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Posts Tagged ‘Dogs’

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I nearly ran over a dog yesterday.

I was driving on Fulton Street in San Francisco. Fulton is a busy street. It is adjacent to Golden Gate Park.

A Yellow Lab and its owner were walking toward the park on a cross street. I noticed that the dog was not on a leash. I thought to myself that the dog must have very good recall to stay obediently with the owner so close to the park.

It turns out that the dog did not have good recall. The excitement of a trip to the park evidently overcame him, and he decided to run ahead. He ran right into and across Fulton Street. The owner was left behind yelling and gesticulating frantically.

Fortunately the dog made is safely across the street and into the park. Both dog and owner got lucky.

Hopefully next time that dog is walked near a busy street the owner will keep him on a leash. But I worry about the dog’s future. The person who should be looking out for him doesn’t appear to have an ounce of common sense.

Photo: The Conservatory of Flowers, near the scene of the incident. By Markus Laber.

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My son recently got a lab/pit bull mix who is 4 months old. He just called me & said the dog’s jaw sometimes quivers when she yawns or she will whine and then the jaw will start to quiver.

Lori
Milford MI

Jaw quivering is a form of trembling. Usually it is harmless.

Jaw quivering is especially common in older dogs (and people). In these individuals it usually is progressive but it almost never compromises quality of life.

Four-month-old puppies generally do not suffer from progressive jaw trembling. The shaking is more likely a transient issue that occurs as the puppy’s nervous system matures.

Rarely, a quivering jaw may be a sign of poisoning or a serious neurological disorder. However, I’ll bet that your son’s puppy is simply going through a phase. I don’t think you should worry too much about this matter.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

Clearly they meant well . . .

From the “It must be true . . . I read it in the tabloids” section of the July 3 - 10, 2009 issue of The Week.

Two baby flamingos at . . . London Zoo have developed a phobia of the color pink. The month-old chicks, named Little and Large, both have the pale gray plumage flamingos are born with. In an attempt to feed them, zookeepers used a pink sock-puppet of an adult flamingo, but it only terrified the chicks. Their resulting phobia of anything pink has worrying implications for their future mental health. “We’ll just have to hope they get used to the color,” said keeper Alison Brown.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

Are you a pet lover? Join the number one community site for pets and their owners. Visit MyAwesomePet.com

Yesterday a client brought a young male Pit Bull puppy to see me. The client was worried about eight small lumps located along the dog’s underside. Could they be flea bites? Some sort of rash? A strange form of juvenile cancer?

She was surprised to learn that the lumps in question were the dog’s nipples.

She asked why a male would have nipples. Before the advent of modern embryology, that question triggered an existential dilemma for many people. But these days the answer is known.

I started off with, “for the same reason that men have nipples.” That seemed to satisfy her, and she declined to listen to the rest of my explanation. It’s probably for the best, since the explanation is quite boring: the cells that develop into nipples differentiate prior to the release of sex hormones that lead to sexual dimorphism.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

I currently am attending a veterinary conference in southern California. (Which, by the way, is why I haven’t posted for a couple of days. The Marriott keeps a stranglehold on internet access.)

In this morning’s lecture, the speaker discussed a case in which he had treated the victim of a botched debarking surgery. He spent several minutes reminding the audience that veterinarians have no business performing surgery on the vocal cords of dogs unless there is a medical reason. He then queried the audience to find out how many of us have performed the procedure.

I admit that people may have been reluctant go confess to the procedure after the speaker’s rampage against it. But can you guess how many people, out of a group of perhaps 100 veterinarians, raised their hands?

None.

I recently wrote about a Massachusetts teen who is working to make debarking surgeries illegal in his state. I’m fine with that, but I don’t think it will be necessary in the long run. Soon there will be no debarked dogs simply because no vets will be willing or able to perform the surgery.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

Make Your Pet Famous!!! Check out the number one pet community on the internet. And while you’re there, you can create a free profile for you and your awesome pet. MyAwesomePet.com

My dog has heartworm. Her old vet recommended HeartGuard but for only six months. We used it but she still got heartworm. Now she has to be caged for a very long time.

