last one he spent a week in the hospital with a drain in his abdomen, trying to eat myself and my staff the entire time, and I told him I was pretty much done. He eventually developed probable cancer in his abdomen, I was not about to do another surgery to find it and he was not a great candidate for aggressive treatment because he was such a terrible and aggressive patient (though a sweetheart at home) and so we called it quits when I no longer could keep him comfortable at age 10. So I was not in a big hurry to run out and get more cats, plus I had the three clinic kitties to keep me happy. <span style="font-size: large;"> </span>I kind of figured one eventually would show up when the time was right.</div>
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Fast forward to this week. I had lost Cory, my older sheltie in April at the age of 14 1/2, not unexpected as he had had some issues for several months, but still a tough pill to swallow. It is never easy to lose a pet, but especially a competition dog who is also your teammate and is such a special, intense relationship. I grieved for him terribly, but knew he had had a good life and had some peace. Last weekend however, we diagnosed his son Robbie with a mass in his heart and despite starting chemo and doing all we could I lost him very suddenly on Friday. Robbie was really at 9 years old in the prime of his performance career and I still thought of him as my "puppy"; he had finished his obedience and tracking goals but we were having a wonderful time doing nosework, working on a rally championship, and getting back to his first love the agility ring. He had had exactly one sick day in his entire life up until now, so losing him was a terrible shock And not only did I lose him, but also lost my whole coping mechanism which was always to spend time with my animals, as well as pretty much clearing my whole social calender which revolved around classes, training, and showing on the weekends. For the first time in 30 years I had no animals in the house. This morning was pretty rough. I just could not stay in the house anymore alone. Finding a puppy for competition is not an overnight proposition; it will take a while and then it'll be at least a couple of years before we are ready to show in much of anything. So the time seemed right to bring home a cat again; and I really NEED a cat ASAP for my emotional support. Cats are everywhere, shouldn't be too hard, right? HAH! </div>
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So, back in the 80s and 90s, getting a cat went something like this. (Don't judge me, I'm still more comfortable with my clothes from that era too). Open door. Cat is outside on porch. "Honey, do you know whose cat this is?". Cat refuses to go away. Eventually over next few days give in, feed cat, let it in. Voila, you are a cat owner. Alternative route: Every. Single. Walmart. Or Kmart. Or Kroger. Take your pick. On a summer weekend, SOMEONE would be in the parking lot with a box of kittens begging passersby to take one. Or somebody at work found a cat that had kittens and bullied you into taking one. </div>
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And actually Toby and Tyler were the first time in years I had actually gone looking for a cat. (and don't let anyone tell you two cats are as easy as one, see above for my tale of woe. NO MORE LITTERMATES for me. Multiple cats, probably eventually. But would you want your brother for a roommate for the rest of your life? I rest my case). They both came from one of our local county shelters who knew a sucker when they saw one and fed me the two kitten line; plus who could leave one behind when there <span style="font-size: x-small;">Stevie</span> only two? SUCKER!</div>
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My first cat of my own Phinneas came to me as a fanbelt kitty through a summer job as I was leaving for vet school (he lived to be 19 and was the world's most easygoing cat). When I bought my practice, I inherited Morris (one of my favorite cats ever) and Miss Kitty; Mo even passed Phinnie and made it to 20. Phinneas was joined at home by Hoppy, another fanbelt kitty tripod and Simba, who was tied to our front door one Saturday morning missing the tip of his tail. (It is a law that if you work in veterinary medicine a certain percentage of your pets must be missing various body parts. The dirty little secret of the profession is that we kidnap these cats, harvest their parts and leave them packed on ice in hotel bathtubs and these are the ones who track us down and blackmail us for alimony for the rest of their days). Grouchie, my favorite all time cat, came to live at the clinic when my tech moved to England. Stevie came to us when a former employee found him by her barn; he was blind, broken jaw dangling, weighed about 3 lbs but of uncertain age (hard to age a cat whose teeth are lying on the floor- was he young and growing or just really THAT emaciated?). But he was orange and purred...and as previously established, I am a sucker. I am NOT an orthopod, but managed to fix the jaw, get him through the fatty liver syndrome from not being able to eat, he recovered his vision which was presumably from head trauma, and somehow never went back to be the barn cat that was supposed to be the agreement....Beetle and Ebony came to us when a good friend became terminally ill. And these are just the ones I kept, I've lost track of the similar cases we've found homes for, though with less and less frequency over the years.</div>
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So basically, finding a cat was never really a problem. NOT getting stuck with lots of cats was much more the issue. Fast forward to the new millenium of cat ownership. First, you need a computer. Finding a cat has a lot more in common with E-harmony and online matchmaking than with old style pet sourcing options. Except you're not considered a pedophile if you are interested in the very young. And, I've gotta say, have you LOOKED at some of those cat's photos on petfinder? Let's just say if it WAS E-harmony you'd be thinking serial killer and be worried about waking up dead. I am thinking of offering to go take photos for some of these groups because these poor kitties definitely need some glamour shots.</div>
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So yesterday in an attempt NOT to go home to an empty house, I stopped at our local Petsmart and braved the madness and chaos of pet adoption Saturdays to scope out the possibilities. This was, of course, before I realized the necessity of a computer search first. Obviously I was living in the era of singles bars and church singles groups, depending on your leanings. It was pretty close to time for them to wrap up and most of the cats were horrified that I had not properly introduced myself online before just SHOWING UP like a savage. <br />
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But there is no accounting for chemistry. There were several very cute, very generic looking kittens doing very cute, generic kitten things. There was also one very sorry, mangy looking, black cat who claimed to be 8 years old but I'm guessing was 13 if he was a day (doesn't it just figure that cat's are vain and liars just like people), with a giant jutting jaw presumably from a granuloma and cauliflower ears. He reminded me of Jane Goodall's chimpanzee called David Greybeard. But across the room our eyes met...and he had some great lines. He <span style="font-size: x-small;">Beetle</span><br />
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girl. I left without talking to anyone but kept thinking about that cat all evening. He made me think of the country songs about the girls all getting prettier at closing time and last night I came in at 2 with a 10 but at 10 I woke up with a 2...when you have beer goggles OR tear goggles on, it's amazing what can look good. But, hey, I'm not in the supermodel category myself so no judgement.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ebony. A very bitter, bitter Ebony. </span></div>
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So this morning I woke up and was having a bit of a rough time. I HAD to get out of the house and I really needed a cat today, if at all possible. I am starting to develop a little more sympathy for people I may have judged in the past for buying pets impulsively. Though I really had been prepared for this for a year, I was just waiting for the right time and now was definitely it. I met my parents for lunch, confessed to my folly, and headed back to Petsmart. The scruffy looking cat was still there, still looking like everything I had never wanted...but there was still just something about him. We talked for a bit, had a little light petting, and I finally took the plunge and approached the rescue folks. But there was one big question...how was he with dogs? Uh oh. He needs to be an only cat, not good with other animals. So our little flirtation ended, as eventually there would definitely be other animals. I just can't commit to monogamy at this time. The kittens were still there and still cute, but apparently it is now a common thing to require you to adopt TWO kittens. So they won't be lonely. (Though I thought the whole point was he was supposed to keep me company so <i>I</i> wouldn't be lonely...). Oh honey. Do I look like I was born yesterday? (apparently not, but we'll get to that later in the story). I've been down that road before and I am not doing a threesome- it's just you and me baby. </div>
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So I had figured out last night that I had to check out the websites and I had backup options. I trudged off to yet ANOTHER Petsmart in Newport, but this one only had four or five kittens, and most of them were pending. The rest were female, and I am pretty much a hetero cat owner. I like the boys and my forays into relationships with cats of my own sex have been much less satisfying (sorry Miss Kitty and Ebby). </div>
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I was running out of options and starting to get a little panicky. I am not exactly at my most sane and emotionally stable right now. So I got on the expressway (which is a true test of commitment in a relationship, to get on the highway in Cincinnati in August means you have to have a cooler full of provisions, an extra gas can, and a week off of work). And I drove to freaking MASON which for those of you keeping score is a good 45 minute drive if there's no traffic. In Mason I went to Petco, where there actually were some really beautiful kittens, definitely the supermodels of the current inventory. They were all pretty zonked from a weekend of voguing for the prospective owners and so personality was a bit hard to evaluate...but once again, they wanted them adopted in pairs. No adult kitties there. I did talk to their folks, but no one was authorized to make any exceptions and it was clearly going to be a fairly long and drawn out process to obtain one if it could indeed be done. Did I mention that I really NEED. A. CAT. NOW. I'm starting to feel like Jon Cusack in The Sure Thing and I may actually be willing to drive to California if necessary...</div>
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I have one last option and just about an hour to make it happen. Did you know that there are actually cat cafes? I am clearly in the wrong business because this is an absolutely brilliant business plan. I headed off to the Kitty Brew, which took a bit of GPS wizardry to find in the basement on the backside of an otherwise respectable looking strip mall. Kitty Brew is kind of the Bunny Ranch of the cat world, though I'm assured it's completely legal. First you go into the coffee shop, where you buy a pricey beverage called something cutesy and cat related and then you pay. Ten dollars. To pet cats. Which, for most of my life, including every damn work day, all day, six days a week, 52 weeks a year, I can do for free, or actually GET PAID FOR MYSELF. But you know what? They must put roofies or something in the beverages because I actually paid the man (a young, hip, Starbucks-y looking barrista who enthusiastically told me they had several different discounts including a senior discount and then only charged me $8.50, so apparently I do NOT look like I was born yesterday. But still. 8.50 to pet cats.). Then you have to go outside and go in ANOTHER door with your magic password and you get to meet the kitties, see who you like the looks of, and then sit and make small talk with to see if you're into the same sort of things. However you might want to interpret that. They don't actually line them up like at the Bunny Ranch, but I think that's mostly because they're, well, cats, and that would be WAY too complicated. The place was furnished with chairs and tables in tasteful little conversation groups and lots and lots of cat trees. And lots and lots of cats. Big cats, little cats, solid colored cats, multicolored cats, young cats, old cats, cats missing body parts. One cat was apparently the receptionist because she immediately jumped up on the counter to greet me and directed me into the middle of the room. On my first step, I looked down and a small orange kitten chased a ball across my foot. You may have noticed in looking at the pictures in this post that I have a certain type I am attracted to. </div>
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So, to make a longer story not too much longer when an orange kitty lets me pick it up and purrs when I rub its ears and sucks up to me a little bit I pretty much am a goner. So I found myself filling out an adoption application that was roughly the same length as my vet school application and gave the same tiny boxes to put way too much information. They want to know about ALL my animals I've had (didn't they talk to the barrista who could tell them that given my advanced years that was likely to be a lot?). Ok, so I might just hit the highlights. And what happened to all of them? Well, they died. Most of them pretty well into old age, several of them after a valiant fight with multiple surgeries or chemo. But are they just going to think I got tired of them, took them in the back yard and offed them and went and got a new one (clearly, given the difficulty of this whole process that seems a less than reasonable plan to me, but who knows what they will think?). Nowhere did they ask about what I had bought primarily for my animals (a house, a car, a new clinic), what percentage of the house was allocated to their needs (a whole floor, as well as a substantial amount of my own living space and more than half of my bed) or let me show the three giant baskets of toys, plus the "spare"bags in the spare room. Are they going to blackball me because I've owned male dogs who were not neutered (show dog, who never had an unplanned breeding, had thousands of dollars worth of genetic testing, and produced exactly three offspring who were pretty darn good performance dogs in their own rights with plenty of letters after their names). It would not be an unusual event. Though I must point out, even HUMAN adoptions don't require you to take a vow of celibacy until the world's overpopulation and unwanted child problem is resolved. </div>
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So the jury is still out, I came home with the hope of a kitten but still an empty house. Borrowed my parents' dog for the rest of the evening while they were out which makes it a little better, and will hope to hear good news and be a new cat owner again soon. Who knew it could be so difficult? </div>
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And I bet you would never guess reading this that my heart is still in a million tiny pieces all over the floor. But at least it was $10 (or $8.50) well spent watching and petting cats and making me feel better for a little while. Stay tuned for the outcome of the great kitten search.</div>
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PS- as an addendum there is an outdoor cat who lives at Kitty Brew named Will Feral. BEST CAT NAME EVER.</div>
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<br />Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-58485576846714255682019-05-03T13:59:00.001-04:002019-05-03T14:01:16.062-04:00Microchips...make sure you follow through!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I know it's been a while since I posted...bad Becky! However I wanted to make this info available somewhere I could refer people back to easily. I wanted to talk about microchips and how to maximize your pet's protection.<br />
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For those who are completely unfamiliar, it is common practice to microchip pets in order to give them a permanent ID and help facilitate their return should they become lost. The microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is injected under the skin over the shoulderblades where it SHOULD stay for the life of the pet. A scanner can be used to read the chip number and use the information to identify the pet and it's owner. Microchips CANNOT be used to track the pet using GPS. They use RFID technology which uses radio waves to transmit the info. Most shelters routinely scan dogs at intake to find owner info; also most pets adopted from shelters are microchipped prior to adoption. In addition, microchips are often used to permanently identify pets when performing pre-breeding testing such as OFA radiographs for hip certification, eye exams, and DNA testing. If your pet travels internationally, it is also likely that it must be microchipped to ensure that the health information that accompanies it belongs to that pet alone.<br />
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One of the downsides to microchip technology is that it has not been well standardized, so there are differing types of chips some of which can only be read by their own or "universal" scanners. The technology between the US and other countries also has sometimes been different, so chips implanted in one country might not be read by scanners in another. Chips can have 9, 10, or 15 digits. In general we would recommend using an ISO compliant chip. Home Again and Avid EURO chips are 10 digit ISO compliant and are the most common ones used in the US; they can be read by most scanners. Regular Avid chips are 9 digit and cannot be read in Europe or by many US scanners. AKC Reunite chips are 15 digits which is the world standard, but there may still be scanners in the US that do not read them. We use Home Again chips in our practice, as we have found they are generally read by almost all scanners and are the least likely to migrate.<br />
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The most important thing to remember after your pet is microchipped is that the <b><span style="color: red;">CHIP MUST BE REGISTERED IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE USED TO TRACK YOUR PET. </span></b><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">This is the step that many pet owners forget and it is the most important one to remember! I typically recommend and use the AKC Reunite microchip registry (even though I prefer Home Again chips). You can enroll online at <a href="http://www.akcreunite.org/">www.akcreunite.org</a>. They charge a reasonable fee for lifetime registration, are a stable entity, and participate in the AAHA universal microchip lookup. Other chip registries may charge annual fees and offer many "value added" services. It is important to realize that microchip registration is SEPARATE from AKC registration; it must be completed separately (although it can be done at the same time as AKC individual registration). Your pet does not have to be AKC registered or even a dog to use AKC Reunite- you can register your cat's microchip as well. The most important things to remember when choosing a registry are <b><span style="color: red;">1)</span></b> DO IT! Make sure to register your pet's chip and keep the name and phone number of the registry and your pet's microchip number where you can find them easily (I email them to myself and save the email to a permanent file in my email program titled "Pet's info" etc). <span style="color: red;"><b> 2)</b> </span>Choose a registry which participates in the AAHA universal microchip lookup program (<a href="http://www.petmicrochiplookup.org/">www.petmicrochiplookup.org</a>). <b> </b><span style="color: red;"><b>3)</b>.</span> Once your pet is registered, go to the universal lookup page and make sure when you plug in the chip number that the correct registry comes up with the correct date for most recent changes. <span style="color: red;"><b>4)</b></span> Go to the page for the registry you have chosen, plug in your chip number, and make sure all of the info is correct <span style="color: red;"><b>5)</b><span style="color: black;"> Whenever your contact info changes, try to remember to update your info. <span style="color: red;">However, if your pet is lost, the FIRST thing you should do is immediately check your info to make sure it is up to date and report your pet as lost to your registry</span> (this is where knowing your microchip number is handy, but if you at least know the registry you used you can call and do this over the phone). </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I recently discovered a new <span style="color: red;"><b>free</b></span> registry that I would recommend using IN ADDITION to your paid regular microchip registration. It is located at <a href="http://www.found.org/">www.found.org</a> and it also participates in the universal lookup page. The nice thing about this registry is that when someone uses the universal lookup page and clicks on it, it will immediately tell them your first name, the pet's name, any important info you want them to know, and allow them to initiate a "found pet" alert which will immediately contact them by phone, email, and text and continue to attempt contact for 4 days; it will also automatically attempt to contact the emergency contacts and veterinarian if the owner does not respond. I really like this because it does not rely on busy shelter personnel to continue to try and make contact (though they must at least plug in the number to the search engine). Again, if you use this registry (and I HIGHLY recommend you do- it's free!) be sure to go back and double check all of your info to make sure numbers are correct, there are no typos, etc. I would also recommend putting any pertinent info under the "general description" section on the page where you can add a picture. For example, I put my dog's height, weight, age, that he belonged to a vet and was always current on all vaccines including bordetella and flu, but to please NOT vaccinate for lepto as he is allergic (well, actually he has a strong family tendency with a close family member having a near fatal reaction, but I wanted to keep it simple!). I also noted that if he was found I was distraught and actively looking! You could also log on at the time your pet was lost and put info such as "I am out right now searching until X:00 in the Whateverville town square area, cell phone is on". I would NOT include any info that would make your pet more appealing for someone to keep or perhaps hold hostage, other than to reiterate that it was very much wanted and a search was ongoing.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">I hope this info is helpful; since the new free registry is available I would highly recommend dual registering with it (I would continue to do a paid registry just in case...sometimes free does not equal stable over the long term). Double check that info, get in touch immediately if your pet gets lost, and here's hoping we never need to test the system! </span></span> </span></span>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-81229182740448336892016-09-11T18:11:00.000-04:002016-09-11T18:11:56.327-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On this day, the fifteenth anniversary of 9-11, I am proud to see that all of our Cincinnati Bengals stood for our national anthem, that almost every one removed their head coverings and placed their hand over their hearts, and not one of them chose to sit on the bench or take a knee. I hope these young men understand that because of this flag and the people who have died to protect it, we have the right to express our opinions freely. Yes, even if it means that entitled young men who are barely into double digits, make millions of dollars to play a game and who think that they know what it means to be oppressed can show disrespect to the flag and our country and make an ass out of themselves in front of millions of their fellow countrymen. What I hope they realize is that America is a melting pot, not a buffet; that being American trumps being black or white, Democrat or Republican, Christian, Muslim, Jew or atheist. We all are American and bring our own flavor and contribution. Because we are American we all have the right to express our individual cultures, religions, and opinions, but we cannot forget what has conferred this right upon us.</div>
