Fatty

I think I'm going to try and post more than once every five months. Anyway.....

A couple years ago Casey was fat. When she sat she had a muffin top. When I looked at her from above I noticed that she was shaped like an ottoman. Casey was chubby. Luckily, she has a vet that isn't afraid to speak up. She told me and my husband that it would be good for Casey to shed a few pounds. The vet didn't push any "specially formulated" pet diet food on us or any other ridiculous dog diet product. She told us to exercise her more and feed her a high-quality, low-fat dog food.

So we did. We also stopped giving her table scraps (it's a bad habit anyway). We changed her food to a chicken and rice formula dog food (at the time it was California Natural, then Artemis-Weight Control). Dog foods containing by-products, unnamed meat sources, and/or corn are low-quality. Dogs need to eat more of a low-quality food to get all the vitamins and nutrients they require. With a high-quality food a dog can eat less and still get everything they need without the added fat and calories. All the dog treats were also low-fat. Casey got walks, or runs, 3-5 times a week. It was good for everyone! We were all benefiting, and Casey couldn't be happier (she loves walks!). It wasn't a difficult thing to do.

A while back I saw a ridiculous segment on some morning show about help for overweight pets. They talked about a special Science Diet type dog food. They sent the food to you already divided into servings. Dumb. It's your dog. You should know how much food your dog should be eating (Beware- many times the feeding guide on pet food bags suggests too much food). If you're not sure, talk to your vet. That's what they're there for! Also, that "special" food may not be the right food for your pet. Remember: no corn, no by-products, no mystery meats.

They also talked about a treadmill for your pet. Dumb. No dog I know would choose a treadmill over a real walk. On a real, outside walk they get great physical exercise and mental stimulation. The sights, sounds, and smells are all interesting and educational for a dog. A treadmill is an expensive and lazy way to walk a dog. We could all use a walk, so why not take your dog and the both of you can get some exercise. If a person is honestly too busy, (busy, not lazy) hire a dog walker. Your dog will thank you.

Let's stop making our pets fat. That's right, it's our fault. We feed them too much crap. We feed them the wrong crap, and we let them sit on their butts while we sit on ours. It's not cute when a dog is fat. The fat, walking sausage is suffering. A dog that is a little underweight has a longer lifespan than a dog that is a little overweight.

So let's all get a little healthier this summer. Let's build a stronger bond with our pets while we get a little exercise. I know exercise sucks but come on, you know they're worth it.

(Sorry about any grammatical errors or misspellings. Still feeling a little funky, and my allergy medicine makes everything just a little hazy...)

Oh, by the way.....
Healthy dog weight - you should be able to feel the ribs and spine, but not see them. There should be that nice dip up from the chest when you look at them from the side. When you look at them from above they should not look like an ottoman. You should be able to see a waist.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder...

I’m sure the eight of you that actually read my blog have been wondering where I’ve been, or you’ve been so busy that you never really noticed. Those of you that know me probably thought I just stopped writing. I’m a procrastinator, and I have terrible follow-through. No, I haven’t given up. I’ve been sick on and off for a while, and (like everyone else around the holiday season) I’ve been crazy busy. Being sick is horrible, and our dogs hate it too. We don’t let them out as much, they don’t get our attention, and (if your dog is like my Casey) they get sick of listening to the whining and complaining.

That’s right, while I was sick Casey would leave the room if I made any kind of pitiful sound. She loves getting to sleep in on sick days, but not if she has to listen to me. Although I miss her company, she’s still great. Casey only scratches at the door once to go out during the day when I’m ill. Murray on the other hand is a horrible, spoiled brat. He wants to play, and he brings me toys, or harasses the other two dogs. When he realizes that no one will play and entertain him, he pouts. Seriously. Murray will walk over to the bed, rest his head on the edge, and sigh. His floppy lips make him look more pathetic. If he still doesn’t get attention, he’ll pace around the house, and last time he pooped in his bed and the hallway. Not a lot. Not like an accident, but a couple turds here and there. We talked about his dropping problem with the vet, and we came to the conclusion that it was probably from pain after running around because he suffers from hip dysplasia. Now I think he’s just being a brat. He gets attention when he goes in the house, either because we think he’s hurting or because we’re upset. To Murray any attention is heaven. You could slap him in the face and he’d just smile and wag his tail. It’s really my fault. I spoil him. But this isn’t about my being sick, Casey being grouchy, or Murray being a jerk. This is really about Pearl.

