Posts tagged "dogs"

Most dog owners will tell you that one of the best parts of owning a canine is playtime. Fetch with Fido is always a great excuse to go outside, get some leisurely exercise and watch your dog do his thing like a pro.

Unfortunately, whoever owns Amos doesn't have a reason to get up from the couch when the playful pooch needs to work off some energy. As long as Amos can get his own jaws around a Frisbee, he'll literally catch and throw the disc all by himself, and it's quite possibly one of the funniest videos we've ever seen.

Man's best friend just put a dent in the title, wouldn't you say?

Ain't nothing like a chihuahua with a miniature golf club, am I right?

Last week this video of Burrito putt-putting on "Today," swept the Internet after it was somehow missed by a bevy of adoring fans like us the first time it aired. If only our pets were skillful enough to indulge in the every American grandpa's pastime of choice.

Many of us look back on the early- to mid-20th century as a time when life was simple, intentions were pure, and America was a shining beacon to which the rest of the world looked for guidance and inspiration.

That is until you see this ad from the June 1936 issue of Popular Mechanics featuring the Dog Sack, a handy-dandy device used to strap your dog to the side of your car so it can ride "safely and comfortably" on the running board. Then you realize that some of the inspiration America was selling involved truly insane ideas. Those poor dogs!

Here is hoping that no one actually bought this thing.

Your dog is scratching like crazy, or sick to his stomach. Could his food be the culprit?

Food allergies aren't extremely common in dogs, but they aren't uncommon either. Food allergies affect dogs in two primary ways, says Korinn Saker, a clinical nutritionist at the North Carolina State School of Veterinary Medicine who specializes in canine allergies. "We either see skin issues, or GI [gastrointestinal] issues," she says. If your dog is experiencing vomiting or diarrhea on a regular basis, or is itching constantly and licking or biting at his skin or fur, allergies may be to blame. (Your vet can help you rule out other ailments, like parasites or infections, that could cause similar symptoms.)

Unfortunately, it can be hard to tell whether an allergic dog is having a reaction to his food or to an environmental allergen such as pollen. (Dogs can also become allergic to food they've happily eaten their entire lives making detection even more difficult.) Still, there are ways to tell if food is the foe, Sakar says. "The most definitive way to do that is to do a feeding elimination trial," she says. In other words, try removing the suspected ingredient or ingredients from the dog's diet, and see what happens.

Choose a dog food with novel ingredients the dog hasn't had before. The new food should have a single source of protein, such as fish, duck or lamb, and a single source of carbohydrates, like rice or potatoes. (And don't give him any treats or table scraps during the feeding trial!) If the allergy symptoms go away on the new diet, you can then try adding back the suspected allergens, one by one. If the symptoms come back, she explains, you'll know what ingredient (or ingredients) to avoid from now on.

Name: Border Terrier

Personality: A border terrier has a best-of-both-worlds temperament. This "alert, bold little hunter" is also "affectionate, mild-mannered," says Dog Breed Info Center. Though it is a true terrier, it's thought to possess a milder disposition than some of its fellow terriers. Your Purebred Puppy claims the border terrier "is sociable with strangers and other dogs, and not given to fiery posturing like many other terriers."

Grooming: This is a relatively low-maintenance dog, as Dog Breed Info Center notes that the desired aesthetic of a border terrier's coiffure is "a completely natural look." Brush the dog's hardy coat weekly, take it to a groomer twice yearly so its coat can be more thoroughly "hand stripped," and bathe it as seldom as possible, because moisture lessens the effectiveness of the coat's dirt-repellent properties. But remember, this isn't a no-maintenance coat. The Border Terrier Club of America stresses that many people underestimate how much grooming a border terrier requires.