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Fifteen years ago on a Tuesday two planes flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and changed our lives forever. On that following weekend, my dog training club, Queen City Dog Training, had planned to hold their annual fall agility trial at Winton Woods. Just a few days after the tragedy, we were all shaken, nothing seemed certain, and we were not sure if we should hold the trial or not. Planes were not flying and one of our judges was therefore not able to make it. But our trial committee decided to go ahead and proceed; a local judge was substituted, and we all showed up, somewhat subdued and wondering if maybe this was the last trial any of us would be able to enter for a while- because our whole world had tilted on its axis and we didn't know if anything would ever be normal again. On that Saturday morning, we raised the flag and sang the national anthem before the first dog came to the line and there was not a dry eye in the house. And then we ran our dogs and for a few minutes all was right with the world and we felt free again. It was a small thing, but we all felt as though we could not allow terrorists to take away our everyday lives and freedoms, and I know none of us took for granted the privilege to be there that day when so many were never coming home again. <br />
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Our club still displays a flag- two, actually, one in each separate area of our wonderful training building; and at the start of every trial that I have been to we still play the national anthem. It always reminds me of that day and I will never take for granted the opportunity to do so again. I hope these young men of the NFL, most of whom were children and many of whom were too young to really remember, never have to learn this lesson the way that we did that day.Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-62436310451030025252015-01-14T20:22:00.000-05:002015-01-14T20:22:28.663-05:00Crazy things we do for our dogs...Ok, I may be a little crazy....<br />
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Last summer Cory ruptured an eardrum (usually you see this after chronic ear infections, but Levi, Andy, and now Cory all as older dogs had ear drum ruptures with no history of previous or ongoing ear infections and no/minimal signs directly related to the ears- just were "not right" in training or in Cory's case, not quite eating normally and had ruled out all kinds of other issues. I was looking for something that could cause ongoing nausea that would make him not want to eat and that was when I found the ruptured ear drum). I treated it, it appeared to heal and the problem that had led me to find it (appetite a little off) resolved. However, this fall I started to suspect that his hearing was starting to deteriorate. He had reached what I call the "age of entitlement" (he turned 10 in December) where sometimes their response to previously known cues gets a little lax, and so at first I had attributed what I was seeing just to a little old timer slacking off. But it soon became apparent that he was not hearing in certain situations. Since he is still vigorous and active and still actively training in multiple venues, I decided to make an appointment to have his hearing tested. Due to some scheduling issues it was going to be several weeks before I could get him in. Not long after I scheduled the appointment, it seemed that his hearing took a nose dive and I began to suspect that not only did he have some hearing loss, but that it had progressed to a fairly profound level.<br />
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Today I took Cory to the<a href="http://www.fetchlab.org/index.html" target="_blank"> FETCH lab at the University of Cincinnati (Facility for the Education and Testing of Canine Hearing)</a> for a hearing test. The test that is done (ABR or BAER test) is the same test used to evaluate hearing in newborns. It involves applying a topical anesthetic cream (I told Cory I'd always known he was a numbskull already!), placing three electrodes by inserting tiny wires under the skin by each ear and on top of the head, and placing a soft earpiece that emits a series of clicks into the ear canal. The electrodes measure the brainstem response to the sounds and give an evaluation of the dog's hearing capabilities. Typically these tests are done in breeding stock or to evaluate young puppies before placement in breeds that have a high incidence of congential deafness such as Dalmations. The test is not painful and usually can be done without anesthesia; all that is required is that the dog hold reasonably still and tolerate the material in the ear canal. <br />
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Cory tolerated the procedure well- he thought it was kind of a stupid way to earn cookies, and he was a little startled at first by some of the clicks, but overall figured that having the undivided attention of 3-4 people and cookies too was worth holding still for. Unfortunately my fears were confirmed; he has severe hearing loss in the right ear (the one that had the ruptured ear drum) and moderate to severe loss in the left. It is likely that most of the impairment is aging related, although probably the issue with the ear drum did not help and may have contributed. It's very typical for me to start to see hearing loss in my patients around 11 years old, so he was in the right age range although at the younger end. However, I also think we tend to pick up on these things sooner in our competition dogs as most dogs can compensate so well around the house in familiar surroundings. It is amazing how attuned they are to visual cues and how little the hearing loss impacts them in most situations.<br />
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So, unfortunately there is not much that can be done to return his hearing to normal. However, as it happens, when I was a vet student one of my professors had done some work with hearing aids in dogs and prior to the visit when I started anticipating that the news might not be good I had done some research to see if anyone was still working with them (Dr. Marshall having long since retired). As it turned out, the only person currently doing any work with canine hearing aids in the US was the very same Dr. Scheifele with whom we already had the appointment for ABR testing. And, as it happens, I have pet insurance on Cory so I called prior to the visit to see if a hearing aid would be covered if he was a candidate. Turns out no one had ever asked that question before, so they told me to apply for pre-approval but that they were cautiously optimistic that it would be covered. <br />
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Hearing aids are not widely available in dogs for good reason; they are not always a terribly practical option. Teaching the dog to tolerate wearing them is not a simple task, but I am fairly confident that I could do this successfully; Cory and I have a long training relationship and I had already started to lay some groundwork by conditioning him to tolerate gauze pads in his ear canals for short periods prior to the appointment. However, an additional issue is that noises don't sound the same through the hearing aids that they did naturally and there is also a learning curve for the dogs from that standpoint as well.<br />
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Given the degree of hearing loss in the right ear, only the left ear would be a candidate for an aid. My main reason for considering it is that Cory is still a vital and active dog, he is still competing in agility, training in tracking, and finished his UD last spring (thankfully before the hearing loss- I struggled with trying to get his dad's UD after he was already having a lot of hearing issues and as a result never was quite able to get the final leg). While the hearing aid would not be legal in the AKC ring, it might enable me to help continue to let him play in agility and maybe help me to transition him to running successfully without it. I have spent a lot of time teaching him to listen to my verbals over my body language since I am so slow, now we have to find a new compromise. It's also possible that it might be allowed in some of the other organizations that are more disability friendly. I don't care if we ever Q again, I'd just like for him to continue to be able to play. In addition, even just in everyday around the house issues his hearing has curtailed some of his freedom because he can't hear me calling him nor can he hear cars, etc. <br />
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I am not sure that given the degree of impairment in the "good" ear that pursuing the hearing aid is worthwhile. I will have to think about it for a bit...my plan is to get some ear plugs, work on conditioning him to wear them and see how readily he accepts them. I will probably go ahead and file the pre-approval paperwork with Trupanion and see if they will cover it (if not, the answer becomes easy!). Then I will make a final decision as to whether we will give it a go or not. <br />
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Regardless of what I decide, I am a little sad tonight...even though I expected to hear the results we got, it is one step into old age and eventual retirement and then loss of my buddy...I am so sad that we have a finite number of times left to train together. Until you have trained a dog for literally years to be your partner, it is hard to understand just how different the relationship is from a dog whose function is primarily as a pet. Cory is my pet and my baby, but he is also my partner and someone I trust and rely on. He's a link to his father who was my heart dog. How I wish I had the answer to keeping him forever young!<br />
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Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-81762549700537964672015-01-13T10:15:00.002-05:002015-01-13T10:15:31.225-05:00How to give a pill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="goog_2119507627"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_2119507628"></span><br />Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-66983507599918874432013-06-18T13:35:00.001-04:002013-06-18T13:35:50.533-04:00Long time no post...Once again I have been derelict in my postings...I have several topics in my head but not yet on paper, but I did think I would do a quick "light" post. I am posting a link to a video of my rotten younger dog, Robbie. Robbie is not quite yet ready for prime time as far as agility trials go, but he LOVES agility and in his opinion never gets enough of my training time. Recently there has been a new show (on Dish network it's on the Rural channel, I don't think you can get it on Direct TV or Time Warner) called The Agility Show on Saturday afternoons, featuring an agility judge and showing runs and interviews with competitors from various trials he attends. Robbie likes to watch dogs on TV and he has become OBSESSED with the Agility Show. I DVR it for him every week and we watch it when we get home. He will watch the entire 30 minutes intently, though during the commercials and some of the interviews he will come sit on my lap and wait for "the good stuff" to start again. Initially he just watched, but then he started jumping at the screen and "chasing" the dogs as they ran. This has gotten progressively more and more energetic with each episode.<br />
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Last weekend I had to be gone all day and the dogs were home alone for quite a long time, which is unusual for them as they go to work with me daily and weekends are usually spent at shows. I often leave the TV in my bedroom on for background noise, but never really thought that they probably watched it much while I was gone. When I returned home that night, Robbie brought me a little cosmetics bag that usually sits by the TV in my bedroom and I couldn't figure out how he had gotten up to get it (he's only 13 1/2 inches tall). When I went in the bedroom, the towels which are folded on the shelves under the TV were all knocked around and everything was in disarray. I could not figure out WHAT he had done, and had mental pictures of him trying to climb the shelves...It finally occurred to me that the DVR must have clicked over to the Agility Show when it came on. I turned it on as a test, and if you click the link below you will see what must have been happening while I was gone...!<br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/J-DjIe9n0rw" target="_blank">Robbie and The Agility Show</a><br />
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This is a funny habit, but I think it has reached the point where it is getting excessive and we are in danger of it becoming an unhealthy obsession that puts Robbie's safety and my belongings at risk. I noticed he actually was starting to watch GOLF this weekend (and if he's not bored by golf, he'll watch anything!). So I think we will have to start interrupting this behavior and maybe use it as a distraction while we do a little heel work! It's much easier to prevent it BEFORE it becomes a problem than try to fix it later.Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-72511786035113445512012-11-23T19:01:00.000-05:002012-11-23T19:01:06.827-05:00Thanksgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On a beautiful, sunny Thanksgiving morning I am thankful that I have time to train my dogs a little. I have a lot to be thankful for, including my family that I will spend this afternoon with, but right now I am thankful that I have been blessed with dogs who love to work with me, no matter what venue I choose. Lately we have been focusing on obedience and getting Cory ready to show in utility (the highest of the three basic levels). Cory is the third dog I have trained in utility; my first dog Levi earned his Utility Dog Excellent (UDX) title and Cory's father Andy needed just one more qualifying score for his UD when he died. Utility is a tough class for green dogs, because it involves working independently away from the handler and making decisions between "right" and "wrong" (whereas, in novice and open, pretty much the choice is a more straightforward "do it or not"). There is heeling, a signal exercise where the dog must respond to hand signals from across the ring, a scent discrimination exercise where he must choose the dumbell touched by his handler, a directed retrieve where he must choose the correct glove indicated by his handler, and the directed jumping, where he must run away from the handler in a straight line across the ring, stop and sit when directed, and then take the correct jump indicated by the handler. While utility is the hardest class, it also is the most fun. </div>
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While those who know me might think I got into obedience because I am somewhat of a control freak, that actually is far from the truth. My "obedience" dogs have all had varying degrees of basic manners, with my current two probably being the worst on a day to day basis for listening and minding me. Training in obedience has become less about demonstrating control over my dogs, and more about developing teamwork and communication with them. The bond with a dog that you have trained to a high level is so much more intense than the one you share with a dog you just "hang with". It is hard to describe, especially without denigrating other types of relationships, until you have experienced it, but it is like the bond you feel with a teammate on that gold medal winning team, the bond with a child that you love desperately and have known from birth, and the bond with a life partner that is your 24/7 companion all rolled into one. For me at this point in my life, obedience training is not about ribbons or placements; it's not about scores although I hope before we are through we will reach the level we aspire to; it is about acheiving the mental picture in my head and the synchronicity you feel on the days when you and your dog are perfectly in tune. The obedience regulations state that the dog should demonstrate "the utmost in willingness, enjoyment, and precision". We have a ways to go in the precision department, but I would like to think that my dogs fit the bill on the first part. </div>
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I am including a video below of one of Cory's recent runs in Utility A. (If anybody has any good tips for how to improve the quality either here or on youtube, let me know- the original video is quite sharp). This was his second show, entering for the first time away from our home club. I chose this trial because it was a small, one ring trial; I knew it would be fairly relaxed and I had shown under this judge before. Although it was a one ring trial, space was very tight at ringside with no room to have the dogs inside before their turn, not much room to warm up, and varying from quiet as a church (not good for us) to sounds that really stand out because there is not much else going on. On our first outing at the previous show, Cory did not qualify but overall I thought did not do too badly EXCEPT that he barked (a lot) on EVERY exercise. That is not looked on kindly in obedience and I knew it was going to be a big struggle for us. I hoped the smaller trial would not rev Cory up quite so much (he barks both when he stresses "down" and when he stresses "up", and we had one of each types of run at the last trial). Obedience people who look at this run will no doubt be unimpressed; we blew a signal and the first scent article, we had lots of places to lose points in chunks- he forged quite a bit on his heeling, we had a couple of no-sits (really, not-quite-sits), a sloppy moving stand, an anticipated finish, a bark or two on the scent articles and the go outs and a couple of times between exercises (a HUGE improvement over the last trial), and we didn't move particularly smoothly from exercise to exercise. All duly noted and being worked on before the next trial. But on this day I was SO proud of my boy I could just feel my heart clench each time I looked at him. He was amped up to the max this day; sometimes this can be an indicator of stress but on this day Cory was giving me every one of his signs that he was having FUN and was trying his hardest to play by the rules. Unfortunately, he usually feels compelled to remind me of this on each exercise, especially the finishes, by commenting under his breath and in this little building it was pretty easily heard by all :-). I know just how hard it was for him to keep his focus and not explode, and I am so proud of him for trying. The next day he was not quite as hyped up, and he made it all the way to the last jump before he chose the wrong one and NQ'd. </div>
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We get to try again next weekend...at our home club, where theoretically we might have a small advantage of a familiar ring. Wish us luck- we'll need it!</div>
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<br />Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-43585475202685720062012-09-12T19:17:00.000-04:002012-09-12T19:17:40.409-04:00Remembering 9/11 and thoughts on the purpose-bred dogYesterday was the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. It is hard to believe as it is still so fresh in my mind. I can still remember watching the second plane hit that morning as I was getting ready for work and how surreal it was; later that day I can still remember the patient I was with when the Pentagon was attacked (he is still a patient, but getting pretty long in the tooth!). That was a scary moment, as my sister was working nearby at the time. <br />
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Facebook has been flooded with images of 9/11 and, on the facebook feeds of my mostly animal-oriented friends, images and remembrances of the search and rescue dogs who were part of the recovery effort. These very special dogs and their handlers provide such an important service, putting their own lives on hold to go to the aid of others at short notice, sometimes putting themselves in danger in the process.<br />
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<img alt="" class="spotlight hidden_elem" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/s480x480/545990_441960949175299_217803413_n.jpg" style="height: 315px; width: 420px;" /> <br />
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In looking at these memorial postings, I noticed something that I thought was very important to point out, ESPECIALLY to my friends, neighbors and clients who are animal lovers but not necessarily immersed in the "dog world". If you look at these photos, you will see that, almost without exception, these dogs are purebred dogs. It takes a very special dog to be able to perform these services; in virtually every case, these dogs have been bred for generations, if not specifically for THAT job, to work closely with their handlers in ways that complement this effort, and to develop the skills that are important for this job. Dogs from the working and sporting, and occasionally herding group predominate, with German Shepherds and retrievers of various sorts tending to be seen the most frequently. Training a dog for this work involves hours and hours of commitment and literally years of seasoning. It is important to pick a dog genetically predisposed to excel, from a breeder who then provides the environment early on to foster these tendencies in order to ensure the best odds that that dog will successfully complete the training. You certainly would be very unlikely to go to, for example, a pug breeder, to find a dog to train for this type of work (not picking on pugs, but I've never seen one do SAR; their prominent eyes would be prone to injury, their short noses make them rank well down the list in tracking ability, and their stocky stature,small size, and limited heat tolerance is not the best suited to the conditions these dogs must work under). It would be equally difficult to go to the shelter and pick a prospect for this work. Can it be done? Yes, but you will run through a LOT of dogs in the process which will "wash out" of the system wasting time and resources. There are undoubtedly mixed breed dogs out there who could do this work well, but in order to consistently identify the dogs most likely to possess that special combination of physical, mental and emotional attributes you will be far more successful in choosing a dog bred for those attributes.<br />
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<img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/552001_10151060775028295_126490767_n.jpg" style="height: 403px; width: 403px;" /> <br />
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This is not only true just of search and rescue dogs, but also of many, many other working dogs. Guide dogs for the blind have been bred specifically for that purpose for many generations. Go to any "border collie" herding trial (aimed at real working dogs and generally considered much more challenging than their AKC counterparts which are more "sport" trials); these trials are open to any breed, and I even have a friend who has competed in them successfully with a sheltie, beating the BCs at their own game; but in general if you want to be competitive, you need to go get a border collie. And not just any border collie, but one that has been bred for generations and literally maybe even hundreds of years, to do that job. And if you're smart, and want your dog to have a long working life, you will find one whose pedigree is filled with dogs who have the appropriate health clearances so your dog doesn't end up retired at three because he has bad hips, or eye problems. And before you say "but I just want a pet", remember that a dog's genes greatly influence many things you will have to live with, including how much he barks (boy do I know that!), how much he drools, how quickly he learns things, how much he likes to cuddle etc AND how long he lives and how healthy that life will be. I found early in my life that I was NOT a terrier person and my personality was not at all suited to that type of dog. Luckily, I found a perfect fit for me, in a totally different breed from a different group bred for very different personality traits. <br />
