Kids' best friends: Pets help prevent allergies August 28, 2002 Posted: 5:39 AM EDT (0939 GMT)By Gina Greene CNN(CNN) --Flying in the face of conventional wisdom, a new study shows that children who grow up with pets in the home have a reduced risk of developing common allergies. "It was very strongly the opposite of what we expected to find," said lead researcher Dr. Dennis R. Ownby, who is chief of allergy and immunology at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. "Allergists have been trained for generations that dogs and cats in the house were bad because they increased the risk of you becoming allergic to them; we know that before you become allergic to something you have to be repeatedly exposed to it." But the study, released in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association -- which tracked a group of 474 babies from birth to about age 7 -- found differently. Researchers found that the 184 children in the group exposed to two or more dogs or cats in infancy were half as likely to develop common allergies than the 220 children who had no pets in the home. The researchers found the group exposed to animals had fewer positive skin test to indoor allergens -- such as pet and dust mite allergens -- and also outdoor allergens like ragweed and grass. Moreover, the kids exposed to cats and dogs were almost half as likely to have hyper-responsive and easily irritated airways -- a risk factor for asthma. The research also suggests that more is better. For example, 15.5 percent of kids without pets were allergic to cats compared with almost 12 percent with one cat or dog. That number dropped to just under eight percent when two or more pets were in the home. "This contributes to the mounting evidence that the things allergists have believed for years and parents have lived by are wrong," said Ownby, Indeed the body of evidence is growing. In fact, a recent study sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases found that low-to-moderate amounts of cat allergen triggered allergies in children while high amounts had a preventive effect against allergies -- and asthma as well. So what is it about cats and dogs? Researchers think the secret may lie in endotoxins, the breakdown products of bacteria found in the animals' mouths. They're thought to force the body's immune system into developing a response pattern that's less likely to lead to allergic reactions. "The bottom line," says Ownby, "is that maybe part of the reason we have so many children with allergies and asthma is we live too clean a life."
It was Thanksgiving weekend 2000 and I was getting started on my
Christmas shopping. The shopping mall had an SPCA office where they
would bring some of the pets from the shelter on the weekends in hopes
of getting them adopted. As I walked by, a nine-week old puppy bounded
up to the storefront window and sat and stared at me as if to say,
"What took you so long?" I knew right then that I would be taking him
home.
As he grew up, I noticed how people seemed to be drawn to him and I
noticed how he loved to interact with everyone. It didn't matter what
gender, age, ethnicity or status they were. He was just happy to see
them. Riley was even tolerant with the little children who were a
little rough when petting him and little toddlers who grabbed a fistful
of fur. I was already doing some volunteer work with the local police
and fire departments so when someone suggested that he would make a
good therapy dog, I thought it would be a perfect activity for the two
of us to share.
After becoming a registered Delta Society Pet Partners
team, our first visit was to a senior home. The staff had brought the
residents into an activity room for the teams to visit. As we entered
the room, Riley immediately went to an empty chair next to a woman who
was sitting quietly. He jumped onto the chair, leaned in and licked her
cheek. The woman was sight-impaired and was not aware of Riley until
she felt his tongue on her cheek. She exclaimed, "Oh, the dogs are
here!" and spent the next 15 minutes petting Riley and telling me about
the dogs she had growing up and how much she missed them. She said that
she was feeling lonely that day and had almost decided to stay in her
room instead of participating in the visit. Somehow, Riley knew that
she needed his attention more than the others in the room.
Riley's knack for sensing who needs comfort continued through his
career. We would be walking down the hospital halls and he would
suddenly stop in front of a room of a patient needing a visit or
approach a staff member who was having a rough day. ER and ICU staff
members especially look forward to their Riley fix for some stress
relief.
Riley's impact continues long after our visit. I have had people
stop me on the street to tell me that they remembered Riley from his
visit with them or their relatives and what a difference it made. One
memorable experience involved a young woman at a popular outdoor mall.
As we walked by, she cried out, "Riley!" and crouched down to give him
a big hug. She stood back up, gave me a hug and told me that she
remembered Riley from when we visited her in the hospital when she was
15 years old. She is now going to veterinary school and one of the
things she took with her to school is the Polaroid picture of Riley and
her at the hospital.
My visits with Riley have been personally rewarding in many ways.
Besides the fulfillment I get from seeing the transformations I see in
the people we visit, I experience calmness from being with Riley. As a
manager for Boeing, I eagerly anticipate our visits to escape from my
work anxiety. Seeing Riley's unconditional openness towards everyone
has made me become a better person. Even outside our visits, I will now
strike up a conversation with just about anyone wherever I may be.
Perhaps there is some significance that my life with Riley started
on Thanksgiving weekend. I have been giving thanks for his loving
companionship every day.
Dennis Cajili
By Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY Amber jumps up onto the bed and sleeps beside
Aiden Young, a joyful end to the day shared by millions of other kids
and dogs. But this golden retriever also does complicated tasks most
children can do for themselves.
She picks up crayons and pencils when 6-year-old Aiden drops them, and opens doors for him.
Aiden, who has cerebral palsy and spends most of his time in a wheelchair, is one of five people with special needs featured in Through the Eyes of a Dog (PBS,
premieres Wednesday 8 p.m. ET; check local listings). The documentary
explores the canine-human bond and the training methods of Canine
Assistants, one of the nation's largest service-dog organizations. The
show was filmed at the organization's training site in Milton, Ga.
"I think anyone who watches this show will learn
to listen and observe their dogs better," says executive producer Naomi
Boak. "And they'll learn empathy for people who don't necessarily have
it easy in life."
Jennifer Arnold did not have it easy in life.
She is the driving force behind the documentary, based on a book she
wrote with the same title, due from Random House in September.
"When I was 16, I got out of bed one morning and
fell down," she says. "I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and in a
wheelchair for two years. I wanted to go back under the bed."
Her father had brighter dreams for her, thinking
she'd be more confident and independent with a service dog. When the
West Coast service-dog agency denied their request because they didn't
serve the East Coast, he set out to start his own organization. But his
life was cut short in a traffic accident when Arnold was 17.
"I made a deal with myself to carry on what he first dreamed about," she says.
Arnold, 46, is the founder and executive
director of Canine Assistants, located on a 17-acre facility outside
Atlanta, and has provided more than 1,000 service dogs free of charge
to people with special needs since 1991. Families receive free
transportation and hotel for the two weeks they're in training.
Milk-Bone sponsors the program. Arnold's only requirement is that the
recipients do 60 hours of volunteer work every year with the dogs.
"I've learned if you stop worrying about yourself and do something for
someone else, you feel completely different about yourself."
The film focuses on the five people — including
6-year-old twins with cerebral palsy, Chase and Connor Wilson —
arriving at camp apprehensive and sad. It follows them as they match up
and train with their dogs and ends at their homes, where they are
buoyed by the ways the dogs are enhancing their lives.
The dogs, almost all of which are bred at the
facility, get positive reinforcement from Day One. Fear is avoided at
all cost. Arnold doesn't believe in the philosophy that "you have to be
alpha ... as if you have to physically and emotionally dominate the
dog."
Arnold says canine-human bonds can create great
change in humans, like the one seen in a child with muscular dystrophy
who told his mother he wanted "to go to God and heaven."
"After he'd been at camp awhile, his mother came
to me crying, and I thought, 'Oh no, we'd failed.' His mother asked her
son if he was ready to go home and go to heaven. Her son told her, 'I
can't leave my dog.' "
By Erika Stutzma Of
all the modern advances medical research has brought us, one of the
more helpful ones melds the ancient wisdom that dogs are indeed man's
best friend with common-sense laws that keep many disabled Americans
from participating in public.
The difference, for so many
people with disabilities, between a full and rich life, and one that is
defined by the boundaries of their conditions, is a dog.
On this, the Americans with Disabilities Act could not be more clear:
"Under
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses and organizations
that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring
their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers
are normally allowed to go. This federal law applies to all businesses
open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles,
grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters,
health clubs, parks, and zoos."
On Tuesday, the Justice
Department announced a consent decree that settles an ADA suit against
a Colorado Springs law firm. LeHouillier & Associates barred a
woman and her service animal from giving a deposition at its office.
