| 
|
|
Do You Look Like Your Pet?
Do you know someone who looks like their pet? How about a gruff weight lifter with a Bull Dog or doe-eyed waif with a purse Chihuahua?
That some people look like their pets isn’t just an urban legend apparently. The study, Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners? was published in the May 2004 issue of Psychological Science. Researchers concluded when people look for a dog, “they seek one that, at some level, resembles them, and, when they get a purebred, they get what they want.” In that study, people who had mixed breed dogs didn’t resemble them. Read the rest of this entry »
The Ewoks of the Dog World
Yorkshire Terriers are those little dogs that look like Star Wars Ewoks that you see peeking out of ladies’ purses. Yorkies have long, straight, glossy hair coats that are described as blue and tan (grey or black and tan for us non-dog-show types.) The Yorkshire Terrier breed standard is nine inches tall and weighing less than seven pounds. They have an average life expectancy of nine to fifteen years, making them one of the longer lived dog breeds. The breed originated, not surprisingly, in Yorkshire, England. They may have been used to catch rats in clothing mills. Although the breed’s history is murky, it appears to have started in the 1850’s, perhaps coming from mixes of Old English Black/Tan Terriers, Maltese, and Skye Fixed Terriers. At the time, Terrier enthusiasts didn’t like the new, little upstart. It was called “the dresser drawer dog” and the breed was predicted to have little future. The American Kennel Club (AKC) recognized the breed in 1885. In 2008, the AKC listed the Yorkshire Terrier as the second most popular dog breed in America. Read the rest of this entry »
Therapy animals prove ‘man’s best friends’ hold healing power
When Sunny, a 3-year-old golden retriever, began working for San Diego Unified School District last spring, one of her first students was a fourth-grader with cerebral palsy, mobile only with the aid of a walker.
Adaptive physical education teacher Andrea Bazer says that as soon as this young student met Sunny, she was eager to take Sunny for a walk — first with the help of her walker, then with Bazer helping, and finally without any assistance. This transformation took several months, but once the student knew she could walk Sunny without the walker, she realized she didn’t need a walker at all. Read the rest of this entry »
Turn Off That Garden Hose!
Despite the way we may treat them, dogs are not little people in fur coats. For example, their reproductive systems are different than ours. Our veterinary clinic frequently fields phone calls from panicked owners of intact female dogs they find literally stuck to a wandering neighborhood male dog. For some reason, people always want to spray the couple with a garden hose. I suspect that would do the trick for humans, but dogs are another species. Read the rest of this entry »
So you want to be a veterinarian when you grow up?
You love animals, so you want to be a veterinarian. How do you start achieving that goal? The first thing you should do is shadow or volunteer at a veterinary clinic to learn what it is really like to be a veterinarian. Typically, shadowing means watching a vet work for a half a day to a day. Volunteering involves helping out at a clinic regularly while learning useful skills for your future career goals. Not only will volunteering let you know if this is the right career for you, but you will also need to document hours of experience in the veterinary field for when you apply to veterinary school. Most schools recommend that you have at least 1,000 hours of experience before applying. Another benefit of volunteering is that many veterinary hospitals look to their volunteer pool when they want to fill paid positions. At our clinic, we accept shadows and volunteers who are at least 13 years old and have an A or B grade average. They also need to do a brief interview with us prior to shadowing or volunteering. Read the rest of this entry »
Protect your pet from summer heat
Submitted photo
With summer upon us, warmer weather beckons everyone outdoors to enjoy the sunshine. When family and friends gather for backyard barbecues and outings in the park, it is natural to want to include the pets. It is wise, though, to consider the health and safety of pets before taking them out into the heat for prolonged periods.
Pets cannot tolerate heat the same way people do. One big reason is that dogs don’t sweat, thereby lacking a natural way to cool down. To help ensure your pets don’t suffer from the heat, veterinarian Tracy Chase-Thompson, department chair of the veterinary technology program at Brown Mackie College in Michigan City, Ind., offers advice. “Heat exhaustion is one of the big things that can occur,” she said. “It happens more with dogs than cats, but it can occur with both.”
Heat exhaustion is a dangerous condition in animals that occurs due to lack of protection from hot weather and humidity. “It doesn’t take much time for heat exhaustion to develop,” said Chase-Thompson. “A dog can overheat in a hot vehicle in just 10 minutes.” Symptoms of heat exhaustion include heavy panting, drooling and labored breathing. “Gum color is another indicator. If gums appear red instead of pink, that’s a sign of an animal in distress.”
TEAR STAINING IN CATS
‘Tear staining’ is a common problem with particular breeds of cats, especially Persians, and can get unsightly if not taken care of. Tears are bactericidal, which means they kill the bacteria that can cause infections of the eye. Normally, tears flow across the surface of the eye and quickly drain through the tear duct. This discoloration at the corners of the eyes is caused by normal tears that spill out and lay on the surrounding hair. For breeds that tend to have tear stains, you could clean hair in affected areas at least weekly with a tear stain remover product.
- www.peteducation.com
FETCHING FUN
Rope in the shape of a ball – a dog’s dream come true. These simple cotton toys can withstand even a Great Dane’s toothy grip, but pups of any size will have a ball chewing them and chasing them around the house. Bonus: they come in eight spunky colors. $4 (small) and $6 (large) at www.harrybarker.com.
Scratching the surface of canine allergies
Dogs are true members of the family. So when your dog is itching uncontrollably, it is frustrating not to know what’s wrong. Once owners rule out the possibility of fleas, they are often left with questions unanswered. One problem frequently overlooked is a skin disease caused by environmental allergies.
Like humans, dogs can be hypersensitive to common airborne allergens such as pollen, mold and dust mites. Dogs present symptoms on the skin that they try to relieve through constant scratching, licking and gnawing. These symptoms are typically signs of an allergic skin disease known as canine atopic dermatitis. Read the rest of this entry »
Protect your pets from fleas and ticks
Summertime brings hot weather, camping trips and, for pet owners, fleas and ticks. These small bugs aren’t a small concern. Ticks are second only to mosquitoes as vectors of human diseases, and flea and tick populations are on the rise nationwide.
“When it comes to external parasites like fleas and ticks, prevention is a far better answer to the problem than having to visit a veterinarian after an infestation has occurred,” said Dr. James O. Cook, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Read the rest of this entry »