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Right now there is a very strong, "politically correct" sentiment that is pushing us towards mandatory spay and neuter policies in our communities and telling us that a rescue dog or random bred mixed breed is ALWAYS an equivalent choice to a purpose bred, pure bred dog. For my average client, and the pet loving public, this is a very "feel good" position and the "shelter good, breeder bad" feeling is pretty prevalent out there. Let me first say, I have NO issue with the wonderful mixed breeds out there. My first dog Winky was a little mixed breed hound and she was a wonderful dog, a very appropriate choice for our family at the time, and lived to be 15 years old (she also had the worst allergies of any dog I have owned, and probably was the least healthy overall). Many of my favorite patients have been mixes, and all but one of my cats have been. Mixed breeds CAN be a great choice for a given situation. My concern is that we are losing the CHOICE and soon either random bred dogs, or dogs from very high volume purebred producers (who generally do no socialization or health screening) will be the only options we have left to us. Promoting the propaganda that all dogs are interchangeable, that all purebreds are unhealthy, and there are no advantages and disadvantages to mixed breeds vs purebreds is kind of like going to a college and saying all students are interchangeable and now we will have the PhD candidates play football on the weekends and the football players spend their days in the lab.<br />
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There is a reason that man has bred dogs selectively for thousands of years, and AKC currently recognizes 161 separate and distinct breeds falling into seven groups bred for specific purposes; working, herding, sporting, hound, terrier, toy, and non-sporting. For the average Joe Public who just wants a pet; doesn't care how big they get or how much hair they have, and has relatively flexible tolerance for various temperament types, a mixed breed may work out fine. One of the advantages is that there are some great deals to be had on mixed breeds. Our tax dollars go to support county shelters, where in most instances the pets available for adoption for a nominal fee have been spayed/neutered, microchipped, vaccinated, and maybe even heartworm tested (remember though, you DID pay for it- just at tax time, not when you walked out the door of the shelter with the dog). The disadvantages include increased risk of infectious disease exposure to those puppies compared to those of a responsible breeder; questionable early socialization and exposures which can impact greatly on a dog's future temperament and emotional stability, and difficulty in predicting size, coat, and personality traits. Some of those concerns can be decreased by adopting an older dog in comparison to a puppy. <br />
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However, the more specific your needs tend to be, the more likely it is that a purebred dog will make a better choice because you can predict many traits with a good degree of reliability. And when I say a purebred dog, I don't mean any dog from a pet store or Craig's list who had two parents of the same breed bred together without much thought for anything other than availability. One of the problems is that when promoting the "zero population growth/mandatory spay neuter" agenda, there is no differentiation made between a WELL BRED purebred and backyard breeder or puppymill dogs. A well bred dog from a responsible breeder has parents who have been screened for the appropriate health conditions common to the breed (mixed breeds are NOT immune to these conditions, it's just harder to predict which ones to look for). That doesn't mean one dog who has an OFA hip certification in the pedigree, but that the majority of dogs in a five generation pedigree have clearances. A responsible breeder knows the dogs in his pedigrees, not just by name, but what strengths and weakness they had in structure, type, temperament, and health. He knows how old they were when they died and what they died of. Not just mom and dad, but again, back three, five, and more generations. He knows what he is likely to produce in a given cross. He breeds dogs who conform to his breed's written standard and not "rare" chartreuse flugglehounds in a breed in which chartreuse is a disqualifying fault (he found out early on that the founders of the breed wrote this into the standard because they already knew the chartreuse color was associated with health defects). He breeds his dogs with a purpose in mind and has a way of evaluating their suitability for that purpose by outside sources, such as dog shows, obedience, agility, field trials, working farm or service dogs, tracking dogs, etc. He spends time socializing his puppies, keeps them in clean conditions, and provides appropriate veterinary care. He interviews his puppy buyers just as if they were adopting a human baby, and keeps in contact with them through that puppy's lifetime. He takes that puppy back if things don't work out for any reason. He offers guidance when the puppy goes through those terrible teens, and can be a good source of information when training problems crop up. He is NOT always easy to find, and his puppies are rarely advertised in the local paper. He doesn't take credit cards. You can't go online and "order" a puppy from his website, though he may have a website which shows his adult dogs and proudly displays their health clearances and pedigrees full of more dogs with appropriate clearances. You probably will be on a waiting list, as puppies like this are not produced overnight, but with much planning, forethought and care. They will almost certainly cost more than the "great deal" on the Lab puppies that the guy who bred his bitch to the dog down the street and raised the puppies in a muddy stall in a barn. Think about what you are paying for. If you are not getting what a responsible breeder should be providing, you probably are better off with a mixed breed than one of the poorly bred purebreds who haven't had any of the planning, health screening, or socialization, because those poorly bred purebreds really offer very few of the ADVANTAGES of purebreds. Why pay for something you aren't getting? <br />
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So, you can see by my list above, there are some very real differences between the purebred puppy from a responsible breeder and the mixed breed puppy from the shelter. Depending on your circumstances, those differences may or may not be hugely important to you. I would personally not recommend going for the "cut rate" purebred as in my experience they may or may not exhibit the physical and temperament traits which caused you to select that breed in the first place, and they rarely to never have any health screening and early socialization; I think much of the "bad rap" given to purebreds is because people don't bother to differentiate. There will always be a market for these dogs in our gotta have it now, looking for a deal society. Don't be the rube who gets taken. As far as the current fad of blaming any disease a purebred dog happens to get on "inbreeding", a lot of it is simply hype. Many diseases can be controlled or eliminated in a breeding population by screening your breeding stock with appropriate testing. This is rarely done in the backyard/puppy mill bred purebreds and, not coincidentally, I am much more likely to see inherited disease in them than in their carefully bred counterparts. The really ironic thing is that if you look at these dogs' pedigrees, they are such a mishmash that they often have zero dogs repeated in a five generation pedigree, so they are about as outcrossed as you can get. However, dogs are creatures, not machines and even the most carefully bred dogs can have unexpected problems crop up. In my group of purebreds I and my family have owned that have passed on, the youngest was not quite 12 and the oldest was almost 17 at the time of their death. One died in an accident at 14 and was still quite hale and hearty. All of them were healthy and vigorous into old age, some even competing in agility in their geriatric years, and only one had any prolonged illness the last year of his life (he died at 13). How many of you, with your presumably quite outcrossed human families full of hybrid vigor, can claim an average age of your family members in their late 80s with no significant illnesses until their mid seventies? (those of you with highly inbred families need not answer!). Yet that is my experience with my purebred dog family. Thankfully I have been very lucky, but I also have been very careful and hopefully very smart in choosing my dogs, caring for them, and on rare occasions breeding them. <br />
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Regardless of which you choose, please, please understand that there is a REASON that we need to have a choice when it comes to our dogs. Purebred dog owners and breeders are not in it for the most part because they are vain and need a new "toy" or possession to show off (just visit most of our houses, look at our cars and in our closets in order to get over that idea real quickly!). Our dogs are our passion and our lives, and there is a reason we have chosen to live with the dogs that we do. It is a reason that can greatly benefit society as well.<br />
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Please, familiarize yourself with the difference between "animal welfare" and "animal rights" groups and realize that the animal rights groups are NOT the friend of the animal lover. Please educate yourselves and don't buy into their agendas, and when the mandatory spay/neuter proposals come up in your town, please DON'T fall into that trap and support them. (Don't think it will happen? Check out the situation in Louisville if you don't think so). These laws will do little to impact the high volume puppy breeders or the careless pet owners, but they will eliminate the majority of responsible hobby breeders which are our BEST source of quality purebred dogs. <br />
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And please, think carefully when you DO choose your next pet. The BEST way to keep the shelters empty is to CHOOSE CAREFULLY AND APPROPRIATELY THE BEST PET FOR YOUR SITUATION, purebred or mixed. Disposable/recycled pets make up a huge part of the shelter population. Please don't get a dog you can't care for, don't know how to/have time to train, are allergic to, are shocked when it gets to be the size of a horse, can't deal with its coat care, can't afford it's medical bills. Be a responsible pet owner and do your part not to contribute to the shelter population.<br />
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And please, unless YOU meet the criteria for the responsible breeder above, please spay or neuter your pet at an appropriate age agreed upon between you and your veterinarian (not your city council). Breeding dogs is not for the faint of heart, and breeding dogs well takes a level of time, commitment, money and energy that most pet owners are not prepared for. Saying you "just want to breed pets" is a cop out. Failure to do the appropriate screening and planning is not conducive to producing healthy pets. I know, it's my job to see them every day and pick up the pieces. So many times so much heartache could have been avoided if my clients just stopped to think and choose carefully BEFORE they brought that dog home.<br />
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We don't need government to tell us whether or not and when we should be breeding our dogs. They have their hands full with other things. Dealing with the aftermath of irresponsible HUMAN reproduction comes to mind. We DO need to take responsibility for our own actions in our dealings with our pets. With freedom to make choices, comes responsibility for the consequences of those choices AND we also must have tolerance for those who make other choices we may not always agree with. Don't know about you, but I like it better that way than having my government "protect" me to death. Looking at the 9/11 images again just brought home to me once more that I want to live in a FREE country. I want to make my own choices and live with the consequences of those choices, good or bad. <br />
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Off soapbox now. Thanks for reading!Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-58403789092364347992012-07-02T15:17:00.000-04:002012-07-02T15:17:06.906-04:00Thunderstorms and fireworks and phobias...Oh my!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Fourth of July is upon us and the phone calls started at the end of last week. The endless fireworks season has started, and to top it off we've also had fairly severe thunderstorms (sadly, with lots of noise but little rain or cooling effect) for the last several days. Many dogs are afraid of loud noises, with thunder and fireworks topping the list, so it's a tough season for them. These phobias tend to worsen with age, although at some point many dogs become deaf enough that they sleep through them so the problem is somewhat alleviated. The severity of the problem can vary widely, with the mildly affected dogs simply panting, pacing, and acting stressed, all the way to the far end of the spectrum to dogs who panic and destroy things, often in an attempt to escape and run. (This is also the worst time of the year for lost dogs, as many dogs panic from the noise while outside in the yard and take off, not always able to find their way home, so be sure and take appropriate precautions). <br />
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If you are just now calling us about your dog's problem, our options are much more limited- for dogs with serious phobias, most of the medications we use take at least three weeks to reach full effect and the dogs need to be started at the beginning of the season and kept on them until the end. However, there are some things we can do. One of our first recommendations is often melatonin. Melatonin is available over the counter and is often sold as a sleep aid. It is a naturally occurring hormone that helps the body regulate cycles which fluctuate with season or time of day. It is generally a very safe drug with few side effects, although I always caution my clients with breeding animals that it may have some effect on reproductive processes. In animals, it often has some anti-anxiety effects as well as helping them to sleep better, so we use it for mild phobias as well as older dogs whose cognitive function may be declining. It also does not require a prolonged time to "build up" to effect.<br />
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Another very safe, benign product which can be helpful is a DAP collar or diffuser. DAP stands for Dog Appeasing Pheromone, and is supposed to mimic the chemicals secreted by a bitch when she nurses her puppies. It is available in either a collar form or a diffuser which is plugged in like an air freshener. I have used the collars with some success on my own dog, when he developed a fear of bottle rockets shortly after his companion died. He had been raised with fireworks from the stadium and riverfront going on practically in my backyard, and had no issues until he was about four years old. We went to an out of town trial, one of the first ones where he was the "only dog" after his father died, and there were a number of bottle rockets being set off outside the hotel. He seemed only mildly worried there and asked to go back inside, but the next year was terrified of them and did a running pace around and around the house until well after they had stopped. He could not be distracted or stopped without physically restraining him. The DAP collar helped quite a bit, and the next year, I did not have to use it and so far have not needed it this year. (I think also having another dog in the house again has helped him). Interestingly, he is not bothered by gunshots, and will bark at the loudest thunder but doesn't show the same signs of distress- it's those darn little pops of the bottle rockets. The DAP products can be ordered online and do not require a prescription.<br />
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Some people swear by "Thundershirts" or anxiety wraps, which are tight fitting jackets the dog wears during the storm. I have not tried them myself, but know several people who have used them with success. They are not totally without a basis in science, as this is a therapy used in soothing autistic children. <br />
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Counter conditioning, or pairing the noise with a positive stimulus such as a treat, can also be successful. Many tapes are available to start with the sounds at a low level and work up to full volume if you find your pet is not interested in food during an actual storm or fireworks display. <br />
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Finally, medical therapy may be indicated for some pets with severe phobias. This generally is appropriately done with a full physical to rule out any contraindications for the medication, as well as a consult with your veterinarian to help develop a behavior modification plan to use along with the medication. As I stated above, most of the medication needs to be started well in advance of the season, though we do have a few options for quicker acting anti-anxiety drugs to use short term for severe cases. In most cases, I don't like to use tranquilizers as they don't alleviate the fear at all, just make the animal incapable of reacting- which in some cases will make the phobias worsen more quickly.<br />
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I did just recall that I did a similar post a couple of years ago, so if your dog is having problems you may want to look in the index to the right under fireworks and check out that post as well. Happy Fourth to all! (and thanks to my friend Joann Jozwiak for the photo above of my beloved Andy at our favorite place, my friend Maryann's farm).Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-22805960284822998782012-01-25T19:11:00.001-05:002012-01-25T19:11:48.648-05:00Reverse sneeze...not as bad as it sounds!<span style="color: #351c75;">One of our most frequent calls from clients goes something like this: "Help! My dog has been making this awful noise and he sounds like he can't breathe. He wheezes and wheezes, but then after a minute he seems fine. He's done it twice today!".</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">This is a typical description of a dog with a reverse sneeze. No one has identified one specific thing that causes this, although there are a number of different triggers that are thought to be involved. In our area, I think most of the dogs I see have some post nasal drip that is probably allergy related which causes the episodes. We tend to have clients report it in clusters, which supports the allergy theory. Also short faced breeds seem to have this problem more frequently, which may be related to a longer soft palate which can become entrapped over the epiglottis and contribute to the problem. In some areas of the country, nasal mites may be a factor but I have not seen this in our area.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Below are a few videos which demonstrate typical reverse sneeze episodes. All dogs are a little different, but if your dog looks like this, seems fine after the episode is over, has pink gums and tongue during the episode, and shows no other evidence of disease, reverse sneeze is the most likely answer. If the problem is frequent or seems to be causing your dog distress, contact your vet to make sure there are no other problems going on. In some cases, antihistamines may help decrease the symptoms. During the episode, sometimes stroking your dog's throat gently or even sticking a finger down his throat may help to stop a prolonged episode, though in most cases the dog is probably best left alone (note- several places on the internet recommend holding the dog's nostrils closed. I would not suggest using this technique).</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Several years ago my parents bought a place on Sanibel Island in Florida and started spending half the year there. I love going down to visit, but it can be really tough to get away from the clinic and this summer it didn't happen. Around Labor Day my cousin Chip and his wife Krystal moved to Big Pine Key near Key West...and I had the idea that maybe Thanksgiving on Sanibel would be doable. The clinic is only open a half day on Weds, would be closed on Thurs for Thanksgiving, and we usually come in and work a half day or until we run out of clients on Fri and are closed on Sat. I figured I could leave Tues night or Weds morning and come back Sun night and only have to close 2 extra half days. Luckily my parents, Chip and Krystal thought it was a good idea as well. Mom and Dad drove down, I flew down Wednesday morning, and Chip and Krystal drove up with their Lab Vader.</span> <span style="color: #351c75;">The only one who DIDN'T think it was a good plan was Mom and Dad's cat Spooky. It's hard to say if he was more annoyed by Vader or by me, his least favorite person on the face of the earth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Vader, on the other hand, thought it was a GREAT idea and wasted no time investigating the pool. It did take him just a little bit to figure out how to get IN, but once he had that down he was in heaven.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #351c75;">And that was before we took him to the beach. He was in seventh heaven...their new house on Big Pine Key is on a canal, but he hasn't tried to jump in there yet. And the beach is at the end of their street, but it is private access there so I don't think he's spent much time in the ocean yet.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">The next day we went back to the beach; it was about 80 degrees but the water was COLD! Krystal and Vader braved it for a little while and Dad and Chip took out the kayak. Mom and I were wimps and watched from our beach chairs!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Vader looks very handsome, but it is hard to catch a Lab NOT looking goofy! The one below is my favorite goofball shot.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hy7i8f5hCr0/TyCwTt450sI/AAAAAAAABO0/HZ7Su5Z7zzg/s1600/DSC_7556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hy7i8f5hCr0/TyCwTt450sI/AAAAAAAABO0/HZ7Su5Z7zzg/s320/DSC_7556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYd4J0Cyn9E/TyCvt0EB_dI/AAAAAAAABOU/8UGZOYH_LIE/s1600/384202_2642110372878_1259133808_32995628_1834912203_n%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYd4J0Cyn9E/TyCvt0EB_dI/AAAAAAAABOU/8UGZOYH_LIE/s320/384202_2642110372878_1259133808_32995628_1834912203_n%255B2%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="color: #351c75;">But my favorite place on the island is Ding Darling Wildlife refuge, which takes up a huge percentage of the island itself. Ding has about a five mile drive through the refuge; you can drive through at your own pace (usually barely rolling for me), stop and get out as you like, walk the trails and climb the viewing towers, or just watch from the car. I usually try to be there every morning as soon as the gates open and often make another run through in the afternoon or evening.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">This time of year the white pelicans were very visible- they have not been there when I have gone down in the summer. The more common brown pelicans are around most of the time, but they tend to spend their time on the ocean rather than the bay side where the refuge is.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">This particular tree must be a favorite spot for the osprey to bring their prey to eat, as I've found them there several times. If you look closely, you can see this one has a fish in his talons.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">My very favorite "Florida birds" are the Roseate spoonbills. I didn't see many of them this year at Thanksgiving, so most of these shots were ones I took last summer when I went down. They were very much in evidence that time and I got many good views. They always remind me of the goons in the old Popeye cartoons.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">This shot always makes me think of a choir director!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AwY9ZkS21-o/TyCvmXcUWpI/AAAAAAAABN0/YPnJ1F0LY6I/s1600/376804_2642220695636_1259133808_32995707_1628821071_n%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AwY9ZkS21-o/TyCvmXcUWpI/AAAAAAAABN0/YPnJ1F0LY6I/s320/376804_2642220695636_1259133808_32995707_1628821071_n%255B1%255D.jpg" width="195" /></a><span style="color: #351c75;">Aaargh! Blogger STILL won't let me manipulate photos to my liking, so sorry about the annoying arrangements. Next time I make a trip down I think I am going to rent a big lens for my camera, as I was definitely suffering from "lens envy" comparing myself to the REAL photographers down there! My quest for a good in flight shot continues...they are really hard to get and I think I am going to have to figure out how to use a tripod and still get the right angle. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">Sorry for those of you with a slow connection- I know this one was really picture heavy but I always have fun shooting in FL!</span>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-15780894187606810042011-11-14T15:30:00.000-05:002011-11-14T15:30:00.539-05:00How much should I feed him, Doc? Part One<div>