Common Health Issues: The border terrier is prone to Spike's disease, a hereditary disease known as canine epileptoid cramping syndrome, which is a relatively new find in veterinary medicine. While seizures and epileptic-type fits are a symptom of Spike's disease, it is different from epilepsy. Most commonly, it is described as a metabolic, neurological or muscle disorder. Symptoms include dizziness, staggering, trembling, falling over, exaggerated stretching and unusually slow walking. Drugs and diet have been found to help so far, but a cure has yet to be found.

We love giving our pets treats, whether to reward good behavior, keep them occupied or because we simply can't resist their plaintive stares or begging. But all those jerky treats, dental chews and milk bones are making our domestic animals fat.

"If I could only point to one factor causing the modern-day pet obesity epidemic, it would have to be treats," says veterinarian Ernie Ward, founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention and author of "Chow Hounds: Why Our Dogs Are Getting Fatter – A Vet's Plan to Save Their Lives."

Vets and animal-nutrition experts point the finger at fattening pet snacks: Packed with sugar and carbohydrates, even the tiniest packaged cheese or bacon snack becomes what Ward calls "calorie grenades."

"It's that seemingly innocent extra 50 calories a day in the form of a chew or cookie that adds up to a pound or two each year. By the time a dog or cat reaches mid-life, it's overweight and health risks begin to skyrocket," Ward says. Obesity is being blamed for health problems such as diabetes, joint pain and breathing problems in pets.

That doesn't mean the snacks have to stop, but experts say treats should make up no more than 10 percent of your pet's daily calories. That's not much, considering a 10-pound cat needs less than 300 calories daily and a 40-pound dog should only get about 1,000 calories.

Making things trickier, manufacturers don't list calorie contents on their packages, and they don't have to.

Sure your dog can't read the magazine or understand the show, but that doesn't mean she can't live like one of Oprah's pampered pooches. In fact, you can completely deck out your dog in Oprah-approved accessories including an "O" collar, an "O" leash and an "O" pique polo shirt in your choice of Chateau Pink, Cape Blue or Hampton Green. If you are really committed, you can even get a soft food bowl imprinted with Oprah's initial right on the front.

If you like cats, vacuums, robots, or YouTube, there's a good chance you've seen the iconic viral video featuring a cat riding a Roomba.

If, in fact, you've since moved on to more "important" matters that don't involve cats, vaccums, robots, or YouTube, may we interest you in a newer video featuring a cat, a Roomba, a dog, and some deep-seated resentment?

Here at Paw Nation, we know that every pet has a story, and it's usually a story their owners just love to tell. So we decided to hit the streets to ask pets (and their owners) about everything from how they were adopted to what was the naughtiest thing they've ever done. It's our new weekly series, "Pet on the Street." We hope you love it. And be sure to let us know what questions you would like us to ask and what cites we should visit!

PRODUCTION PLAYER! DO NOT DELETE.

Preventing pregnancy in an unspayed dog is a huge challenge -- that is, unless your dog is wearing her chastity belt.

Yes, a chastity belt. It sounds medieval – and there is some metal mesh in the construction of the Pet Anti-Breeding System (PABS) -- but dog trainer and inventor Dexter Blanch tells Paw Nation he's just keeping up with the needs of dog owners' today. Made to buckle on the rear end of a female dog in heat, the PABS allows her to get rid of waste but blocks an interested male dog from making too close a connection.

We talked to Blanch from his home in Shreveport, La. to find out more about his "holistic" approach to preventing pooch pregnancies:

When we heard about this, we laughed, but it sounds like it could work.
That's everybody's reaction, and actually I can understand it, really.

How did you come up with the PABS idea?
I've been a dog trainer for 41 years and I knew it was a needed product. But it really hit me one day when I was hunting with one of my registered female dogs and we came across a bunch of male dogs. She was a young dog and was learning so I needed to keep her in the field but her heat cycle came at the wrong time, and I was like, wow, suppose something were to happen.

Cold weather often generates a strange phenomenon in well-trained dogs. Shredded toilet paper appears throughout the house, garbage cans are overturned and special "presents" are left for you to discover. Though there may be other factors contributing to your dog's destructive behavior, cabin fever is often at the root of the problem.