The woman, a veterinarian, suffers from a traumatic brain injury that
impacts her balance, her ability to walk, to see and to hear. Her
trained Australian Shepherd dog helps her live her life and run her
business, even delivering her prescribed medicine to her.
She
had sued a LeHouillier client for failing to pay for vet services; the
client countersued alleging veterinary malpractice. But the client's
lawyer didn't want the service dog to soil his new carpet.
The
result: The firm has to train its staff, post a sign welcoming service
animals, pay a $10,000 civil fine and $40,000 to the complainants.
For
thousands of blind people, service dogs are the next best thing to
sight. Since 1942, the Guide Dogs for the Blind, founded to help
wounded service members returning from World War II, has graduated more
than 10,000 human-dog teams.
There are earlier stories to
suggest that animals have always been used in human healing --
hieroglyphics suggest such. Florence Nightingale's writings recommended
small pets to help sick people.
As training gets more advanced,
and service animals gain more acceptance in places including airplane
cabins and public schools, doctors and therapists are finding even more
uses than the typical "guide" dog.
Today, they are used in
hospice services and to comfort severely wounded veterans. They pull
wheelchairs; they can "call" for help when an owner has a seizure.
Dogs
have been shown to help children with learning disabilities and
attention deficit disorder learn to read. In San Diego, a fourth grader
with cerebral palsy could only walk with the aid of a walker until she
met Sunny, a 3-year-old Golden Retriever. Walking the dog on a harness
instead of with her walker, the child completed a physical therapy
program and can now walk unassisted for the first time.
The ADA
law regarding service dogs helps so many; that the federal courts would
strongly back it up this week is good news for Coloradans.
If you want to live a healthier life get a dog, research suggests. The companionship offered by many pets is thought to be good for you, but the benefits of owning a dog outstrip those of cat owners, the study says.
A psychologist from Queen's University, Belfast, said dog owners tended to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Writing in the British Journal of Health Psychology, she says that regular "walkies" may partly explain the difference. Dr Deborah Wells reviewed dozens of earlier research papers which looked at the health benefits of pet ownership.
She confirmed that pet owners tended in general to be healthier than the average member of the population.
However, her research suggested that dog ownership produced more positive influence than cat ownership.
As well as lower blood pressure and cholesterol, she said dog-owners suffered fewer minor ailments and serious medical problems.
There was also the suggestion that dogs could aid recovery from serious illnesses such as heart attacks, and act as 'early warning' to detect an approaching epileptic seizure.
Stress-busting
Dr Wells said the precise reason for the benefits was not totally clear.
"It is possible that dogs can directly promote our well-being by buffering us from stress, one of the major risk factors associated with ill-health.
"The ownership of a dog can also lead to increases in physical activity and facilitate the development of social contacts, which may enhance both physiological and psychological human health in a more indirect manner."
Dr June McNicholas, a health psychologist who has specialised on research into the health effects of pet ownership said that an important reason for the improved health of dog-owners was not just the exercise received while taking it for walks, but the opportunity for social contact with other dog-owners.
She said: "For older people, an animal can fulfil the 'need to be needed', perhaps after children have left home.
"In some cases, the social support offered by an animal is greater than the support another human could offer."
ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2009) — Dog owners who sleep with their pet or permit licks on the face are in good company. Surveys show that more than half of owners bond with their pets in these ways. Research done by a veterinarian at Kansas State University found that these dog owners are no more likely to share the same strains of E. coli bacteria with their pets than are other dog owners.
Dr. Kate Stenske, a clinical assistant professor at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, studied this association as part of her doctoral research at the University of Tennessee. The research is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Veterinary Research.
Stenske said the finding that these human-animal bonding behaviors aren't more likely to spread germs is good news because there are physical and psychological benefits of pet ownership.
"I became interested in the topic because there is such a strong bond between dogs and their owners," Stenske said. "If you look at one study, 84 percent of people say their dog is like a child to them."
Stenske said surveys also show that nearly half of all dog owners share food with their dogs, and more than half allow the dog to sleep in the bed and lick them on the face.
"We also know diseases can be shared between dogs and people," Stenske said. "About 75 percent of emerging diseases are zoonotic, meaning they are transferrable between humans and other animals. With these two pieces of knowledge, I wanted to examine the public health aspects of such activities."
Stenske's study centered on E. coli bacteria, which is common in the gastrointestinal tracts of both dogs and humans.
"People have it, dogs have it, and it normally doesn't cause any problems," she said. "But it can acquire genes to make it antibiotic resistant."
The study examined fecal samples from dogs and their owners and looked at the bacteria's DNA fingerprints. Stenske found that 10 percent of dog-human pairs shared the same E. coli strains. She also found that the E. coli had more resistance to common antibiotics than expected, although the owners had more multiple-drug resistant strains than their pets.
"This make us think that dogs are not likely to spread multiple drug-resistant E. coli to their owners, but perhaps owners may spread them to their dogs," Stenske said. "What we learn from this is that antibiotics really do affect the bacteria within our gastrointestinal tract, and we should only take them when we really need to -- and always finish the entire prescription as directed."
The research showed that bonding behaviors like sharing the bed or allowing licks on the face had no association to an increase in shared E. coli. However, Stenske said the research did show an association between antibiotic-resistant E. coli and owners who didn't wash their hands after petting their dogs or before cooking meals.
"We should use common sense and practice good general hygiene," she said.
Stenske said future research might focus on the relationship between shared E. coli and the behaviors of cat owners. Not only is cat ownership higher than dog ownership in the United States, but cats also interact with people in different ways than dogs, she said.
"We have a lot to learn," Stenske said. "In the meantime, we should continue to own and love our pets because they provide a source of companionship. We also need to make surewe are washing our hands often."
NewsCore - May 02, 2010
The coveted accessory has pushed out other breeds in terms of desirability. THE
man who bred the first labradoodle - and in the process made the mutt a
desirable accessory - says it's the great regret of his life. The coveted accessory has pushed out other breeds in terms of desirability. Wally Conran, 81, coined the term labradoodle in 1988, when he was
the manager of the puppy program at the Royal Institute of the Blind.
He received a letter from a woman in Hawaii who needed a seeing eye
dog, but her husband had allergies. She wanted a dog that would not
shed hair. Mr Conran crossed two popular pedigree dogs: a labrador from
breeding stock at the institute and a poodle owned by his boss to
create the labradoodle. The puppies were supposed to have the best traits of both dogs: the
affable, controllable nature of the labrador, and the curly,
non-shedding coat of the poodle.
"But now when people ask me, `Did you breed the first one', I have
to say, `Yes, I did, but it's not something I'm proud of'," Mr Conran
said. "I wish I could turn the clock back."
The labradoodle is now recognized as the first of the so-called
"designer dogs", selling for more than $1000 a puppy. In essence, it is
a mutt, or mongrel, yet it has raced ahead of pedigrees in terms of
price and desirability. Some pet shops report mongrels outselling pure-breds three to one, despite the high price of both.
As a result, labradoodles and their cutely named cousins --
spoodles, schnoodles, cavoodles, moodles, groodles and roodles -- are
being pumped out across the nation, to meet demand. "I'm not at all proud of my involvement in it," Conran said. "But the genie's out of the bottle, and you can't put it back."
His dismay isn't shared by breeders of the curly cross-breeds, who
say they are merely meeting demand for a family-oriented, non-shedding
dog of compact size, and happy temperament. Nicolette Gallagos, of Australian Labradoodle Association, said:
"Labradoodles are family-oriented dogs. They are perfect for families
that want a dog that is good with children."
The association has set a breed standard for itself, and hopes the
dog will soon be recognized as a breed by the Australian National
Kennel Council. The process may take 20 years. It has been so long since a new breed
has been added to the Kennel Council's register that nobody can
remember when it last happened. Once recognized, the labradoodles will be able to enter shows, and win prizes.
The rise in popularity of the mutts angers pedigree breeders, who
complain that cross-breeders are exploiting the fad for money, and
forcing pedigree bitches to give birth to dozens of cross-bred pups
every year.
Brian J. Lowney Animal shelter officials throughout the United
States continue to report that these facilities are overflowing with
beautiful dogs waiting to be adopted. Many are purebred, most are
healthy, and all just need a second chance.