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<span style="color: #000066;">One of the most frequent subjects I am asked about on a daily basis is feeding your pet. What, how much, when, etc. And by far, the MOST common problem I see in pets in my practice is obesity. I would venture to guess that 75% or more of the pets I see are above their ideal weight; it is not unusual to see both dogs and cats who weigh more than twice what they should. By contrast, I very rarely see pets who are too thin, and when I do it almost always indicates a medical problem.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #000066;">Lets talk a little about cats first. Cats are true carnivores, or meat eaters. For many years, most of my clients have fed primarily dry cat food; I did too. However, in recent years we are finding that the dry foods are quite high in carbohydrates. Have you ever eaten a huge pasta dinner, felt so stuffed you had to unzip your pants, and yet woken up in the middle of the night with hunger pangs? That "carb crash" is similar to what happens to our cats fed high carb diets; the result being they eat more and more and get fatter and fatter. Feeding a predominantly canned diet has been shown to promote proper weight regulation; in addition, the increased water intake (most canned foods are 80% or so moisture) helps to maintain urinary tract health, which is important since lower urinary tract disease is one of the most common problems we see in our housecats. Obese cats are at much higher risk for diabetes, among other disease, and interestingly we are finding our diabetic kitties also are much better regulated on low carb diets.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #000066;">With my current cats (Stevie, the clinic cat, who is prone to be chubby, and my two young cats who are two years old) I am now feeding predominantly canned food, though I do give a little dry in the mornings to keep them accustomed to it so that if I need to be gone overnight I can leave out dry food for them to have while I'm gone (although in practice, leaving a reasonable amount generally results in it all being eaten before I am out the door!). Since making this change Stevie is finally at an appropriate weight (though he will probably never lose his "paunch" unless we can convince him to do ab crunches!), my young cats are at an appropriate weight, and their coats look the best of any cats I have had. Best of all, the shedding is markedly less. On the down side, canned food is more expensive, messier, and smellier (but the expense may be offset by savings on medical care). </span></div>
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<span style="color: #000066;">In an ideal world, cats are best "free fed", which means allowing them to nibble throughout the day. My cats would interpret this as "being allowed to nibble ALL day without stopping", so for chow hounds I recommend splitting the recommended feeding into a morning and evening portion. For maintainence, on most foods, about 1/2 cup per cat per day of dry or 1 5-6 oz can usually is a good starting point. You can always increase or decrease as needed depending on how your own pet maintains their weight on this amount. (Frequently the recommended feeding amounts on labels are WAY higher than what is needed to maintain an appropriate weight in both dogs and cats- I usually recommend looking at the bottom end of the range they give and subtracting 25% for a good starting point).</span></div>
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<span style="color: #000066;">One thing to remember with cats is that, unlike dogs, there is never a place for fasting them when trying to get them to lose weight. When cats go without food for a period of time (and the fatter the cat, the shorter the time it takes for them to get into trouble- sometimes even less than a day in extreme cases), they begin to build up fatty deposits in the liver. This is called "hepatic lipidosis" and is an extremely frustrating disease in which the cats literally become unable to eat. It can be a primary problem or occur secondary to other disorders which make the cats stop eating in the first place. Once the cat starts eating again, the disease is generally reversible, but GETTING them eating again can be an incredibly difficult process, involving appetite stimulants, force feeding, and even placing feeding tubes. If your cat is not eating for more than a day, ESPECIALLY if it is a fat cat, that is an indication that you need to see a veterinarian.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #000066;">Part 2 to follow later, when we will talk about dogs and how NOT to create a picky eater!</span></div>
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</div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-61155565930890058142011-05-31T17:49:00.010-04:002011-06-10T12:13:56.650-04:00Industry and laziness<span style="color:#000066;">This past Memorial Day weekend I forgot until too late to enter the agility trial I had intended to go to; so for the first time in probably 20 years, I had a three day weekend with nowhere to go, nothing to do, no dog shows, no family obligations, nothing. It was WONDERFUL. I spent most of the weekend working in the yard, cleaning the training room in the basement, lugging my agility tunnels to the car wash to clean, and training the dogs. </span><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">Here are a couple of pictures of my project that I finally got done. Last summer I bought a fountain which has been sitting waiting for me to get to it; and even before that I had bought a kit called "poetry stones" which let you pour your own bricks and press words into them. I used them to make a brick for each of my pets who has died, with their names, dates, and titles for the dogs who had earned them. I wanted to make a little memorial garden, or really a memorial flower bed, with the fountain to double as a bird bath and hopefully backdrop for bird photos.</span><br /><br /></p><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616598745456217250" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ShUyADL_BAo/TfIqzQzSjKI/AAAAAAAABLA/E29wbU_et6s/s400/IMG_2962.JPG" /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">My dad had put the lattice up for me last summer, so I could plant more clematis which seems to love my backyard and will provide a good place for the birds to perch and hide. I had to put down weed blanket, try and level the area with sand, and put paver sand between the bricks, as well as put in a few plants. I planted two clematis which hopefully will take off and grow as well as the ones I put in last year; pickings were slim at the garden stores but I did find one coneflower and put some shasta daisies behind the fountain- hopefully they will grow tall enough to provide a backdrop there.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616598739058967410" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ECIypwYat6I/TfIqy4-EQ3I/AAAAAAAABK4/sThc-LDH3p0/s400/IMG_2967.JPG" /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">I put my little curled up kitty garden statue in the corner. I am not very happy with how the bricks turned out- they are not at all level and not very stable, so I may have to figure out a better way to redo them. But at least for now they are in. I need some more plants too, but I think I put it off a bit too long for this year. I did pick up some creeping phlox and a couple dianthus yesterday to add in.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616597921863965266" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lv7Tes4_wyM/TfIqDUrmGlI/AAAAAAAABKw/RcjYT-re9_4/s400/IMG_2965.JPG" /><span style="color:#000066;">All of my pets are represented, starting with my old dog Winky who I got when I was 3 and was with me until my freshman year of college. I will have to lug the kit out again and make stones for Harley to add in; though he was my parents' dog he deserves a place here as well. I did not include my many many wild critters from my years of wildlife rehab- that would have required a whole patio!</span><br /></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">After I was finally finished, I took the pictures (mostly to send to my parents in FL so they could help me come up with what other types of plants to add) and was sitting relaxing in my chair listening to the fountain and watching the birds. I needed to go up and lug my agility tunnels down from the van through the backyard and put them back in the basement, but was struggling to find the motivation. The dogs got hot, so I had put them back inside. A pair of Carolina wrens had been very much in evidence all weekend, flying back and forth between the woods and the deck, and I thought they must have a nest under the deck but hadn't gotten around to looking for it. I see them around occasionally, but they are not usually such a constant presence. As I sat there trying to talk myself into finishing up my last chore, they really started to get annoyed by me and kept landing on the lattice, looking at me and scolding, then making their rounds again from deck to woods and back to deck again. So of course I put the zoom lens on the camera and took a few shots.</span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616597912196691474" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BbKCyfKcImE/TfIqCwqvNhI/AAAAAAAABKo/VmrNPDiDy_U/s400/IMG_2995.JPG" /><span style="color:#000066;">This is not the face of a pleased wren! How DARE I occupy his backyard- he obviously had important things to do and had not planned on company!</span></p><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616593642118198642" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tRhpeA2W68Y/TfImKNYsNXI/AAAAAAAABKY/gjP1U6XeKR8/s400/IMG_3027.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616593626223373026" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7uOILemUhQo/TfImJSLEauI/AAAAAAAABKQ/n7gRRXJXwdo/s400/IMG_3032.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616593600975134578" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U2hoTYI8538/TfImH0Ha33I/AAAAAAAABJ4/_Wexslq13d0/s400/IMG_3051.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616593610756912498" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I5UiNVr-hMo/TfImIYjk9XI/AAAAAAAABKA/6LWo7ASgo2g/s400/IMG_3049.JPG" /><span style="color:#000066;">Suddenly I heard a tiny, higher pitched peep and it became apparent what the adult wrens had been distressed about. Apparently there WAS a nest under the deck, and number one son had decided it was time to strike out on his own. I looked down and there was fluffy, awkward looking baby wren perched on the lattice down near the ground. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616593620702076386" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YjrBNXtpxos/TfImI9msHeI/AAAAAAAABKI/0YO4l6fdVOA/s400/IMG_3039.JPG" /> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;">By this time Papa and Mama Wren were fit to be tied. I can just see her nattering away at him: "Oh, you HAD to have the nest here. Right by the birdfeeder, you said. Right by the birdbath. Easy access to all the takeout we need. Too close to the house, I said. But noooo... you insisted no one is ever home here and it would be fine. So guess when they decided to be home! Next time you'll listen to me!". </span><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DXoi0MaCRXs/TeV2X2Q3DII/AAAAAAAABJs/f2VHupCg43o/s1600/IMG_3064.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613022662662491266" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DXoi0MaCRXs/TeV2X2Q3DII/AAAAAAAABJs/f2VHupCg43o/s400/IMG_3064.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Meanwhile, number one son has hopped over onto the deck steps and is looking at me very curiously, but not at all afraid. He is so close that I actually can't get him in focus with my zoom lens, and I am almost out of space on my CF card! But what are the odds that I would be sitting there with a camera in my hand in the first place?</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J4SkQywHJrE/TeV2XkPJqXI/AAAAAAAABJk/dmLmtcgAIlc/s1600/IMG_3069.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613022657823484274" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J4SkQywHJrE/TeV2XkPJqXI/AAAAAAAABJk/dmLmtcgAIlc/s400/IMG_3069.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Even a little out of focus, isn't he just the cutest thing ever? He looks like a little old man with his wild tufts on the top of his head. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VBq8VPBlZKY/TeV2XRtyMxI/AAAAAAAABJc/pdQoYATvXW0/s1600/IMG_3075.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613022652851696402" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VBq8VPBlZKY/TeV2XRtyMxI/AAAAAAAABJc/pdQoYATvXW0/s400/IMG_3075.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zZ5fVuT3Sl0/TeV2W1D-uHI/AAAAAAAABJU/h7-h5Hs4P-0/s1600/IMG_3074.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613022645160163442" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zZ5fVuT3Sl0/TeV2W1D-uHI/AAAAAAAABJU/h7-h5Hs4P-0/s400/IMG_3074.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">I filled up my CF card and had to take a quick break to change it and the lens. NOW I could get sharper shots. Number one son made a brave attempt to fly and landed in the middle of the lily bed, hopping from plant to plant.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZT5dC0D9hjI/TeV2WrPHRkI/AAAAAAAABJM/ADe9NqsKxsw/s1600/IMG_3097.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613022642522506818" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZT5dC0D9hjI/TeV2WrPHRkI/AAAAAAAABJM/ADe9NqsKxsw/s400/IMG_3097.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vk8pEd5-Yjw/TeVpTjtmOxI/AAAAAAAABJE/uxPOZLlPROw/s1600/IMG_3099.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613008295312112402" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vk8pEd5-Yjw/TeVpTjtmOxI/AAAAAAAABJE/uxPOZLlPROw/s400/IMG_3099.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szUNwFZWA9U/TeVpTe6I3fI/AAAAAAAABI8/-B8ma1ZwO4I/s1600/IMG_3101.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613008294022536690" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szUNwFZWA9U/TeVpTe6I3fI/AAAAAAAABI8/-B8ma1ZwO4I/s400/IMG_3101.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">I couldn't believe my luck when he flew up and perched right in the middle of a full, bright red lily blossom. I love this shot! Sometimes laziness is rewarded- if I'd lugged my butt up and finished my chores, I would have missed the whole thing.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ICfrMn5jeR8/TeVpS_DoQkI/AAAAAAAABI0/18qrXKccFZQ/s1600/IMG_3093.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613008285472408130" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ICfrMn5jeR8/TeVpS_DoQkI/AAAAAAAABI0/18qrXKccFZQ/s400/IMG_3093.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Here is the little gourd house where the nest was- my aunt painted it for me and I hung it under the deck thinking I would find a better place for it later. Summer before last it hosted a wren family and I never got around to moving it; if anyone used it last year I didn't see them. I had just looked in it a couple of weeks ago and didn't see anything, so didn't think it was in use.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a9UHY_Gyhzw/TeVpSKVNAKI/AAAAAAAABIs/F55IqN9IDhw/s1600/IMG_3113.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613008271319040162" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a9UHY_Gyhzw/TeVpSKVNAKI/AAAAAAAABIs/F55IqN9IDhw/s400/IMG_3113.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">If you look closely, you can see one of the three other babies still in the nest. The other three elected not to make their first flight that evening; but when I came home from work the next day the nest was empty. Good luck, little fledglings! Good thing you didn't come out while the dogs were lying under the deck- you would have landed right in front of their noses and I'm not sure about Cory but I know darn well Robbie would have pounced on you in an instant- he LOVES real feathers and fur. Stay safe from the other critters and I will keep the feeders full for you!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ok29C3JrrX4/TeVpR74nHBI/AAAAAAAABIk/krjJ2Bw_5WU/s1600/IMG_3115.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5613008267441019922" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ok29C3JrrX4/TeVpR74nHBI/AAAAAAAABIk/krjJ2Bw_5WU/s400/IMG_3115.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-74755572826265545252011-05-26T14:19:00.000-04:002011-05-26T14:19:26.699-04:00Veterinary medicine in an information age<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;">This month marks the twenty-first year I have been a veterinarian, and August will be twenty years since I bought my practice and became a solo practitioner. The changes in the profession during that time have been amazing. In my class at Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, the class of 1990, we were the first class where the women outnumbered the men-just barely. Now there has been a huge shift towards women in the profession. I remember going to visit colleges during my senior year of high school and the inevitable comment from faculty and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">advisers</span> when they heard I would be a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pre</span>-vet major was "Oh, I hear they're starting to let lots of women in!". At the time I bought my practice, I believe there were two other female practice owners in Northern Ky. Guess that makes me a bit of a dinosaur!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">And in more ways than one! When I was a high school student, we went to the NEW high school- Scott High, in Taylor Mill. We were the only group to go on the "five year plan"- we started as eighth graders so the seniors could stay and finish out their time at Dixie. One of the big exciting things about the new school was that it would be the first one to offer computer math. Now, I was definitely on the biology/science track so I didn't take it, but I still remember my friends carrying their cassette tapes that they wrote their programs on around! It was REALLY new technology when 5 inch floppies came along! During vet school, the school had one computer and the only time I remember using it was for some sort of self taught program in our respiratory physiology class. I did sometimes help out over the years at a business my family owned for a while, and spent a little time on one of the old original Apple computers that was in use there.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">After graduation I went to work at a practice in Indianapolis and shortly after I arrived they computerized. At that time very few practices had computers, and those that did used them mostly for invoicing, but we went with a system called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">PSi</span> where all of our medical records were computerized as well. I had NO computer experience, but did have a semester of typing in high school and ten years of piano lessons, so I got to be quite quick on the keyboard and figured my way around the program pretty easily.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">When I bought my own practice the following year, I really missed our computer system and in late 1992 I purchased the same system for my own clinic. I had never owned a computer before and was excited when boxes and boxes of equipment came- all with strict instructions NOT to open them until the trainer arrived for three days of staff training. Yeah, right! I opened them up and managed to figure out how to set one up because I just couldn't wait to install a computer game I had bought called "Life and Death". (if you want a good laugh, click on the link for a short video to show you what this game looked like! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5azQdQR35E">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5azQdQR35E</a>). It involved running tests on (human) patients, making a diagnosis, and taking them to surgery. The graphics were EXTREMELY crude-black, white, red and turquoise were the only colors, but it was a fun game. The only problem was, after I loaded it on the computer ALL of the clinic software vanished. Uh Oh. The night before the trainer arrived, I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">uninstalled</span> the game, put everything back in the box, and feigned ignorance (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ok</span>, not a good plan, but it was a plan!). It took him half a day to figure out that somehow I had created a new partition on the hard drive (the game ran on DOS, while the computer system was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Xenix</span> based- which all was Greek to me). He did manage to get it fixed and up and running and I must have confessed my transgressions at some point, because he set up a separate DOS partition for me to run the game and a few other programs. At that time, we were using the old monochrome monitors with green type, there was ONE store in Northern KY that sold a little bit of software and computer supplies, but otherwise you had to drive to Comp USA up in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Tricounty</span>-45 minutes away, at least. Windows 3 or 3.1 had just hit the market and a lot of programs still used plain old DOS.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">Around this time, the news was full of stories about the "information superhighway" and how it was going to revolutionize everything we did; but like most everyone I knew the whole concept made little sense to me and I could not visualize WHAT it would do, much less how it would work. One of the employees at that tiny little N KY computer store told me that you could get FREE <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">internet</span> access through Northern KY University and told me how to get set up, which I promptly did- free dial up access! I wasn't exactly sure WHAT to do once I had it, on my lovely little green and black monitor, but I had it! (and I had to shut the whole system down and restart it to open the DOS partition each time I wanted to use it as well!). Somehow I found out about email lists about obedience training and soon I was staying at the clinic until the wee hours of the morning reading posts from big time and little time trainers all across the country about various training issues. I learned a TON from those early lists. But soon I wanted more...people were starting to talk about "web pages" and my computer just didn't have the capability to look at those, so I ended up buying an ingenious little invention called "Web TV" that hooked up to my TV at home and allowed me to surf the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">internet</span> on my giant old console TV from the comfort of my couch. Wow. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">Before too much longer, I upgraded at work and was able to join <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Compuserve</span> and make use of a new program started by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">AVMA</span>. NOAH, or the Network of Animal Health, was one of two veterinary computer networks that started about the same time. NOAH had various forums including those for canine and feline medicine and general chat, and was mostly populated by general practitioners. I was soon hooked and as a solo practitioner found being able to go to my colleagues, sometimes thousands of miles away, was invaluable. It was the beginning of a new era, and I read each and every post and learned a lot of information, both practical and academic.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">Eventually NOAH was outdone by its competitor, VIN, the Veterinary Information Network, which I believe initially was started on AOL if I remember correctly but now is an independent entity. It is a privately owned enterprise started by Paul <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Pion</span>, a boarded veterinary cardiologist and the man who discovered the link between <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">taurine</span> deficiency and dilated <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">cardiomyopathy</span> in cats- a disease I have never seen in my practice career thanks to his discovery which enabled the pet food industry to begin supplementing all cat food with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">taurine</span>.