Yellow Dog Blog

Financial Aid for Veterinary Care

2010-02-07T09:56:00.002-05:00

The fine folks at the Blind Dog Rescue Alliance have put together a wonderful reference list of financial aid for veterinary care. This aid applies to a wide variety of dog owners, rescues and shelters, not just to blind dogs. If you are not in need of financial aid, you might consider making a donation to one of these organizations. Good people fall on hard times, it is a worthy cause to help loving owners keep and care for their pets.

Cross posting with permission:

Nationwide/worldwide aid for pet owners:

AAHAHelpingPets-for vets who help abandoned animals and pet owners
Brown Dog Foundation-for pet owners whose pet faces a treatable life-threatening condition
Care Credit-for pet owners to apply for credit to pay vet bills
Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program-for cat owners
Good Samaritan Fund-for pet owners
Grey Muzzle Organization-for shelters and rescues, to help senior dogs
Help-A-Pet-for pet owners
IMOM-for pet owners and rescues
Neuter and Spay-low cost spay/neuter programs worldwide
The Pet Fund-for pet owners who can't afford vet care
Pet Lovers Online-Financial Aid in the UK
Protect My Pet-low cost vaccination clinic
Shakespeare Animal Fund-for pet owners who can't afford vet care, focusing on seniors
Spay USA-low cost spay/neuter programs throughout the US
United Animal Nations-for rescues and owners
Veterinary Care Partnership Program-for IIADP assistance dogs

Financial assistance/low cost spay-neuter clinics in specific locations:

Arizona:

Animal Defense League of Arizona-low cost spay/neuter in Tucson

Arkansas:

For Pets Sake-helps senior pet owners in NW Arkansas

California:

Acme Foundation-for seniors and disabled in Lake County, CA
Actors and Others for Animals-helps pet owners in the LA, CA area
Animal Assistance League of Orange County-for elderly, disabled and low income pet owners
Animal Guardian Society-for elderly and low income pet owners in Southern California
Marin Humane Society-provides financial aid and dog food for elderly, those with HIV/AIDS, and those in hospice
Orange County SPCA-has an Animal Rescue Fund to help low income pet owners pay for veterinary care
Pet Orphans of Southern California-helps low income families pay for veterinary care
Pets in Needlow and no cost veterinary care for needy San Mateo and Santa Clara County residents
Sue Freeman's Guide to Rescue Cats-list of sources of financial aid for pets in the LA area
Spay Neuter Animal Network-Helps pet owners with vet care and offers low cost spay/neuter vouchers in Ventura County area
Sacramento Area Animal Coalition-low cost spay/neuter in the Sacramento area
Sacramento SPCA-low cost spay/neuter
Spay California-low cost spay/neuter programs in California

Colorado:

Harrison Memorial Animal Hospital-helps low income pet owners with veterinary care
Maxfund-Low cost veterinary clinic in Denver

Delaware:

Faithful Friends-low cost vaccines and spay/neuter, free spay/neuter for pit bulls and pit bull mixes, in Wilmington

Florida:

St. Francis Veterinary Hospital-501(c)(3) vet office offering low cost veterinary care

Spay Shuttle-low cost mobile spay/neuter clinic in Palm Beach County
SPCA of Central Florida-low cost spay/neuter clinic

Georgia:

Cherokee County Humane Society-low cost spay/neuter clinic in Cherokee County Georgia
Save Our Strays Atlanta-low cost spay/neuter clinic in Atlanta GA

Idaho:

Idaho Humane Society-low cost vet care and spay/neuter in Boise

Indiana:

FACE Spay Neuter Clinic-Low cost spay/neuter clinic in Indianapolis, IN

Massachusetts:

MSPCA SNAP Program-low cost spay/neuter throughout Mass.
The Sampson Fund-for pet owners who can't afford vetwork for their critically ill animal

Maryland

Frederick County SPCA-financial assistance for vet care for pet owners, low cost spay/neuter

Minnesota:

Medipet-spay/neuter and emergency vet care funding for low income pet owners

Missouri:

Humane Society of Missouri-low cost spay/neuter program
Operation SPOT-low cost spay/neuter program

New Jersey:

STAF-financial assistance for vetwork for pet owners

New York:

Lollypop Farm-financial assistance for senior citizens, low cost spay/neuter in Monroe County

NY Save-for pet owners in the NYC 5 boroughs

North Carolina:

Ashley Fund-for pet owners in NC

Oregon:

Bearen Foundation-for pet owners in Lane County, OR
Dove Lewis Velvet Assistance Fund-helps low income pet owners with emergency vet care, in Portland

Rhode Island:

Rhode Island Companion Animal Foundation-provides funding for vet care for pets with low income owners
Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association-list of organizations that offer financial assistance with vet bills
Volunteer Services for Animals-information on low cost spay/neuter programs

Texas:

Capper and Chris Save the Animals Fund-helps pet owners with veterinary bills, in College Station

Utah:

Humane Society of Utah-low cost spay/neuter and vaccination clinic

Virginia:

Animal Welfare League of Arlington-low cost spay/neuter and vaccinations, offers loans for vet bills
Partners among Cats and Canines-financial aid for spay/neuter and vetwork

Washington:

Budkis Fund-helps seniors pay for emergency vet care
Concern for Animals-helps owners pay for spay/neuter and vet care in Thurston, Mason and Lewis County area, pet food bank
PAWS of Bainbridge Island-free and low cost spay/neuter program
Washington State University Good Samaritan Fund-helps pay for treatment at WSU for pets whose owners can't afford treatment

Washington, D.C:

Pets-DC-helps people with HIV/AIDS keep their pets
Washington Animal Rescue League-helps low income pet owners with veterinary care

Assistance for pet owners of specific breeds:
Doberman Pinschers:

Doberman911-helps owners with vet bills for senior or special needs Dobermans

Great Pyrenees:

Pyramedic-helps owners and rescues with vet bills for Great Pyrenees

Labrador Retrievers:

Labrador Harbor-for owners of Labrador Retrievers
Labrador Lifeline-for owners of Labrador Retrievers
Labmed-for rescued Labrador Retrievers

Pit Bull:

Pit Bull Rescue Central-for Pit Bull owners

Assistance for rescues:

Art for Animals-financial aid for rescues in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and western Massachusetts
Cats in Crisis-for cat owners and rescues
CorgiAid-helps Corgis in rescue
IMOM-for pet owners and rescues
Labmed-for Labs in rescue
Labrador Harbor-for Labs in 501(c)(3) rescues
Pyramedic-helps owners and rescues with vet bills for Great Pyrenees
SOS-SRF-for Siberian Huskies in rescue

Assistance for specific conditions:

The Magic Bullet Fund-for owners of dogs with cancer
Diabetic Pet Fund-for diabetic animals

Another Nutro Recall

2009-09-30T08:18:00.004-04:00

Yet another recall of Nutro products. Some of their puppy food may contain plastic. Please see Christie Keith's blog at Pet Connection for more detailed information.

I am really disgusted with Nutro. They have a lot of recalls and even more mysterious quality control problems that go unaddressed. They have a habit of denying that there's anything wrong until the complaints pile up to numbers that can not be ignored, then they do a poor job announcing the recall and communicating with their customers.

This is a company that built it's reputation on quality and responsibility, for not containing the toxic chemicals that are in so many grocery store brands ... but having one problem after another, acknowledging those problems only when forced to, then trying to play it down as much as possible by failing to communicate clearly and effectively with their customers, doesn't do much to help their reputation in my opinion.

Nutro needs new public relations and quality control staff.

Support Dick's Sporting Goods, Boycott Michael Vick

2009-09-03T13:10:00.004-04:00

Dick's Sporting Goods is refusing to sell Michael Vick's jersey.

They're keeping a tally of how many people call in to support them, the results will be forwarded to the NFL as part of a Michael Vick protest.

It's a pretty big deal for a large company like this, especially a sporting goods store to take a stand against a famous athlete.

Contact Dick's Sporting Goods and tell them that you support their decision not to sell Michael Vick's jersey. Their customer service department can be reached at 866-677-4771, press "0" to talk to an operator. Or send them an email .

Spread the word!

Pet Tabs Multivitamins Contain Lead

2009-08-30T13:51:00.002-04:00

Cross-posting from Blog4Dogs

Pet-Tabs Multivitamin: Alert!

Written by Jan on August 20, 2009 – 8:56 am

Important disclaimer. I received this alert via e-mail from Dr. R. J. Russell (who earned a Ph.D. in Anatomy and Zoology from Duke University and writes widely about dogs) regarding Pet-Tabs, a multivitamin made by Pfizer and widely sold. It concerns a report he said was made by ConsumerLab, a subscription testing site. I am not a ConsumerLab.com member and have not independently verified the report although I did communicate with Dr. Russell about it. I also checked the site and found Pet-Tabs listed in their multivitamin report. You can read it if you’re a member. http://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/Multivitamin_Multimineral_Supplements/multivitamins/

If you use this product, I suggest you to subscribe to ConsumerLab.com or write them and ask about it. Or write Dr. Russell. Please do not contact me. I have no further information. Read the report for yourself when making your decision as to whether to continue the product or not. I am not a vet or a research scientist. I do not use the product. I do not sell vitamins. This is for information purposes only. – Jan

PET-TABS ALERT

Robert Jay Russell, Ph.D.,a

Coton de Tulear Club of America President,

www.cotonclub.org

CotonNews@aol.com

(607) 693-2828

August 5, 2009. DO NOT GIVE YOUR DOG ANY PET-TABS. THEY ARE CONTAMINATED WITH LEAD AND HAVE BEEN FOR YEARS!