While
many experts blame the economy for the influx, others attribute the
surge to dogs being relinquished because of improper training,
inadequate care and unrealistic expectations. Sadly, some inexperienced
owners believe that dogs will train themselves or won't grow any larger
than the tiny ball of fluff that once fit on a child's lap.
Pet
writer Lexianne Grant says one common mistake made by many first-time
buyers is that they expect the new family pet to be just like their
friend's well-trained canine companion or like a great dog that steals
hearts in a movie. Every dog is not Lassie or Rin Tin Tin!
"They
don't realize that it takes time to develop that behavior and bond,
then when they have a puppy, they are totally bewildered why their dog
isn't perfect," she begins. "These buyers sometimes see pets as
disposable entertainment and get rid of the pet when the going gets
rough — when the animal needs time or attention."
Grant,
a Norwegian elkhound fancier, says she's witnessed this unfortunate
situation many times through her volunteer work in breed adoption
programs.
"I've seen this in rescue, usually
with puppies age 7 months and older, or in a slightly older dog that's
gone berserk because it's been neglected most of its life," she notes.
Grant
says that many new owners who surrender a dog to a shelter after a few
months often make the mistake of failing to appreciate the human-animal
bond, or are simply unaware of how to care for a dependent creature.
"The
solution is to read about dog care and behavior prior to making the
purchase," she advises, adding that if problems continue to develop
after the dog settles into its new home, there are many options that
can be implemented to correct bad behavior, such as obedience training.
Once an owner commits to caring for an animal, a positive relationship develops, Grant emphasizes.
The
respected author says another common misconception is that many new dog
owners think that once a canine is trained, the animal will never have
an accident in the house again.
"Welcome to
the world of dogs where poop and piddle fill your days," Grant
chuckles, adding that even the most reliable dog can have an accident
indoors if they becomes sick or frightened.
Grant
says one way for potential owners to obtain a more realistic view of
responsible pet ownership is to visit friends and family members and
observe how they feed and clean up after their dog, as well as how they
care for the animal when it's recuperating from surgery or an illness.
Darlene
Arden, author of The Angell Memorial Animal Hospital Book of Wellness
and Preventative Care for Dogs, says that one common mistake made by
many dog novice dog owners is that they are not fully prepared to make
a lifetime commitment to the animal. She adds that while every puppy is
cute, owners should also realize that the animal is genetically
programmed to perform a task, such as working, herding or hunting.
"Puppies
need to have their energy properly channeled and adult dogs need
exercise, and usually a job," Arden emphasizes. "Positive training and
getting involved in a dog sport is the perfect answer to both. You will
strengthen the human-animal bond and have a better behaved dog by
putting some time and energy into the relationship right at the
beginning."
Arden says once the dog matures,
it's important to stay involved in an activity such as obedience,
flyball, agility, or earthdog trials for terriers and dachshunds. These
pursuits provide recreation and exercise both for owners and their
canine pals, and also keep a dog mentally stimulated.
"The bonus is that you'll meet other like-minded people," she says.
Dog From Iraq Carries Soldier's legacy
BY JEFF SEIDEL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Yelping, jumping, squirming
and showing amazing agility despite having only three legs, Laia, a 9-month-old
puppy rescued from Iraq, now runs freely outside her Brighton home.
She is a survivor.
Laia survived a war, a
broken leg, the death of her owner, a risky convoy across Iraq, and an
amputation and wound up in the home of Jerry and Colleen Deaven of Brighton.
She is just a mutt, but her
story spans the globe.
It is the story of a guy
and his dog. Maj. Steven Hutchison fell in love with the puppy, but at age 60
became the oldest Army soldier to die during this war.
It is the story of a woman,
Terri Crisp, who has made 23 trips to Iraq, trying to save the pets of U.S.
soldiers.
It is the story of a
grieving mother, Peggy Loving of Romulus, who found a moment of solace when she
met Hutchison's beloved dog. When she left Laia, Loving was in tears because
holding the puppy felt to her like holding her son.
It is the story of
adoption. The Deaven family home has a massive yard, where Laia can run free,
and plenty of love.
"We feel like we are
taking care of her for Maj. Hutchison, for all the guys in the unit,"
Colleen Deaven said.
Her husband, who works for
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, agreed.
Stray's global journey
home
At night, when the war
cooled down and the sky above Iraq filled with stars, Army Maj. Steven
Hutchison slept with his arms wrapped around Laia, a stray, yellow puppy.
It was against the rules to
have a dog in an Army camp, but Hutchison hated rules, especially the ones that
didn't make any sense to him.
A senior officer told
Hutchison to get rid of the dog, but he didn't listen, not at all.
Hutchison was an old,
crusty vet who had served two tours in Vietnam and came out of retirement at
the tender age of 59 to fight with the boys in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was a
complex man -- smart and stubborn. He had a doctorate in psychology but loved
being on the front lines.
Countless soldiers in Iraq
and Afghanistan have adopted dogs and cats. For some, it is the one thing that
helps it feel like home.
"Whenever Laia was
around," Hutchison's "demeanor and personality changed 1,000%,"
Sgt. Andrew Hunt wrote in an e-mail to Hutchison's family. "He was never
without a smile; he was so much happier in life."
When the same senior
officer ordered Hutchison to get rid of the dog or face disciplinary action,
Hutchison sent her into hiding with a friend at a far outpost, Forward
Operating Base Minden, a camp on the border of Iran.
The puppy broke free and
ran away, returning one day to FOB Minden with a broken leg.
Then, tragedy. Hutchison
was killed when a roadside bomb exploded May 10 near his truck. His death would
become national news because of his age. At 60, he became the oldest soldier to
die in the Iraq war.
A few hours later, two Army
representatives walked solemnly into a small, tidy home in Romulus to notify
Peggy Loving, his 82-year-old mother. She came out of her bedroom, saw them in
the kitchen and she knew. She started to scream. "No!"
Volunteer trip fateful
The day Hutchison was
killed, Jerry Deaven arrived at FOB Minden. And soon, his life and Hutchison's
legacy would become intertwined in the most surprising way.
Deaven works for the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security in Detroit. He volunteered to go to Iraq to track down
terrorist funding.
The morning after Hutchison
died, Deaven saw a yellow dog chained up outside the operations tent. "She
was a cutie, just a puppy and a good-natured dog," Deaven said.
The little mutt started to
wag her way into his heart.
"What's going to
happen to her, now that the major is gone?" Deaven asked. A few members of
Hutchison's team said they wanted to take her, but they were getting
redeployed. "If I didn't take the dog, they would have had to put the dog
down," he said.
Laia walked with a limp.
Her right hind end leg was broken in the joint area. "I worked with the
Army medics, and we put a cast on her," Deaven said, in an effort to save
her leg.
Deaven loves dogs; he had
lost his own dog about a year earlier. George, a lovable, 7-year-old black Lab,
had died unexpectedly during an operation.
He contacted his wife,
Colleen, at home in Brighton. She said she wanted Laia.
As luck would have it,
before Hutchison died, Hunt already had started working to send the dog back to
the States, contacting the U.S. Embassy and an organization that helps soldiers
in Iraq bring their dogs back home.
Laia "is in great
hands," Hunt wrote to Hutchison's relatives. "She is heading to
Michigan to live with a wonderful family. ... They ... understand Laia carries
with her a very rich and important history and is part of a truly great
man."
Operation Baghdad Pups
Nine armed security
officers, wearing protective gear and riding in three Suburbans, drove from
Baghdad to Basra, Iraq, to pick up Laia and two other dogs. The $6,000 two-day
mission was by paid for by Operation Baghdad Pups, a program run through the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International.
"There may be some
people who say, 'You are wasting all that time and money and putting people's
lives in danger to go pick up a dog?' " said Terri Crisp, the program
manager.
"But these dogs are so
much more. ... They have gotten them through some incredibly tough things. ...A
lot of the guys will say that when they go out on patrol, the closer they get
back to base, they look forward to getting there, because the dog or cat is
waiting for them."
Crisp flew from Kuwait to
Baghdad to pick up Laia. They then flew from Baghdad to Kuwait, to Amsterdam
and to Washington, D.C., and finally on to Detroit.
In early June, Colleen
Deaven and her three children met Laia for the first time at Metro Airport. The
dog seemed overwhelmed. She still limped.