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">I have been a member of VIN since 1995. VIN is more formally organized than the old NOAH, with a separate "folder" or forum for just about any specialty you can imagine, as well as general chat, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">veterinary</span> issues, humor, and even politics. Each specialty folder has its own staff of board certified consultants, which read and answer each post, usually within 24-48 hours. It is possible to post <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">radiographs</span>, photos, and videos. For a solo doc, the ability to get input on a case quickly is invaluable. Whether the consultants help to steer you towards a totally different course than what your first impression was ,or just comfort you with the input that they think you have covered all of the bases, it is a great relief at times not to have the feeling of going it alone. However, it's actually not even necessary to post your own case in many instances because you can often find the answer first by simply searching the board <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">archives</span> and the rest of the VIN resources. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">In addition to the message boards, there is also a current drug <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">formulary</span> where I do almost all of my checking on drug doses and contraindications; an extensive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">searchable</span> database that includes not only the board messages but many journals and conference proceedings, and a nifty little program called the Associate. How I wish I had had that when I was a new grad! The Associate allows you to plug in breed, clinical signs, and lab abnormalities and generate a list of possible diagnoses along with what percentage (and exactly which ones individually) of your symptoms fit the diagnosis, and then gives you a brief, thorough summary of that disease, how to diagnose it and treat it. This is a GREAT program to have when you feel like you're missing something, you have an oddball case that doesn't fit the profile, or your clinical signs and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">labwork</span> are just not adding up. It helps to remind you to think of the less commonly seen diseases or those that you may not see in your area.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7UtQSvpH6-E/Tc6FMPDO2eI/AAAAAAAABIU/i_qvro1SzNM/s1600/VINMember2011HiRes.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606565031367858658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 292px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 211px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7UtQSvpH6-E/Tc6FMPDO2eI/AAAAAAAABIU/i_qvro1SzNM/s400/VINMember2011HiRes.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;">Vin has made me feel like I'm no longer flying solo; at times I have gotten input at 3 am on a case going bad from one of the best emergency clinicians in the country logging on during downtime hundreds of miles away. In an age of information explosion, there is no way to stay on top of every development in every field and be able to pull the best option for my patients straight from my head every time. However, with VIN and other technology, even if I don't know the answer, I can find it and find it more quickly, with less effort, and a more thorough result than ever before. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Despite all this technology, though, my BEST tools in practice are still my eyes, ears and hands. The art of a good physical exam and a knowledge of what "normal" is, both generally and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">for</span> each individual patient, will never be made obsolete by progress. I still try to keep in mind what Dr. Cheryl Harris, one of our local, very skilled veterinary oncologists once told me;<br />"When I see "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">WNL</span>" (abbreviation for "within normal limits") on the chart, I know that an awful lot of the time it stands for "We Never Looked". I try to keep that in mind and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">remember</span> to do a good, thorough and thoughtful physical exam and history on each patient; after all, "garbage in, garbage out"- the technology is only as good as the information we feed it and our observation skills!<br /></span><br /><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><div></div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-68758278653085997172011-05-11T19:41:00.003-04:002011-06-10T13:18:40.912-04:00"Cold Tail"<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A3IYRyDm7Qg/Tcsfo-vn6uI/AAAAAAAABIM/Xiy8kBJFvnE/s1600/IMG_2581.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605608950090689250" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A3IYRyDm7Qg/Tcsfo-vn6uI/AAAAAAAABIM/Xiy8kBJFvnE/s400/IMG_2581.JPG" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;">Meet Jasmine, one of our "frequent flyer" patients (luckily for mostly routine care!). Jazzy came in on Monday with a complaint that her tail seemed painful and was hanging somewhat limp and slightly tucked. The day before she had been on a three hour hike which included wading in some creeks, and when she arrived home she had a bath to get rid of the accumulation of mud (we had 12 INCHES of rain in April with more this past week- FINALLY we have strung together a few sunny days!). When I examined her, she was a little more subdued than usual. Her tail hung straight down for the first 4-5 inches with the remainder tucked slightly between her legs. She was painful when I manipulated the tail, especially at the base, and showed some sensitivity over the root of the tail as well. She has a history of some anal gland issues, so we checked those out and found no problems. She showed no abnormalities in gait and was more than willing to relieve us of a few cookies.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;">Jasmine was suffering from a malady known as "cold tail", "limber tail", "rudder tail", or "swimmers tail". I was never taught about this in school, but luckily years ago before my first case I read about it on VIN, the Veterinary Information Network- a computer network for veterinarians to discuss cases and get advice from specialists. This is definitely NOT a specialist type case- it's more the type that "Old Doc" can spot in the waiting room but might have the new grad scratching their head! (I guess it is somewhat of a bummer that I am far closer the the "old doc" than "new grad" category these days!). Most hunting dog trainers are quite familiar with this condition as well.</span><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605608940259633698" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VF1wa23xDZU/TcsfoaHt6iI/AAAAAAAABIE/fUVuGrD0On0/s400/IMG_2582.JPG" /><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;">Jazzy's tail had a little more tone than most; in most cases the whole tail will hang limp or the first few inches will be held out straight behind with the rest of the tail hanging limp. The dog still can move it normally and has normal neurologic responses. Many of these dogs are extremely painful. It occurs almost exclusively in short haired sporting breeds, and the most common history is that they had heavy exercise which most likely involved swimming or bathing and/or cold, wet weather. I did find a couple reports (in labs, of course!) where it occurred the day after a prolonged party or family gathering, where the dog's tail never stopped wagging all day! Occasionally prolonged cage rest has been associated as well.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605608934486963042" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vIK8GQTKjkw/TcsfoEnZ82I/AAAAAAAABH8/nOEn-ECiNYM/s400/IMG_2583.JPG" /><span style="color:#000066;">This wasn't the easiest thing to demonstrate in photos but hopefully you can get the idea. Sometimes the hair on the top of the tail will be raised; Jasmine did not demonstrate this symptom. </span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000066;">So what causes it? A study was actually done on several Pointers by Dr. Jan Steiss at Auburn and found that there was damage and inflammation in the coccygeal muscles (which connect the pelvis to the first few tail vertebrae). When swimming, these dogs use their tail as a rudder and in effect pushing against the water is similar to isometric exercises. Any exercise which emphasizes this "rudder" function of the tail has the potential to produce the problem. Most dogs will improve within a few days to a week, and anti-inflammatories can help to make them much more comfortable.</span><br /></span><br /><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605608930859582866" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R4fVjzvWmes/Tcsfn3GkhZI/AAAAAAAABH0/c3cx_SorAxw/s400/IMG_2584.JPG" />In<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;"> Jazzy's case, she had had what sounded like a prior episode while vacationing in Florida and swimming in the ocean. Dogs who have one episode have a 50/50 chance of having future episodes. We sent her home on NSAIDs and expect her to make a full recovery in no time. Should she not recover as expected, we will look further for more serious issues but I 'm pretty confident that cold tail is our answer!<br /></span><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;"></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;">Here's a link to an article that gives a little more info if you are interested:</span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;"><a href="http://www.thelabradorclub.com/subpages/coldwatertail.php">www.thelabradorclub.com/subpages/coldwatertail.php</a></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;"></span></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000066;"></span></p>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-71326703319456702262011-05-11T00:48:00.004-04:002011-05-11T02:14:33.928-04:00<div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605320942750437122" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AH3TlcpAQOo/TcoZsvyyjwI/AAAAAAAABGs/yfFgRM42tTo/s400/IMG_8341.JPG" /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000066;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><span style="color:#000066;">Harley</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#000066;">Kohinoor's Baby Boomer</span></strong></span></span><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;color:#000066;">April 21, 1998- May 10, 2011</span></strong></div><strong><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;"></span></strong></div><br /><br /><p><strong><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;color:#000066;"></span></strong></p><br /><br /><p align="left"><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;">Harley was my parents' Springer Spaniel; though my sister and I always thought of him as our dog too. When our old family cocker died unexpectedly, my dad lobbied for a bigger dog...when they decided on a Springer, I immediately thought of a dog that Levi and I used to compete with in obedience. Raven had her CH and UDX and was an absolute sweetheart; given that Springers sometimes have temperament issues I decided that if this was what Mom and Dad wanted that I had to convince them we needed a dog from this kennel. We tracked down Raven's breeder, who didn't have puppies at the time, but had bred her stud dog and put us in touch with the owner of the female, who had a large litter of puppies. The three of us drove down to Lexington to pick him out, and a short time later "Grisham" became Harley and came to live with my parents in their new house backing up to a lake- seemed like the perfect place for a sporting dog.</span><br /></p><br /><br /><div align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 274px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605322471574628034" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7pLXHxIKU0/TcobFvG4ZsI/AAAAAAAABHk/MzZ5KLBXFZY/s400/scan0005.jpg" /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">But despite the above picture, Harley was not impressed with the lake and other than a couple of falls into it he was content to stay on the shore. When my parents bought a place in Florida with their own pool, he ventured in a few times but quickly decided he was more of a sunbather instead.</span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;">Harley ended up having a sweet, loving temperament just as I had hoped. He was a lot more dog than we had anticipated- he grew to be quite a big boy! But my dad took him through obedience class and he ended up being very nicely trained, including some really snappy cute utility signals and a great "reverse" or run backwards command. I don't think Harley's head was particularly outstanding, but he had a fabulous body and I used to love to watch his beautiful floating trot with such reach and drive even as an old dog.</span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 281px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605322465305248722" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I1V_E0zmRkY/TcobFXwJQ9I/AAAAAAAABHc/Tu78xSS3Dfk/s400/scan0004.jpg" /></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000066;">Harley didn't come to us until he was about three months old; by then he already outweighed both of my shelties, Andy and Levi, and did not particularly respect them after weeks of roughhousing with his littermates. Andy and Levi were not Harley fans until the days they died, though they tolerated him. But when Cory came along, Harley found out about karma and Cory pestered him in much the same way Harley had tormented his predecessors. They ended up being good buddies, though as Harley got older it was harder for him to deal with Cory's exuberance.</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 281px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605322463007250962" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tkMGHt8KUqc/TcobFPMQmhI/AAAAAAAABHU/XcbxYUB4iho/s400/scan0002.jpg" /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">When he was less than a year old, Harley had his one and only "bad dog" episode...and it was a doozy. Both of my parents had had the flu and felt terrible. They called me and said Harley was vomiting as well and thought he had the same thing...with viral issues this usually isn't the case and when I took them over some medicine I was worried because he didn't look so good. The next morning he was still no better (though Mom and Dad were) and they brought him in for radiographs. Visible in his stomach were two pieces of metal that ended up being twisty ties; I decided to go in after them and it was lucky I did. In addition to those metal ties which showed up well on the x-rays, he also had eaten cellophane wrappers, plastic bottle caps, the finger of a glove, all kinds of stuff. Wound tight around them wrapping them into one giant hard wad were many individual strands of sissel rope. He had taken one of those stuffed toys with rope arms and legs and strand by strand pulled out and ate pieces of sissel. He survived that episode with no long term effects except that forever after he hated coming to the clinic!</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 281px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605320976279762818" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eawLsKsDjBc/TcoZusszd4I/AAAAAAAABHM/ghDF2wrJvTA/s400/scan0001.jpg" /></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">Several years ago Harley started spending his winters and springs in Sanibel with my parents. He was content to visit the beach only occasionally, but he loved his walks with my dad and was constantly on the alert for lizards and iguanas- even more fun than the squirrels and bunnies at home.</span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 306px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605320967027352114" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SpsZ_JgPu7Q/TcoZuKO24jI/AAAAAAAABHE/joYekwZxo8A/s400/robbie%2Bpup%2Bxmas10%2B403.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><p><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Harley was diagnosed with Cushings disease in 2009, but he was the easiest Cushings dog to treat ever, with his lab values quickly normalizing and not even requiring long term medication. His symptoms had very sudden onset- massive increase in drinking and urinating (with accompanying secondary urinary tract infection), changes in his coat, and seeming to age almost overnight. Up until then he looked like a vigorous teenager. He still looked pretty good, but his hard shiny coat got a little softer and fuzzier, his vision was not what it had been, and his legs were not as strong as they once were though he still had that beautiful floating trot.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">The picture above was taken at Christmas this year, Robbie's first Christmas and Harley's last.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 266px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605320959928718482" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ozRpHrhyy9w/TcoZtvyaVJI/AAAAAAAABG8/kfR29igeDF4/s400/IMG_8329.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">Last Easter Harley and Cory had a great day playing in Mom and Dad's backyard. Harley still could romp and play and keep up, but boy did he pay with stiffness and soreness afterwards. He was really starting to show his age though he had looked like a teenager until he was 11 or so. The rest of these pictures were all taken that day. Just a couple of weeks later, back in Florida, Harley was not acting right one day and didn't seem to be breathing well. A visit to his Florida vet, Dr. Denise Kalliainen at Gulf Coast Veterinary Clinic in Fort Myers followed by an ultrasound at the specialty referral center showed a mass in his chest which appeared to be wrapped around the big vessels near the heart. An aspirate was unsuccessful in identifying exactly what type of cancer it was; but after talking with his oncologist it was obvious what our choices should be. It was unlikely to be a type of cancer that responded to chemotherapy and the next step would be surgery to attempt to remove as much of the tumor as possible; but it was unlikely given the location that they would be able to get it all. With an older dog with one major health issue already, putting him through such an invasive procedure with our best hope being of only gaining him a few weeks to months would have been counterproductive. We treated him symptomatically and hoped we would have a little more good time with him.</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;"></span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">Harley surprised us all and made it out a year after his original diagnosis. His repeat chest films were pretty ugly, but he didn't seem to know it and his quality of life was pretty good all summer and into the fall. As winter came on, he developed some neurologic symptoms and I was pretty sure the cancer had spread. It became harder and harder for him to get up and down and maintain his balance.</span><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605320947147861042" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-62lCigPUD00/TcoZtALN7DI/AAAAAAAABG0/zP7D4vvHJu0/s400/IMG_8302.JPG" /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">So tonight we sat on the screened porch with Harley, overlooking his lake with the birds singing in the background, and let him move on. He had a great life and was well loved and he will be missed by his buddies Cory and Robbie (the obnoxious puppy he loved playing with, who would have guessed the old man would tolerate his behavior?) and his cat Spooky. I know his old buddy Boo the cat was waiting to greet him joyfully; Levi and Andy perhaps not so enthusiastically!</span></p><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;">Rest well sweet Harley, you were a good dog and a great friend. I hope you enjoyed the dance.</span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605322478182456626" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hhcJgU2Tt1M/TcobGHuT3TI/AAAAAAAABHs/7OWR7XqRfGs/s400/IMG_8287.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-77489603646090826672011-05-09T13:02:00.000-04:002011-05-09T16:41:22.615-04:00How to make an emergency muzzle<span style="font-size:100%;color:#000066;">One important lesson to remember is that ANY dog will bite if he is frightened or fearful enough. Here's a quick, easy way to muzzle a dog in an emergency; you can use any number of items from around the house including a thin leash or rope, pantyhose leg, even a cord from a window blind. Have a pair of scissors on hand so you can cut it away quickly in an emergency. Remember, a dog who is muzzled cannot pant to cool himself so watch for overheating, and never muzzle a dog who is at risk for vomiting as it puts him in danger of aspirating. However, if your dog is injured and you need to transport him to a vet, this video may just give you the information you need to enable you to get everyone there safely. It's also important to remember that if the dog is determined enough, he <strong>CAN</strong> bite you through the muzzle (especially if you are a novice at placing them), so <strong>NEVER</strong> trust the muzzle completely and keep your hands out of harm's way. It <strong>should</strong> give you the advantage in getting out of the way if the dog does decide to try and bite.</span> <span style="color:#000066;">Don't be afraid to tie the muzzle as tightly as you can- remember, this is generally going to be an emergency, we are worried about safety, not long term comfort, and if you didn't tie it considerably tighter than you probably were comfortable with, odds are the dog can get out of it. It won't be on long, a muzzle that's too loose is more dangerous than no muzzle at all as it gives you a false sense of security.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eg9IrN8MNZ8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eg9IrN8MNZ8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-12012230294107089612011-02-10T17:43:00.004-05:002011-02-11T05:04:53.242-05:00Top Dogs and Westminster<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ny_bTax-8Tw/TVTyC6fJShI/AAAAAAAABGM/0scotnV6P9o/s1600/IMG_4279.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572344770837694994" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ny_bTax-8Tw/TVTyC6fJShI/AAAAAAAABGM/0scotnV6P9o/s400/IMG_4279.JPG" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div></div><div></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;">AKC recently published their statistics for the most popular breeds (by numbers registered) for the past year. For the 19th year in a row, <span style="color:#cc0000;">Labrador Retrievers top the list.</span> It's understandable why these dogs have remained popular for so long; they are hard to beat as an all around family dog. Labs tend to have a reasonably high pain tolerance (great for dogs around young kids- they're not going to mind if their tail gets pulled or their foot gets stepped on); they are smart enough to be trainable but not "doggy einsteins" that are hard to stay one step ahead of, and are reasonably wash and wear (though NOT low shed- I always laugh when my clients tell me they picked a Lab because they wanted a short haired dog that didn't shed. HAH! Short hair does NOT equal no shedding- it just means they shed every day of the year, instead of seasonal coat blows like some of the coated breeds). </span><br /><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-niiQYB8gM48/TVRr29Li20I/AAAAAAAABFc/jGVCLeBgSLE/s1600/IMG_4266.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 231px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 294px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572197230844238658" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-niiQYB8gM48/TVRr29Li20I/AAAAAAAABFc/jGVCLeBgSLE/s400/IMG_4266.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Downsides to Labs for some people are that many of them during their younger years are very high energy; couple that with a "goofy" personality and some of them can be exhausting at times. Highly food motivated means you have a great training tool, but you will never be able to leave ANYTHING on your counters (I have had some clients whose Labs ate through cans and opened refrigerators). Young male retrievers are our number one dogs to have intestinal foreign bodies- these dogs put EVERYTHING in their mouths and this can sometimes cause problems, so be prepared to "Lab proof" your house for the next few years. Be sure to buy from breeders who screen their breeding stock for hip dysplasia by certifying them through OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals)- this ideally means that ALL, or nearly all, of the dogs in a 5 generation pedigree with have OFA numbers- one parent or grandparent with a certification and no info on the rest is not sufficient. This is not a guarantee of hip health, but it sure helps. Keeping these guys very lean is the other part of the equation- they are much less likely to develop hip problems as well as other problems if kept just a bit on the lean side; easier said than done as this breed tends to be "easy keepers" and gain weight just by looking at food!