I cannot emphasize enough the extreme danger these multivitamins represent. Quixotically, they are not being recalled and the FDA has taken no notice of the results of testing published by
ConsumerLabs.com.

ConsumerLab, a paid subscriber testing service, tested Pet-Tabs Complete Daily for Dogs in 2007 and again in 2009. They found very high levels of lead contamination in the product: 1.41 mcg (in 2007) and 6.45 mcg (in 2009). The latter is nearly 13 times above the level mandated as safe by the state of California.

Dr. Russell continues:

Pet-Tabs are perhaps the most widely sold dog and cat vitamin supplement. We’ve used them (albeit not for many years). Pet-Tabs are sold by PetsMart, Doctors Foster and Smith, and virtually every pet shop, and on-line pet store in the nation. Pet-Tabs are made by the giant Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation, one of America’s leading opponents of health care reform and industry inspection and regulation. Pet-Tabs are sold under another corporate name: “Virbac” << http://www.virbacpets.com/ >>

ConsumerLab tests mostly human products. Sadly, this report and the previous years’ report confirming lead contamination in Pfizer/Virbac Pet-Tab supplements calls into serious question the safety and efficacy of these giant corporations’ entire product lines.

ConsumerLab tests mostly human products. There is no other information (such as why or how this supposed animal health care product has been laced with toxic levels of lead for years).

LEAD POISONING

Lead can be absorbed through the skin or, in the case of these supplements, ingested and absorbed. Clinical signs can be gastrointestinal and/or neurological. Many dogs or cats who are chronically ill, have upset stomachs, anorexia (food avoiders), blood disorders, kidney disorders (degeneration of the glomeruli and tubules), immunological problems, reproductive problems, or are suffering abnormal behavioral signs could have suffered chronic, catastrophic lead poisoning through supplements.

Before this revelation of supplement poisoning, the most common known cause of lead poisoning in people and dogs was contact with lead based paint or old car batteries. Other common causes of lead poisoning include ingestion of lead shot (fatal to many wild birds and sometimes served up in food that is hunted) and handling lead painted toys and ceramic ware. During the past 6,000 years humans have mined and redistributed lead on the planet to the extent that each of us has approximately 1,000 times the lead in our system (as measured in our bones) than prehistoric North American Indians.

Puppies absorb lead more readily than adults and are at greatest immediate risk for signs of lead poisoning, but lead poisoning can prove debilitating, even fatal for mature pets as well.

If your dog suffers from the diffuse signs of lead poisoning or if your dog or cat have been exposed to Pet-Tabs, the CTCA recommends you have its blood tested for lead concentration. Children in the household should also be tested should your pet prove contaminated.

CTCA RECOMMENDATIONS

I would avoid all vitamin and mineral supplement products sold under labels by either Pfizer or Virbac. These include labels such as “Pet-Tinic,” and “Lixotinic,” and “Liqui-Tinic,” which are generally sold for large animals.

Save any bottles of these products in a sealed Zip Loc bag. Label the bag well, stating “DO NOT USE - POISON!” You may need a sample of this product should your dog or cat become symptomatic. You will need to save the original packaging and product should Pfizer/Virbac be subject to a Class Action suit.

REFERENCES FOR VETS

Veterinarians normally do not first associate gastrointestinal, immunological or even neurological signs with lead poisoning. Given America’s current largely untested, unregulated food, supplement, and pharmaceutical supply, perhaps they should.

Should your vet need additional information about lead toxicity, its diagnosis and treatment, I suggest the following available, up-to-date references:

Michael E. Peterson, Patricia A. Talcott (editors), “Small Animal Toxicology, Second Edition,” Saunders Elsevier, St. Louis, MO. 2006

Ramesh G. Gupta (editor) “Veterinary Toxicology: Basic and Clinical Principles,” Academic Press, New York, NY. 2007.

WHAT VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS ARE SAFE?

That question is analogous to asking: “what food is safe?” It’s a crap shoot to be sure. ConsumerLab tested only three pet supplements; one was “Halo Purely for Pets VitaGlo Daily Greens.” It did not contain lead, but it contained less than half its advertised vitamins. “21^st Century Pet Nutrition Pet Chews Plus” was “approved” since it did not contain lead and its ingredients were as labeled.

Our veterinarian believes that one-half a Centrum Senior (human vitamin) is safe and effective for a dog the size of a Coton de Tulear. But without widespread government tests of our food, drug and supplement supply, who knows?

We have been using ProPet 8-in-one Vitamin supplements without problems, but chronic, gradual poisoning is not something we’d necessarily see. As noted: it is a gamble. And one that no one in this country should have to take.

NOTE: you have permission to cross post this article. If you do so, please leave the article intact.

————————————-

Blind Dog Rescue Needs Your Stuff

2009-08-29T09:41:00.005-04:00

Blind Dog Rescue Alliance, Inc. is having an eBay auction! We need money for vetwork. Adam, a pointer mix, our first foster, came into rescue with a bad upper respiratory virus, very bad ear infection in both ears, and lastly he was positive for Coccidia, whipworms and Lung Fluke. He has been to the vet a couple times already to monitor him. He's doing well, but vetwork was expensive. Buddy, a senior poodle we pulled from a shelter in NJ, also may have kennel cough.
We have a 10 week old puppy born without eyes coming in next week. We need to raise money to pay for their vetwork!

Please, if you have anything to donate, email info@blinddogrescue.com. You can either ship the item or send it to us to ship (though if you can ship, that'd be great) All items are welcome, not necessarily dog related items. Auction will start on September 6. Please crosspost widely, and thanks for your support.

BDRA, Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing blind and visually impaired dogs.
www.blinddogrescue.com

Please contact Blind Dog Rescue directly as I am not involved in this project, merely cross-posting for the director.

Toy Safety

2008-08-20T11:54:00.002-04:00

In June, Chai, a yellow lab mix in NYC was injured by a common toy, a ball with a hole in it (likely intended for treat dispensing or simply to make the ball more squeezable). As Chai was licking the ball he got his tongue into the hole and because there was only one hole in the ball, it created a vacuum, his tongue got stuck and by the time an emergency vet team sedated Chai and cut the toy off, the damage was done, his tongue had to be amputated. Despite heavy medication, Chai is still visibly in a lot of pain. He is essentially handicapped and requires extensive special care. And as you can imagine, the veterinary costs have been enormous, in excess of $5,000 so far.

As it turns out, Chai is not the only one.

The company that manufactured this particular toy is Four Paws, Inc. They are a large pet product manufacturer and most of the people reading this blog likely have at least one of their products at home. The toy in question is called the Pimple Ball with Bell. Chai's owner says that he has contacted Four Paws and provided them with detailed accounts of Chai's injury as well as two other dogs that he personally knows of. Apparently, Four Paws refuses to recall the toy, change the design or acknowledge any wrong doing.

Chai's owner has started a blog to spread the word.

If Four Paws does nothing to help these owners and their dogs and makes no effort to redesign this toy, I will certainly never recommend any of their products or purchase them myself. You may contact Mr. Allen Simon, the CEO of Four Paws at this email address hbirk@fourpaws.com

I would also like to point out that I have seen similar products from other manufacturers both in stores and online, even very upscale brands. This is probably a very common design flaw, but now that word is out, I hope that all pet toy makers will rework their products to include a second hole (I don't hold out much hope though). In the mean time, I suggest that you check your pet's toys, and if you think there's any chance that your dog could get even the tip of their tongue into such a toy, take it away. You can give it to a more appropriately sized dog, recycle it or simply throw it away.

How to turn a yellow lab chocolate in one easy step

2008-08-15T22:27:00.007-04:00

OK, so this video is from June, I'm only two months behind!

I couldn't think of a good song to set this to, so you get to hear me fumbling with the camera and walking through squishy muddy grass instead. Let's have some music suggestions, this video needs your help.

Again, I apologize in advance for the quality of my video camera. I am, however, accepting donations ;)

Just a Photo ...

2008-06-25T14:01:00.011-04:00

Just a photo today. This is Indy at the UKC Premier, it was taken on 6/14/08. You may marvel at his physical prowess now :)

Class Action Lawsuit Against Pet Food Manufacturers

2008-06-23T18:38:00.005-04:00

This came across one of my email lists today and I felt it worthy of sharing with you.
I am very curious to see what the outcome of this lawsuit is. I definitely fall on the side of the plaintiff and hope that this has some impact on the pet food industry or at least on the public perception of it.