Colleen Deaven took Laia to
a vet, trying to fix her leg, which never healed correctly.
"They tried ... but it
was such an old injury that it just didn't take," she said. "So they
amputated in July. Within a day, she was walking around. Now, she doesn't even
notice."
Tangible link to son
About three weeks ago,
Hutchison's mother, Peggy Loving, sat in a car, heading toward Brighton.
"There were 50 million butterflies in my stomach," she said.
She walked into the house
and instantly knew what her son saw in the animal.
"He would have fallen
in love with anything as long as it had four legs and a face," Loving
said. "He just loved dogs."
There was a part of Loving
who wanted to take her son's dog, but she knows she can't. "My house isn't
big enough for a dog that size. I just couldn't take care of her."
She stayed for about an
hour, the emotions stirred, the grief still raw. This was more than meeting a
dog. "It was kind of like putting your hand on Steve," Loving said.
Walking out of the house,
she started to cry. "I just hated leaving him, leaving her," she
said, in a profound mix of words.
Keeping alive a memory
The Deavens feel as if they
have a different kind of mission now. They are caretakers, keeping alive a
memory. For Hutchison. For his team.
Several members of
Hutchison's team plan to visit Laia. "I was so impressed with those
guys," Jerry Deaven said. "We worked 16 or 18 hours a day, never had
a day off, and these guys never complained. They just stepped up and dealt with
it. It makes you proud of your country to work with guys like that."
And Loving has found peace.
She keeps a picture of Laia in her bedroom. On the kitchen table, an electronic
frame flashes photos of her son.
"Laia is where Steve
would want her," she said. "I love these people."
Dogs possess a 2-year-old child's capacity to understand human pointing gestures, with dogs requiring next to zero learning time to figure out the visual communication, according to two recent studies.
The comparison with kids doesn't end there. Due to domestication, dogs appear to be predisposed to read other human visual signals, including head-turning and gazing.
Pet owners often use baby talk, scientifically known as "motherese," with both children and dogs, allowing canines and kids to receive similar social stimulation.
"The human pointing gesture is cooperative in its nature," Gabriella Lakatos told Discovery News. Lakatos, a researcher in the Department of Ethology at Eotvos University, led the first study, published in the current issue of Animal Cognition.
She explained that other recent studies suggest chimpanzees "might have difficulties with comprehending situations based on cooperation," mentioning "the observation that chimpanzees do not actively share food." Dogs, on the other hand, often eagerly cooperate.
For her study on dogs and kids, Lakatos and her colleagues used a combination of finger-, elbow-, leg- and knee-pointing gestures to help dogs locate hidden food and, for children, a favorite toy.
Two-year-olds and dogs understood everything except knee-pointing and when the experimenter's index finger pointed in a different direction than the protruding arm. For example, they were confused when the individual raised an arm in a certain direction, but used her finger to point the other way.
Human 3-year-olds, on the other hand, aced all of the tests.
Lakatos said that "in human children between the age of two and three years, important changes take place that go beyond the capacities of dogs." Many of these changes have to do with development of language skills.
"The ability to generalize in children makes the precision of gesturing by the adult less important," she added. "Children may have a more complex ability to realize the intention behind the pointing gesture."
When gesturing to a dog or child under 3, it's therefore best not to fidget or otherwise move in confusing ways.
"Our results show that dogs can understand the pointing gesture if a body part protrudes from the body silhouette," Lakatos said.
For the second study, published in the prior issue of the same journal, Marta Gacsi, also of Eotvos University, and her team analyzed 180 dogs of various ages to see how development and individual differences affect their understanding of human pointing.
Gacsi and her colleagues determined "the dogs showed no difference in the performance according to age, indicating that in dogs the comprehension of the human pointing may require only very limited and rapid early learning to fully develop."
Lakatos cautions, however in thinking that dogs are just like furry 2-year-old children.
"Any behavioral similarity or similar performance between dogs and children should be investigated separately in each case," she advised. "Just to give an example for a reverse case: nobody has tried to herd a flock of sheep with two-year-old (human children)."
Beate Spear
It's me or the dog! How many of us have heard that in the past? So many times you can read about dogs in need for a new home because one of the dog parents is just not willing to put up any longer with the dogs’ unruly behavior. This is when Victory Stilweel from Dog Trainers of Georgia located in the greater Atlanta are comes in. Many of us know her from her show at Animal Planet where Victoria has been working with some of the most unruly dogs (and owners) on her TV show. She gives pet parents great advice to correct their dogs’ behavior problems. Do you want to learn “thinking dog”? You can call Dog Trainers of Georgia and set up an appointment with one of the team members of Dog Trainers of Georgia today and maybe in a short amount of time you have learned how to handle your dog better. Read what Dog Trainers of Georgia has to say:Dog Trainers of Georgia, we believe it is vitally important for owners to give their dogs the opportunity and the tools they need to live successfully in a human world. A dog that is given consistent guidance from an early age grows up to be a confident dog. Education brings security, security brings confidence, and a confident dog has no need to show anxiety-based behaviors.
It has been proven by modern behavioral science that forceful handling such as physical punishment, leash yanking, excessive shouting or rolling a dog on its back in order to get it to submit is psychologically damaging. Instead, the most successful modern training theories suggest that reinforcing good behavior with rewards and marking bad behavior using vocal distractions or simply ignoring the dog is much more successful. Positive reinforcement (i.e., giving the dog a reward in the form of praise, play, food, toys etc when it responds and offers an action or a behavior that you like) has been shown to be the most effective way to train a dog. Ultimately, positive dog training results in dogs who have learned how to learn positively, while aversive training uses fear to combat fear, often resulting in a ‘quick fix’ that hasn’t truly identified and modified the root cause of the misbehavior. As you begin the process of modifying your dog’s behavior, BE PATIENT – positive training relies on consistency, repetition and the following general rules: Identify WHY is the dog doing what it is doing. You cannot deal with a behavior unless you know the root cause.Once you know the WHY, then you can ask yourself HOW to treat the behavior. It is vitally important that you understand your dog. Learn to talk and think dog. Good communication serves to increase the bond between dog and owner considerably.Be Kind! Never hit, scream at or yank your dog. Don’t combat fear with more fear – recognize your dog’s concerns, then slowly and gently help him learn to overcome them.Go slowly and be patient.
Teaching obedience commands is relatively easy to do, but changing a dog’s negative behaviors and perceptions is a lot harder. Therefore it is important that you enlist the help of a qualified trainer to help you with a treatment plan that is designed for your dog’s particular problem. Stay away from trainers that use harsh methods, choke, prong or weighted collars. Remember positive training equals positive results. It might take a little longer and require a bit more time and patience on your part, but the positive changes you’ll see in your dog are worth it.
by Tracy B Ann
Remember how much fun Mexican jumping beans were when you were a kid? Bouncing all over your hand? Now, remember how cute your jumping puppy was when he was 3 months old and only weighed 18 lbs ? Not so cute now that he’s 8 months old and weighs 70 lbs now is he?
Sadly, this is the age when many dogs are turned into shelters because they are no longer cute and their behavior is out of control. The even sadder part is that this is really easy to fix.
Despite popular belief there is no one magic formula for getting a dog to stop jumping but here are a few tips that will help. Remember that all dogs are different so what works with one may not work with another. Be open to trying several methods and have fun figuring out which one works for your special dog.
First, check your dog’s food. If you are feeding a puppy food quit it! An 8 month old dog doesn’t need puppy food. (I would argue that no dog ever needs a puppy food.) Look at the ingredients of your dog’s food, Check for levels of protein and sugar content. Protein above 24% combined with sugar equals what we trainers call “rocket fuel”. Switch to a better dog food.
Next make sure your dog is getting enough exercise. A minimum of 1 hour of aerobic exercise (a walk doesn’t count), a day and some dogs need more. The best type of exercise for your dog is playing with other dogs.
Now, make sure you’re not rewarding your dog for jumping up on you. I kind of like when dogs jump on me so I have to remind myself not to pet them or kiss them on the head, something that is guaranteed to get them to repeat the behavior. Ignore a dog when it jumps on you.
