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July 2010
This Month...
PICTURE OF GOOD HEALTH
Now's The Time To Give Your Dog A Coat-Care Makeover...
Read Now
PET TIP
World Record...
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AVOIDING RISKS AROUND DOGS
Teach Your Children To Be Safe Aound Dogs...
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FELINE MYSTERIES:
Why & How Do Cats Purr? No One's Really Sure...
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The Scoop
Supervision, praise key to house-training...
Read Now
The Buzz
Dog can help child avoid weight gain...
Read Now
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Yappetizers & Wine
Join us on Monday: July 26
Dirty Dogs Cardiff By The Sea
From 4 PM to 8 PM
Hosted by
Local Band
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PICTURE OF GOOD HEALTH |
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NOW'S THE TIME TO GIVE YOUR DOG
A COAT-CARE MAKEOVER
Beauty is more than skin-deep when it comes to your dog. Keeping your pet well-groomed not only gives you a clean-smelling companion, it also helps to keep your dog more comfortable and allows you to spot health problems before they become serious, even life-threatening.
How important is grooming to your pet's comfort? Consider a simple mat, so easy to overlook. Have you ever had your hair in a ponytail that was just a little too tight? A mat can feel the same way to your dog, a constant pull on the skin. Try to imagine those all over your body, and you have a good idea how uncomfortable an ungroomed coat can be.
Your dog need never know what a mat feels like if you keep him brushed and combed -- but that's the start of the health benefits. Regular grooming allows you to look for lumps, bumps and injuries, while clearing such things as mats and ticks from his coat. Follow up with your veterinarian on any questionable masses you find, and you may detect cancer early enough to save your pet's life.
For shorthaired breeds, keeping skin and coat in good shape is easy. Run your hands over him daily, a brush over him weekly, and that's it.
For other breeds, grooming is a little more involved. Breeds such as collies, chows, Keeshonden and Alaskan malamutes are "double-coated," which means they have a downy undercoat underneath harsher long hair. The down can mat like a layer of felt against the skin if left untended. To prevent this, divide the coat into small sections and brush against the grain from the skin outward, working from head to tail, section by section. In the spring and fall -- the big shedding times -- you'll end up with enough of that fluffy undercoat to make a whole new dog. Keep brushing and think of the benefits: The fur you pull out with a brush won't end up on the furniture, and removing the old stuff keeps your pet cooler in the summer and lets new insulation come in for the winter.
Silky-coated dogs such as Afghan hounds, cockers and Maltese also need constant brushing to keep tangles from forming. As with the double-coated dogs, work with small sections at a time, brushing from the skin outward, and then comb back into place with the grain for a glossy, finished look. Coats of this type require so much attention that having a groomer keep the dogs trimmed to a medium length is often more practical.
Curly and wiry coats, such as those on poodles and terriers, need to be brushed weekly, working against the grain and then with it. Curly coats need to be clipped every six weeks; wiry ones, two or three times a year (but clipping every six weeks will keep your terrier looking sharper).
Good grooming is about more than keeping your pet looking beautiful and clean-smelling, although that's certainly one of the pleasant payoffs. Regular grooming relaxes the dog who's used to it, and it becomes a special time shared between you both. A coat free of mats, burrs and tangles and skin free of fleas and ticks are as comfortable to your dog as clean clothes fresh from the wash are to you. It just makes you feel good, and the effect is the same for your pet.
Some added benefit for you: Giving your dog a tummy rub after every session is sure to relax you (and your dog, of course) and ease the stress of your day. And for allergy sufferers, keeping a dog clean may make having a dog possible.
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PET TIP |
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World Records ??
The Guinness Book of World Records has stopped listing animals in the "fattest" category, concerned that record-seeking owners will put their pets' health at risk to be a record-holder. Surveys of veterinarians report that about 60 percent of all cats and half of all dogs are overweight or obese.