This is the press release:

Nationwide Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Pet Food Companies and
Retailers For Misleading Consumers Regarding the Contents of Pet
Food

"Premium" Pet Food Marketed and Sold as "Complete and Balanced" Has
Historically Contained Such Items as Euthanized Dogs and Cats,
Restaurant Grease, Hair, Hooves, and Diseased Animals, and Other
Inedible Garbage

[MIAMI, FLORIDA] A cat and dog owner from Michigan and two cat and
dog owners from Florida have filed a nationwide class action against
food industry giants Mars, Inc., Proctor and Gamble Co., Colgate
Palmolive Company, Del Monte Foods, Co., and Nestle U.S.A. Inc.
These manufacturers have a combined approximate 70% of the market
share in the $16 billion dollar a year pet food industry. The suit
also names as Defendants Nutro Products, Inc., Menu Foods, Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc. Target Corp., Publix Supermarkets, Inc., Winn Dixie
Stores, Inc., as manufacturers and marketers of their own brand pet
food and retailers PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., Pet Supermarket,
Inc., and Petsmart Inc.

The Plaintiffs maintain that these companies have spent $300 million
a year in making false and misleading marketing statements regarding
the contents of their pet food to the dog and cat loving American
public. While these Defendants tout their pet food products as
choice cuts of prime beef, chunks of chicken, fish, fresh wholesome
vegetables and whole grains to induce consumers to buy them, the
Plaintiffs contend the food is actually made from "inedible"
slaughterhouse waste products of the human food chain such as
spines, heads, tails, hooves, hair, and blood. Rendering companies
who process this waste have also added other inedible "waste" such
as euthanized cats and dogs from veterinarian offices and animal
shelters, road kill, zoo animals, rancid restaurant grease, toxic
chemicals and additives. Additionally, dead animals and those
declared unfit for human consumption due to disease and illness are
also placed in the mix.

The lawsuit was filed in United States District Court for the
Southern District of Florida by attorney Catherine J. MacIvor of the
23 attorney Miami litigation law firm of Maltzman Foreman, PA. The
case is pending before the Honorable Cecilia Altonaga. Class
Counsel, Catherine J. MacIvor says that "The melamine debacle is not
the only serious problem with pet food. The number and frequency of
lethal pet food recalls in the last few years clearly shows the
seriousness and extent of this problem."

The lawsuit alleges that pet food companies market their products as
wholesome, choice cuts of meat, natural and complete and balanced
diets even though they are fully aware that this food is largely
carbohydrates and sugars combined with toxic preservatives and
additives with very little to no meat at all. The lawsuit seeks
damages to consumers for the false representations made in the
Defendants' advertising as well as punitive damages.

"Sadly," MacIvor said, "the Defendant pet food companies and
retailers recognized that American pet owners love their cats and
dogs like members of their family. The Defendants deceptive
advertising specifically marketed premium healthy food to the
American public knowing that they want to buy the best food that
they can for their loved one and knowing that the food consists
largely of garbage, chemicals, additives, diseased meat and even
residual pentobarbital from euthanized animals."

The 58 page lawsuit outlines in grotesque detail the actual manner
in which most commercial pet food in the United States is made. The
lawsuit also attaches and cites numerous news stories and research
articles outlining the real content of the Defendant's pet foods and
the misleading and deceptive advertising undertaken by the
Defendants.

The Defendants targeted in the Complaint produce pet foods under a
wide array of brands and names including: Pedigree(R), Sheba(R),
Goodlife Recipe(R), Royal Canine, Iams(R), Eukanuba(R), Science Diet(R),
Prescription Diet(R), 9 Lives(R), Amore(R), Gravy Train(R), Kibbles-n-Bits(R)
and Nature's Recipe(R), Snausages(R), Milk Bone(R), Pup-Peroni(R), Meaty
Bone(R), Canine's Carry Outs(R), Jerky Treats(R), Wagwells(R), Alpo(R),
Beneful(R), Beggin' Strips(R), Dog, Cat, Puppy and Kitten Chow(R), Fancy
Feast(R), Friskies(R), Mighty Dog(R), Deli-Cat(R), Pro Plan(R), Purina One(R),
Natural Choice(R) Dog and Cat Products, Max(R) Dog Products, Max(R) Cat
Gourmet Classics, Natural Choice(R) Complete Care(R) for cats, UltraTM
Products for dogs, Americas Choice Preferred Pets, Authority, Award,
Best Choice, Big Bet, Big Red, Cadillac, Companion, Compliments,
Demoulus Market Basket, Eukanuba, Fine Feline Cat, Food Lion, Food
Town, Giant Companion, Hannaford, Hill Country Fare, Hy-Vee, Iams,
J.E. Mondou, Laura Lynn, Li'l Red, Loving Meals, Medi-Cal, Meijer's
Main Choice, Mighty Dog Pouch, Mixables, Natural Life, Nutriplan,
Nutro Max, Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, Nutro Natural Choice, Ol'
Roy, Paws, Pet Essentials, Pet Pride, President's Choice, Price
Chopper, Priority US, Publix, Roche Brothers, Save-a-Lot Special
Blend, Schnucks, Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans, Sophistacat,
Special Kitty, Springfield Prize, Sprout, Stop and Shop Companion,
Tops Companion, Wegmans, Weis Total Pet, Western family US, White
Rose, Winn Dixie, Your Pet, LIFELongTM, Ol' Roy and Special Kitty
brands of pet food.

The lawsuit alleges, among other claims, that the pet food companies
have fraudulently and/or negligently misrepresented and concealed
what is actually in their pet foods, violated Deceptive and Unfair
Trade Practices, and Failed to Warn the public of the health risks
to animals associated with a diet consisting of their commercial pet
foods. Through the lawsuit, the Plaintiff's hope to recover
financial damages for all pet owners who have been similarly
deceived. "Ultimately we are hopeful that our lawsuit will force the
Defendants to more accurately describe what is in their pet foods
and to offer more healthful pet food options that provide pets with
food quality similar to that provided in human food products."

A copy of the Complaint and supporting research materials is
available at www.mflegal.com/petfoodlawsuit

Dock Jumping Part 2

2008-06-19T11:54:00.008-04:00

This past weekend, Indy and I attended the UKC Premier in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We went all four days and competed in every splash we could, 6 total. Having learned many lessons from the Dog Walk in May, I was much better equipped this time around. Namely, I purchased a pair of Crocs shoes, which are awesome! In fact, I've worn them every single day since I bought them, which was well over a month ago :)

Indy was a little monster the first day, he pulled until every muscle in my body ached and I just didn't think I could hang onto that leash a second longer. Having pushed me to my limit, and probably having grown tired himself, he settled down. He did not stop pulling entirely, but we had a dramatic improvement by the middle of day two. By the end of the weekend, other than the occasional jolt in his excitement to get up on the dock, he was much improved. I think that the more events we attend, the more he will settle down.

On day one, Indy jumped 9'11", a new personal best and top of the novice division. Because they had two pools set up at the Premier, Indy and I were able to get a lot of practice and we were able to get help from Gus' owner, Janet. Having two handlers on dock makes a big difference with certain block headed jumping maniacs. One person holds the dock in the right position and gets them riled up while the other person concentrates on making a well timed and straight throw. By Friday morning, Indy shattered his personal best record again, jumping over 13'. On Saturday, he set a new personal best that still stands, 14' 10"! He picked up 5'! That's near the top of the Junior division, only two inches shy of the Senior division. We were in first place going into the Junior finals on Sunday.

Thunderstorms were rolling in just as we started the finals on Sunday afternoon. Indy, Janet and I were the last team on the dock before the remainder of the event was postponed due to weather. We were a little off, and probably more than a little tired at the end of 4 exhausting days, still, Indy managed to jump 14'1", putting him in second place, right behind the other Indy, a White Shepherd that Jumped 14'4". The other Indy had a fantastic weekend, he also finished his UKC Grand Champion conformation title. We were really happy for him and honestly, you can't feel too bad about moving up a whole division and taking second place at your second event :)

As the rain began to fall, we all ran for our cars. I put Indy in the backseat then ran around picking up all our stuff, crammed it into the trunk, then got in the car myself to wait out the storm. There we sat, melting in the hot humid car for the next 30-40 minutes. Once the storm cleared, the weather was gorgeous. Some of the crowd returned to see the conclusion of the finals. Those who didn't return missed one heck of a show. After that storm all of the dogs were making HUGE jumps. I caught most of them on video, which is posted on this You Tube channel.

Indy got a lot of valuable socialization this weekend. He tends to annoy a lot of dogs and their owners with his hyper friendly rush right up and invade your personal space behavior. Waiting in line with other dogs and their owners is a challenge with him, to say the least. He's not very good about taking cues like growling and snapping to mean that he should leave another dog alone. He got a superficial bite on the muzzle which is healing fine and probably went a long way to teaching him to have respect for dogs who warn him off. He did meet a few other dogs that matched his temperament and who tolerated all of his rude behavior. Kya, a sweet little one year old Pit Bull and Teddi, a nearly two year old Golden Retriever. Indy's becoming quite the lady's man ;)

It was a fantastic weekend. I think Indy rested for a good 24 hours, but he was so happy, he's really hooked on jumping now!

Photo courtesy of Brian L. Butler, Grand Rapids, MI

Dock Jumping - Part 1

2008-06-18T22:17:00.006-04:00

I've been such a bad blogger lately, but I'm going to recap what's been going on in Indy's life for the past month and a half.