Watch your body language also. Most of us step back when a dog jumps on us. Sometimes we can’t help it when it’s a big dog. To a dog though that means, “come on up”. So be sure to tell the dog using its own language that you don’t want to be jumped on.
You do that by slowly stepping forward into the dog’s space WITHOUT saying a word. You don’t want to give a dog any attention for this. Dogs understand and respect a need to have a certain amount of space around their bodies. They enforce it with other dogs, we just usually override it when they are pups and establish bad manners.
Whatever you do, DON’T lift your knee into a dog’s chest!!! Even done when in a good mood a lot of force comes up with your knee. If you do it when you’re surprised or angry, way too much force comes up with your knee. Enough to do harm to a young pups not fully developed organs.
You could turn your back on your dog every time it jumps but I have seen that turn into a game as if the dog is saying “Watch me make my person turn around”. And it doesn’t solve the problem of your dog jumping on your back.
If a dog jumps on my back, I don’t turn around into the dog; I step backwards into the dog, claiming my space. If a dog jumps on me from the side I step into the dog from the side.
If you have a known jumper, brace yourself so that you won’t be thrown back into the “come on up” position. You can hold you hands out in such a way as to claim your space. This works with many dogs. For some it is a signal to jump and chew on hands. For those dogs hold your hands in your back pocket or under your arms so they don’t tempt your dog.
That’s the fun part, figuring out the exact way to communicate with your own dog. Don’t expect others to keep your dog from jumping on them. That’s your job. If you have sit trained well (see sit and stay ) use that. If not keep your dog on a leash around other people and step on the leash so she can’t jump on anyone.
If your dog has successfully gone a month without jumping on anyone you can teach it to jump up if you want. Pat your chest or thigh and say “Up” or any other word you like, I use a word that means “welcome home” then pet, and praise your dog to your (and their) hearts content. That’s what they’re here for after all.
The Humane Society of Missouri says more than 400 dogs were seized last week as part of what's being called the largest coordinated raid on dogfighting rings in American history. Rescuers say dogs from Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Mississippi were taken from owners who subjected them to unspeakable cruelty. Dogs that didn't fight well enough, they say, were shot, their bodies sometimes burned in barrels or thrown into rivers. Federal and state authorities, in addition to animal rescue groups, participated in the raid.
Many of those arrested in the raids appeared to live seemingly normal lives apart from their alleged ties to the shady world of dogfighting. One man arrested in Texas is a Little League coach; two men arrested in Missouri were a registered nurse and a teacher in a state-run school for the disabled, the Associated Press reported.
"The Humane Society of Missouri provided initial information that led to the investigation. During the course of the investigation they also cared for animals involved when possible, and they are presently designated to provide continuing care for the seized dogs," said Michael Reap, acting U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Missouri.
The Humane Society of Missouri says it is housing most of the seized dogs -- mostly pit bulls -- in a temporary facility to keep them separate from other rescued animals. According to the group, animal behaviorists will evaluate each dog and make recommendations to the U.S. District Court on their chances for rehabilitation. "We are committed to giving dogs who have come from such horrible abuse the absolute best chance for a good life," Debbie Hill, the group's vice president of operations and the temporary shelter's director, said of the task at hand. "It is a tragedy that because of mistreatment by humans for financial gain and so-called sport, many dogs used in animal fighting may not ever be able to be placed in a home situation."
But there's good news for the animals as well. Janell Matthies with the Sacremento-based group United Animal Nations, which is helping to provide medical care for the seized dogs, told the Associated Press that rescuers are "seeing a lot of tail wags." Rescue groups in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Iowa are also housing some of the seized dogs.
Across the U.S., animal advocates are calling the raids a victory for animals. The ASPCA has taken the opportunity to remind California animal lovers that an anti-dogfighting bill, A.B. 242, would benefit from constituent support. (The bill was scheduled for a state Senate committee hearing July 9, but that was postponed amid ongoing state budget concerns.)
For his part, Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States says that each dogfighting raid brings the U.S. "one step closer to ending this cruel bloodsport."
by Julie Forbes
Many dog owners take their dogs to dog parks as their dog’s main form of exercise. After all, they are one of the few places for people to legally take their dogs to run free from the constraints of a leash. However, it is important to understand that dog parks are not for everyone.
Here is where the problem lies: It is a human expectation that our dogs by nature be “friendly with everyone.” Dogs in the wild have their pack with whom they interact and bond with; anyone outside that pack is potentially a threat to territory, resources, and survival.
Most dogs at dog parks do not know each other. Therefore, there is often much tension upon interaction. Add to the mix: The trip to the park is many dogs’ primary form of exercise, so they are arriving pent-up, off-balance and aggravated.
You pull into the parking lot and your dog has been anxiously whining for at least two miles because she knows the route to the park. We think to ourselves, “She is so excited to go the park!” Is that really the case? It is possible she is also nervous, apprehensive, or even fearful.
You open the gate and your dog goes tearing down the path, is barking obsessively for you to throw the ball, or is plastered against the fence, totally overwhelmed. Now consider that most of the dogs there are feeling the same way. Combine all ingredients, let simmer for 20 minutes, and what do you have? A potentially very dangerous situation.
Last year, a dog was killed at a Seattle dog park by two other dogs. I have met too many people who have had dogs severely injured at dog parks to remain passively abstinent. The real danger lies when small dogs are attacked by larger dogs. It doesn’t take much force for a small dog’s internal organs to be damaged from the bite of a larger dog.
Often when someone’s dog is attacked at a dog park, the owner of the dangerous dog is M.I.A. …Nowhere to be found. The dangerous dog is likely to return in the near future for more “play,” and there is no human accountability.
People feel pressure to take their dogs to dog parks, even when it is not a good fit. We are forcing unnatural interactions with the intention of meeting our dogs’ needs, without considering that there are other options.
I stopped going to dog parks about a year ago and have since been walking my dogs around the neighborhood for their (our) exercise. Not only is it a much more constructive, balanced way to burn energy, but also a great bonding experience since dogs have a programmed need to travel with the pack. They’re happier, I’m happier, and I don’t risk either of my dogs getting hurt.
NEW YORK, June 13, 2009 (UPI) -- A New York researcher says dogs that appear guilty when being scolded by their owners can be innocent and simply responding to owners' verbal attacks.
Researchers such as Barnard College assistant professor Alexandra Horowitz insist they found that dogs appear to have a "guilty look" after being accused of misbehaving due to being scolded and not always due to actual guilt, The Daily Telegraph (Britain) said Saturday.
The study involved researchers informing participating dog owners their animal had misbehaved despite the fact the canines were completely innocent.
The researchers said informed owners claimed to notice a look of guilt in their animals while reprimanding the dogs, the Telegraph reported.
Horowitz, whose study was published in Behavioral Processes journal, said such an act represented owners projecting their values onto the innocent dogs.
"Merely uttering a dog's name with a rising, accusatory tone is often enough to elicit pre-emptive submissive behavior," Horowitz said.
"The results indicate that the so-called guilty look is a response to owner scolding; it is not expressed more often when actually guilty."
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A South Texas mayor became so concerned about reports of a Great Dane being stuck on a second-story balcony that he alerted emergency workers, went to the location himself, scaled a fire department ladder and entered the apartment to help the dog. The problem was, the dog wasn't in distress. The bigger problem came when the surprised dog owner found Mayor Pat Ahumada standing in his kitchen Tuesday.
"He broke into my house," the owner, who asked not to be identified, told the Brownsville Herald. "My dog is very well taken care of. He shouldn't have done that."
Ahumada, a dog lover whose zeal for the animals has caused problems before, said a local TV station called him to say a dog was stuck. Ahumada called animal services, the fire department and the police.
"He looked to be stuck on the balcony," Ahumada said. "I didn't know the condition of the dog or if the building was abandoned. ... The animal's paws were hanging out from the railing and he was struggling to get up."
The dog's owner explained that the 14-year-old dog has little mobility, and one of its greatest pleasures is passing the day on the balcony where it can watch the passing traffic.
In 2007, the city informed Ahumada that his six dogs doubled the city's legal limit for one home. That same year, Ahumada picked up a dog thinking it was stray and gave it to a family. When the original owner asked for the dog back and the family refused, the issue ended up in court.