Vi, loving mom of Zoey, age three.
Wheat Ridge, Colorado

In humans is well documented that physical health and mental health are closely connected. Depressed people are more likely to suffer from a host of illnesses. Illness often makes people depressed. And sick people who have strong social networks or family support get well faster.

Pets, incidentally, provide companionship and support that have been shown by numerous studies to benefit human health, prevent illness, and help sick people grow healthy.

Clinical depression has not yet been defined in dogs. And I am not aware of evidence-based studies that show happiness and mental health therapies are beneficial for dogs with heartworm.

But, as much as I support the concept of evidence-based medicine, I’m going to break away from it on this one. I think it’s clear that happy pets will heal faster than depressed ones.

Along those lines, I encourage families to visit pets that are hospitalized for treatment when I’m working. Being among loved ones motivates individuals to get well.

In Zoey’s case, I do not recommend antidepressants. Instead, focus on developing new, fun routines that won’t interfere with Zoey’s recovery from heartworm. She can’t play ball, but she can still snuggle, sit on the sofa with you while you watch TV, and sit at your feet while you read a book. You can keep her on a leash in the house if necessary. You can hold her on your lap if she’s small enough.

Be creative. One client of mine purchased a child’s bicycle trailer for her dog when canine arthritis made walks in the park impossible. The dog was thrilled to ride along as her owner pedaled her through Golden Gate Park. Just because your dog can’t exercise doesn’t mean she can’t get out and enjoy fresh air and sunshine.

I agree that weight loss needn’t be a priority at this time. However, remember that decreased activity can lead to weight gain. Excess weight stresses the heart. At the very least, try to make sure that Zoey doesn’t gain weight.

As for six month heartworm prevention . . . it is not recommended by the experts. The American Heartworm Society and Companion Animal Parasite Council recommend continuous heartworm prophylaxis in all dogs and cats. So do I.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

In case you have any doubts that pets can be good for humans, consider the following blurb from the June 5, 2009 issue of The Week.

Scott Seymore was debating whether to euthanize his 9-year-old bulldog, Brittney, who was dying of stomach cancer. Instead the Grand Rapids, Mich., man decided to give Brittney steroids to ease her pain in her last few weeks of life. Seymour’s decision paid off last week when his house caught fire and a barking Brittney woke him up. Both master and pet escaped safely. “She never, ever barks when I’m sleeping,” said Seymour. “She was demanding that I get up. And it saved my life.”

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

Are you a pet lover? Join the number one community site for pets and their owners. Visit MyAwesomePet.com

We found a tiny stray kitten at our house
yesterday. It has a broken tail in several places.
It seems to have already healed. Will the kitten
have to have its tail removed or will be okay just
with a tail that healed wrong?

Shelly
Jonesborough, TN

Kinked or broken tails are very common in cats and kittens. The tail may be traumatized during the birthing process. Myriad injuries are possible after birth as well.

Broken tails almost never require treatment. The kinks (which usually are a form of joint luxation rather than true fractures) generally are permanent. They cannot be fixed. But they generally do not cause pain or affect quality of life in any way.

If your kitten’s tail is not painful, then it shouldn’t be a cause for concern. However, I’d recommend that you get him or her to the vet for deworming, vaccines, and FIV and FeLV testing.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

A while back I answered a question from a reader who wondered whether kittens from the same litter could have different fathers. The answer was yes. I also stated that human twins could, in the proper circumstances, be half-siblings.

From the May 29, 2009 issue of The Week:

[It was a good week for] ‘Heteropaternal superfecundation,’ after Mia Washington of Texas entered the biology textbooks because a DNA test revealed that her 11-month-old twins have different fathers. She admitted to have been sleeping with two men when they were conceived.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.