On May 3rd we went to the Kalamazoo Humane Society's Dog Walk and participated in our first official dock jumping competition. Indy was very excited the whole way to the dock, when we finally got up there, he drug me to the end, I tossed the toy in and drug him back to the starting position and let him go, he shot out of my hands like a rocket then skidded to a stop at the end to peer over the edge, then he saw his Water Wubba and belly flopped in at a whopping two feet! Now the only trouble was keeping him off the dock. No, really, he tried repeatedly to drag me onto the dock when other owners and their dogs were on it, and one time, he succeeded. Just when you think the obedience training has been going well, they find new and creative ways to embarrass you.

We entered two splashes, you get two jumps per splash, the better score determines your place. In splash one, Indy jumped 6'2" and 8', finishing 5th place in the novice division. In splash two, Indy jumped 5' and 7'8", finishing 3rd in the novice division. Not bad for a newbie, good enough to progress to the novice finals. According the official record, in the finals, he jumped 8'9" and 7'. Though I could have sworn the judge called a 9'10" jump, but I could be mistaken and 8'9" was still good enough to finish first place in the novice division! I actually didn't realize for a few weeks, until the scores were published online, that Indy had won. I was so distracted trying to handle my wild boy that I didn't hear the announcement. All I knew was that he did well and I was proud of him :) We had a great time, but let me tell you, it was an exhausting day. I went home black and blue, swollen, scraped up, soaking wet and ready to drop. I'll share some valuable lessons that I learned.

#1 Insist on parking near the pool, do not park with the general public. You have too much stuff to haul and handling an 80 pound insane lab that pulls like a runaway horse through a sea of people and dogs is hard enough with out trying haul equipment and supplies that collectively, weigh more than you do. Unpack the car first, set everything up, then get the dog.

#2 Do not, I repeat, do NOT, under any circumstances, wear flip flops. One excitable lab who isn't used to crowds, let alone a thousand other enticing dogs, is going to dance around and spend a lot of time stepping on you. The pictures were too graphic to post, but my feet were not a pretty sight. Cut, bruised and swollen to an unnatural shape, walking the next day was practically out of the question.

#3 Bring a first aid kit. Pretend its for the dog, but really, if you're anything like me, you're gonna need it :)

#4 Bring baby wipes. They're amazingly good for wiping off your leg and shoe when your dog, confronted with a thousand strange dogs, marks his territory, you.

#5 Bring a training collar or slip lead that goes on and off quickly. Unless your dog has been at enough events that they are desensitized and able to remain calm in the face of the ultimate temptation, you're going to need it.

#6 Come equipped with the patience of a saint or a stiff drink. See #5 for the cause.

#7 Don't wash the water bowl and then leave it drying in the dish rack at home. But if you do, use one of the plastic bags that you brought for another purpose, fold over the sides and use it for a temporary water bowl.

#8 Do not place a pop up soft kennel that rolls easily next to an unstaked tent on a windy day. If that tent gets ripped out of the ground by the wind, rolls the kennel over several times with the dog still inside, have multiple people fawn all over him until he forgets that he's traumatized.

#9 Do not plan on moving the next day. You've just discovered about 50 muscles you never knew you had. You want them to rest so that they go away and leave you alone.

#10 Last, but certainly not least. Drink enough water to keep you alive, but not so much that you'll have visit the port-a-potty. Trust me on this.

Photo courtesy of Brian L. Butler, Grand Rapids, MI

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

2008-04-20T11:49:00.003-04:00

I know this is a dog blog, however, since Indy cohabitates with two felines and he loves kitties, cute cat videos have been declared on topic :)

So, What Does Indy Eat?

2008-04-16T22:33:00.003-04:00

In response to my post on the history of pet food, Chris asked me what I feed Indy. The response is long enough to warrant its own post :)

Indy and the cats eat what is called a prey model diet, affectionately referred to as "frankenprey" because it's made up of many different animals to form one mythical prey animal. The idea is that in the wild, predators eat nearly the whole animal, so the healthiest and most natural diet for them is one that mimics a prey animal. The trouble is that most raw feeders have to rely on food from grocery stores and hunting to feed their pets. It would hardly do to toss Indy an entire cow or deer carcass. Besides what the neighbors would think of the crazy people with the dead deer in the backyard, it just wouldn't be very practical and more than a little bit digusting. I do have my standards :) Instead, I aim for feeding him a variety of meats, bones and organs. The preference of most prey model feeders is to serve up roughly 80% meat and connective tissue, 10% bone and 10% organs, about the ratio of most prey animals.

So, that's the theory behind the diet, now for what he actually eats...

Our big staple is chicken quarters (that's the entire thigh and leg and usually a tiny bit of the liver). I buy the ones packed in only water, no chemicals for us, Indy will turn his discriminating little nose up at chicken packed in a chemical broth, smart boy :) Chicken quarters are great for several reasons, first and foremost, they are dirt cheap! They're also readily available and they contain nearly the perfect ratio of meat, bone and usually organ. However, one part of one animal does not make a balanced diet, so he also gets beef, usually ground or what ever is on sale, same goes for pork, duck and turkey. When whole chickens go on a really good sale I buy a few and over the course of several meals he eats the whole thing including the heart, gizzard, neck and liver. If I have left over fish, he gets that too, but it does not constitute a large part of his diet. Eggs also add some variety and make a great well-rounded meal. When we're very lucky a hunter will share his left overs with us. We've gotten venison, antelope, boar and fish from some very nice people. We've also had small farmers who butcher their own chickens share the feet and other “trimmings” with us. Indy loves the feet (and they're a great source of glucosamine and chondroitin), the rest of it, he'd be happy to do without. As for organs, I used to buy them whole and cut them up and feed little bits with every other meal or so, but, being an incredibly lazy person, when my local pet store started carrying a high quality frozen ground beef organ mix, I immediately converted. It couldn't be easier, I just give him a good size scoop every couple of meals and he gets a wider variety than I was ever able to find in the grocery store. The same pet store also carries frozen ground green tripe (that's the cow's stomach with all the good yucky stuff left in tact) which is highly nutritious and has also become a staple. Fruits and veggies are not part of his diet, though he occasionally gets them as a treat. His favorites are carrots, bananas, apples and pineapple. Indy also takes fish body oil capsules and vitamin E to help with his allergies. And he gets a little yogurt here and there as a treat (it pretty much eliminated what little gas he used to get).

Now, you're probably thinking to yourself, “holy cow that's a lot of food!”. He sure doesn't eat it all in one day :) He eats about 2-2.5% of his body weight per day (that's a general rule of thumb for adult cats and dogs, but it's flexible since every animal is an individual with a different metabolism and activity level). By feeding chicken quarters that I buy for about 49 cents per pound I am able to then add variety to his diet with slightly more expensive meats and still feed him for about $1 per day (sometimes less, sometimes nothing at all if he's getting freezer clean outs; freezer burned meat, hunting leftovers etc.). I spent about the same amount, oftentimes more, when I fed him a premium kibble and store bought treats.

Just a few benefits of the raw diet:

*Better dental health, gnawing on raw bones is great for keeping teeth clean and gums healthy. Please note that raw bones are soft and highly digestible, cooked bones are NOT safe, they are prone to splintering and causing bowel obstructions.

*Easier weight control. Overwhelming anecdotal evidence suggests that dogs that are either chronically over or underweight on kibble (despite dietary control by the owner) seem to reach their ideal weight easily on a raw diet.

*Less poop! Because the raw diet is highly digestible, there's very little waste and no grain or veggies to add bulk and stink to the poop. A raw fed dog's poop also biodegrades very quickly, breaking down and disappearing into the soil within a couple of days (you'll notice when you're out hiking through the woods that wild animal poop does the same thing, when an animal eats what they were designed for, there's not much left over). All of this means that poop patrol is a much less difficult and disgusting chore when your pets are raw fed.

*Bright, clear eyes, less stink and a beautiful shiny coat. The raw diet isn't a miracle, but it sure seems that way to some pet owners. Pets who have struggled with dull flaky coats, goopy eyes, bad breath, body odor and a host of other pesky problems that no expensive diet or supplement seemed to fix, generally find that within 6 weeks of starting raw, their pet looks like a million dollars and doesn't smell like much of anything. This is basically chalked up to a natural species appropriate diet. When animals eat what they're supposed to, they generally look and smell the way they're supposed to.

*Improved digestion, pretty much everything I just said in the last point. Tons of cats and dogs suffer from IBS among other digestive ailments, most of them find relief on a raw diet.

I could go on, but really, I can't even begin to list all of the benefits of a raw diet for a carnivore. See the links in my post on the history of pet food and you'll have more than enough reading material to keep you busy for the next year :)

A Brief History of Pet Food

2008-04-15T13:27:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been about a year since the big pet food recalls. The gross corporate and multi-government neglect that precipitated the recalls had some tragic consequences, leaving thousands of pets chronically ill or dead. It had one positive side effect, that more pet owners began to scrutinize what they feed their animals.

