Why should you spay your dog?

This is a subject most of us hate to discuss for we are too often mired in myths like our friends with paws might become lazy and obese after spaying. But ‘spaying’ (removing an animal’s reproductive organs) or ‘neutering’ as we call it is absolutely imperative as it guards our pets against various diseases. So, I think we should get rid of our misconceptions and make it a point to get our dogs neutered. There are also some of us who think only females can be neutered.

So, here’s a list of advantages you can quickly browse through before embarking on the mission.

• It stops the birth of unwanted puppies.
  
  
• It also puts your pet’s sexual escapades to rest and keeps him happy and peaceful. An unsprayed puppy always remains unhappy and frustrated.
  
  
• It prevents the onset of conditions like uterine infections, mammary gland cancer, testicular cancer and prostrate cancer. Moreover, it also safeguards your buddy against all the dangers he might encounter while looking of a mate.
  
  
• It’s also very easy on the pocket. In fact it is far better than raising and rearing puppies. It will reduce your vet bills and also the problems posed by delivery.

You should definitely give it a thought because a healthy pet is after all what we crave for.

Beat the heat

Long days are on the wane in the United States, but for those living in Florida it is summer all round the year. We of course have our own ways of beating the heat, but what about our friends with paws? If not looked after well, this heat can prove fatal for them.

So, here’s a checklist for your quick referral.

• Never leave him in a hot car alone when you go out on errands.


• Give him plenty of water to drink for this will prevent him from getting dehydrated.


• Exercise him during cooler times of the day.


• Don’t forget to apply sunscreen on his nose and ears when you take him to the beach.


• Apply flea and tick repellants for these pests can be extremely menacing.


• Don’t take him to the scorching roads outside for they can burn your dog’s paws.

Picture courtesy- Google Images

Osteosarcoma- bone tumor in dogs!!

Every 8 out of 10,000 dogs in United States are affected by bone tumor. The condition, scientifically known as Osteosarcoma affects localized bone tissues and completely destroys it. The bones of the area are weakened; thereby increasing chances of bone fracture. The disease is more prominent among dogs of larger breeds to smaller ones. Though the root causes of the disease remains unknown, medical practitioners suspect that the disease is genetically predisposed.

The initial stages of bone tumor are characterized by pain often accompanied with lameness. It is advisable to consult a medical practitioner who may advice some radiograph test. The test results may show the area as lytic or the tissue may appear to have been broken.

Before initiating the treatment, it is equally important to asses the dog's health condition and if your dog has the ability to withstand the test. For this, blood count test, urinanalysis, nuclear bone scan, and other tests are necessary. A biopsy should also be conducted under local anesthesia. The sample is then examined to determine the cell type. Once detected, the patient undergoes chemotherapy. The treatment is effective is reducing pain and increases lifespan of the dog. But unfortunately, a proper cure for the disease is still not possible and still remains under the scope of research.

Treat your pet to cake & muffin...

I find the aroma of baking cake so fulfilling that even its very mention transports me into a utopian world. Though I don’t know whether Rover also feels the same way, I am sure when I serve him one he’ll surely enjoy it.

I have actually come across a very interesting cake recipe on the net. Though I am yet to try my hand at the cake, you be the first one to take down the recipe and treat your buddy to it.

You can’t outsmart your paw pals!

Next time you try to deceive your dog with treats, think twice. A recent report published in the journal ‘Behavioral Processes’ indicates that dogs can perceive the presence of food even when you are trying to hide it from him.

It says they can identify food even without sniffing it. But that’s not all. A renowned psychologist William Roberts of Canada’s Dalhousie University said their evolution took place almost hand in hand with humans. So, dogs can understand our body language quite easily.

But how did the researchers come to this conclusion? They conducted 2 experiments on 16 dogs in London and Ontario. What the researcher and his colleagues did was they kept 2 buckets, one empty and the other containing treats. They assigned a person with the responsibility of diverting the attention of the dogs to the empty bucket. It was found that initially the dogs lunged at the empty one. But in about 5 attempts they spotted the loaded bucket and that too in less than half of the allotted time. This is amazing. Right?

In a bid to test their skills further, the researchers replaced the human testers with black and white boxes. They placed these boxes behind the buckets. The dogs were indeed very quick to find out the one containing treats.

From these experiments it becomes clear that our paw pals are no less intelligent than us.

Wonder doggy!

Can you imagine a dog sitting through sermons? You have to actually see Coco to believe this. Who is he? He is a chocolate brown labrador belonging to a vicar called Andrew James in Cardiff.

The whole town seems to be under his spell. The visitors to the church swear by Coco’s popularity, says the owner. He is the cynosure of all eyes. And do you know what is the most amazing aspect of Coco? He understands every bit of what James says like when he calls out ‘peace’, Coco sits up and when he says ‘vestry’ Coco immediately walks off. When James goes near the doggy, he lifts up his leg. As a mark of affection, the vicar shakes his paws.

Whenever Father James visits local schools, he takes Coco along. The children at the school are very fond of him.

Coco is very well-mannered, says the Father. He keeps the congregation hooked by his innocent antics, explains James. The worshippers roll with laughter when Coco lets out an occasional yawn in the middle of sermons or when he snores, testifies James.

Picture source: (Wales news)

Jingling all the way...

Dogs are by far the most adorable creature that sweeps you off the feet. And nothing can be cuter when your doggie tries something a little humane. A few days back I just caught a glimpse of this cute little singer, I just fell in love with her...
I'm sure you would too enjoy her solo performance.

Busting common dog myths...

