“Money will buy you a fine dog, but only love can make it wag its tail.”
– Richard Friedman
Photographer William Wegman is well known for the photos of his Weimaraners. A show called William Wegman: Hello Nature at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, Maine which runs until October 21, 2012 shows the side of Wegman that isn’t so focused on his dogs but rather his attachment to Maine.
The exhibit will include an airing of Wegman’s documentary The Hardly Boys, which features his dogs but was also filmed in Maine. The film is a spoof of the detective novels featuring The Hardy Boys. Courtesy of YouTube, here’s an excerpt from that documentary (complete with subtitles).
Posted in Dogs
Tagged Bowdoin College, maine, Museum of Art, The Hardly Boys, Weimaraner, William Wegman, YouTube
I’ve just finished watching the HBO documentary One Nation Under Dog. I hope many of you were able to see it and, if not, to catch it when it repeats.
This documentary is segregated into three themes: Fear, Loss and Betrayal. Fear covers the experience of some people caught up in legal fights over dangerous dogs and the fate of vicious dogs (euthanasia); Loss shows owners who tell their stories of grief over the loss of their beloved dogs; Betrayal shows the ugly side of the homeless dogs problems in the United States. Be prepared for actual footage of a gas chamber and meet people who are involved in dog rescue including liberating dogs from a Tennessee puppy mill.
Highly recommended, here are a couple of clips from the documentary thanks to YouTube:
Posted in dog adoption, Dogs
Tagged dangerous dogs, documentary, euthanasia, gas chamber, HBO, One Nation Under Dog, puppy mills, rescue, vicious, YouTube
Dogs that would try to run the other way from allergy injections are finding a new oral drop to be much more palatable. In fact, some dogs think they are a treat!
On 25th July, at the World Congress of Veterinary Dermatology in Vancouver, British Columbia, Dr Douglas DeBoer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine presented his work which shows that placing allergy drops under a dog’s tongue can be as effective as allergy injections.
Dr DeBoer treated 217 dogs for skin allergies in his study using the drops. Approximately 60 percent of the dogs improved significantly. The drops require administering under the tongue twice each day.
copyright Dr Douglas DeBoer
In contrast, allergy shots are injected approximately every 14 days. The cost of the treatments are comparable.
Dogs can sometimes suffer a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction to allergy shots. Even those dogs treated in the study that had previously had such a dangerous reaction did not have it when using the drops. “Drops appear to be safer than shots in this respect,” said Dr DeBoer.
Atopic dermatitis (an itchy skin inflammation) is an allergic reaction from house dust, pollen, and mold. Injections aim to introduce a small amount of the allergens to trigger an immune response. The drops work on a different mechanism involved in the allergy. Dogs that had failed to respond to allergy injections did respond to the drops.
Best of all, the drops have a sweet taste which attracted the dogs. Some dogs came running when they heard the bottle of drops opened…
Concerns about chicken treats sourced from China continue and I’ve come across this comment from Steven E Crane, who was the Manager of Competitive Intelligence for Hill’s (now retired).
In that role, Mr Crane would source competitor’s products and have them tested. He has commented that treats were rarely tested because they were not sold as ‘complete and balanced dog foods’ and that he tested approximately 300 pet food products each year.
In discussing the apparent toxicity issues associated with chicken jerky treats, Mr Crane says, “This problem has been a problem for over ten years. To my knowledge nobody has ever been able to determine exactly what the chemistry involved is that is causing the problem. Much like the melamine and cyanuric acid tainted wheat and rice gluten from 2007. Considering the horrendous toxic contamination issues with both human and pet related food materials from China going back for more than 15 years, I would NEVER use or buy any food materials from China nor permit their use in any food product.
I can remember twenty years ago the rawhide products coming from China that tested hot for arsenic and had sodium concentrations through the roof. If you think about the process it’s no surprise. Most of the hides were baled raw in South America, shipped by slow boat to China, made into rawhide treats and then shipped to the US for sale. Keeping that rotting mess from disintegrating during shipping incurred some inventive ways to treat them – addition of arsenic for example.”
Are you feeding any treats Made in China and does this make you think twice?
Posted in dog care, dog nutrition and labelling
Tagged chicken jerky treats, Hill's, Made in China, rawhide, Steven E Crane, treats
The Olympic torch is making its way through all 32 boroughs of London in advance of Friday’s start to the Olympic Games.
Dogs haven’t been left out of these preparations! Earlier today Michael Owen, a former player with Manchester United, carried the torch through the Battersea Dogs Home with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Rory on lead.
Posted in Dogs
Tagged Battersea Dogs Home, dogs, Michael Owen, Olympics, Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Congratulations to John Tovey and his guide dog, Dez, who not only won the Guide Dog of the Year award but also a Life Changing Award on 19th July at the Specsavers Guide Dog of the Year Awards in London.
John is only 44 and lost his eyesight two years ago to diabetes. In going blind, John also lost the ability to do his job as a fitter (he’d worked on projects like the Channel Tunnel). Enter Dez, a Black Labrador…
‘I just fell in love,’ says John.
Now Dez wakes him up every morning at 7:30 wanting to be fed. And John has quality of life again.
Read more about John’s story in this BBC News article.
Posted in special dogs and awards, Uncategorized
Tagged Black Labrador, Dez, fitter, Guide dog of the year, John Tovey, labrador, London, Specsavers
I’ve just finished reading A Big Little Life by Dean Koontz. This book is the memoir of his Golden Retriever, Trixie.
