DoggyMom.com

Announcing the National Fire Dog Monument

Posted on June 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

The winning design features a firefighter looking upon his detection dog, who is ready for duty

The non-profit organisation National Fire Dog Monument has been successful in its fundraising to build a monument to Certified Accelerant Detection Dogs. The bronze statue is entitled “From Ashes to Answers” and will be permanently displayed in front of a fire station in Washington, DC.

The inspiration for the dog in the sculpture is Erin, Colorado’s first arson dog who died from cancer.

As the statue is transported to its final home, there will be a roadshow from June 21 to 28, 2012 stopping in 12 cities starting in Denver, Colorado and ending in Washington, with other stops in Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. The full schedule of stops can be found here.

Arson dogs are trained to detect hydrocarbons and other accelerants that are used to deliberately light fires. The use of dogs in this service is yet another way that working dogs are used to benefit communities and the new monument is a fitting tribute to their contribution.

Leave a comment

Posted in special dogs and awards

Tagged accelerant detection, accelerants, arson, arson dogs, Colorado, communities, Denver, detection dogs, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, National Fire Dog Monument, New York, Pennsylvania, roadshow, service, Washington DC

The importance of pain management

Posted on June 14, 2012 | 1 comment

Whenever I take on a new client, I use a health questionnaire that covers current conditions as well as the dog’s health history. One of the issues I address is any recent changes to the dog’s behaviour or living conditions.

What I am trying to ascertain is if a dog is in pain or having adjustment difficulties. There is a clear link between pain and aggression and this has been supported in a recent study by researchers at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain.

In the Spanish study, which has been published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 12 dogs that were brought in by their owners for ‘aggression problems’ were studied. All were found to have pain-induced aggression with eight diagnosed as having hip dysplasia.

The breeds in the study were: a Giant Schnauzer, Irish Setter, Pit Bull, Dalmatian, two German shepherds, Neapolitan Mastiff, Shih-tzu, Bobtail, Catalan Sheepdog, Chow Chow and Doberman.

The researchers concluded “if the pet is handled when in pain, it will quickly act aggressively to avoid more discomfort without the owner being able to prevent it.”

So, when a dog is behaving differently or is “out-of-sorts”, a visit to the vet is recommended. Behaviour changes can be the first indicator that something is wrong and your vet can help to run appropriate tests to see if there is an underlying health problem.

Dogs have a way of not telling us they are in pain until a problem is more pronounced because their natural instinct is to protect themselves by not exhibiting any noticeable vulnerabilities. Therapies such as massage and low level laser (which I employ in my canine rehabilitation practice) are useful in helping to manage pain through appropriate stimulation of acupressure points and managing muscle, tendon and ligament condition. I’m also a strong supporter of acupuncture and refer clients to a local vet who is trained in veterinary acupuncture.

These complementary therapies can be employed alongside traditional pain medications such as NSAIDs to support your dog’s quality of life. When pain is managed, quality of life improves for everyone in the household.

Source: Plataforma SINC. “If your dog is aggressive, maybe it is in pain.” ScienceDaily, 13 Jun. 2012. Web. 15 Jun. 2012.

1 Comment

Posted in dog care, research

Tagged acupressure, aggression, Autonomous University of Spain, behavior, behaviour, Bobtail, Catalan Sheepdog, Chow Chow, Dalmatian, Doberman, dog massage, dogs, german shepherd, Giant Schnauzer, health history, hip dyplasia, Journal of Veterinary Behavior, ligament, low level laser, massage, mastiff, muscle, NSAIDs, pain, Pit Bull, research, tendon, therapies, veterinary acupuncture

If your dog voted for President

Posted on June 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

The philosopher Immanuel Kant once said, “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” If dogs were allowed to vote in the upcoming US presidential election, I believe that this would be their main criteria for voting.