</span> <span style="color:#000066;">In our area of the country, we also see a high incidence of seasonal and food allergies in Labs.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 371px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 249px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572197224855110914" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z9TnyuDtWQw/TVRr2m3oBQI/AAAAAAAABFU/QKJwYFFQBjE/s400/IMG_4205.JPG" /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Nu</span><span style="color:#cc0000;">mber 2 on the list was the German Shepherd. </span>I find this a little surprising, as in our practice we see many more Labs, Goldens, Boxers, Yorkies, and Dachsies than GSDs (short for German Shepherd Dogs). There is good reason for this...a good GSD is a hard dog to beat, but also very hard to find. GSD have traditionally been bred and used for many practical working applications, often involving police and protection work as well as search and rescue. They are very well suited to this work. However, one of the things that makes a good guard dog is that they have a low threshold to stimulate an aggressive display- that is, it doesn't take much to make them fire off and show threatening barking and growling behavior. This is desirable in a guard dog. In a GOOD guard dog, there is a common sense element involved- the dog learns what is appropriate to react to and what is not, and the best of these dogs have an incredible sense of when something is wrong. However, in many dogs, the basis of this reaction is rooted in a fear response. When breeding stock is not evaluated and selected carefully, this response can get out of balance. The result is that we see a lot of fear aggression in GSD. Sadly, many of the GSD who come through my clinic that were bought as pets do not come from reputable, knowledgable breeders, and the unfortunate result of these circumstances is that I see poor temperaments more frequently than correct ones. In addition, we see quite a few major health issues in this breed. Orthopedic problems are extremely common, including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, spinal issues, and juvenile bone/developmental diseases. We see a disease called degenerative myelopathy, which at first can look similar to hip dysplasia, but is actually a disease of the nerves rather than the bones. Unfortunately the current treatments for this problem are of limited effectiveness. Many of these deep chested dogs have a tendency to bloat, which can be life threatening.</span></div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#000066;">That being said, a GOOD GSD can be one of the most versatile, talented working dogs around. However, be prepared to do your homework and spend some time looking; look at parents and as many other relatives as you can find and evaluate temperaments, and screening for health is an absolute must in these dogs. A good GSD is not cheap and is probably not advertised in your local newspaper. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 358px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 201px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572197224447085906" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FrBFpH-8Gqc/TVRr2lWWDVI/AAAAAAAABFM/l8LYy9y4DpE/s400/darlasparks%255B1%255D.jpg" /><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">In the number 3 spot is the Yorkshire Terrier.</span> These are one of the most common breeds we see at our practice, and in recent years the toy breeds have been outstripping the Labs and Goldens in our new puppy population. There are lots of reasons for this, varying from the ease of keeping a smaller dog compared to a large one, to the popularization of dogs as accessories by celebrities such as Paris Hilton. Yorkies can make nice pets, though we typically recommend them for households without children (or at least, with older children, say junior high and up). They are small enough that they are just not hardy enough to tolerate the handling that most kids will give a pet, and we see many, many injuries secondary to accidents such as being stepped on or dropped. Common health issues include retained deciduous (baby) teeth which must be removed, frequent dental and gingival issues which may require more attention than average, and luxating patellas (kneecaps) which can result in arthritic changes and, in severe cases, require surgical repair. Their low shed coat is an advantage, but does require regular grooming appointments. Temperament can vary in these little guys; but MANY of the problems I see are created by the owner. These are dogs, not Gucci purses. They need to be treated like dogs. They have feet which actually function and do not need to be carried everywhere (though for their safety using a carrier when traveling or taking them places where larger dogs are present is wise). Biting and growling during grooming or nail trims are no more appropriate in a Yorkie than a Rottweiler, but the Yorkie owners are much more likely to tolerate it or think it's cute. IT'S NOT; and failure to teach these dogs everyday doggie basic manners such as tolerating restraint can significantly impact on the length and quality of their life. I am much more likely to have a Yorkie owner whose dog will not allow them to medicate their ears or trim their nails than the giant breed owners. It is very hard for us to help them when they have medical problems if the owners cannot touch any part of their body that they don't like, etc. So remember, basic obedience training and manners are JUST as important for these dogs as the big guys! And let them stand on their own four feet and face the world- clutching them to your breast and protecting them from every possible or imagined fear only results in an unhappy, neurotic dog. Confidence and mental stability are a gift and your pet will be much happier if you allow them to function normally and independently.</span><br /><div><div></div><div></div><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 277px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572339840894343954" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Brnn3Vj6OUg/TVTtj9BDmxI/AAAAAAAABGE/gKyFLxE4G8U/s400/sixties060.jpg" /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Dog #4- the Golden Retriever</span>. Similar in many ways to the Lab, the Golden tends to be mentally a little softer, a little more motivated to work to please their owner, and a little smarter. They also can have the same high energy level which can be difficult to live with in their younger years. Goldens (and GSD) are a little more prone than Labs to some of the obsessive/compulsive issues such as lick granulomas (chronically licking an area until it becomes thickened and inflamed). They have similar issues with hips and allergies; chronic ear problems are a frequent complaint in both types of retriever and often have underlying allergy as the root of the problem. Sadly, we also see a high incidence of cancer in this breed, with lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma being all too frequent (Labs and GSD are our other two breeds we see hemangiosarc in very commonly, however, and I see a pretty good number in mixed breeds as well). Goldens are one of my favorite recommendations for family dogs. They are the favorite of competitive obedience trainers as they are so willing, bright, and driven to work. Of course, these things can all backfire in a dog who is not kept mentally stimulated! To me they have just a little sweetness of temperament that is often lacking in the harder headed Lab.</span></div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">#5-The Beagle</span>- another great family dog that can do very well with kids. Beagles are a nice managable size; the "offical" standard calls for two sizes, 13 inch tall or 15 inch tall; we see the beagles sold as pets range from the tiny end at under 15 lbs, all the way up to the giant economy size occasionally approaching 60 lbs, but most typically end up in the 20-25 lb range (or at least, SHOULD- this is a breed that gains weight easily so we often see them weighing much more than is ideal!). Beagles tend to be hardy and generally healthy dogs. Their short coats are low care (but again, not really low shed!). One big drawback is their big voice- these dogs were bred as hunting dogs, and they tend to bay while on the hunt. A bored beagle will bay A LOT. Due to their voice, they are not always the best choice for condo or apartment living. Beagles are a bit independent and, once the nose gets to the ground, all other brain functions shut off, so they are not a breed to be trusted off leash without a LOT (that means, probably years) of training. They tend to be very tolerant of children, particularly the females, and are often a good choice for young families.</span></div><div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">The number 6 dog is the Boxer</span>, a breed that is very popular in our practice. Boxers have great appeal and charming personalities; almost all boxers I have met will turn themselves inside out wiggling with pleasure to meet you. They tend to be high energy as young dogs, but frequently morph into couch potatoes in middle age. Boxers have a great sense of humor and will make you smile. Like most large breeds, check for hip clearances; but the major issues in this breed are heart problems (we see several congenital heart defects with some regularity, but most concerning is a tendency to develop cardiomyopathy, a disease which is frequently not symptomatic until the sudden death of the dog). Boxers are also prone to several types of cancer, with the most concerning being a high rate of brain tumors. Despite this, this is a nice breed and a good choice for many families.</span></div><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 341px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 207px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572339835480960802" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kthFhCNh2Gg/TVTtjo2Z7yI/AAAAAAAABF0/pNKgYEXKxug/s400/clinic%2Bpix079.jpg" /><span style="color:#000066;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Bulldogs have made the number 7</span> position on the list. I think this calls for all veterinarians to designate a national holiday; because this could be a great practice builder! I always joke with my clients who buy bulldogs that they obviously did not think they were spending enough at the vet. Bulldogs have the advantage of a great and loving personality; I have only met a very few who had temperament problems. Their face is hard to resist and the reason that many people fall in love with them. However, I could write a whole series of books, much less a blog post, on the wide variety of health problems that plague this breed. It is not unrealistic to advise people that their annual expenses for medical care for this breed could easily be a couple of thousand a year or more, and that's just for the typical, expected bulldog problems- nothing unusual. Sadly, this is one of the cases where the breed standard is not compatible with health. (luckily, in most breeds this is not true). Bulldogs have been bred for extreme physical features which we find appealing, but ultimately are mutations that carry a physical toll. Their short faces, prominent eyes, and skin folds make them prone to eye injury and a problem called entropion which is when the eyelids roll inwards and rub on the corneas (this usually requires surgical correction, in some cases MULTIPLE corrections through the life of the dog). Breathing problems abound, soft palates are often long and obstruct the trachea (this can need surgical correction as well). Heavy skin folds compounded with a tendency towards allergies result in chronic issues with dermatitis and skin odor, and we see demodectic mange commonly in these dogs as well. I sadly have to say I have never radiographed a bulldog who did NOT have hip dysplasia, and frequently other joint issues as well. Bulldogs generally cannot breed without artificial insemination and almost all need to be delivered by C section. We also see many congential heart problems in this breed....I could go on, but you get the picture.</span><br /></div><div><span style="color:#000066;">Bulldog lovers don't mind the snoring, skin odor, and vet bills, and we can see why because almost without exception these are sweet, sweet dogs. However, this is one of those cases where I really feel our breeders must work to moderate the standard to make their dogs' quality of life better. I honestly do not see them remaining on the top ten list for long, particularly in this economy.<br /></div></span><span style="color:#cc0000;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 234px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 342px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572339837090646562" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ctpAHFqG6C8/TVTtju2LyiI/AAAAAAAABF8/9D9wtRUK1fg/s400/clinic%2Bpix077.jpg" />#8 is a breed we are seeing a lot of in our practice, the Dachshund.</span><span style="color:#000066;"> Dachsies come in three varieties- smooth, long haired, and wire haired- as well as standard and miniature sizes. Most people think of the smooth, miniature version. One thing I have noticed about Dachshunds is that their owners tend to have more than one and have many generations of them- they are very loyal to the breed! Dachsies are often a good choice for empty nesters and older folks; they are not always the best with children. My experience is the long haired variety have a significantly mellower temperament. With their long back, weight control is a must and we see many back issues. Dachsies also have a higher than average incidence for endocrine problems such as diabetes and cushings disease. They can be great dogs for condo or apartment living (although some of them can be barky, especially if kept in multiples). </span><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 221px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572339831938108626" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EmCje7kPMFc/TVTtjbpuTNI/AAAAAAAABFs/EDrDVr9XHPc/s400/trixied.jpg" /><span style="color:#000066;">Rounding out the top ten we have <span style="color:#cc0000;">the Poodle at #9 and the Shih Tzu at #10</span>. Poodles come in three sizes- toy, mini and standard- ranging from the tiny toys who may only weigh 5 lbs up to the standard who can be quite tall- as tall or taller than some of our retrievers, though significantly lighter in bone and weight. Poodles are very, very bright dogs, though they often can be a little independent and frequently can outmaneuver their owners! In general, many of my poodle patients are very hardy and healthy, though we can see some health issues. I tend to see more serious issues more frequently in the standards, including occasional endocrine and autoimmune problems. The smaller versions can be more prone to diabetes and other endocrine disorders, and frequently develop heart problems in old age, but overall many of these dogs are fairly healthy. They do require frequent grooming, but on the plus side don't generally shed when groomed appropriately and are low dander so often tolerated well by folks with allergies. Shih Tzu are one of my favorite recommendations for families looking for a small dog. They are one of the hardier, sturdier dogs in the toy group. Shih Tzu are not brain surgeons, but they tend to have sweet, forgiving personalities and are quite easy to live with. Like the poodle, they will require regular grooming and you will almost never see a pet kept with the full show coat you see in pictures- it is far too hard to maintain. Kept in the typical pet cut, their shedding is minimal and they are another good choice for the allergy prone. I tend to see eye and skin problems in this breed, and yeast dermatitis secondary to allergies is a common complaint. If you are looking for a lapdog without the shrill bark that many of the toy breeds have (Shih Tzu have more of a hoarse throaty gurgle and they aren't prone to doing lots of it), with a bit of a mellower temperament than the typical Yorkie or Chihuahua, this might be the dog for you.</span> </div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#000066;">(As an aside- the dogs pictured above are friends from our training group or patients. I am happy to say that ALL of them embody the best of the temperaments of their breeds- which is probably how I ended up with each of their pictures- their personalities are as cute as their appearance, so they have all been memorable!). </span></div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#000066;"></span><div><span style="color:#000066;">When talking about the pros and cons of the various breeds, it is inevitable that the health problems of each come up. Without going into too much detail (that's another whole series of posts), I just want to point out that I see ALL of the conditions mentioned above in mixed breed dogs as well. For example, I would estimate that the proportion of my allergic patients who are mixed breeds is similar to their overall proportion in my practice. I can frequently predict what diseases a mix may be prone to by guessing what breeds are in the mix; but by virtue of being mixes they are NOT conferred any particular protection. "Hybrid Vigor" is touted a lot as being a big advantage in mixed breed dogs. The thing no one tells you is that some traits are greatly affected by hybrid vigor, and others are highly heritable (that is, depend on the traits of the parents). Things that improve with increase hybrid vigor tend to be things that involve ease of reproduction (bigger litters, ease in getting pregnant, increased survival of puppies, etc) and faster, larger growth. This explains why the neighbor's mix gets out, gets bred once, and has a litter of 10 pups, while the Westminster champion has might have a litter of 2 with ovulation timing! For most pet owners, the reproductive advantages are a non issue and the growth rate effects may or may not be desirable. There are some other issues with immune system involvement that are a little more complex, but in my experience it is primarily the very tightly inbred individual that has significant issues related to this. "Inbreeding", or, the non-word "Overbreeding", is often touted as the reason many purebreds have problems. What is really funny, is that the people touting this generally have no idea how to read a pedigree and often have as their example a typical pet store quality pup, who is so outcrossed that it is suspect as to whether or not they are truly purebred. To shorten this up, for now, suffice it to say that your BEST shot at health is choosing a puppy from stock that has had appropriate health screening and selection for normal parents and grandparents. I see allergies, hip dysplasia, and cancer as frequently in my mixed breed patients as I do in my purebred patients. I simply have an easier time PREDICTING in the purebreds which problems may (or may NOT!) be an issue, whereas with mixed breeds it's more of a crap shoot. We'll delve into that in more detail in another post someday.</span></div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#000066;">On a related note, this coming Mon and Tues Feb 14/15 Westminster Dog Show will be broadcast on USA (switching from USA to CNBC for the last two hours on Mon). It's always entertaining to watch and see the incredible variety of breeds, and is one starting point for "shopping" for what your next dog might be. However, REMEMBER that looks are only what get your attention- make sure you chose a dog whose characteristics fit your lifestyle and who has the appropriate health screening, not just an impulse buy based on appearance! Have a good time watching!</span> <div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572197218764126770" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HAKAyklu9lI/TVRr2QLa-jI/AAAAAAAABFE/cu_cTRxxOpI/s400/ckc2007233.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-79096446159499856542011-02-05T17:40:00.001-05:002011-02-05T17:44:42.302-05:00Happy Holidays<div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;">Merry Christmas! Hope things are calm and enjoyable at your house. I am way behind on Christmas this year.</span> <span style="color:#ff0000;">I am so far behind, in fact, that I started this post in mid December and am just now coming back to it in early February! But I figured, what the heck; most of the tips are still valid, plus I had already loaded the pictures of Christmas past and pets gone ahead (except for my puppy Robbie's Christmas Elf shot) and I didn't want to wait till next year to use them. I'm sure no one who knows me will be surprised that, as I write this, I still have wreaths on my windows and stockings on my fireplace mantle! At any rate , read on, use what you can now and remember for next year!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552829176618751618" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQ-ct0rJFoI/AAAAAAAABEE/YjtLbGH0ogw/s400/leeandyxmas99.jpg" /> <span style="color:#ff0000;">With all the hectic activity at Christmas, it's easy for our pets to get lost in the shuffle. Already we are seeing some of our common "Christmas cases". Remember, it is important to make your house as safe and "pet proof" as possible. If you had a two year old, you wouldn't wait to see if they were going to fall down the steps before you bought a baby gate, would you? NO! Not only would you invest in baby gates, but you probably would get electrical outlet covers, make sure book cases were secure so they can't be pulled over, place hot pots far back out of reach on the stove, etc. It's no different with pets, especially puppies and kittens under a year of age. Take a long hard look at your home (especially now with all the holiday decorations in place) and take steps to prevent problems before they occur.</span></div><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 254px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552828784458326370" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQ-cW_wz4WI/AAAAAAAABD8/76WMoMgf-y8/s400/robbie%2Belf.jpg" /></div><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#ff0000;">Since I have a six month old puppy and two 18 month old "kittens", I have taken the easy way out this year and skipped a Christmas tree- since I'm not hosting any formal Christmas get togethers it seemed easier. However, you don't have to forgo a tree, just use some common sense. Make sure electrical cords and extensions are placed safely so that they can't be reached for chewing or tugging (and pulling over trees!). If you have a puppy going through that intense chewy period, you may want to use something to protect the cords. Ikea sells cord protectors, I'm not sure if they are commercially available elsewhere but quick and easy alternatives are shower curtain rod covers (for smaller less aggressive chewers) or running the cords through lengths of PVC which can then be tucked under the couch or along a baseboard.</span><span style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 270px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552828779738173202" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQ-cWuLcDxI/AAAAAAAABD0/bgh8kbXQ10w/s400/othegrinch.jpg" /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Cats find strings and ribbons irresistable; particularly kittens. "Icicles" on the trees have fallen out of vogue, but in case you are tempted and have cats, skip them! Be cautious with tinsel though this does not seem quite as appealing. Ribbons on gifts, particularly the skinny ribbon you curl with scissors, can be tempting; either put gifts out of reach or consider using stick on bows instead if you have a playful kitty. And don't forget the strings on balloons- as the balloon loses it's helium and starts to sink, the string can come into reach for the cat. In everyday, non-holiday life, thread (with or without needles) is quite appealing- the cats bat the spools around and as the thread unravels they end up swallowing some. Hair bands and scrunchies are another irresistable item with similar consequences. Why are strings such a problem? As the cats play with them, they often swallow an end- and then more, and more...sometimes and end ends up wrapped around the tongue with the rest in the stomach, sometimes there is just a wad in the stomach. As the string starts to pass through the intestine, frequently part of it will "hang up" somewhere- often the part wrapped around the tongue or the other, wadded up end in the stomach. As the intestines contract and push part of the string through, if an end is caught the string makes the intestines start to bunch up, like curtains on a rod. This can cause an obstruction so nothing else can pass; and in some cases the string starts to saw through the intestinal walls resulting in leakage of the contents into the abdomen and setting up a peritonitis. String foreign bodies are very common and VERY serious; they can easily be fatal. Many of the cases we see could have been prevented if the owners were aware of the problem and took steps to limit the cat's access. My own cats are OBSESSED with my hair bands; so the rule at my house is a)only one at a time "out" and in use- any extras are stowed safely in a drawer b) band is NEVER left on a counter or table- it goes from my hair to wrapped around the handle of my brush, and back to my hair again. It takes my cats about 30 seconds (not exaggerating!) to hone in on it if I should forget and leave it on my nightstand. I have to admit my pets have trained me to be a MUCH better housekeeper than I was a few years ago!