For me, like many other pet owners, the journey actually began before the recalls, as a result of a less than healthy pet. For years now, a small but growing segment of the pet owning population has been questioning the value of commercial pet food products and the lack of integrity in the industry. Usually these people have experience with one or more pets made chronically ill by a life time of poor nutrition on a commercial diet. A diet where carnivores are fed primarily grains, sugar, substandard animal by-products and rendered animal waste, fortified by supplements of undetermined value, and preserved with cancer and tumor causing chemical compounds such as BHA and BHT. This unnatural and inappropriate diet has had much the same impact on our pets as processed and inappropriate foods have had on humans. Obesity, diabetes, food allergies, gum disease, kidney failure and cancer have become epidemics. Let's start at the beginning ...

Once upon a time people knew that their cats and dogs were carnivores. Plain common sense dictated that animals that prefer to hunt, catch, kill and eat small prey animals, rather than munch on hay, were carnivores. Common sense told our ancestors that an animal with claws, fangs and a jaw and teeth designed for tearing into flesh, was a carnivore. Common sense said that if a cat or dog could catch and eat a mouse, bird or rabbit, in its entirety, without cooking it first, and not only not get sick, but thrive on such a diet, without human intervention, then it was a carnivore. Without having to debate the merits of supplements, rendered and extruded products with people who have a vested financial interest in the consumption of said products, the average person knew that "give the dog a bone" was darn good advice. Pets, in return for their companionship and performing their job as mouser or defender of the farm and family, were given table scraps; meat, connective tissues, bones, organs, possibly a few left over veggies and as many vermin as they could catch. Barring injury, animals were living long, healthy, useful lives.

Then, in 1860, along came Mr. James Spratt, an entrepreneur who saw an opportunity in marketing and selling a dry biscuits for dogs. It was a convenient and inexpensive way to feed pets. At first the product was snatched up by sportsmen, it could conveniently be tucked in a pocket and taken with them on the hunt. Spratt's invention also happened to coincide with the birth of the industrial revolution, urbanization and a time in Victorian England when owning purebred show dogs became all the rage for city dwellers. As humans began to buy foods from markets rather than the farm (or raising their own), it became less likely that they would have an abundance of scraps to throw to the dog, in the city it was also less likely that a dog would catch some of their own food, especially the new pampered purebred pooches that were being kept by the middle and upper class. These people were quite detached from the countryside, from where their food came from and from the notion that their little Fluffy or Fido was a predator and a meat-eater. There was a demand for cheap and convenient pet food and it was filled by Mr. Spratt and many others after him. By 1890 commercial pet food had spread to the United States. It should be noted that many people continued to feed their pets as they always had or fed table scraps in addition to commercial products, probably more out of habit than knowledge (lucky for their pets).

By the 1940's canning was a very popular means of preserving cooked foods, this extended to dog food, in which meat and veggies were cooked up, fortified and canned, for the convenience of the owners. Canned food could be kept for a long time, meaning it could be mass produced and shipped all over the country, driving prices down. When the war came along and aluminum was rationed, the canned food had to go. Pet food manufacturers focused on producing a dry product that had the shelf-life of canned food, was even cheaper, didn't smell, and could be left out all day, kibble. Due to its low cost and extreme convenience, kibble was a wild success.

Though clever marketing and pretty packaging had been a part of the pet food industry from the start, it really began to flourish after the advent of kibble and the booming sales that it produced. Everyone wanted in on the action. Cereal, soup and candy manufacturers got into the pet food business with names like Campbell, Lipton, Post, General Foods, Nestle, Mars and Carnation. When it came to manufacturing pet food, these companies were subjected to almost no regulation by the federal government.

In an absence of real regulation, pet food manufacturers have produced foods using inferior and often questionable ingredients and labeled them "complete" and "balanced". Labeling regulations by the FDA allow manufacturers to use generic terms like "meat meal" and "meat by-products". In theory by-products aren't bad, in fact organs, ligaments, skin, eyes, etc are quite nutritious. "Meal" is the dry form of parts of the animal. The trouble is that these terms don't tell you exactly what's in there, the nutritional value or the source. The source is often the scariest part. It is common practice that "4-D" animal parts make their way into these rendered products. The term 4-D refers to animals that dead, dying, diseased or disabled before reaching the plant, animals that are rejected for human consumption are forwarded to rendering plants for pet food. This is actually against the law, but the FDA feels little incentive to go up against big pet food manufacturers, and they are under virtually no pressure to do so. The rendering process is harsh and while it destroys most of the nutrients in the food, it does not appear to destroy the hormones, antibiotics and euthanization drugs that were used on the feed animals. Additionally, it is impossible to determine what nutritional value "meals" and "by-products" have because they are such a hodge-podge of rendered animal and plant materials. And of course, whatever nutritional value there might have been prior to the rendering, most of it is destroyed by the process itself. Rendering means, “to extract by melting; to treat so as to convert into industrial fats, oils or fertilizer.” The fat gets scraped off the top and sold to pet food manufacturers as "by-product", it is also used in soap and various cosmetic products. What's left in the vat has the liquid removed and is sold as "meal". Rendering kills most bacteria, but it also destroys most proteins and enzymes. As if you weren't grossed out enough already, I'm going to tell you that when it comes to the rendering vat, anything goes. In short, rendering plants use waste. The 4-D's make the grade and of course any part of the animal that is not fit for human consumption including cancerous tissue, contaminated blood, tumors, injection sites, and any part of the animal that was treated with non-FDA/EPA approved substances. Again, this is technically illegal, disease animals = adulterated materials and that's not allowed in pet food ... but if the FDA won't enforce their own rules, who will? Also showing up in rendering vats are about 6-7 million cats and dogs per year, road kill, expired grocery store meat and dead zoo animals. The meat wrappers, Styrofoam and plastic wrap also make their way into the vat (because its just not reasonable to mandate that they take the time to remove those items from the rotten meat first). The best part is that just because its labeled "chicken meal" doesn't mean that it is, cats and dogs are routinely used because of their similar protein structure. I wish this were conspiracy theory, but its not, it has all be readily admitted by owners and employees of rendering plants and animal control officers. And unfortunately, it's not just gross, it has real consequences. Outbreaks of feline paralysis have been linked to rendered products, diseases have been passed on through rendered products and sodium pentobarbital has been found in finished product dog food ... meaning that they are eating the same product that will someday be used to euthanize them, after their bodies have finally succomed to illness from all the garbage they have been fed.

All of this is before we even consider the questionable quality and safety of the vitamins, minerals, food coloring and chemicals that are added to the food and are virtually unregulated. Propylene glycol was used in canned cat food for years despite the fact that is is a cousin to anti-freeze (incredibly toxic to pets) and that propylene glycol was known to cause Heinz Body Formation, a severe red-blood cell disorder in cats. Under significant pressure, it was finally banned in cat foods, it took over 15 years. Ethoxyquin, a chemical preservative is still commonly used in dog food despite its documented connection to allergies, organ failure, cancer and behavioral issues.

I could go on and on, but this post is long enough already! Let's move along :)

So, what do you about it? Well, there are lots of healthy diet options. Many people, myself included, feed their pets an all natural, all raw, animal based diet. It's not as icky, difficult or expensive as it sounds and it's certainly not dangerous, not any more dangerous than feeding certain commercial products :) Lots of people also cook for their animals, in my humble opinion this is difficult and it can get expensive because when you cook food you break down its nutrients, because carnivores get their nutrition solely from animal products, if you cook those products, most experts agree that then you must supplement for the lost nutrients, and since you can't feed cooked bones, then you need a substitute for that, a real pain the neck in my opinion. But if you want to do it, more power to ya, just do your homework :) There are also good quality canned foods and some decent kibbles. A good rule of thumb when shopping for a commercial pet food is to go to a real pet store, avoid grocery and big box stores, they tend to sell "cheap" food that is way overpriced for its quality (or lack thereof) because it is heavily advertised, advertising costs money. When it comes to pet food, cost per pound should be a secondary consideration because not only is the quality of the food more important but in the case of most high quality pet foods, you actually need to feed a lot less of it. Species appropriate foods are more filling and produce less waste (yes that means less litter box mess and less poop-patrol in the yard, usually less stinky too!). When you read labels, look for foods that do not contain any by-products (they should specify what part of the animal you're getting, same goes for plant by-products, there's just no call for using those), try to avoid "meals" if possible and opt for things that simply say "chicken" or "beef" or "lamb" not "chicken meal" etc... This means you're getting meat, not stuff out of the bottom of the rendering vat that was previously mentioned. Also the first few ingredients on the bag/can should be meat/animal parts, remember, you're feeding a carnivore, grains, fruit and veggies should be way down the list, if they're present at all. Look for products that claim they use only USDA certified human grade ingredients (or something to that effect). Look for products that do NOT use BHA, BHT or Ethoxyquin, instead look for Vitamin E, Vitamin C and Tocopherols, these are natural and safe preservatives that don't cause cancer. And finally, it's a good idea to avoid foods that use corn and soy, these are common allergens and cheap fillers that typically indicate a low quality food. If the food has grain, look for brown rice or barley. Most importantly, be aware of what you are feeding your pets and make an informed decision that you feel comfortable with.

For further reading, documentation etc, you might want to visit the following links.

A very well written and cited abstract from a Harvard Law student on the state of the pet food industry. She basically goes into a lot more detail than I do and provides the documentation to back it up.