US President Barack Obama kept his promise to his daughters when he was elected to the US presidency and the family adopted Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog. Bo currently features in the President’s commemorative photo issued by the Democratic National Committee:

The official photo issued by the Democratic National Committee

In stark contrast is presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s reputation for caring for the family’s dog, Seamus. Romney placed Seamus into a dog crate on top of the family’s car in 1983 for a long car trip from Boston to Ontario, Canada. Romney defended his actions by saying that he outfitted the crate with a ‘modified’ windshield. When Seamus soiled the crate and the rear window of the car, Romney calmly stopped the car and used a hose on Seamus. (Romney’s team has commended his approach, citing it as an example of his emotion-free crisis management.) (You can read more about Romney’s treatment of Seamus and others in this Vanity Fair article.)

When interviewed by ABC’s Diane Sawyer, she asked Romney if he would do it again. He replied, “Certainly not with the attention it’s received.” (No comment about the appropriateness of his actions, just the attention).

This act of cruelty has been described by Scott Crider as a ‘deal-breaker’ for Romney’s candidacy. Crider has started the Dogs Against Romney movement which includes a Facebook page.

Supporters can also buy various Dogs Against Romney merchandise from the movement’s website. For example, your dog can wear a bandana that says “I ride inside” or you can use a coffee mug at the office “Dogs aren’t luggage”

So, who would your dog vote for? Romney or Obama?

I leave you with the words of Mahatma Gandhi:

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.”

Leave a comment

Posted in dog ownership, dog quotes, Dogs

Tagged Barack Obama, Bo, campaign, democratic national committee, Dogs Against Romney, election, Facebook, Gandhi, Immanuel Kant, Irish Setter, Mitt Romney, Portuguese Water Dog, President, Seamus, US President, Vanity Fair, voting

Animal Welfare Act Review workshop

Posted on June 10, 2012 | 3 comments

An invitation is extended to all interested parties who would like to take part in a forum to share ideas in the review of the Animal Welfare Act planned for later this year (2012).

It is proposed that this open forum will allow each organisation to bring their ideas for improvements to the Act to share and explore as a collective so that their thoughts may be reinforced and enhanced with additional views. In this informal setting much can be achieved and uniformity will result. Bring your ideas and your ideals and emerge with a stronger resolve.

Date: Friday 3^rd August 2012

Time: Commences at 11am, concludes around 4pm (with lunch in the middle!)

Venue: Auckland SPCA Education Centre, (Harrison Room), 50 Westney Road, Mangere, Auckland

If you wish to attend the Animal Welfare Act Review workshop please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday 26^th July 2012 by emailing Michelle Clay, Secretary of the NZ Companion Animal Council at michelle.clay@xtra.co.nz

3 Comments

Posted in animal welfare

Tagged Animal Welfare Act, NZ, NZCAC, review

Yorkie waits for 2 days for his truck driver owner to return

Posted on June 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

Truckies from all over the USA routinely travel with a canine sidekick. In the case of Michael Siau, an Arkansas-based trucker, he almost lost his sidekick, Rambo this week.

A Yorkie, little Rambo decided to get out of the truck in Missouri at a rest stop and Siau didn’t notice until he was hundreds of miles away.

This story ends happily, however, with the two united with the help of a local animal shelter. Read the entire Associated Press story here.

Leave a comment

Posted in Dogs

Tagged animal shelter, Associated Press, Michael Siau, Missouri, Rambo, rest stop, trucker, Yorkie

Dog dreaming

Posted on June 6, 2012 | 2 comments

We’ve all seen our dogs deeply asleep, with paws and legs twitching. There have even been times when my dog puts her head up while sleeping and howls like a wolf. (She usually wakes herself up, too).

Do our dogs dream?

All evidence points to an answer of ‘yes’.

Researchers know, for example, that the EEGs (electroencephalograms) of sleeping dogs show brain wave activity similar to humans during sleep. There is a period of sleep known as REM sleep (REM means rapid eye movement) when breathing becomes irregular and the eyes twitch. Sound familiar?

When humans have been wakened during REM sleep, they report that they have been dreaming and so there is no reason to think that our dogs aren’t dreaming.