Snowstorms and freezing temperatures may keep you from taking your dog for long walks or trips to the dog park, but there are a variety of ways you can keep your canine physically and mentally active throughout the winter.

Provide Interactive Toys
Most dogs love to eat, so why not use food as a motivation to keep their minds busy? Michelle Douglas, President of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, recommends stuffing your dog's meal in a Kong. "This way, your dog will have to work at getting the food and will burn calories in the process." The Buster Cube and the Dog Tornado are other toys that offer your dog the opportunity to work for their meal.

But the toys don't have to feature food to be fun. The IQube challenges your dog to remove squeaky balls from within a plush puzzle-like cube, and comes in a variety of sizes to accommodate both small and large pooches. Babble Balls are another fun -- and noisy -- option. The balls entice your dog by producing realistic animal noises each time he passes by, tapping into his desire to hunt. If, however, your temples are throbbing at even the thought of wild animal calls, Fetch a Bubble may be a good alternative. This clever machine blows chicken-scented bubbles into the air, sending your dog into a frenzy to catch the delicious floating flavor.

An unusual threat is making dogs in South Florida suffer paralysis that can last up to a week and in extreme cases, can end in death. The surprising cause? Dead iguanas. The recent frigid temperatures killed these reptiles, leaving behind remains that are being eaten by curious dogs -- who then proceed to get sick from botulism in the dead animals.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's news program, The Morning Show, reports on the illnesses.

Your dog's ears may be better at hearing than yours will ever be --- but taking care of them comes at a price.

According to an evaluation of veterinary claims filed with the Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), canine ear infections were the leading cause of vet visits in the United States. In 2009 alone, VPI -- the company that insures almost half a million American pets -- received about 68,000 claims for ear related vet visits. The average cost per visit was $100.

Also among the company's top reasons for doggie vet visits were skin allergies at number two, followed by skin infection/hot spots, gastritis/vomiting and enteritis/diarrhea.

In cats, lower urinary tract disease was the most common concern -- the VPI counted 3,700 claims for cats with urinary issues, costing their owners an average of $260 a visit. The other common reasons felines went to the vet included gastritis/vomiting in the number two spot, followed by chronic renal failure, hyperthyroidism and diabetes.

We love our dogs. They soothe us, entertain us, and their devotion and affection brings an enormous amount of joy into our lives. For all that we are appreciative.

Some of us show our appreciation by buying luxury items that range from the frivolous (designer clothes and custom-made collars) to the more practical (organic dog food and orthopedic beds). When our hectic lives mean we have to leave our precious pooches behind, we put them up at fancy dog hotels with socialization hours and individual walks. Many of us avoid that problem entirely by bringing our dogs everywhere we go -- showering them with non-stop affection.

Is all this the least we can do for the pets that bring us so much happiness? Or, at some point does this 21st century lifestyle begin to take something away from the dog's essential animal nature? And are we somehow giving other humans less than they deserve because we are showering all this attention on our pets? These are some of the questions pondered in the New York Magazine article "The Rise of Dog Identity Politics" in which the author John Homans describes some of the conflicts we – and others, including academics, psychiatrists, and dog trainers -- feel about the way many of us choose to parent our pets.

"The dog is more and more an urban species. Even in the suburbs, the dog's unleashed, unfenced, carefree outdoor life is largely at an end. The dogs are in the house, even in the bed. (The doghouse is now mostly for husbands.) There are no rules to this evolving, increasingly intimate arrangement, and it can give rise to a kind of canine identity crisis. Outside of its country context, the dog plays an ever more human role. Which can make things very confusing," says Homans.

What do you think, Paw Nation? By giving our dogs the cushiest, most comfortable lives possible, are we somehow invalidating their essential "dogness?" Do you personally feel that you have ever gone over the line in your devotion and care for your pet?

Tell us what you think by taking our poll and sharing your comments below.