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 285px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552828773527196738" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQ-cWXCoFEI/AAAAAAAABDs/hMrMr-gYxWg/s400/grouchxmas.gif" /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Be careful with any gifts wrapped by someone else and brought to put under your tree until Christmas! Don't hesitate to ask if there is anything in them that might be edible or even SMELL like it might be edible. It is a pretty common occurrence for us to have dogs brought in who have eaten packages containing candy or cookies, sometimes unbeknownst to their owner. And their definition of edible is pretty relaxed- I remember years ago when big candles scented like various cakes were very popular and someone had wrapped one and given it to my mother. She put it under the tree to open later; however, our cocker had other ideas. She was sure that the package contained a REAL double chocolate cake, unwrapped it, and ate a pretty good amount of the candle that was as big as her head! Luckily it did no real damage (though I no longer remember, I suspect she probably had a pretty good case of diarrhea for a while though!). Also remember if you buy and wrap treats or chews for your pets for Christmas, DON'T put these under the tree- stow them in the pantry until time to open them!</span></div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;">Also remember if you have overnight guests for the holidays, make sure to check with them about anything edible (or edible smelling, like toothpaste) they might have in their suitcases, and ask them to keep any medications either in their purse (stowed appriately in a closet) or in a cabinet out of reach of children and pets. Another place where I speak from experience!</span></div><div> </div><div><br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 244px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570334194737993138" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TU3Nb-2R1bI/AAAAAAAABEc/QHwUtOn2PK8/s400/mandyeyes.jpg" /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Finally, not a warning but a funny family story that has reached legendary proportions at our house. Years ago, we had a cat named Ziggy and for Christmas we bought him a toy that was common at the time; it was a little plastic "punching bag" shaped toy. The top of the punching bag unscrewed so that you could fill it with fresh catnip, and the other end had a suction cup so you could attach the punching bag to the floor or the wall. We wrapped it and put it under the tree. I was in college and my sister probably in high school at the time. One Sunday just before Christmas we were upstairs getting ready for church when I heard my mother WAIL from the living room "Thom (my dad), there's MARIJUANA under the Christmas tree!". My sister and I fell over laughing; we didn't know what she had found, but we were pretty sure it wasn't pot! As it turned out, the cat toy had a little zip lock baggie of catnip that came with it to fill the bag; Ziggy apparently had smelled it and decided to unwrap it in the night and have a little pre-Christmas celebration. My mom, not being the most hip and happening chick around, found the baggie with the green "herbs" the next morning and made her own conclusions...25 years later, thinking about it can still make me laugh till I cry!</span></div><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#ff0000;">Hope you all had a great holiday and that you are ahead of me in taking care of the aftermath! Just think how far ahead I am of the game- you can consider this post my contribution for Christmas 2011!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQ-cWHSWI8I/AAAAAAAABDc/KxnicvLuXfE/s1600/LeeandySanta.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 271px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552828769298162626" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQ-cWHSWI8I/AAAAAAAABDc/KxnicvLuXfE/s400/LeeandySanta.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;">Pictured in this blog, and always missed especially at Christmas time, shelties Andy and Levi, cat Grouch, and cocker Mandy...my own Christmas angels.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-2287586730099741582010-12-09T12:58:00.008-05:002010-12-09T15:56:50.778-05:00Still alive and kicking...<span style="font-family:arial;color:#000066;">No, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth...I've just been sidetracked with taking care of a puppy and other "real life" things! So, no surprise, I kept the boy puppy from the litter. He reminded me so much of his Grandpa Andy and I loved his enthusiasm, speed, and drive. The little girl, who was prettier, I thought had the better body overall, had more focus and was smarter but not quite as busy went to a great home that hopefully will let her try all kinds of fun activities. Here's my little "ugly duckling" boy child. I couldn't quite live with "Rodney" (after the guinea pig in Dr. Doolittle- see previous posts) but he came so nicely when called that I wanted to stay close, so it kind of morphed into Robbie.</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEnYwc1SOI/AAAAAAAABDU/yEyv69-ha40/s1600/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548759522173339874" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEnYwc1SOI/AAAAAAAABDU/yEyv69-ha40/s400/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B021.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Things you forget when you haven't had a puppy in a while...THOSE DARN EARS. For those of you lucky enough NOT to have ever had to fuss with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">sheltie</span> ears, getting that perfect tip is a royal pain. When puppies go through teething, their ears tend to do all kinds of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">weird</span> things- stand up, flop over, one of each, etc. It's a safe bet that if you want them to stand they will flop and if you want them to fold over they will go prick. So for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">shelties</span>, we have a myriad of techniques for getting them to stay folded over like they should. None of which I am especially good at. And ALL of which this particular puppy objects to strongly.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEnYo8hFWI/AAAAAAAABDM/KgwEdV61_vk/s1600/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B023.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548759520158750050" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEnYo8hFWI/AAAAAAAABDM/KgwEdV61_vk/s400/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B023.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">If you look at his ears in these pictures, you can see they look a little odd. On this particular day, he was sporting glue...we use one called "Tear Mender" that works well (except for me). Actually this is the method I have had the most success with, which isn't saying much. You pull the ears up over his head, take a little of the fur from the edge of each ear and twist it together and put on a dab of glue to pull the ears into the correct "set", then fold the ear over and glue it down (always hair to hair, not to skin). For most puppies this will stay in for quite a while.</span></div><div> </div><div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEnYWb5dgI/AAAAAAAABDE/niG7aTRe8cg/s1600/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B026.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548759515190097410" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEnYWb5dgI/AAAAAAAABDE/niG7aTRe8cg/s400/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B026.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Robbie, however, has other ideas. He works and works until he gets the ears undone, in the process pulling out a fair amount of hair so that when you <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">reglue</span> you have progressively less and less to work with. At one point, it occurred to me I might end up with a dog with perfectly tipped ears who was permanently bald on top of his head from pulling all the hair out with the glue...In these pictures he is pretty close to getting the rest of the glue out totally and letting the ears fly again. But at least he has <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">somebunny</span> to commiserate with!</span></div><div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhpsIa8JI/AAAAAAAABC8/-FzS7OExKBQ/s1600/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B029.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 266px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548753216001994898" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhpsIa8JI/AAAAAAAABC8/-FzS7OExKBQ/s400/Robbie%2B5%2Bmos%2B029.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">In between going back to the glue, I have tried a wide assortment of just about every method I have ever heard of. The "<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">japanese</span> tape" which is the latest and greatest method everyone is using, lasts about 90 seconds with him. Maybe as much as five minutes if I use <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">ostobond</span> too and make him wear an <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">elizabethan</span> collar.</span></div><div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhpcwXYcI/AAAAAAAABC0/3bhf2ij7big/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B060.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548753211874566594" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhpcwXYcI/AAAAAAAABC0/3bhf2ij7big/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B060.JPG" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">In these pictures above and below with his dad Cory (who, as you can see, I did not do a stellar ear job on either!) he is wearing an ear brace made of moleskin (but not the plain Dr. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Scholl's</span> you can buy at the drugstore, oh, no! The special more expensive stuff that has to be ordered from California), and treated with <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">ostobond</span>. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ostobond</span> is a glue type product used to attach things like colostomy bags to skin. That was our second product; the first, Dr. somebody-or-other's spray that was supposed to make the moleskin stick better, irritated the heck out of his ears. So we ordered the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">ostobond</span> as well as the "skin prep" that is used to coat the skin first and prevent irritation (as well as the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">unisolve</span> which is used to remove the glue when it needs to come out, did we mention THAT'S $20 a pop in addition to the zillions already spent?). Skin looked better but the puppy still managed to get the moleskin off; I applied it the morning of these pictures and made him wear the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">elizabethan</span> collar for several hours till everything dried and he (theoretically) got used to it. He pulled out THIS brace maybe half an hour after we stopped shooting the pictures.</span></div><div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEho98S0DI/AAAAAAAABCs/b_P7hiutU4c/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B081.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548753203603099698" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEho98S0DI/AAAAAAAABCs/b_P7hiutU4c/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B081.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">I also in desperation bought the little <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">velcro</span> circles and attached those in his ears with the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">ostobond</span>, one on the tip and one deeper in the ear to attach to. The first time that actually worked pretty well- I think it stayed in for 3 or 4 days. When I tried it again he had it out in a couple of hours though. Oh well, he's now six months old, he lost has last baby tooth a few days ago and hopefully maybe his ears will settle down soon and we can stop messing with them!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhoQw16rI/AAAAAAAABCk/0Pbctyid4O4/s1600/Saffron%2BBPIS2.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548753191475473074" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhoQw16rI/AAAAAAAABCk/0Pbctyid4O4/s400/Saffron%2BBPIS2.bmp" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">In the meantime, here is his sister Saffron (above and below); she has stayed much fluffier and, at least last time I saw her, was not going through the puppy uglies as much as him. She has been going to some <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">UKC</span> shows and puppy matches and has a couple of <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">UKC</span> Best Puppy In Shows and group placements to her credit. </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhoEkxcHI/AAAAAAAABCc/nn_9ZaWoEBs/s1600/Saffron%2BBPIS.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548753188203622514" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEhoEkxcHI/AAAAAAAABCc/nn_9ZaWoEBs/s400/Saffron%2BBPIS.bmp" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Oh well. At any rate, we have been hard at work trying to teach all the things puppies need to know. Somehow I seem to have less energy with each successive puppy! But he has finished his first agility class, though I think we will repeat it as he does the exercises pretty well, but still has great difficulty focusing on me if anything involving motion is going on nearby. He has made a good start on tracking, despite not having ANY fall this year- we went straight from dry hot summer to cold and snow with hardly a hesitation between. We are working on obedience exercises mostly lately; although last weekend we were supposed to go and try herding on ducks for the first time, but unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and we had to cancel. There is SO much to learn and so many foundation exercises, and a limited amount of time and energy. Well, HE has unlimited time and energy but I do not!</span></div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color:#000066;">He's also had his first obedience lesson with Laura <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">Romanik</span>, who comes down to Cincinnati a few times a year and helps us out. In this case, it was Halloween weekend at <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">Starhaven</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">shelties</span>, where there is an indoor horse arena we use for lessons. Afterwards we all stayed, had homemade chili and a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">firepit</span>, and long walks through the fields with the dogs- I think we had at least 15 <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_22" class="blsp-spelling-error">shelties</span>, maybe more, running loose together including several puppies and at least three intact males. One of the things I love about <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_23" class="blsp-spelling-error">shelties</span> are that they are generally amiable with other dogs. Below is Robbie playing with one of his best buddies Recess.</span><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeixq9CJI/AAAAAAAABCU/iY9LsLFxLPQ/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B344.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548749798695045266" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeixq9CJI/AAAAAAAABCU/iY9LsLFxLPQ/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B344.JPG" /></a> <br /><span style="color:#000066;">And here he is running with his dad; we were losing the light and my zoom lens was maxed out</span><br /><span style="color:#000066;">so the focus wasn't good, but I still thought it was a cool sequence. Cory is far from a slow dog, but I think Robbie is going to leave him in the dust soon- at 5 mos in these pictures he's already coming close to matching him stride for stride.</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeioEy1_I/AAAAAAAABCM/E1bljFlPOWE/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B245.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548749796119074802" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeioEy1_I/AAAAAAAABCM/E1bljFlPOWE/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B245.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeifffZ5I/AAAAAAAABCE/oGHbMNAwuIg/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B246.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548749793815127954" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeifffZ5I/AAAAAAAABCE/oGHbMNAwuIg/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B246.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeiMJIB_I/AAAAAAAABB8/fETkqopcM-U/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B247.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548749788621047794" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEeiMJIB_I/AAAAAAAABB8/fETkqopcM-U/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B247.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEehmlabII/AAAAAAAABB0/pba3e54nPws/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B248.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548749778539146370" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEehmlabII/AAAAAAAABB0/pba3e54nPws/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B248.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbQn6StSI/AAAAAAAABBs/-vBB0L-yhkM/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B249.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548746188302497058" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbQn6StSI/AAAAAAAABBs/-vBB0L-yhkM/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B249.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbQWNhOCI/AAAAAAAABBk/4Sjbr3MIA_s/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B250.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548746183551301666" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbQWNhOCI/AAAAAAAABBk/4Sjbr3MIA_s/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B250.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Well, hopefully I will not be so negligent- I have a number of veterinary topics in mind to post about when I have both the time and the inclination, I will try and do better!</span><br /><div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbPeRSVoI/AAAAAAAABBU/W8f71RlJvJk/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B381.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548746168534718082" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbPeRSVoI/AAAAAAAABBU/W8f71RlJvJk/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B381.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbPKjpXcI/AAAAAAAABBM/E82c-d4uXK8/s1600/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B382.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548746163243015618" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TQEbPKjpXcI/AAAAAAAABBM/E82c-d4uXK8/s400/Cory%2BRobbie%2BChristmas%2B2010%2B382.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Happy Holidays to all! Remember, Santa keeps a "naughty and nice" list for puppies too! I think there are going to be lumps of coal at my house!</span><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-67755696145438761002010-07-17T15:38:00.003-04:002010-07-17T18:57:54.471-04:00New puppies at my house :-)<span style="color:#000066;">The puppies' breeder had to go out of town for a while, so they came to me for a week or so. What a sacrifice! </span><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000066;">In the first 48 hours, they experienced six new environments (my house, my basement, front yard, back yard, clinic, Maryann's yard); went on six car rides (two of them an hour long), walked on 8 different surfaces, met 14 new people, 3 cats, and about a dozen friendly dogs. It was a busy couple of days! When we had to do a long day at work on Thursday and they had to sleep in the expen all day, they were VERY disappointed that nothing exciting was going on!</span><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000066;">The video is of their first introduction to the kitties, the basement training room, and Wednesday agility at Maryann's.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xaa8BhvP9_Q&hl=en_US&fs=1?color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xaa8BhvP9_Q&hl=en_US&fs=1?color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-44029787725110714222010-07-01T20:13:00.000-04:002010-07-01T23:13:54.921-04:00My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story<div><span style="color:#000066;">I just finished watching a documentary I rented on Itunes called "My Dog: An Unconditional Love Story". It consisted of interviews with various celebrities and their dogs. It was quite interesting (and touching) that all of these people of various backgrounds and lifestyles had the same emotional response when talking about their pets...I think all of us are a little goofy about our animals. I was struck by Isaac Mizrahi talking about how he thought every day about losing his dog, but he never thought about losing his human partner. Having a dog in many ways is like having a child that you know you will outlive- it is a constant shadow in the back of your mind.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;">Look for it- you might enjoy it. In the meantime, here is a poem from one of the artists featured in the movie, poet Billy Adams. I really liked this one.</span><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">A DOG ON HIS MASTER</span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">As young as I look,</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">I am growing old faster than he,</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">seven to one</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">is the ratio they tend to say.</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">Whatever the number,</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">I will pass him one day</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">and take the lead</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">the way I do on our walks in the woods.</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">And if this ever manages</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">to cross his mind,</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">it would be the sweetest</span><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000066;">shadow I have ever cast on snow or grass.