Two years earlier, before he was elected mayor, Ahumada was charged with theft after taking a dog from the Brownsville Animal Shelter. He claimed the dog was not being properly cared for and the charge was dismissed.
The BBC drops its coverage of the prestigious Crufts competition after a documentary questions breeders' practices. But the show's organizers say they've long championed good health. By Henry Chu
March 5, 2009 Reporting from Birmingham, England -- It seems so very British that an ugly row has broken out between those who say they love dogs and those who say they love dogs more. But just such a royal catfight has ensnared the country's most prestigious dog show, Crufts, which opens today here in Birmingham, a four-day extravaganza of four-legged bliss that has drawn millions of viewers to the British Broadcasting Corp. since 1966.
But not this year. The BBC has dropped its coverage of Crufts after a documentary exposed questionable practices among some competitive dog breeders. The quest for the perfect look produced Pekingese with excessively mashed-in faces, bulldogs with oversize heads, and dachshunds with unhealthily long bodies. Crufts, complained one anti-cruelty activist, was nothing less than a "parade of mutants."
The fallout has led to competing claims over who has the best interests of dogs at heart in a country where more than 1 in 5 households owns a dog, a fact well-supported by evidence on British sidewalks.
Stung by the bad publicity, Britain's Kennel Club, which runs Crufts, issued revised standards of canine beauty in January -- modifications that club officials say were already underway but that they acknowledge were being rushed into force because of the controversy. That sparked protests from some breeders and owners who fumed that the rules were being changed without fair warning before Crufts, which people here call the "greatest dog show on Earth."
The pageant's motto this year, coincidentally or not, is "Happy, healthy dogs," promoting an ideal that, club officials huff, they certainly didn't need to be lectured about by the BBC.
"It's almost as if they invented the idea, whereas actually we were very conscious of it, and we were already working with those breeds which we felt to be of the most concern," said Caroline Kisco, the club's secretary. "But we were taking a more softly, softly approach in getting them to agree to the changes."
The documentary that spawned the fuss, "Pedigree Dogs Exposed," aired on the BBC and was not for the squeamish. It showed animals suffering from horrible physical problems apparently bred into them by owners intent on achieving contest-winning looks. Some mated dogs with their parents, or siblings with each other, inbreeding that can lead to deformities.
There were pugs and Pekingese bred to have as flat a face as possible, an attribute that left them unable to breathe properly or regulate their body temperature. (One champion Pekingese had to be set on a block of ice when it received its prize.) Bulldogs were molded into such an odd shape that they could not mate or give birth naturally.
Most painful to watch, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel writhed in agony from a permanent headache because its skull had been bred too small for its brain -- like "a size 10 foot shoved into a size 6 shoe," a veterinary neurologist grimly explained.
Public outcry was immediate. Crufts' chief sponsor, a pet food maker, pulled out. And after an internal review, the BBC decided in December to ditch its coverage of the show.
That was bad news to Jose Baddeley, who has a strapping female Gordon setter in this year's competition ("Lotty, but her proper name is Birchgarth Fool's Gold With Lourdace").
"We have nothing to watch," Baddeley complained.
Meanwhile, judges have been instructed to be vigilant for signs of canine poor health. The revised guidelines for poochy pulchritude, Kisco said, should also help ensure that the dogs are "fit for function, fit for life," as the Kennel Club's slogan has it.
The standards for "only a handful" of breeds have undergone extensive changes, Kisco said, including the bulldog, which is supposed to lose its classic Churchillian jowls and gain longer legs and a leaner body. That prompted a gripe from Robin Searle, chairman of the British Bulldog Breed Council: "What you'll get is a completely different dog, not a British bulldog."
But many animal welfare activists are glad that questionable breeding practices have been exposed and that public discussion on the ethics of dog shows has been, so to speak, unleashed.
"This dog race of pedigree 'perfection' is destroying its subject," the Times of London said last week in an editorial with the headline "Ruff Trade."
"It is difficult to see dog as man's best friend when we castrate them, make them commit incest and parade them under bright lights in Birmingham," the paper said.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2007) — Like us, our canine friends are able to form abstract concepts. Friederike Range and colleagues from the University of Vienna in Austria have shown for the first time that dogs can classify complex color photographs and place them into categories in the same way that humans do. And the dogs successfully demonstrate their learning through the use of computer automated touch-screens, eliminating potential human influence. In order to test whether dogs can visually categorize pictures, and transfer their knowledge to new situations, four dogs were shown landscape and dog photographs, and expected to make a selection on a computer touch-screen.
In the training phase, the dogs were shown both the landscape and dog photographs simultaneously and were rewarded with a food pellet if they selected the dog picture (positive stimulus). The dogs then took part in two tests.
In the first test, the dogs were shown completely different dog and landscape pictures. They continued to reliably select the dog photographs, demonstrating that they could transfer their knowledge gained in the training phase to a new set of visual stimuli, even though they had never seen those particular pictures before.
In the second test, the dogs were shown new dog pictures pasted onto the landscape pictures used in the training phase, facing them with contradictory information: on the one hand, a new positive stimulus as the pictures contained dogs even though they were new dogs; on the other hand, a familiar negative stimulus in the form of the landscape.
When the dogs were faced with a choice between the new dog on the familiar landscape and a completely new landscape with no dog, they reliably selected the option with the dog. These results show that the dogs were able to form a concept i.e. ‘dog’, although the experiment cannot tell us whether they recognized the dog pictures as actual dogs.
The authors also draw some conclusions on the strength of their methodology: “Using touch-screen computers with dogs opens up a whole world of possibilities on how to test the cognitive abilities of dogs by basically completely controlling any influence from the owner or experimenter.” They add that the method can also be used to test a range of learning strategies and has the potential to allow researchers to compare the cognitive abilities of different species using a single method.
Journal reference: Range F et al (2007). Visual categorization of natural stimuli by domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Animal Cognition (DOI 10.1007/s10071-007-0123-2).
ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2008) — Computer programs may be the most accurate tool for studying acoustic communications amongst animals, according to Csaba Molnár from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary and his research team. Their research shows that a new piece of software is able to classify dog barks according to different situations and even identify barks from individual dogs, a task humans find challenging. The aim of Molnár and colleagues’ experiments was to test a computer algorithm’s ability to identify and differentiate the acoustic features of dog barks, and classify them according to different contexts and individual dogs. The software analyzed more than 6000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs (Mudi breed) in six different situations: ‘stranger’, ‘fight’, ‘walk’, ‘alone’, ‘ball’ and ‘play’. The barks were recorded with a tape recorder before being transferred to the computer, where they were digitalized and individual bark sounds were coded, classified and evaluated.
In the first experiment looking at classification of barks into different situations, the software correctly classified the barks in 43 percent of cases. The best recognition rates were achieved for ‘fight’ and ‘stranger’ contexts, and the poorest rate was achieved when categorizing ‘play’ barks. These findings suggest that the different motivational states of dogs in aggressive, friendly or submissive contexts may result in acoustically different barks.
In the second experiment looking at the recognition of individual dogs, the algorithm correctly classified the barks in 52 percent of cases. The software could reliably discriminate among individual dogs while humans can not, which suggests that there are individual differences in barks of dogs even though humans are not able to recognise them.
The authors conclude by highlighting the value of their new methodology: “The use of advanced machine learning algorithms to classify and analyze animal sounds opens new perspectives for the understanding of animal communication… The promising results obtained strongly suggest that advanced machine learning approaches deserve to be considered as a new relevant tool for ethology*.”
* Ethology: the study of animal behavior, with a focus on behavioral patterns in natural environments.
Journal reference: Molnar C et al (2008). Classification of dog barks: a machine learning approach. Animal Cognition (DOI 10.1007/s10071-007-0129-9)
A new pooch has been crowned New York's oldest dog!
Paco lives in Manhattan with his owner and human companion Bernadine Santistevan,
a filmmaker and venture capitalist. Originally from New Mexico,
Santistevan has had Paco since she first spotted him as an eight-month
old pup looking scared and lonely in an Albuquerque pet store.
"He
was in a cage and he just looked so sad," Santistevan tells Paw Nation.
"He had his head up on his paws and he was blinking his big eyes. I
went to play with him, but he was so terrified that he wouldn't even
move. All he would do was crawl on his stomach and cry. It just broke
my heart and I wanted to take him away and take care of him."