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Avoiding Risks |
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TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO BE SAFE AROUND DOGS |
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When we see a news story about a dog attacking a child, we quickly look for the reason behind the tragedy. It's usually there, if you know what you're looking for. And no, what we're talking about isn't a reference to the dog's being identified -- or just as often, misidentified -- as a "pit bull."
What we're looking for -- and usually find -- are the indicators that the situation was already well on the way to being dangerous when the attack happened. Typically, the dog was young, male and unneutered. He was also unsocialized, usually a backyard dog with little to no interaction with the family. Even more likely, the dog was in effect trained to defend his turf by being kept full-time on a chain or in a small kennel run.
"He never gave us any problem before!" says the owner of the dog, who really didn't know the animal because he was little more than a lawn ornament or the living equivalent of a burglar alarm sign. Or maybe the owners will grudgingly admit to a bite now and then -- but "nothing serious." Again, more warning signs ignored.
Is there a dog like this in your neighborhood -- or in your own yard? If it's the latter, call your veterinarian and arrange for your pet to be neutered, and then ask for a referral to a trainer or behaviorist with experience in aggressive dogs who can help you with any problems that have driven you to ban your pet from your family (like house-training issues). You can then work on manners and socialization that will turn your pet into a true member of the family -- safe around both family members and visitors alike.
Of course, you can't control what other people do with their animals. That's why you have to make sure your children know how to behave around dogs to protect them from attack.
Here's what every child should know:
Never approach a loose dog, even if he seems friendly. Dogs who are confined in yards, and especially those on chains, should also be avoided. Many are very serious about protecting their turf. If the dog is with his owner, children should always ask permission before petting, and then begin by offering the back of the hand for a sniff. Further, they should pat the dog on the neck or chest. The dog may interpret a pat from above as a gesture of dominance. Teach your children to avoid fast or jerky movements around dogs, since these may trigger predatory behavior.
Be a tree when a dog approaches, standing straight with feet together, fists under the neck and elbows into the chest. Teach your children to make no eye contact, since some dogs view eye contact as a challenge. Running is a normal response to danger, but it's the worst possible thing to do around a dog, because it triggers the animal's instinct to chase and bite. Many dogs will just sniff and leave. Teach your children to stay still until the animal walks away, and then back away slowly from the area.
"Feed" the dog a jacket or backpack if attacked, or use a bike to block the dog. These strategies may keep an attacking dog's teeth from connecting with flesh.
Act like a log if knocked down: face down, legs together, curled into a ball with fists covering the back of the neck and forearms over the ears. This position protects vital areas and can keep an attack from turning fatal. Role-play these lessons with your child until they are ingrained. They may save your child's life.
Discuss safe behavior with your children and role-play how to approach dogs, when not to approach, and what to do if confronted or attacked.
To be fair, dogs aren't the biggest risk that children face growing up. Organized sports, for example, are 10 times more likely to result in a child's trip to the emergency room than are dogs.
But why take a chance? With summer here and children out and about more than the rest of the year, you need to make sure they know the risks and what to do. You can help protect your child from a dog bite, and it's always worth the time to do so. And sometimes the place to start is in your own family, with a dog who needs your attention now.
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Feline Mysteries: |
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Why & How Do Cats Purr?
No One's Really Sure
It's not a mystery that caressing a purring cat is a pleasurable experience -- it'll even lower your blood pressure. But what is a mystery, strangely enough, is the mechanics of purring itself.
In short: No one really, truly knows exactly how a cat purrs -- or even all the reasons why.
The most common explanation of the source is that a purr originates in the voice box, with what are called the "vestibular folds," or false vocal cords. The passing of air across these structures is thought to get the engine running.
Cats purr when they're happy, but cats also purr if they're injured, while giving birth -- even when dying. British zoologist Desmond Morris has observed in his masterwork, "Catworld: A Feline Encyclopedia" (Penguin Reference), that purring is "a sign of friendship -- either when (the cat) is contented with a friend or when it is in need of friendship -- as with a cat in trouble." If you think about it, a purr is kind of like a smile: Sometimes you smile from happiness, sometimes from nervousness.