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 281px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483103144875499298" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBflQnEhnyI/AAAAAAAAA7o/v5aWFeKcniA/s400/andyleaves.jpg" /><br /><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;"></span></p><br /><p><span style="color:#000066;"></span></p><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="color:#000066;"></span></div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-46837091259575867432010-06-25T02:42:00.000-04:002010-06-25T02:49:35.774-04:00Zoo days<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 286px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481588225862079346" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDct95E3I/AAAAAAAAA6o/ZVXQdUuG9ZI/s400/img020.jpg" /><span style="color:#000066;">Those of you who have <span style="color:#000066;">only known me as an adult may not know of my "previous life". It probably comes as no surprise to those who know me that I was always an animal lover; I started out as the typical horse crazy little girl who also loved dogs, but early on broadened my horizons to encompass the entire animal kingdom. My birthday always meant either a trip to the zoo or to the Kentucky Horse Park. When I was still in grade school I talked my parents into a zoo membership so I could take some of their classes (for those who have not taken advantage of it, the Cincinnati Zoo has a long history of GREAT educational opportunities. The best part is the education is disguised as fun!). Eventually I learned of their Children's Zoo volunteer program. I believe at the time you were supposed be be 15 to volunteer; however somehow, by luck, omission, or a downright lie I got accepted to the volunteer program when I was 12 years old. That was the beginning of half a decade of intensive involvement (dare I say obsession) with the zoo, eventually culminating in getting hired on as an "official" Children's Zoo employee until I had to leave for college. The picture above is with "Zot", a long time CZ resident and a very affable giant anteater. And let's just say from the beginning, NO comments from the peanut gallery about my hairstyle or as always impeccable sense of fashion!</span><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481588215027727618" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDcFmx_QI/AAAAAAAAA6g/QUdKBWirLTc/s400/img019.jpg" /><span style="color:#000066;">Here's a picture with me and my beloved "DJ", an arctic fox who was a resident of the CZ (children's zoo). DJ definitely had "his" people, but when you were one of his inner circle he would greet you with a big toothy grin, eyes squinted in delight, bushy tail swishing, and an earsplitting yodel of joy. He was such a beautiful boy, one of my favorites to work with for the entire five years I worked at the CZ. Sadly, when they shut down the old CZ to build the new, fancy Children's Zoo he was sent to a zoo in Rochester New York and I lost track of him without getting to say goodbye (lesson learned; don't give your heart to an animal that you do not own).</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDbiXkMdI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/LJFcjvRhFu4/s1600/img007.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 284px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481588205568668114" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDbiXkMdI/AAAAAAAAA6Y/LJFcjvRhFu4/s400/img007.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Initially my responsibilities as a volunteer including staffing both petting pens (walk in with deer, goats, and other barnyard type animals, and sit-down, with small exotics and native wildlife such as raccoons, opossums, guinea pigs, ferrets, etc). In those days where threats of a lawsuit or OSHA were distant unlikelihoods, there were LOTS of hands on opportunities for the general public, and we didn't think much of taking a bunch of teenagers and putting them in charge of a zoo full of wild animals without so much as a signed permission slip. I am SO glad I grew up in that world rather than today, though sometimes I look back and shake my head at some of the risks we took without even blinking an eye. The CZ volunteers provided much of the hands on animal contact and one-on-one interaction with the public. It was a lot of fun, and for someone who was painfully shy it was an excellent experience in teaching me how to talk to strangers.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDbS9SOdI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/4KdlAQ0Icfw/s1600/img018.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 273px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481588201431906770" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDbS9SOdI/AAAAAAAAA6Q/4KdlAQ0Icfw/s400/img018.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">The luckiest (read, hardest working and most gullible!) of the volunteers were invited to stay on and work weekends over the winter. Winter was great fun, as the number of visitors dropped dramatically and there was much more time for one on one interaction with the animals, and usually opportunity to work with some more interesting and exotic animals than we were allowed to as part of the general volunteer population in the summer.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDbMEtn8I/AAAAAAAAA6I/9PaUTax7GH8/s1600/img017.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481588199584014274" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKDbMEtn8I/AAAAAAAAA6I/9PaUTax7GH8/s400/img017.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Eventually I was hired and worked full time during the summers as well as on Saturdays in the winter. Not only were the animals lots of fun, but I also made an interesting and eclectic set of friends. Some of you may recognize the girl below...you may know her now as Dr. Kathy Wright (Huff), our veterinary cardiologist at the CARE center. Kathy and I worked together for a number of years at the zoo, doing lots and lots of wildlife rehab together (her mother was MUCH more lenient than mine when it came to sheer numbers of cages full of wildlife in the backyard) and ultimately she was the one who got me hooked on dog shows. This picture below is of Kathy and one of the grey foxes she raised as part of the Raise and Release program. I believe this one was named Pumpkin and ended up on display in the Woodlands exhibit when the new Children's Zoo opened.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC_fgFLoI/AAAAAAAAA54/xgk6VUnR1Sc/s1600/img037.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 272px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587723762740866" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC_fgFLoI/AAAAAAAAA54/xgk6VUnR1Sc/s400/img037.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Below is another friend, Rachel Perlstein, and Kubla Kahn, our baby camel that we bottle raised one winter. Rachel also worked in the CZ for several years and was so much fun! I have lost track of her over the years but I'm sure she is doing something interesting and unique! Kahnie grewup to be part of the camel rides at the zoo. He was one of my favorite babies that we raised.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC_CpOReI/AAAAAAAAA5w/UnsWlQl9VE0/s1600/img004.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 318px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587716016457186" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC_CpOReI/AAAAAAAAA5w/UnsWlQl9VE0/s400/img004.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">One year the zoo somehow ended up with a surplus of lion cubs and we ended up raising several in the CZ. I believe the two below were called Bo and Solo; how lucky was I to grow up playing with lion cubs, raccoons, and camels? They were SO much fun, though I did have a few bumps, bruises and scars to show!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC-_MRExI/AAAAAAAAA5o/PmzGTs_AJ1Q/s1600/img006.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 323px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587715089699602" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC-_MRExI/AAAAAAAAA5o/PmzGTs_AJ1Q/s400/img006.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">We also were responsible for the Frisch's Discovery Center, which was a hands on lecture area with its own group of demo animals. At that time, the zoo maintained a tiger cub who was the Bengals mascot ("Benzoo") and attended the games. He lived in the Discovery Center and we were responsible for his care part of the time. The big cats were some of my favorites to work with.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC-tIhdGI/AAAAAAAAA5g/0269j73mQn0/s1600/img009.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 314px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587710242157666" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKC-tIhdGI/AAAAAAAAA5g/0269j73mQn0/s400/img009.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Somewhere during this time frame, I was at the education center one day when a special delivery arrived...a 12 week old cheetah cub from, I believe, the Columbus Zoo, who was to live with Cathryn Hilker and be the first of her demo cats in a new education program. "Angel" started a whole new era at the zoo. I remember this was the first time I saw someone using a clicker to train with and I was very intrigued, but there was not much opportunity for me to get involved at that time.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKChq28mhI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/oi8Y7miJOVE/s1600/img021.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587211415362066" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKChq28mhI/AAAAAAAAA5Y/oi8Y7miJOVE/s400/img021.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">However, Cathryn was good friends with Kathy Wright and her family and so I was included in an invitation to go out to Cathryn's farm and play with baby Angel. Another experience of a lifetime...I am so lucky to have had pages of my life taken from a Disney nature film! </span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKChf2H_lI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/ZHbFiGddww8/s1600/img022.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 319px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587208459124306" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKChf2H_lI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/ZHbFiGddww8/s400/img022.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Below is "Whistles", a Moluccan cockatoo who was another of my "special" babies. Whistles was truly a devious and evil bird; she HATED volunteers and definitely could recognize the signature red shirt. However, she delighted in tricking them into THINKING that she liked them- she would sidle closer and closer, cooing and muttering to them the whole time, and when they finally couldn't resist and reached out to pet her she would nail them with lightning speed. Then she would screech and laugh and dance around with her feathers all standing on end- she thought it was the best game ever! Luckily she loved me and would ride around as I did rounds with my pooper scooper either on my shoulder or on the handle of the dolly I lugged my trash can full of poop around on. Birds can live to be quite old, I suppose it's possible she is still living at the zoo, though I haven't seen her since a few years after I went away to college.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKChATEgEI/AAAAAAAAA5I/VZijBQiioc0/s1600/img029.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 313px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587199990595650" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKChATEgEI/AAAAAAAAA5I/VZijBQiioc0/s400/img029.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">At that time the children's zoo was run by a crew of mostly teenagers in the summer, high school and a few college students who consisted mostly of pretty bright, motivated kids from all walks of life. We had amazingly little supervision at the time- one of our supervisors would typically check in once or twice a day, but otherwise unless there was a problem we handled most everything else on our own. That included care of all of the animals there as well as handling hordes of zoo visitors on a daily basis in the summer. (Working at the zoo gives you a whole new appreciation for the IQ of the animals as compared to the average zoo visitor- the animals come out way ahead!). We had all kinds of animals ranging from typical barnyard animals, to native wildlife, to exotic babies too large for the nursery, and then anything that didn't really fit anywhere else.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKCg5qFUJI/AAAAAAAAA5A/drV48dGOFog/s1600/img041.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 284px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587198208069778" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKCg5qFUJI/AAAAAAAAA5A/drV48dGOFog/s400/img041.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKCgr1QrDI/AAAAAAAAA44/5c-njN9w2PI/s1600/img040.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 285px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481587194496855090" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKCgr1QrDI/AAAAAAAAA44/5c-njN9w2PI/s400/img040.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Working at the zoo also led me to some other interesting opportunities. I got very involved with wildlife rehab through their old "Raise and Release" program (more on that in a future post). Also, at that time one of the nocturnal house keepers, Paul Strausser, was involved in starting up a Red Wolf Sanctuary on his land in Dillsboro, IN. There was much work to be done and so any and all hands were welcome. In exchange for building fences, digging post holes, feeding birds from their raptor rehab program, and taking care of the feeder rats in the "rat room", we got the opportunity to interact with some of the animals at the wolf sanctuary.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 354px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481586215594289154" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKBntIs6AI/AAAAAAAAA4w/OFjM7TA5BFI/s400/img031.jpg" /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKBnYa6g1I/AAAAAAAAA4o/A012ygn4s9w/s1600/img040.jpg"></a> <span style="color:#000066;">Red wolves were quite endangered and it was going to take quite a bit of work to prove that the sanctuary was an appropriate placement for them, so in the meantime a number of other animals found homes there and served as goodwill ambassadors and fund raising stars. Above I am pictured with one of the grey wolves.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAySoJqII/AAAAAAAAA4I/PptUDzB84As/s1600/img032.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 341px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481585297945372802" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAySoJqII/AAAAAAAAA4I/PptUDzB84As/s400/img032.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">At that time, four grey wolf cubs arrived and there was much work to be done to accomodate them. We helped to build a huge enclosure with 15 foot tall walls. At the time of these pictures I think the wolves were going through a "teenage" stage. There were two males and two females; Bridger, Sierra, Aspen, and the fourth name escapes me...</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAyHbTmGI/AAAAAAAAA4A/WreecX29oM8/s1600/img033.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 338px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481585294938708066" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAyHbTmGI/AAAAAAAAA4A/WreecX29oM8/s400/img033.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">While not exactly tame, the wolves did enjoy interacting with people though you had to exercise some caution and obey some basic rules. In addition to these babies, there were three red wolf/coyote hybrids, a cougar, and numerous birds of prey.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAx73zw6I/AAAAAAAAA34/0345ElJKnvQ/s1600/img035.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 341px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481585291837031330" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAx73zw6I/AAAAAAAAA34/0345ElJKnvQ/s400/img035.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#000066;">I have pictures of the other animals and birds but have not scanned them yet; I will save them for another post some day. Our overnight camping trips to the RWS, sleeping out in the woods with just a sleeping bag and listening to the wolves howl, were some of the most fun experiences I had as a teenager. We worked HARD but the trade off was worth it! It was a beautiful place and I was terribly jealous- who WOULDN'T want to live there?</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAxftiu1I/AAAAAAAAA3w/IzjIvZF00SQ/s1600/img036.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 335px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481585284277779282" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAxftiu1I/AAAAAAAAA3w/IzjIvZF00SQ/s400/img036.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">The zoo provided so many of the area's youngsters with a unique opportunity to learn hands on about the world around them. Thanks to the efforts of people like Barry Wakeman (then curator of education), Thane Maynard (now zoo director, then I believe assistant curator of education) and Randi Mohn, who mentored the volunteers and interns, as well as my long suffering boss Frank Hoffman and his "second in command" Carol Schottelkotte who ran the nursery and Children's zoo, a whole generation of kids got to grow up knowing what it sounded like when a cheetah purrs, what it's like to get up every three hours to feed a litter of baby raccoons, and how to handle work responsibilities with your pockets full of baby possums. I might have missed some birthday parties and trips to the mall, but I wouldn't trade my zoo days for ANYTHING!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAxAw9DII/AAAAAAAAA3o/IYvFHPnaLrs/s1600/img034b.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 280px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481585275970587778" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_VHxpyRwdIAY/TBKAxAw9DII/AAAAAAAAA3o/IYvFHPnaLrs/s400/img034b.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="color:#000066;">If any of my old zoo friends, coworkers and volunteers happen to find this post, I would love to hear from you again!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669539276229089853.post-35602473785991681842010-06-21T14:18:00.001-04:002010-06-21T14:33:13.265-04:00Thunderstorms and fireworks...<span style="color:#000066;">Tis' the season! In our area we are enjoying a bumper crop of thunderstorms lately; plus at my house at least it seems that we are hearing fireworks more and more. At my previous house, I lived near the riverfront and we had fireworks almost nightly from the Reds and Bengals games and various fireworks displays; my dogs got very well socialized to them and so they and thunderstorms were never an issue. However, it has been almost 4 years since we moved; and since Andy has been gone Cory has suddenly decided that he is worried about fireworks. Great.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">These phobias often times seem to worsen with age (though eventually as the dogs get quite geriatric they often get hard enough of hearing that they start sleeping through them). I thought it was good timing to post a few tips for how to deal with the early or milder cases.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Firstly, a word towards PREVENTING problems. When I got both Andy and Cory as new puppies at my old house, I took advantage of the frequent fireworks exposure. EVERY time we heard fireworks I would jump up from the couch, run into the kitchen calling them excitedly, and it would start to "rain cookies"- I grabbed a handful of small treats and literally threw them up in the air so they showered down and the dogs wer diving and gulping them as fast as they could. This created a GREAT positive association with the noise, pretty soon as soon as the dogs heard the fireworks they were running for the kitchen. You can do this at home with new puppies (or even adult dogs- it never hurts!) every time you hear thunder rumble or a neighbor starts firing bottle rockets. It also may work for dogs who are mildly anxious but not in full fledged phobia mode.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">For dogs who already are showing signs of anxiety, there are several things that may help. CDs of thunderstorm sounds are not difficult to find; I believe they are even sold at Target; but googling them should provide lots of options for ordering. Start out playing it at a low enough level that you see no reaction from the dog; play it at night just at dinner time or if you prefer, play it and offer special treats and games. Gradually increase the volume until (over probably several weeks) you can turn it up to full, window rattling volume without bothering the dog. This often works; but for some dogs can take a LONG time; also there is more to the phobia than just the noise, so dogs may acclimate to the CD but still show fear during actual storms.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">One relatively safe, inexpensive, and benign option to try is melatonin. Melatonin is available over the counter without a prescription as a nutritional supplement; people often take it to counteract jet lag or help them sleep. In dogs there are several uses but one is to help with mild anxiety. Most dogs can take one standard size tablet (usually 3 mg) at bedtime- check with your vet as there are a few contraindications but in general it is safe and has few interactions. Particularly if you catch the problem early, before it is deeply ingrained, this can be helpful.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Another product I have found useful for anxiety issues in general is the DAP collar. DAP stands for Dog Appeasing Pheromone. Pheromones are chemicals that are secreted by the body in order to stimulate a response from other members of the species. It is thought that pheromones function in "chemistry" between people or the "love at first sight" response (though the pheromone colognes do not seem to have any magical powers!). In animals they may serve to help mark territory, send an alarm message, or even guide bees to a new hive. The DAP is the pheromone secreted by bitches when they are nursing their young, and is thought to be a stress relieving substance. It is available commercially as either a spray, or a collar. The collar is similar in appearance to the old flea collars. It lasts about a month; it must be fitted snuggly as the heat from the dogs' body activates the release of the pheromones from the collar. I have used one on my own dog for mild stress related issues and found it to be fairly helpful. It may be one useful tool for dogs with thunderstorm phobias as well. I plan to make sure my dog is wearing a fresh one when he boards by himself for the first time in a few weeks; and also have one for my potential new puppy to wear when he makes his trip to his new home and also begins to travel with us to various dog shows. While I have not found it to be a "miracle cure", I definitely have noticed a calming effect when I have used it on my own dogs and would definitely give it a try.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">I often am asked about "thunder coats" or anxiety wraps; these are wrap or jacket type products designed to wrap snuggly around the dog and advertised as helping to decrease anxiety associated with storms. I have not tried them myself and initially was pretty skeptical of how effective they would be; however, in light of some recent studies about how confinement and pressure can relieve anxiety in autistic children I would not totally discount the possibility that they could have some effect. I think it also is possible that many dogs when fitted with such a product will simply refuse to move- don't know that it necessarily means they are less anxious, but may just interrupt the pacing/escape type response. In any case, I think they fall under the category of unlikely to hurt so give it a try.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Some dogs have serious enough phobias that they truly become difficult to live with and may even be destructive or injure themselves. Those dogs may need prescription medications in order to help them cope with their stress. Many of the medications we use take some time to become effective, so it is best to talk to your vet well BEFORE the season starts if you think your pet may have serious enough issues to warrent medical intervention. I am not a fan of tranquilizers for these dogs, as I think it does nothing for the underlying anxiety and may actually accelerate the dogs' fear. In most cases we need anti-anxiety or behavior modifying medications. Talk to your vet about whether or not this may be appropriate.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">Finally, a word of warning; July is often a month in which many pets get lost because they are outside in the yard or, even worse, on an invisible fence and panic and bolt during a storm or fireworks. PLEASE remember to supervise your pet closely and not leave him outside unattended this time of year if he tends to have anxiety in response to loud noises, and make sure that he has appropriate identification (collar tags and/or microchip) on at all times. It may save you a lot of grief in the long run! </span>Sheltiedochttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17413120330861291460noreply@blogger.com0