The
little dachshund has thrived under Santistevan's care, developing a
taste for organic chicken, fish and fruit. When Santistevan moved to
New York City, she made sure to get a first floor apartment with a
backyard -- no easy feat in Manhattan -- so Paco would have a place to
play. Except for patches of white around his muzzle and chest, the
dachshund, who is 140 years old in human years, has still retained most
of his youthful, brown coloring.
So what is Paco's secret?
"It's partly genetics and partly his owner who is really in tune with
his needs," says Dr. Talia Goldberg of Park East Animal Hospital, where
Paco has been a client since 1990. Since developing arthritis a couple
of years ago, he gets weekly massages at the Animal Medical Center and
acupuncture treatments with certified veterinary acupuncturist Dr.
Jeffrey Levy. "It's definitely improved Paco's quality of life," Dr.
Levy tells Paw Nation.
The little dachshund also likes his
exercise. "Paco still walks for 30 minutes a day," says Dr. Goldberg.
"For a 20 year-old arthritic dog, that's amazing!" And he doesn't just
walk. "I see him coming down the hallway for his appointments and he
really struts his stuff," laughs Dr. Goldberg.
Three months ago, Santistevan got a scare when Paco suddenly suffered a seizure.
She
rushed him to the Animal Medical Center where they told her the
situation was grave. "They said, 'you're going to need to say goodbye
to your pet,'" recalls Santistevan. "But the next morning -- I don't
know how -- he was okay."
The near-death encounter prompted
Santistevan to take Paco on a two-week trip to New Mexico to meet with
Native American healers and gain a deeper understanding of the meaning
of animals in humans' lives. The experience has been made into a film
called "The Way of the Wolf," out in October.
"He's been my
teacher," Santistevan says of her dog. "He's taught me responsibility,
love, the importance of dignity and being present, and patience."
Dr.
Goldberg also sees something special in Paco. "He's amazing," the
veterinarian says. "He has a fighter in him. He overcomes everything
and it takes a special dog to go through what he's been through."
On
Paco's 20th birthday, Santistevan spent a quiet day with Paco doing one
of his favorite activities -- taking a leisurely stroll through Central
Park. "I don't know how much longer he's going to be with me, but every
day is a blessing," says Santistevan. It's also a celebration.
"His
birthday bash is this weekend," says Santistevan, who is planning a
party complete with a mariachi band, flamenco dancer and a special
salmon cake for Paco. His new girlfriend, a Cavalier King Charles
Spaniel and Bichon Frise mix named Roxy Jones will also be there.
"She's 19 years his junior, but she doesn't seem to mind. Nor does
Paco," laughs Santistevan. Seems Paco is a bit of a ladies man!
ScienceDaily (Apr. 27, 2007) — A distinguishing feature of human intelligence is our ability to understand the goals and intentions of others. This ability develops gradually during infancy, and the extent to which it is present in other animals is an intriguing question. New research by Friederike Range and Ludwig Huber, of the University of Vienna, and Zsofia Viranyi, of the Eötvös University in Budapest, reveals striking similarities between humans and dogs in the way they imitate the actions of others. The phenomenon under investigation is known as "selective imitation" and implies that dogs--like human infants--do not simply copy an action they observe, but adjust the extent to which they imitate to the circumstances of the action.
In the study, dogs were faced with the task of opening a container with food by pulling a rod. Whereas dogs prefer to use the mouth for this task, a female dog was trained to open the box with her paw. When the other dogs observed the female's action, they imitated it in order to get the food. However, the dogs imitated selectively. They used their mouths instead of their paws for manipulating the rod when they had seen the demonstrating dog using her paw while holding a ball in her mouth. However, when the demonstrating dog's mouth was free, the dogs imitated her action completely and used the paw themselves.
This means that the way the dogs imitate is tuned to the goal of the action. If the dogs perceive the demonstrator being unable to use her mouth, because she holds a ball in it, they choose the easier, more preferred way to achieve the goal. But when the mouth is free, there appears to be a reason for the demonstrating dog not to use her mouth, and so the dogs imitate the action.
The new work shows for the first time that animals do imitate selectively. This reveals a striking parallel between dogs and human infants in that they do not simply "ape" an action, but only do so if it appears appropriate for the goal. In that sense, dogs seem more similar to us humans than are our biologically closest relatives, the chimpanzees, which will in similar tasks always opt for the more effective way of attaining the goal.
A number of such striking cognitive parallels between humans and dogs have been documented in recent years and are presumably due to the long intimate communicative relationships humans have had with dogs during their domestication.
The researchers include Friederike Range and L Huber of University of Vienna in Vienna, Austria; Zs Viranyi of Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution & Cognition Research in Altenberg, Austria and Eötvös University in Budapest, Hungary.
This work has received research funding from the European Community's Sixth Framework Programme under contract number: NEST 012929. We thank all our dogs and their owners for participating in our experiment.
Range et al.: "Selective imitation in domestic dogs." Publishing in Current Biology 17, May 15, 2007.
February 18, 2009 McClatchy Newspapers
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Man's best friend is loyal, loving and a whole lot of fun to hang out with. Man's best friend can also shred shoes, yank on a leash and snap at other dogs if not properly trained.
No doubt, dog training can indeed be a do-it-yourself project. But working with a professional dog trainer, either in a class or private one-on-one session, provides expertise and assistance not available to pet owners who train dogs on their own.
When looking for a dog trainer, it's important to seek out those who use positive training methods that reward rather than punish, experts say. Get recommendations from fellow dog owners, veterinarians, dog clubs and local animal shelters.
Once you find a trainer, ask to attend a class session to see how the trainer works with people and dogs.
"In looking for a trainer, you want somebody who touts positive training," said Joan McClure, president of the Walnut Creek (Calif.) Dog Owners Group.
A dog trainer should also be able to deal with different behavioral situations such as aggression, excessive barking or fear issues.
"Look for someone who has worked in different situations ... someone who is not just working with walking a dog on a leash so he can heel," said McClure.
"If you go to the dog park and see someone's dog that is really well trained, ask that person who helped them," said Eliza Fried, director of development and marketing at the Oakand, Calif.-based East Bay SPCA.
People don't have to be licensed to be a dog trainer, explained Mychelle Blake, spokeswoman for the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, a professional organization of dog trainers.
While the association does not actually certify dog trainers, it recognizes 10 certification designations issued through seven professional groups that include the International Association of Canine Professionals and the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. To be certified, a dog trainer has to meet certain educational standards established by the groups.
Dog owners can indeed train a dog on their own but a trainer can point out if they are making any mistakes, said Blake. "You can certainly do it on your own if you are good at following written instructions or taking direction from a DVD," she said. "Trainers are not training the dog. They are teaching you how to train the dog."
The association provides local referrals to both certified and noncertified member trainers on its Web site at www.apdt.com. For a list of recommended dog training DVDs and books, check out www.apdt.com/po/books.
In the San Francisco Bay area, expect to pay from $145 to $200 for a six-week basic obedience class.
Generally, dog training classes offered through local animal shelters tend to be the most affordable option, said Blake.
Look for trainers who explain the lesson before class starts and provide handouts to take home.
"If they say no or are hesitant that would be a big red flag to me," said Blake.
People should look for a dog trainer before they get a dog if possible, said Martin Deeley, executive director of the International Association of Canine Professionals. "If you go and watch a training session and are not happy with the way the trainer is working or watching the way the dogs and owners are reacting, then maybe that trainer is not for you," said Deeley.
Opting for a public dog training class or private session depends on the dog.
The advantage of a class is that the learning happens in an environment with other dogs and people around, Blake said. The optimal size for a class is six to eight dogs to one instructor although a larger class can work if there is an assistant, she said.
One-on-one training means individual attention, which could be especially helpful for dogs with behavioral issues, she said.
One thing dog owners should not for is a dog trainer who guarantees that the instruction will change the dog's behavior. "I would really question that ... You cannot guarantee the behavior of an animal," Blake said.
Demonstrate the behavior(s) that students will be teaching to their dogs.
Provide clear instructions and written handouts on how to teach the behavior(s).
Give students ample time in class to begin practicing the day's lesson.
Assist students individually with proper implementation of techniques.