As with a smile, there's no such thing as a purr that isn't welcome. Cats know this themselves. Kittens start purring even before they open their eyes, rumbling while nursing, with what must be a reassuring sound to their mother -- who's likely purring herself.
We even like that purring is something our cats do that the big cats can't. Your cat, in other words, can do something even the biggest, most handsome and imposing King of the Jungle can't: Cats purr, but lions can't.
On the flip side: Lions roar, which cats can't do. Still, it's pretty special that no big cat can get his motor running the way our household kitties can, purring constantly as effortlessly as breathing, both in and out. Tigers can rumble a tiger-sized purr-like sound, but on the exhale only -- and really, would you like a tiger sleeping on your bed?
A couple more cool cat facts to ponder:
Squeezing in. Cats are able to squeeze through spaces that seem narrower than they are because cats don't have a rigid collarbone to block their way through nooks and crannies. Once they can get their head and shoulders through, their sleek bodies present no further obstacle.
That's if those bodies are sleek, that is. The world is full of fat cats, after all, and for them, fitting through tiny holes is not a given. For one thing, they may think they're capable of fitting even if their paunch says otherwise. That's because a cat's whiskers -- super-sensitive specialized hairs -- spread roughly as wide as a cat does. But they don't grow longer as a cat gets wider, which can lead some corpulent cats into sticky situations.
No sweet tooth on a cat. People crave sweets -- cakes, candies, cookies and sodas galore. But cats couldn't care less. That's because the taste buds of a cat are incapable of detecting, appreciating or triggering a craving for foods that we recognize as "sweet."
As "obligate carnivores" -- meaning they need meat protein to survive -- cats don't need to have much to do with sweets. It's unclear whether the ancestors of cats had the ability to detect sweetness and lost it, or whether cats never developed a "sweet tooth," since they didn't need it.
People eat a much more varied diet, and our taste buds reflect that -- we have nearly 10,000 on our tongues. No such variety for cats, who'd be happy to stick with small prey animals and need fewer than 500 taste buds to figure what's good on the menu.
No doubt their limited abilities in this regard factor in the well-known finickiness of cats.
What's not a mystery about cats? How much we love them. They are the most popular pet in the United States, and they show no sign of giving up that No. 1 status.
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The Scoop |
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Supervision, praise key to house-training
Successful house-training requires setting up a potty schedule, limiting a puppy's roaming options to areas you can supervise, showing your pup the area you want him to use, and praising him for going there.
Even with a positive approach, people make mistakes. Here are a few things to remember:
Limit your puppy's wanderings. Use pens and baby gates to keep your pup where you can keep an eye on him. That way, if you see him start to make a mistake, you can whisk him outside and praise him for finishing the job where you want him to. When you can't supervise, your puppy should be in a crate.
Understand your puppy's physical limitations. Little puppies have limited storage capability and need to be taken out frequently. A general guideline: A puppy can hold it as long as his age in months: A 4-month-old puppy is good for up to four hours, at the outside limit.
Remember how puppies work. Puppies need to relieve themselves after they wake up, after they eat or drink, and after playing. Make sure to take your puppy out at these times. Offer food and water at scheduled intervals to help predict when your pup will need a trip outside.
Clean up mistakes thoroughly. What you can't see, a puppy can still smell -- and smells invite repeat business. Keep commercial products on hand that use enzyme action to break down the smell. White vinegar also does a great job of neutralizing the odor of urine. Don't use an ammonia-based product, though: Ammonia smells like one of the components in urine to a pet.
Be patient and consistent. While some puppies seem to house-train themselves, others are slower to learn. If you don't seem to be making progress, ask your veterinarian for a referral to a trainer or behaviorist who can help.
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The Buzz |
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Dog can help child avoid weight gain
With childhood obesity a continued concern, one study suggests that having a dog in the family can help to motivate kids to get moving. Among children 5 to 6 years of age, a family dog reduces the likelihood of obesity by half.
Not only are children with dogs more likely to walk, but they're also more likely to spend more time with the pet and less on the couch watching TV or playing video games.
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