Alternative Feeding Practices by Dr. Wynn

Jane Anderson's Raw Learning

Wysong's Pet Food Learning Web Site

The Healthy Pet Journal

Dr. Lisa Pierson's Cat Info Web Site

Dr. Tom Lonsdale's Web Site

Dr. Richard Pitcairn's Web Site

A cool new blog for all your K-9 shopping needs

2008-04-11T06:36:00.004-04:00

I found this cool new blog today. Mackenzie and his owner scour the Internet for the most unique dog related things to spend your money on. I was surprised at how many of them I've never seen before. The dog "mood collar" really cracked me up :)

Indy wants a fire hydrant cookie jar, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he only wants it for the cookies contained inside ...

Good thought for the day

2008-04-03T14:13:00.002-04:00

Someone I know has this in her email signature, and I like the sentiment, so I'm sharing it with you :)

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion".

-Unknown

A Great Dog Collar

2008-03-16T19:50:00.002-04:00

Indy would like to tell the whole world about his wonderful new collar (well, not so new, its almost a month old). He got it from Dublin Dog, it is made of a soft, flexible, durable polymer. It is waterproof, stinkproof and chewproof. It will not stretch or fade and does not need to be washed. Indy's humans agree that the best part about this collar is that it doesn't get stinky (unlike that horrible old nylon collar). It's very smooth and never catches on or rubs his hair. It looks nice too (this picture does not do it justice). Humans and canine agree, this is the perfect collar. Indy can't wait to show it off at dock jumping events.

Our only regret is not buying one with shamrocks for St. Patricks Day.

A New Leash on Life; NFL player dedicates himself to helping animals

2008-02-10T17:00:00.001-05:00

This is just such a wonderful story I had to share it. It's so nice to see a professional athlete doing something so good and so selfless and not seeking any acknowledgment for it.

Someone I know, after reading this, commented that it would be wonderful if each NFL team had a player or a group of players who would get together and do something similar in their towns ... what a positive impact that would have in the lives of animals and their communities, not to mention great PR for the football teams, who could definitely use it. Hint, hint :)

Help!

2008-02-09T16:54:00.001-05:00

A great YouTube video with an even better message.

If you can't keep your pet from reproducing, please have them spayed or neutered. A disturbingly high number of "oops" litters and "free" pets end up abused, homeless or euthanized. Don't bring a life into this world that you aren't prepared to be responsible for, for life.

Snow!

2008-01-26T16:25:00.002-05:00

I took this video with my palm PDA and it was late in the day with very little light so please forgive the low picture quality, but I thought that Indy's fans might enjoy seeing him and his best dog pal Hercules frolicking in the snow.

Profound Thought for the Day

2007-12-28T09:36:00.001-05:00

"The small percentage of dogs that bite people is monumental proof that it is the most benign, forgiving creature on earth."

-William H. Koehler

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T23:32:00.000-05:00

Indy had quite a Christmas and is resting soundly now. On Christmas eve he opened presents from his Secret Santa, he received three plush squeaky toys, one that looks like an orange doll, one that looks like a blue elephant, it's ears crinkle too, and one that looks like a shaggy puppy. He's busy learning their names. I try to give most of his toys names so that I can tell him to go fetch something, he's very smart, I would say 95% of the time he gets it right, the other five percent of the time I think he's jut feeling lazy and goes for the nearest item or the item he'd rather play with. He also received a red plaid collar cover and some beef tendon chews, which he absolutely loves.

Indy has been completely overindulged this Christmas, he's tasted yogurt covered pretzels, maple bacon, maple ham, sweet bread, pineapple and a few other naughty things.

We went for a run this afternoon and met up with his buddy Hercules, they hadn't seen each other in a few weeks, you'd think it had been years the way they carried on. In their initial exuberance to greet one another, they took Hercules' owner right off his feet, luckily the snow made for a soft landing. They must have wrestled and played keep away for a solid hour before the humans had frozen toes and fingers and decided enough was enough. The boys were in no way ready to end their play time. Between the two of them, they really are the friendliest, happiest dogs I've ever met. They both simply exude the joy of being alive and being a dog.

They met up with a third dog who was relatively friendly, Indy took a lack of outright hostility as an act of friendship and tried to follow the new dog home, gleefully ignoring his recall command and running circles around me, obviously not ready for play time to end. Tomorrow, back to boot camp for Indy, doggy training 101.

For now, we're all stuffed silly on ham and I'm the last one awake in a very quiet house full of critters sleeping off full bellies, it is unusually peaceful.

However you celebrate this time of year, I hope it was a good one for you and your family. Here's looking forward to a new year!

The beach

2007-10-16T11:41:00.000-04:00

On Sunday Indy and I visited Grand Mere State Park on Lake Michigan. It was rainy off and on, but thankfully, by the time we reached the beach it had cleared up.

Grand Mere is a pretty state park, very undeveloped ... a little too undeveloped if you ask me. There were no signs directing people to the beach, or anywhere really, just tons of well worn trails that wandered off in every direction ... through miles of very high sand dunes. Needless to say, Indy and I wandered off in the wrong direction ... after aimlessly climbing and descending multiple sand dunes I fully expected to see water by the time I reached the summit of the monster size darn near vertical climb sand dune, only to be met by a view of another dune, and another one after that. Clearly, I had gone the wrong direction, so we started back tracking, a tiny bit lost, but eventually made it back to the car, hot, sweaty and swearing, I realized my keys had fallen out of my pocket, so, back we went, to climb those damn dunes all over again. I found my keys but I officially HATE sand dunes :) I griped at Indy for not being a tracking dog and for pulling on his leash the whole darn time (the trails weren't wide enough for heeling). Eventually we saw someone else on the trail and followed him to the beach, which was lovely. Indy did what can only be described as frolicking, those of you have have labs, know what I'm talking about. We played fetch, well, I said "fetch" he thought I said, "keep away", typical. In his usual joyous fashion, he bounded right up to a big female Shepard type dog, got in her face, taunted her with his toy, trying to induce play time ... the big doofus doesn't have a clue how to approach protective dogs. She growled and pitched a fit, luckily nothing more .. one of these days Indy is going to get himself into trouble because he doesn't understand why anyone wouldn't love him. Then our friend Ivy, the 11 pound Shi' Tzu bullier of big dogs arrived to put Indy in his place.

In order to be respectable dogs they had to play keep away with an old fish skeleton they found on the beach, yum. Indy dug a big hole in the beach as Ivy supervised and chased the flying sand. Poor Ivy must have required some serious bath time when she got home that night. Luckily Indy is a wash & wear dog, a nice hot shower and he's ready to go. Then I just have to clean the mud off and sand off every surface in the bathroom.

We left the beach happy and exhausted. Indy slept the whole way home, one happy and content lab.

Burma

2007-10-04T08:27:00.000-04:00

Today I am participating in the global "Free Burma" blogging movement. In keeping with the subject of this blog, we have at left a black lab wearing red in support of today's "Free Burma" movement (not my photo, it was post on Flickr for the use of bloggers today).

If you're anything like me, you've heard short blurbs about the problems in Myanmar on the radio and you think, "oh that's sad", but you don't really know what's going on, and honestly, don't dwell on it for more than a few seconds. Let's take some time out today to learn about the problems facing Burma, why the monks are protesting, how the government is retaliating and what the international community is doing about it.

ko htike's blog (warning, disturbing, graphic pictures)

BBC's Country Profile: Burma

BBC: Monks trying to Escape Rangoon

BBC: Sanctions' limited effect in Burma

BBC: UN Envoy holds key Burmese talks

AP: Myanmar Junta steps up propaganda

An example of the Burmese government's propaganda

Burma Digest (blog)

Raw Story shows smuggled CNN video of the violence in Burma

A letter from inside Burma after the Internet has been blocked

Allergies

2007-10-02T20:34:00.001-04:00

Well, Indy got to go see the vet yesterday. He was tickled pink, going to vet is like going to Disneyland for him, all the smells, sights, new people and animals ... did I mention smells? He always reverts to his hyperactive puppy from hell behavior when we go to the vet, bouncing all over the place, whole body wagging, typical lab "smile" from ear to ear, tongue hanging out, happy as can be. Though labs in this state can be downright aggravating with their over exuberance, they absolutely exude the joy of life, and everyone present smiles despite themselves.

Indy has been an itchy, sneezy dog since we got him a year ago, he had a noticeable worse spell in the spring where you could hear him clearing his throat and he sneezed and scratched and nibbled even more than usual, but I really didn't want to put him on drugs unless it was necessary, so we went into wait and see mode, and things seemed to improve. I've been supplementing his diet with fish body oil capsules and a little vitamin E, his coat became even softer and shinier, but it still seemed like he scratched more than a normal dog and with the arrival of fall, his severe itchiness has returned. He was nibbling so hard he had marks and little pustules on his skin, easily visible on his belly and inner hind legs. He was scratching his ears all the time and they were starting to look a bit pink. The diagnoses is mild atopy or atopic dermatitis. We're trying out Hydroxyzine Hcl 50mg twice per day. It's a prescription antihistamine and should be more than enough to give him relief from mild allergies. There was a noticeable difference within an hour or two of the first pill, I only saw him scratch once all night and no nibbles or rolling around on his back. The vet said that he would probably get drowsy on this medicine, I don't mind saying, that sounded rather appealing at the time :) It didn't happen though, he was wide awake and his wild and crazy self. By this morning, 12 hours later, it was clear that he was ready for his second dose as the aggressive scratching had returned. That's to be expected, it's not a cure, it just offers some relief from the symptoms. I really don't care for the idea of keeping my pets on medication long term, so hopefully (fingers crossed) this drug will only be needed to get him through allergy season.