Matthew Wilson, Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that animals have complex dreams and are able to retain and recall long sequences of events while they are asleep.

His work involved rats and monitoring their brain wave activity when they were asleep and awake. He also tracked the effect of sleep on learning of repetitive tasks.

Professor Wilson has said of his work “dreams are the ultimate off-line experience. This work demonstrates that animals are capable of re-evaluating their experiences when they are not in the midst of them.”

By the way, dogs, cats and rabbits are crepuscular which means that they naturally tend to be more active at dawn and at dusk. Humans are diurnal which means they are most active during the day (which explains why night shifts are so hard on people). Dogs seem to adjust their own sleep habits to match those of their owners.

2 Comments

Posted in dog care, research

Tagged animals, brain wave activity, brain waves, cognition, crepuscular, diurnal, dogs, dreaming, EEG, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Matthew Wilson, MIT, rapid eye movement, rats, REM

Caring for Nunavik’s sled dogs

Posted on June 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

Andréanne Cléroux, a veterinary student at the University of Montreal International Veterinary Group, is conducting a project to design and deliver a first aid guide for dogs in northern Quebec.

A family with their dog in Nunavik. (Credit: Sylvie Ricard)

“The problem relates mainly to animal health care, immunization, and dog population control,” Cléroux explains. “We wanted to create a guide that would provide basic tools for pet owners so they can provide care to their animal while waiting to contact the remote veterinary consultation service to get advice from a veterinarian at the CHUV (University of Montreal Veterinary Hospital).”

Cléroux spent time developing the guide before travelling to northern Quebec to work on the draft with residents. One of the challenges has been to develop a product that was good for those unfamiliar with dog care and still make it useful to mushers, who tend to know more about their dogs.

Cléroux has also created a first aid kit that includes all the necessary material to provide the care described in the manual and delivered it to several villages, with a goal to make it more widely available to all 14 communities in Nunavik.

Source: University of Montreal press release

Leave a comment

Posted in dog care, Dogs, research

Tagged Andreanne Cleroux, first aid, Nunavik, Quebec, sled dogs, University of Montreal

Things I must remember as a dog

Posted on June 2, 2012 | 1 comment

When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it’s raining.
We do not have a doorbell. I will not bark each time I hear one on the television.
The sofa is not a face towel. Neither are mum’s and dad’s laps.
My head does not belong in the refrigerator.
I will not bite the officer’s hand when he reaches in for dad’s drivers license.
I will not use ‘roll around in the dirt’ as an option after just getting a bath.
The cat is not a squeaky toy so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it’s usually not a good thing.

1 Comment

Posted in Humor/humour

US stamps in honour of working dogs

Posted on June 2, 2012 | 2 comments

The US Postal Service has a set of four stamps honouring service dogs.

The Dogs at Work set shows a guide dog assisting a blind woman, a tracking dog that is following a scent, a therapy dog visiting with an elderly woman and a search and rescue dog standing in a field.

In releasing the stamps for sale, the USPS said “Dogs have become more than just best friends — they’ve also become our coworkers. From guide dogs to therapy dogs to search and rescue dogs, these stamps from the U.S. Postal Service® honor the enduring partnership between dogs and people.”

“Currently, some 10,000 guide dogs in the U.S. and Canada serve as an extra set of eyes for people who are blind. Therapy dogs, chosen for their friendly dispositions, bring comfort and joy to the elderly and the ill. Dogs that work with police and military personnel are trained to detect drugs, guns, and explosives. Search and rescue dogs speed up search efforts, increasing the odds of survival for disaster victims.

Artist John M. Thompson created original paintings for the stamps, which were designed by art director Howard E. Paine. The Dogs At Work stamps are being issued at a 65-cent denomination, which is the price for single-piece retail First-Class Mail weighing more than one ounce and up to and including two ounces.”

2 Comments

Posted in Dogs, special dogs and awards

Tagged Dogs at Work, guide dogs, search and rescue, therapy dogs, tracking dog, US Postal Service, USPS, working dogs