Pet talk

Remember to keep your pets safe!

Let’s face it; Halloween is getting to be a pretty big deal.  People put up decorations, dress up their pets and parties are more and more common.  But Halloween can also be pretty scary night for pets and their owners– and it’s not the good kind of scary we are talking about.

With scores of youngsters coming to the doorstep and begging for candy, the situation is ripe for accidents to happen.  Either a pet escapes into the night with an open door, or it runs out and bites a child due to being frightened.  So the best plan is one of prevention.

I personally lock up the pets for the evening in their kennel and just wait out the whole night.  I give them their favorite chewies, plenty of food and water, and then just leave them there until the porch light goes off.  This way there is no frantic running to the door, no pushing their way outside, and no possible way to pilfer the chocolate candy out of the candy bowl.  (Remember chocolate and raisins are poisonous to pets!).

If you feel your pet must join in the fun, remember to choose a costume that is non toxic, comfortable and allows for normal bodily functions.  Also keep you pet on a leash so running away is not an option.  If you feel the pet is getting over excited, know when to call it quits and put him/her away.  Better safe than sorry.    

As I mentioned in a blog from May, the stray dogs in

This of course is causing controversy with both the

 The humane groups are upset because the shelters here are full and bringing more dogs in doesn’t do the shelters any good.  And I agree, our shelters ARE full.  So why not raise money to promote spay and neuter programs in the countries that need it?  Why not educate the populace and prevent the stray problem in the first place? 

I guess it isn’t as much fun as flying down there, spending time on the beach and bringing the dogs back—leaving the rest to suffer and die needlessly. 

Last weekend my husband and I went up to

Zeke was a very popular celebrity when I was a student there.  His Frisbee catching skills were awesome and he was present at most of the MSU home games.  That was when dogs were just starting to compete by catching Frisbees.  He was one of the best in the business. 

I had forgotten about him and was happy to see that he was still a huge part of college life.  The Zeke we saw last weekend wasn’t the Zeke that performed those amazing leaps and catches way back then.  He has long since retired.  But the name has continued on and Zeke still represents

When I reached my fourth year of veterinary school I had acquired some pretty severe allergies to the animals I was working with daily.  While my allergies are now under control, cats remain a problem for me and to this day I do not own cats.  But help is available for those who own cats and do not want to give them up due to their own sneezing and sniffling. 

People are mostly allergic to cat dander and the saliva on the dander.  So keeping this at bay is the key to managing your allergies.  Have a non allergic family member bathe the cat in a hypoallergenic shampoo often, but be careful not to dry the cat’s skin out and thus create more dander.  On a daily basis use a damp towel and wipe the cat’s fur to collect loose dander and to wash off the saliva.  Keep the cat out of your face, and avoid vigorous brushing or petting of the animal.

Talk to your veterinarian about putting your cat on a dilute formulation of acetylpromazine.  Studies have shown that ingestion of a very dilute concentration of acetylpromazine alters the allergic response to dander, (maybe altering the dander itself?).  Give this a few weeks to take effect and realize that the pet may have to be given this solution for the rest of its life.

Studies have also shown that infants raised in a pet owning home have less allergies than infants who do not share a home with pets.  So go out and get some pets—and help your son or daughter grow up allergy free (at least they will not be allergic to animals!)

In

How much is your pet worth?  I think I would have kept the name of the people who brought my dog back, (and took the car), and turned them into the police for stealing my dog in the first place!  People like that are horrible and need to learn a lesson about stealing and getting caught.

Interested in finding out for sure what Fido really is?  He may look like a poodle beagle cross, but is he really?   There are a few laboratories out there that will, for a fee of approx. $65 test doggie DNA to tell you exactly what breed or breeds, your dog is.  Some labs use a swab of the mouth to collect the DNA, and others use a blood sample–but the results are the same. 
 
As of now the labs can only test for most of the breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club.  There are 157 breeds total, and by the end of the year they hope to have all of the data for the rest of the breeds.  Remember, several dog breeds are not recognized by the AKC, but are registered by the United Kennel Club (UKC); hopefully these too will be cataloged and be available for identification.
 
I see this as a great way to hold commercial kennels (puppy mills) accountable.  By testing their DNA, you can be certain that you really did by a cocker spaniel instead of something that just looks like one.

I guess I just speak “dog”.  I say this because dog body language seems so easy to read.  And that is why elephants make me nervous—I just have a hard time reading them.  When I was an animal welfare inspector I would have up close and personal contact with elephants and I dreaded it every time.  Dogs, on the other hand are fun because they are so easy!

Take tail wagging for instance.  Dogs wag their tail because they are happy.  They move their tail up when anxious and/ are on guard, down when scared, but wag it when they are happy.  And the energy put into the wag directly reflects how happy the dog is.

The thing to remember is this:  just because the dog is happy doesn’t mean that he is not going to attack you.  Pit bulls are a perfect example of this rule.  Pit bulls that are trained to fight are happy to fight.  So they wag their tail because they know they are going to do something fun.  That is why they appear so happy when attacking someone or something.  An unfamiliar dog vigorously wagging his entire rear quarters is truly happy to see you and is safe to approach.

Another thing to remember is that along with people, dogs display behavior related to left brain activity (pleasing and familiar thoughts) and right brain activity (fear and intimidation).  A tail wag to the left (right brained controlled) will mean the dog sees you as a fun or happy thing.  Wags to the right (left brained controlled) means the dog is happy, but scared of you so you need to be careful.  This is a dog that may bite you due to fear. 

Elephants are another story for another time. 

Last Sunday, Annie the pet psychic came out to do a reading for Merlin.  Merlin is my newest addition to the family and is a 7 year old pinto Hackney cross pony.

 Unfortunately, I could not get much of a background on him from the gal who sold him to me.  She said that he was originally owned by her brother and he could not afford him any more.  So the brother “dumped” Merlin on her and she did not have room for him either, so she put him up for sale.  She also said that he was “broke” by the Amish.

When I brought him home it was obvious that someone had mistreated him badly.  And that was confirmed by his reading.  Annie said that he was tormented by some teens on the farm and also was abused by the cruel training practices used to break his spirit. 

One of the things she said happened to him was that he was tied to a tree for several days without food or water.  Now Annie is not a horse person, nor does she know much about horse training, but back in the old days people used to do this type of thing to horses.  I just can’t believe that it is still being done today.  She also described a chain running through his mouth digging into his gums that was probably the most pain the pony had ever felt in his life.  Again, unknown to Annie, some cruel people do this to horses.  This memory was the most graphic one poor Merlin had.  It was very sad.

On a bright note, Merlin is very happy in his new home.  He is still very scared and untrusting, but likes me and is trying to accept me as a friend.  He doesn’t like my other horses though, and would like to be the only horse at the farm–which is a very common thread among Hackney ponies.  I have been reading about other peoples’ experience with them and they have all reported that Hackney ponies are a “one person” animal.   

So as far as I am concerned, Annie was right on.  And Merlin?  He gets extra love for as long as he lives!