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Posts Tagged ‘Pet Lovers’

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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.

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

I was wondering what are the “official” signs of an insane cat or as the vet told me a “special edition”?

Jazmin
Montreal, QC

In my opinion “special edition” isn’t the most diplomatic way of describing a cat whose behavior and temperament aren’t “normal”.

Of course, the word normal needs to be in quotes because the truth is that there is no way to define a truly normal personality in any species. And there certainly is no official definition of insanity in cats.

There is no DSM-IV for cats (heck, we don’t even have a DSM-I in veterinary medicine). Nonetheless, it is clear that cats and dogs can suffer from anxiety disorders (including separation anxiety in dogs), obsessive-compulsive behaviors (such as psychogenic alopecia in cats), impulse control problems, and a host of other psychogenic issues. (Vets use the term psychogenic in place of psychological.)

Brains are exceptionally complex organs. Hereditary traits and environmental conditions during development can lead to irregular brain circuitry and chemistry that are linked to behavioral or psychogenic issues in pets.

At this time, the field of veterinary behavior (which is the closest thing vets have to psychiatry or psychology) is still more or less in its infancy. But in due course I am confident we will make great strides towards understanding the basis of “abnormal” behaviors in pets. And maybe, some day, we will even have our own DSM.

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.

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 7 month old puppy pees at least 10 times a day and poops like 4-5 times a day. After he goes to the bathroom he comes in and drinks a full bowl of water then an hour later has to pee again.

Kortnie
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Anyone who has lived with one knows that puppies and kittens produce proportionately more waste than adult dogs and cats.

Their rapid growth is the reason for this. Young animals must process a great deal of food to make muscles, organs, and tissues. They need to drink large amounts of water in order to process the large amounts of food. And, because they eat and drink so much, they produce large amounts of waste.

Young puppies also urinate more often than adults until they are house trained (this is a behavioral matter). Also, puppies may urinate as a sign of submission. And many different diseases and syndromes may cause changes in urination.

But based on your description, I’m guessing that your puppy is urinating and defecating normally.

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.

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

People who lack common sense may be good for my job security, but their pets often pay a price.

Fleas are vile blood sucking disease spreading parasites that are easy to prevent. They are extremely common in northern California.

A few days ago a client brought her cat to me. The cat reeked of patchouli. It was almost dead.

The cat’s gums were pale–a sign of anemia. It was weak and could barely walk. It was covered in fleas and flea feces.

The client told me that she and her cat had been battling fleas for several months. When the client noticed the fleas she applied witch hazel extract and then tea tree oil to the cat. When those failed to work, she tried bathing the cat in dish soap. Then she fed the cat a garlic-based herbal remedy. Finally, she applied patchouli oil–which was obvious from the way the room smelled.

I had to ask.

“Did you try Advantage?”

Her shocked response was no, she did not want to apply chemicals to her cat.

I resisted the urge to point out that tea tree oil, patchouli oil, and witch hazel extract are made of chemicals. I did, however, tell her that garlic is toxic to cats. Finally, I talked her into giving her cat Capstar and applying Advantage.

Ten minutes later thousands of dying fleas began falling off the cat.

I understand the desire to avoid exposing a pet to synthetic chemicals. In an ideal world it would not be necessary. But if your pet is dying from fleas, it is time to bite the bullet and use something that works.

I am confident that the cat will make a complete recovery. But the cat nearly paid the ultimate price for her owner’s lack of common sense.

Photo: Patchouli. Doesn’t cure fleas. By Kurt Stueber.

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

I have been told by some that a Cane Corso is not a Cane Corso unless they have the tail and ears cropped and docked. What is your opinion? I have a six-week-old female named Lupa. I have also asked numerous vets, and they have told me that they do not do this procedure. Help, I need answers.

Sandra
Philadelphia, PA

Don’t do it.

A Cane Corso is a Cane Corso regardless of whether her ears are cropped and her tail is docked. A Cane Corso is a Cane Corso whether she has four legs or three and two eyes or one. A Cane Corso is a Cane Corso whether she is black, fawn, or brindled.

The breed standards for many breeds call for tail docking and ear cropping. The breed standards are on the wrong side of history.

Here is another 30 year prediction, to go on the record with my 30 year prediction yesterday regarding antibiotic feed additives. In 30 years, almost nobody will own dogs with cropped ears or docked tails.

There are two reasons why I am confident of this. First, public opinion is rapidly turning against the practices of ear cropping and tail docking.

You alluded to the second reason why the practices will die out in your question. Fewer and fewer are willing to perform the procedures. I do not perform them. Nor do most of the vets I know.

The vast majority of vets who dock tails and crop ears are older. In 30 years they won’t be practicing. You won’t be able to get your dog’s ears cropped even if the breed standards haven’t changed.

But they will change. The inevitable cannot be delayed forever.

Photo: Look at those beautiful ears! By Claudio Domiziani. License: CC.

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

From the Gulliver Blog over at The Economist:

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES’ announcement that it would allow small pets inside the cabins of its aircraft from June 17th has not been universally welcomed. Or rather, it was not welcomed by people quoted in a report in the Denver Post, which was subsequently picked up by several other media outlets. These interviewees voiced concerns about allergic reactions and the noise the animals would make.

I have a hunch that the announcement will be welcomed by Vet Blog readers who are on the lookout for more pet travel options. When people fly with pets, I always recommend keeping them in the cabin if possible.

Gulliver continues:

It’s unfair to single out Southwest in this context as several other American carriers already allow pets to fly in planes with their owners. And a company spokesman played down the possibility of strife: “We will quickly make accommodations if a pet is causing any disruption in flight,” he said. “This is similar to the peanut allergy, and we do have experience in accommodating customers.”

Well said. And finally, I must agree with the comment writers cited by Gulliver in an e-mail he sent out announcing the post.

Many commenters say they would rather share a cabin with dogs than children.

Hear, hear!

Photo: Paul Carter. Photo license: CC

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.