Trixie was trained by Canine Companions for Independence as an assistance dog but had to be retired after needing elbow surgery. She came to live with author Dean Koontz and his wife, Gerda, in 1998. In this book, Koontz relates the stories of Trixie’s (a.k.a. Short Stuff’s) remarkable life, where she teaches the Koontzes to treasure every moment and live in the present. Meanwhile she makes lots of friends along the way.
My favourite story is of Trixie, who is suffering from diarrhea. However, Trixie won’t poop in her own yard and diarrhea won’t stop her from breaking this vow. She takes Dean for a sprint across their rather large California property in order to reach safe territory. There, she lets loose with explosive results. It is stories like this that many dog owners can relate to. (My Daisy won’t pee in the rain and it doesn’t matter whether she is wearing a raincoat or not – she has to be busting before she’ll go.)
Koontz was inspired by Trixie and this led him to publish a number of books in her name including Life is Good, Bliss to You (Trixie’s Guide to a Happy Life), Christmas is Good, and children’s book I Trixie Who Is Dog. Proceeds from these books were donated to support the Canine Companions charity.
Be prepared as Dean tells us about the awful days in 2007 when Trixie fell ill and was put to sleep in his arms, sitting on her favourite couch. Koontz was subsequently unable to write for almost a month afterwards.
As Koontz says on Trixie’s dedicated website pages, “She changed us as people, made us better by her example, brought piercing beauty and so much humor into our lives, and left a terrible void when she went to God.”
Sky TV (our cable channel) has been airing the film Apollo 13 for the millionth time and so, as my mind wanders, I started thinking about the first dog in space.
Her name was Laika, which means Barker in the Russian language. She was found as a stray dog but ultimately was sent into orbit on Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957.
A photo of Laika in her specially designed space capsule
Her successful launch into space was the subject of a lot of fanfare and heralded as an achievement by the Russian space programme. Over the years, her launch into space was celebrated in a range of postage stamps from around the world.
Back in 1957, people were told that Laika lived almost a week in space before dying a painless death. In 2002, those facts were disputed at the World Space Congress in Houston, Texas, by Dimitri Malashenkov of the Institute for Biological Problems in Moscow.
He reported that Laika died from overheating and panic just a few hours after the mission started.
Dr Malashenkov revealed several new details about Laika’s mission at the conference, including that the dog was chained to prevent her turning around and that her food was prepared in a jelly format for space travel. There was a carbon dioxide absorbing device in the cabin to prevent the accumulation of this toxic gas as well as an oxygen generator (similar to what was used in Apollo 13).
Medical sensors attached to Laika showed that her heart rate increased by to 3 times its resting rate during the launch. Other sensors showed that temperature and humidity increased as the space ship attained orbit. Within five to seven hours of flight, mission control in the Soviet Union stopped receiving life signs from Laika.
Laika achieved a place in history for her flight into space, which proved that life forms could survive (with support) in orbit. Unfortunately for Laika, she lived in a time when animal experimentation was an accepted norm.
Source: BBC News
Thirty-five years ago, on the waiting room wall of our family’s first vet, this passage from the actor and cowboy Will Rogers was mounted in a frame:
The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter- he’s got to just know.
What Mr Rogers said still holds true today. Our veterinarians must have enquiring minds, good social skills (with dogs and people), observation capabilities beyond compare, a good network for researching and diagnosing illnesses, and the dedication to continue learning as new drugs and medical techniques are developed.
Did you know that last year (2011), marked the 250th anniversary of the veterinary profession? French veterinarian and animal pathology researcher Claude Bourgelat established the world’s first veterinary school in Lyon, France in 1761. Another school was established several years later in Paris.
I get to witness the rapport between client, dog and vet when I’m allowed to sit in on Gumboot Morrall’s post-surgical examination with Dr Tim Nottage of the Merivale Papanui Veterinary Clinic in Christchurch. Gumboot – ‘Boots’ for short – has had a 1.2 kg tumour removed from his abdomen. His owner, Min Morrall, tells me that Gumboot is a 10-year old Labrador cross and that she takes all her animals to Dr Tim for care and treatment. She’s obviously comfortable at this practice as she shares the latest news with the receptionist while waiting for her appointment to begin.
Dr Tim Nottage rewards Gumboot after a successful examination
Dr Tim immediately asks for a progress report from Min, who says that Boots is walking again, although slower than normal. Whilst he works on Boots to examine the surgical scar and drain the wound, Dr Tim asks various questions of Min. These range from Boots’ appetite and medication to Min’s opinion on how her dog is doing. Throughout his exam, Dr Tim murmurs encouraging words to Boots. Afterwards, he gives Boots a treat which Boots happily accepts before heading for the relative safety of the reception area, clearly happy that his uncomfortable visit is over.
Our veterinarians go through years of education and training to become qualified and then their lifelong journey commences as they learn from their patients as new cases are presented. Today we are reaping the benefits from a profession established over 250 years ago and the lives of our animals are better for it. When you are next at your vet’s office, consider the words of Will Rogers and watch a true professional in action!
Posted in dog care, Uncategorized
Tagged anniversary, Christchurch, Dr Tim Nottage, medicine, Merivale Papanui Veterinary, veterinarians, Will Rogers
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