Sleepy Kitty

2007-09-23T11:09:00.001-04:00

Ok, this has nothing to do with dogs, but Indy and I are kitty lovers too and this was just a great video, had to share ...

Achieving a low kill shelter

2007-09-21T11:54:00.001-04:00

I'm going to take this opportunity to plug Nathan Winograd's blog because I feel very strongly that he's on the right track when it comes to animal welfare and reducing the number of animals killed in shelters each day.

The average person doesn't have any idea how shelters are really being run or what's wrong with the system. Winograd's works are a good introduction to that world and what really can be done about it. We do not have to kill nearly as many animals as we do each year, there is a humane solution and it is not limited to just spay and neuter programs.

You may also want to check out his book, Redemption.

Before you journey into this world, I should warn you, there is a polarizing battle going on between animal rights and animal welfare organizations, and what most people don't know, is that there is a significant difference between the two.

To keep this short and sweet, but certainly not without my own bias, animal rights refers to organizations such as PETA, The Animal Liberation Front and the Humane Society of the United States (which has absolutely nothing to do with your local humane society shelter). These organizations raise a great deal of money and spend almost all of it on advertising, programs to promote veganism (even for our carnivorous pets) and to influence law makers. The HSUS does not operate a single shelter, anywhere, yet they raise millions every year and have one hell of a PR department. PETA, raises millions per year and is under investigation by the FBI for fraud and terrorist related activities, they own one shelter, where the kill rate is over 90%. Remember all that money PETA raised to help the animal victims of Katrina and Michael Vick's pit bulls? Yeah, if you read the fine print, that doesn't actually go to rescue and rehab efforts, it gets reinvested into public education programs, like when PETA does presentations in public schools to promote veganism and discourage pet ownership, or like when they handed out "buckets of blood" to children as they left KFC restaurants, or the development of video games that promote their ideals. The ALF is a known terrorist organization with very close ties to PETA, that proudly proclaims they support violence against humans as an acceptable method of coercion in the "liberation" of all animals. Incidentally, these organizations have members who have released people's pets from their crates or fenced in enclosures and/or killed well loved and cared for pets in the name of "liberation". The leaders of these organizations have publicly declared that they seek the extinction of the domestic animal .. no more pet ownership period. No working dogs, no police dogs, no service dogs, no search and rescue dogs. They would like to achieve this through mandatory spay/neuter laws, and breed specific regulation (outlawing just about every breed of cat and dog you can imagine) that in the course of a few generations would eliminate pets. By the way, they also want to eliminate livestock and have all humans subsist on a vegan diet. You can also forget about insulin for diabetics and most medical research and technology. These organizations support legislation that would make you the guardian of your pet rather than the owner, which at first glance sounds sweet, but what it really means is that you give up your rights to that animal, your right to decide what is best for your pet, what to feed them, what kind of veterinary care to get, whether they are spayed or neutered, whether you compete in dog shows or sports, whether you dog wears a sweater and boots or not. Guardianship means that you and your vet may not be the ones who decide when it's time to humanely euthanize a suffering pet. It means that someone could sue you on behalf of your pet for perceived abuse. Before you nod your head, thinking that's a good thing, remember all of the nut cases out there. Recently a man was turned in to animal control for taking his healthy, happy, energetic, hunting dog running with him (off leash, the dog was running of his own free will), the accuser stated that dogs should not run, and to let them do so is tantamount to abuse (Every vet, breeder and animal trainer on the planet just cringed in unison). Animal control dealt with the crackpot appropriately, but keep in mind that if animal guardianship comes about, those kind of claims will have to be taken seriously under the law.

Animal welfare refers to anyone interested in preventing animal abuse, promoting responsible ownership and running no/low-kill shelters and rescues. These are the moderates, the people who truly love animals, who keep pets of their own, who save lives. These are the people who spent their own money and risked their own lives entering New Orleans to rescue cats and dogs before it was too late. These are the people who are deserving of your donations, volunteer efforts, moral and political support.

Now, if you don't believe me, want citations, want to read the same information in a coherent format :) or just want to learn more, I'm going to provide you with a very short list of links, just to get you started. A quick Google search would probably give you enough reading material to keep you busy for the next ten years ...

http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

http://www.dogpolitics.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ijLulwUTY

http://www.naiaonline.org/body/animal_welfare.htm

http://www.fatpet.com/elvessa/rights.html

http://www.nokillnow.com/PETAIngridNewkirkResign.htm

http://www.undueinfluence.com/peta.htm

http://www.stlzoo.org/pressroom/zoointhenews/petacommentary.htm

http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/1706

http://animalscam.com/references/peta_fbi1.cfm

Happy belated B-day Indy!

2007-09-03T01:23:00.000-04:00

Indy turned a year old last Wednesday, August 29th. We celebrated by going to the park and running and swimming off leash with his best buddy Hercules. I gave Indy a fresh knuckle bone when we got home. He was so tired it took all the effort he could muster just to chew on it. It was a good day.

This weekend I made a video to commemorate Indy's first year. Since I don't have a digital video camera, it's really just a fancy slide show, but fun all the same.

I apologize in advance for the length, evidently, I've never heard of "less is more" :)

Media Mauls Dogs First, then Snaps Back at Actor

2007-08-21T09:57:00.000-04:00

This is a really interesting article. I was relieved when I read it. I remembered seeing the news accounts accusing Ving Rhames' dogs of killing his friend and thinking that it just didn't sound right, it didn't sound likely, and the media reports smacked of sensationalism. Well, I was right. It was another media witch hunt attempting to scare the public into thinking that all large dogs are vicious and could snap at any moment. Sort of like that CNN report last week where they claimed that the stray dogs outside their studio were thirsty for human blood. Please ..... I'm so tired of the fear mongering, baseless accusations and profound ignorance.

Domestic dogs are not born dangerous. They are domestic because of their ability to bond with and accept humans as their pack leaders, because of their social behavior and their ability to adapt to our needs in a symbiotic relationship. Irresponsible and ignorant people create dangerous dogs. We also often label perfectly normal dogs as aggressive, when in fact their behavior is a reasonable reaction to a specific stimulus, that we may or may not be aware of. The incidence of dogs with a neurological problem that makes them truly dangerous without hope of rehabilitation is incredibly low. Almost all dogs that are euthanized for aggression have been mis-labeled as unsavable, unadoptable etc. when in fact, what these dogs suffer from is undesirable behavior that has been created and fostered by a human being, through mis-understanding, mis-treatment or neglect. While cases of mis-treatment and neglect make it to the news more often than you can shake a stick at, the most common problem in this country is a thorough mis-understanding on the part of humans when it comes to their dogs.

Rather than go into great detail here, I'm going to strongly suggest visiting Cesar Millan's web site (it's linked on the right hand side of this page) or checking out some of his books or DVD's from the library. I have done a lot of reading on dog training, relating to dogs, raising puppies, correcting behaviors etc ... some of it helpful, some not so helpful ... but Cesar hits the nail right on the head. He understands dogs and pack dynamics and he understands how humans and dogs can co-exist and he shares the information with the rest of us. I do not have Cesar's natural skill or talent, but even having a few basic insights makes a huge difference in my relationship with my dog. It allows me to be a better, more responsible dog owner and it allows my dog and I to have a much stronger bond, because I understand him (make no mistake, dogs don't have any trouble understanding us better than we understand ourselves!).

Once you have the basics, training your dog, preventing undesirable behavior and focusing on desirable behavior is so much easier, sometimes, not even necessary. A happy, well balanced dog with a strong leader, seldom develops behavioral problems because they are looking to their leader for direction rather than challenging them for dominance.

Well, I could go on and on (and I'm sure I will in another post) but I'm out of time for now :)

What a week!

2007-08-10T16:10:00.001-04:00

Well, its been quite a roller coaster ride the past seven days. Last Friday morning, while I was in the bathroom getting ready for work, Indy had quite a party in the kitchen pantry, actually, that's where it started, it spilled over into the kitchen, through the dining room and all the way across the living room. He pulled out a box of corn starch, tore it up and ate a lot of the plastic and cardboard, and who knows how much actual cornstarch, there was still enough to cover the floors in all three rooms, his bed and the lower half of the dark green velvet curtains :(. It seriously looked like it had snowed in the house.

Then he grabbed a brand new sponge mop head off the shelf, ate off the plastic packaging and went to town on the spongy part. He seemed to be ripping it in small parts (from the little that was still on the floor) then eating it. So I'm all dressed for work, shoes on, ready to walk out the door when I spot Indy, covered in unidentifiable white powder with a partially eaten mop head hanging from his mouth and the guiltiest look you've ever seen on his face, for a split second anyway, then he wiggled his butt,turned around and took off, so the game of chase was on, up and down the stairs until I got him by the tail and stalled him long enough to extract the mop head. By this time I'm covered in the white stuff too. Got Indy crated, cleaned up the whole mess, made sure the kitchen door was shut, changed my clothes and left for work an hour late.