Like food fads we also have many myths surrounding our beloved pets. This probably results from our over protectiveness for them. We love our buddies so dearly that even the faintest indications of their health irregularities make us feel jittery.

But due to the lack of proper information and knowledge we are sometimes forced into believing that a dog’s dry or warm nose is the precursor of a grave ailment or if he is wagging a tail, it means he’s on top of the world. But in reality it could be something totally different. However, there is a very useful website that can actually eliminate your misconceptions.

(Picture Source: Google)

Do you have a black dog?

Tomorrow is 'Adopt-a-less-adoptable-dog' day. I know this is news to most of the dog lovers. Even I didn't know about it until a few hours ago. Suddenly while surfing the net I came across an amazing article that spoke about the 'big black dog syndrome'. I thought of writing a blog on this, as I believe most of us unknowingly nurse an apathy for our big black canine friends. It is a 'Petfinder' initiative, a website dedicated to the cause of black dogs.

I have seen that whenever we go for adoption, we normally tend to take in the light colored ones. We think the bigger ones are difficult to manage and we also try to avoid the color black. But a spokesperson for Petfinder said that a little bit of education can actually induce people into buying black pets. However, the current trend reflects that black dogs belonging to rescue groups and shelters go through the toughest of times finding homes.

'Petfinder' has in fact launched a campaign informing people that black dogs are easy to accessorize, since black goes well with everything. There are two other very popular websites called 'Black Pearl Dogs' and 'Start Seeing Black Dogs' that help rescue groups and shelters find homes for their black dogs. However, the spokesperson for 'Start Seeing Black Dogs' believes that most people are unaware of the persisting problem.

He attributes bad lighting in rescue centers as one of the causes behind this trend. People are not able to figure out the dogs well, he thinks. He also points out that dogs on websites are not well photographed. Due to this people are unable to get a proper feel of the pets they wish to take home. This is referred to as the 'black blob syndrome'.

But some shelters have converted this into a marketing strategy. One of them had launched a campaign some time back called 'Black Dog Blue Light Special'. It was a unique campaign that attracted many customers.

The story went like this. During Christmas they decorated the whole place with blue lights made of cards. Each card had personalities of dogs imprinted on them. The bluish hue gave the impression that the dogs had been painted blue. They also ran ads of the blue dogs. This outraged some people who contacted their office. The organizers were basically looking for this opportunity to enlighten people.

The purpose is not to force somebody into adopting a black dog. But the message is don't turn a blind eye to a black dog which is craving for your love and attention.

(Picture Source: Google)

Panosteitis-joint inflammation in dogs..

If we have to discuss about some of the common ailments affecting dogs, the subject of "Panosteitis" cannot be left ignored. It s a diseases that cause inflammation in the bones resulting into limping. The situation is more common among males especially in German Shepherds.

It is really strange that when one bone gets affected by Panosteitis the dog limps on that leg for a while; and then suddenly it gets affected on another leg and does not reappear on the first leg anymore. The doctors suspect it to be hereditary. Some opine that Panosteitis stems out of issues like metabolic disturbances, parasitism, immune system dysfunction or hormonal problems. The true causes behind the disease yet remain unknown. However as the dog grows in age, the impact of the diseases become less apparent. In most cases they do not require a formal treatment however it is always better to consult a veterinarian so as to relieve your dog from recurring pains.

In order to detect the lameness, the veterinarian takes an X-ray image of the dog, and prescribes medications to reduce inflammation and pain. And above all, the dogs should be entertained with enough rest and leisure so as to reduce additional stress on bones.

Think twice before getting two dogs……

Every time I go out for work and return late in the night, I am fraught with a deep sense of guilt. My little Rover is left alone at home throughout the day to fend for himself. But what do I do to solve this problem? When I sought my friend’s advice he told why don’t you get another puppy so that they can give each other company and also eliminate those wrinkles from your face? Hearing this from him, I felt ecstatic. But when I read about a news post that spoke about the negative effects of keeping two dogs at home, my worries clawed back again.

The report said since two dogs belong to a similar species, they are bound to come closer to each other. In the process, they would start paying less attention to their human owners. To add to your woes, the training time also needs to be doubled up, since each dog requires special care and attention. Very often it also happens that the death of one dog very closely follows that of its counterpart.

So what you can do is during your period of absence, you can keep him engaged with some activity. But you are too moved by your doggie’s predicament and is hell bent on getting another one then it’s always better to go for a male and female. They bond well with each other.

And finally remember you have to spend more time with each one of them. So, if you are ready to take on the hassles, then go for it without any inhibitions.

Canine help at hand for people with disabilities..

Dogs earned the sobriquet of a ‘faithful animal’ long time ago. But recently some very interesting experiments with them have yielded mind-boggling results. Until recently our commands for them only hovered around how to jump, sit, run and catch a ball. Times are changing and they are also adapting themselves exceedingly well to these changing times. It is being vigorously observed that they are very adept at picking up any commands you teach them. The list has multifarious varieties like bomb sniffing dogs, diabetes sniffing dogs, sewage sniffing dogs, and so on and so forth. But the latest ones to join the bandwagon include dogs which can help people with handicaps.

For the past two months, children from all over the River Valley have helped train South West dogs. In a public demonstration on Saturday, the organization displayed the newly acquired skills of our canine friends. They have picked up 80 new tricks, told the trainers. The rule is whoever applies for a service dog; it will be trained according to the needs of that person. Commands like opening and closing a door, putting clothes into a washing machine and dragging them out of the washing machine are only a minuscule portion of the many tasks they have been taught.