Now it could be just because she’s afraid of everything, or because she has become attached to me, but while I was sick she never left my side. Pearl would curl up on the folded comforter by the side of the bed and watch me. If I got up to get a drink, she would follow me to the kitchen and then back to the bedroom. If I decided I wanted to sit in the living room for a while, she would sit in her corner in the living room. Now I thought maybe that’s just how she was, but on the days I was feeling better she did her own thing. Like right now she’s asleep in the bedroom with Murray while I’m in the kitchen. Everyday she surprises me. A year ago, I never would have thought that this scared, white dog, that I was so worried would run off and I’d never see again, would become such a loyal, gentle companion. I wish that she was more confident and outgoing so other people could see just how wonderful she is. I’m not unaware of Pearl’s faults. She is a little spoiled because we are trying so hard to get her to trust people again. She doesn’t like to go out to the bathroom unless someone is out there with her, and she’s becoming quite the beggar. Oh well, nobody’s perfect. 

My Neophobic Dog

Murray has always been a very strange dog. His puppy troubles, I assumed, were caused by our lack of experience. However, after living with him for over two years I now believe that any odd problems we’ve had with Murray have been because of his general weirdness. Those of you that have met him know what I’m talking about. Murray has always been afraid of situations and items that most dogs wouldn’t notice or care about, and he’s been perfectly fine with things that many dogs are fearful of. For example, he once freaked out because Shawn left dirty laundry in the living room. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t too happy about it either but Murray was more afraid than frustrated. At different times he was also afraid of tin foil, children, pillows, and bath towels. Things that he’s not afraid of, in fact things he loves despite the fact that these are common fears for many dogs, are thunderstorms (he loves the rain), balloons, paper towel tubes, and the laundry basket (he likes to carry it around).

When we first adopted Murray we wanted to make sure that we socialized him properly. Socialization is very important for pets. Socialization is the process of providing a pet with positive associations with people, places, and things. A well-socialized animal can accompany you on all kinds of outings such as hikes, expos and dog friendly events, pet stores, and outdoor restaurants without problems. Life is so much easier with a well-socialized pet. Scientists believe that the period from 4 to 14 weeks is the most important time for a puppy’s socialization. After 14 weeks that window for prime socialization begins to close. A well-socialized pup enjoys new places and people and believes the world is a safe place. A pup that missed the window for optimal socialization or is under-socialized will be fearful of new things (neophobic) and possibly develop fear related aggression. Murray was thirteen or fourteen weeks when we adopted him. Most of his window was spent in a kennel at the humane society.

Although Murray loves people overall, he still gets nervous from time to time. We took him to puppy classes when he was about 5 months old to get some help with training. They were able to answer questions we had, and the class helped him socialize with people and other dogs. I highly recommend puppy or obedience classes. Especially if you just got a dog. When you’re looking at trainers make sure they use Positive Reinforcement and not punishment or negative training tools such as choke collars, shock collars, physical correction (or hitting), or force. These kinds of techniques not only hurt your dog physically, but they can make him fearful, stressed, and can even bring on aggressive responses. Training like this can also seriously hurt your relationship with your dog. You know what works better than force? A cookie. What dog won’t work for a cookie?!

Anyway, the socialization process never ends. Casey and Pearl are in desperate need of constant practice, and it has become clear to me that even though Murray is a big love bug he needs persistent exposure to new things and people. It’s exhausting having dogs that are afraid of different things, but we manage and continue to work on overcoming these fears. So far Murray has conquered his fear of dirty clothes, tin foil, and bath towels. We’re still working on children and pillows.

There are some great books out there on training fearful dogs. Help for your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer his Fears by Nicole Wilde is a wonderful book full of useful information. It’s a great book to have even if you think your dog isn’t fearful. Also anything by Patricia B. McConnell is great!


P.S.
Feel free to use the comments section to ask questions or make suggestions.