I did call the vet just to get her opinion. She said wait and see. If he's puking Monday he needs to come in. We discussed using canned pumpkin and the cat's fur ball laxative to get things moving. She thought the sponge would probably pass OK. Of course you know he had this little feast after eating an enormous meal of ground venison, and its the first venison he's ever had (it can make dogs a little gasy) ... so I was expecting the worst. As the day wore on I got myself more and more worked up, remembering that cornstarch is a thickening agent, it will absorb water and get pasty, the sponge will absorb water and expand plus he has who knows how much plastic bag and cardboard in there. By the time I got home I was a nervous wreck, watched him like a hawk all weekend. I was told by fellow dog people, to fast him for the first 24 hours and no exercise until everything has passed. Have you ever tried to make a lab puppy lay still? Have you ever tried to fast a lab for that matter? Those big sad eyes are just too much!

This is of course only the latest in a long line of things Indy has eaten that he should not (some of which should have killed him, but didn't, he didn't even get an upset tummy) ... but the sheer quantity of garbage he must have ingested along with the sponge, had me worried.

Well he never vomited, he did his business without fail (yes, I was on poop watch) I never saw more than the tiniest bit of sponge come out, but he seemed just fine after five days, so Tuesday night I took him to the park where we ran into his buddy Hercules, they had a great time running and laying in mud puddles. He whined a little bit, but I couldn't tell if he was just whining for attention or if it was something else. He seemed a little slower at times, but then would bounce right back and act normal again. By the time we got home he was really lethargic, he laid down the second we stepped inside, I walked him to the bathroom, he laid down on the floor, normally he jumps right in the tub, he didn't want to get in the bath tub (which is unheard of), with coaxing he finally put his front end in but I had to lift his hind section into the tub, where he just sat down (normally he's an active tail-wagging participant in his shower). When we were done, he climbed out ok, but then just laid down on his towel while I dried him. He seemed really tired and it's been very hot out, so I let him rest. On Wednesday, by mid-afternoon I noticed that he was extremely mellow and quiet. Went down stairs and let him out to potty, and I noticed he was moving very stiffly, kind of hobbling up and down the porch stairs, didn't want to stay outside at all. When he came back in I noticed that he was having a very hard time moving his back legs, and he sort of had them bent and he was quivering a bit. Normally I would have held out a day or two in case it was just pulled muscle, but given the risk of a blockage and the shaking (which was really kind of scary) I decide to err on the side of caution and went to the Vet. I had to lift his back end into the car (also unheard of, he lives for car rides). The vet did a physical exam of his belly, hips, feet, elbows, ligaments etc ... of course Indy was so excited at the Vet's office he showed very few signs of pain other than some stiffness once he finally settled down. His anal sacs were full, the Vet drained those and said that might be the cause of his discomfort but that unless his symptoms went away within a few hours he couldn't really rule out an obstruction, hip dysplasia or some other sort of lameness.

Since Indy has been eating and pooping OK with no vomiting, we're hoping it's not an obstruction, but if any of this changes he's going to do a barium x-ray. If his appetite and defecation remains normal and symptoms persist for more than a few days, he's going to do hip x-rays to check for dysplasia :(

On Thursday the limp became much more noticeable on the left side, which was sort of a relief, if it had been an obstruction, his whole stomach and back end would be in terrible pain by now, not just one leg. His new Orbee Tuff Diamond Plate ball came in the mail and that took his mind off things as he laid down to chew on it.

Today he seems to be getting around a little easier and a little faster. I'm feeling very relieved, it appears that we were only dealing with a sore muscle or a strain. Hopefully in a few more days he'll be back to romping with Hercules and swimming in all kinds of disgusting lakes and rivers :)

Frosty Paws

2007-07-17T13:18:00.002-04:00

It's been so hot here lately, I really wanted to make a nice cold treat for Indy to enjoy on those hot, muggy, summer afternoons. A nice lady from one of my online groups shared her variation of this recipe. It was a HUGE hit.

Here's what I did.

One 32 oz tub of plain, fat free yogurt
One ripe banana
2 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Honey

I put it all in the blender and mixed well. Then I greased 12 muffin cups with canola spray and poured the mixture in. I put the muffin tins in the freezer. To serve, I take a knife and insert it at the edge of the cup, the "ice cream" will pop right out. I served it in a shallow bowl, which was an unnecessary step as it didn't stay there for long.

This treat actually smells quite good, I was tempted to try it myself :)

Dock Jumping

2007-06-17T17:46:00.000-04:00

It's 85 degrees here today, and like a loyal companion, Indy has abandoned me in favor of a much cooler spot downstairs in front of the fan. To be fair, he does come to check on me once in a while, when he verifies that I'm still breathing and still not preparing food for him, he returns to his nice cool spot.

In the mean time, I am recovering from a wicked sun burn that I got at the UKC Premier show on Thursday. We were at the show because Ultimate Air Dogs was hosting a dock jumping event, something I've wanted to try with Indy ever since we saw it on ESPN back in January. Like a good dog mom, I made a check list of everything that Indy would need for the day; crate, toys, water, treats etc ... forgetting, of course, people food and sunscreen. I spent the next two days laying on the sofa, huddled under a blanket even though it was 80 degrees in the room, trying not to move or breathe, while Indy would, at regular intervals, come up and lick, scratch or lean against the most painful parts of my body. He was trying so hard to be sweet. Now that the pain is starting to subside, I think it was all worth it.

We had a great time at the dock jumping event. Indy got lots of practice and improved with each jump. His first recorded jump was 2'10", don't laugh, it's not that bad for a newbie who skidded to a stop at the end of the dock to peer over the edge before proceeding :) I don't recall what his second recorded jump distance was (I had to lay down on the dock and splash my hands in the water to convince him that there really was water in the pool, at which point he used the hand that was still on the dock to launch himself into the pool, I was too busy nursing my hand to listen to the judge's measurement), the third jump was 5'10" and the fourth was 7'8". By the end of the day he had very little hesitation at the end of the dock. In all, I think he had a great time. Het got to spend all day outside meeting lots of dogs and lots of people and he got to swim and go for a long car ride ... what more could a dog ask for? He slept for almost 24 hours straight, a sure sign of a happy and content lab.

Introduction

2007-06-17T14:05:00.000-04:00

This is my first blog, so if you have any constructive suggestions for how I can improve it, please leave feedback.

This blog is dedicated to my yellow Labrador Retriever, Indy. It will be focused on Indy, Labs and dogs in general.

Indy was born on August 29, 2006. He was one of eleven pups, though by the time we went to visit his litter, there were only two left, a boy and a girl. It was an easy decision, Indy made a beeline for me. In fact, he plowed right into me, a sign of things to come (he's taken a few people off their feet). We did what nearly everyone who goes to look at a litter of puppies does, we fell madly in love with the first puppy we saw.

Luckily, it worked out for the best. His parents were both friendly, calm, well mannered yellow labs. Indy was very friendly, but confident enough to explore and play on his own. He had even been raised in a house with two orange cats, very similar to our own.

When we brought Indy home, we had about an hour drive, during which time, he alternated between whimpering and burying his head under my arm, sleeping peacefully and puking in my coat pocket ... in hind sight, giving him that peanut butter treat before getting in the car was not such a great idea. The first few nights were typical, he whimpered, whined, slept, peed and pooped, a lot.

The cats were not especially pleased with the new addition, but within a few hours, they began to venture into the living room whenever Indy slept or was confined to his play pen. It was not long before they put the new puppy in his place. Indy was in awe of the cats and their ability to jump to great heights. He tried many times as a young puppy to mimic them as they jumped up on desks, tables, beds and the sofa ... he would bring up his front legs as if he were jumping, though his back legs never left the ground. Then he would sit back and pout because he couldn't follow the kitties.

One week after Indy came home it was Halloween, which meant that he got to meet every child in the neighborhood, all the little demons, angels and superheroes, and he loved each one equally. He would pout each time they left, then nearly burst from excitement when saw the next group of kids coming down the sidewalk. To this day, he is just beside himself with joy every time he sees a child.

Puppy hood was a real trial for us. Indy was a very, very, very high strung lab puppy, a non-stop chewer, biter and barker who never, ever, ran out of energy. Luckily, over the past few months, he has really mellowed out thanks to his age, changes in his diet and no doubt, more experience on the part of his humans. No matter how much you read, you're never prepared for your first puppy.

I'm happy to report that Indy is now a well adjusted, adolescent lab, who is a joy to be around, though he is still mischievous (a trait that I think should be written into the breed standard). He will steal anything that he thinks you value or that he shouldn't have, namely socks, remote controls, shoes etc., in an effort to get you to chase him. This is by far his favorite past time, he never wins, but refuses to give up. His other favorite games are fetch, tug and irritate the cat then run and hide behind a human for protection. He also enjoys digging up flower beds and counter surfing in his spare time.