Giardia-Nasty little bugger

"Giardia"-http://www.caccares.com/parasites.html

About a month ago Pearl had some loose stool. I didn’t think much of it at first because she’s always eating bugs and fuzz so I just thought she ate something that didn’t agree with her. When her defecating started to make her uncomfortable I called the vet. She went in and was diagnosed with Giardia. I was a bit surprised because Pearl was at the vet the month before and had a fecal exam that came back negative. Also, I had no idea how she might have contracted this parasite. Giardia is a protozoan parasite that lives in the intestine of infected animals. Many dogs that are infected with Giardia do not have any symptoms, but if they do have symptoms these symptoms are normally diarrhea, vomiting, greasy appearing stool, weight loss, or lack of appetite. Some people believe that if eggs (cysts) are found in the stool of a healthy dog without diarrhea it’s not anything to be concerned about. However, in puppies, senior dogs, or adult dogs that have weaker immune systems it can be a serious problem. Of course even if your dog doesn’t seem bothered by the Giardia they can still spread it to other dogs. Dogs contract Giardia by swallowing the cyst stage of the parasite. This can happen from eating infected feces, eating something soiled with infected feces, or from drinking standing water. The cyst matures in the dog’s intestine. The dog can then pass infective cysts in his stool. The cysts sit in the environment and can infect other dogs. The parasite thrives in moist, humid areas. Unfortunately for us, the last couple months had been wet and humid. Pearl was prescribed metronidazole (flagyl) which is the most common antibiotic used against Giardia. She was also prescribed Panacur (fenbendazole), which is a dewormer that has shown to be effective against Giardia. This dewormer is being prescribed more and more to treat Giardia because metronidazole isn’t always effective. The yard freaked me out after this ordeal. I was so worried that everyone was going to end up with Giardia. Yes, people can get it too! Researchers are unsure if we contract the same strain of Giardia as dogs, but better safe than sorry! Some say we can pass it to dogs, but they can't pass it to us. In order to prevent this nasty from spreading Pearl got her butt washed and scrubbed (cysts can sometimes be found hanging around the anus), all the bedding was washed, poop was picked up immediately (you should always keep the yard scooped. It helps prevent the spread of disease), and a bleach solution was kept next to the door. We would scoop, spray the area with the bleach solution, dump the poop, and clean the scooper with the bleach solution. In areas such as kennels or pavement/gravel, you can clean the entire area with a bleach solution. I also stopped watering the yard for a while. The heat dried things out and (fingers crossed) killed the little parasitic suckers. 

photo via BitsAndPieces

                                                   

Be nice...

I've never written a blog before. I never really thought anyone would care what I have to say. However, after continuous pushing and encouragement from family and friends I gave in. So bear with me, and please excuse the informality and possible inappropriateness. 

There are six living things in my house: myself, my husband, a bamboo plant that won't quit no matter how often I forget to give it water, and three dogs. Casey was our first dog. We got her as a puppy from a friend of a friend in 2005. She's a beagle/mountain cur mix. Neither of us knew anything about dogs at this point. I had dogs growing up, but that was the extent of my experience. After moving to Texas I started working at a dog daycare. This is what really kicked off my wanting to learn everything I could about dogs. Casey was able to socialize at the daycare, and she did great with most of the other dogs. I thought it would be nice to get her a friend.

Murray was an odd, orange, little shelter puppy that we adopted in May of 2008. Murray looks like several different dogs, but basically he's a retriever mix. He was a handful when he was younger. Me and my husband always say that if Murray had been our first dog, he would have been our last. Murray's first few months involved many failed housebreaking attempts, a couple big growth spurts, and several trips to the vet. In October 2008 we found out that Murray suffers from hip dysplasia. He may need surgery in the future, but now he's living with it and is honestly the happiest dog I've ever known.

Pearl came to us as a foster dog in September 2009. After about six months, and numerous failed potential adoptions, we decided that she was already home and adopted her. She is possibly a heeler/shepherd/terrier mix? But we just call her super mutt. She is incredibly timid and is still afraid of people, but she is constantly making progress. She loves Casey and Murray, food, and walks. She only likes to be pet when she wants it, and I've come to respect that.