Will encourage dialogue and be courteous to both canine and human clients alike.
Employs humane training methods which are not harmful to the dog and/or handler, and avoids the practices of hanging, beating, kicking, shocking, and all similar procedures or training devices that could cause the dog great pain, distress, or that have imminent potential for physical harm.
You have the absolute right to stop any trainer or other animal care professional who, in your opinion, is causing your dog undue harm or distress.
Source: Association of Pet Dog Trainers www.apdt.com
Thursday, January 17, 2008The Center for Consumer Freedom, a non-profit trade group representing the interests of manufacturers and retailers, formally petitioned the Commonwealth of Virginia to reclassify PETA as a "slaughterhouse".
An official report filed by PETA itself shows that the animal rights group put to death nearly every dog, cat, and other pet it took in for adoption in 2006. During that year, the well-known animal rights group managed to find adoptive homes for just 12 animals. The organization killed 2,981 of the 3,061 "companion animals" it took in.
According to David Martosko, Research Director for CCF... "It is absurd to classify PETA as a 'humane society' when its employees are slaughtering nearly every companion animal they bring in. PETA has killed over 17,000 pets since 1998. Given the group's astonishing habit of killing adoptable dogs and cats with such ruthless efficiency, it's only fair that the state of Virginia refer to PETA as a slaughterhouse."CCF's petition was directed to Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. If approved, the new classification would force PETA to abide an entirely new set of laws and regulations.
The Center of Consumer Freedom has set PETA in its sights because PETA has targeted the companies that CCF represents, such as food makers, department stores, and textile companies.
PETA's most successful publicity campaigns have been those against the fur industry, arguing that killing animals for fur is akin to cruelty. Yet ironically, PETA itself is killing thousands perfectly healthy and adoptable animals for no better reason than just ideology.
Death toll up to 17,400; overdue report describes PETA's deadliest year ever
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10(2009) /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An official report from People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), submitted nine months after a Virginia government agency's deadline, shows that the animal rights group put to death more than 97 percent of the dogs, cats, and other pets it took in for adoption in 2006. During that year, the well-known animal rights group managed to find adoptive homes for just 12 pets. The nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is calling on PETA to either end its hypocritical angel-of-death program, or stop its senseless condemnation of Americans who believe it's perfectly ethical to use animals for food, clothing, and critical medical research.
Not counting animals PETA held only temporarily in its spay-neuter program, the organization took in 3,061 "companion animals" in 2006, of which it killed 2,981. According to Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the average euthanasia rate for humane societies in the state was just 34.7 percent in 2006. PETA killed 97.4 percent of the animals it took in. The organization filed its 2006 report this month, nine months after the VDACS deadline of March 31, 2007.
"Pet lovers should be outraged," said CCF Director of Research David Martosko. "There are thousands of worthwhile animal shelters that deserve Americans' support. PETA is not one of them."
In courtroom testimony last year, a PETA manager acknowledged that her organization maintains a large walk-in freezer for storing dead animals, and that PETA contracts with a Virginia cremation service to dispose of the bodies. In that trial, two PETA employees were convicted of dumping dead animals in a rural North Carolina trash dumpster.
Today in Southampton County, Virginia, another PETA employee will face felony charges in a dog-napping case. Andrea Florence Benoit Harris was arrested in late 2006 for allegedly abducting a hunting dog and attempting to transport it to PETA's Norfolk headquarters.
"PETA raised over $30 million last year," Martosko added, "and it's using that money to kill the only flesh-and-blood animals its employees actually see. The scale of PETA's hypocrisy is simply staggering."
To speak with a spokesman contact Tim Miller at 202-463-7112.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio firefighter sentenced to 90 days in jail for killing his dogs has now lost his fire department job.
Columbus Public Safety Director Mitchell Brown said Thursday that he has decided to terminate 43-year-old David Santuomo on the recommendation of the fire chief.
The firefighter pleaded guilty last month to three misdemeanors, including two animal cruelty counts. Prosecutors say Santuomo tied his two mixed-breed dogs to a pipe in his basement and shot them in December so he wouldn't have to put them up in a kennel while he went on vacation.
A spokesman had said the fire department received thousands of messages demanding that Santuomo be fired.
A message was left for Santuomo's attorney asking if his client would appeal the firing.
Story Created: Feb 11, 2009 at 8:45 PM CST WICHITA, Kansas - Dog owners should know that veterinarians are recommending you add another vaccination to the list of yearly shots your dog gets.
Make no mistake about it dog lovers, love their dogs. And as dog lovers our job is make sure our pets are healthy. But there's an old threat making a comeback that can put your pet's life at risk.
Dr. Christen Skaer, a Kansas veterinarian, says she made a call to an internal medicine specialist at KSU and they said "oh yeah Wichita, we are seeing a lot of cases of Lepto from Wichita."
Dr. Skaer points out that animals contract the bacteria from open wounds and urine of infected animals.
It's called Lepto for short, Leptospirosis is a bacteria that can be passed from wild animals to your dog.
Although, she says the symptoms can be pretty vague and hard to pinpoint. Some things to look for are: increased drinking and urination.
If left untreated, Leptospirosis can be deadly. Fortunately, there's a vaccine to treat the bacteria and it's been around for years. With more cases popping up around Wichita, and across the state, Dr. Skaer recommends dog owners talk to their vets about getting the vaccine.
Cats aren't immune to Leptospirosis, but they rarely become infected.
By John Kelly
THE WASHINGTON POST
Published: February 20, 2009
WASHINGTON - "Is your dog friendly?" you ask as we draw closer to each other on the path, our respective dogs' leashes in hand.
How am I supposed to answer that? Yes, Charlie is friendly -- really, he's a very sweet dog -- but how can I know your interpretation of the word "friendly"? Some people might construe energetic humping as extremely friendly. Others might be horrified. Charlie is a dog who likes pushing his butt into your knees in the hopes that you'll scratch it. Is that unfriendly?
What you really want to know is this: Is my dog going to rip your dog's throat out?
No, of course not. At least, I don't think so. I mean, can we ever really predict what an animal -- even a domesticated one -- will do?
And, you know, when we get right down to it, what if your dog does something that ticks my dog off? I don't speak canine, but Charlie is fluent, and your dog might be one of those dogs that just rubs other dogs the wrong way. Leave them alone
Why don't we just take a chance? How about we let the two dogs work it out between themselves, like toddlers in a sandbox?
Ah, I can tell that you're not in favor of that. To paraphrase Animal Farm: Four legs good, eight legs bad. You're one of those people who fear that two or more dogs together spells disaster.
Charlie and I encounter these people every day. There's the owner who pulls her shepherd tightly toward her whenever we walk by. There's the woman who recently, upon seeing us standing with two other leashed pooches and their owners, made a big detour with her pet, shrieking, "Too many dogs! Too many dogs!" as if the dogs were just waiting for a quorum, at which point they would launch their nefarious plan to unseat the humans and take over. ("To the battlements! Sausages for everyone!") Missing a lot
I feel sorry for these owners' dogs. All they want is to sniff and be sniffed, but they're owned by scaredy-cats. They shuffle by with a longing in their eyes.
A few years of that and they lose their ability to get along with other dogs and end up like this Scottish terrier Charlie and I see regularly. When we're about 20 feet away, the terrier starts emitting a low growl, like an outboard engine at idle. As we get closer, the growl rises in pitch and intensity. The little dog rises up on his hind legs, straining against his leash with every corpuscle of his compact little body, rigid with an unspeakable rage, Toto on crystal meth.
Even Charlie wants to avoid that dog.
I could have ended up that way (like the owner, not the dog). I had a lot of "bad" dogs when I was growing up. Not biters but bolters, dogs who, like Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, studied the perimeter fencing, noting when the laundry truck made its pickups and deliveries.
Our dogs were always on the lookout for a poorly latched gate. I spent many afternoons walking through the neighborhood shouting "Handsome! Handsome!" Yes, that was one dog's name: Handsome. No wonder he tried to escape.
So when we first got Charlie -- a handsome black Lab with a shiny, fashion model's coat -- I was skittish. How exactly would he embarrass me? When would he bolt, leaving me to impotently shout "Come!" while other dog owners shook their heads in disgust? I would speed up or slow down to avoid other dogs, yank Charlie's leash in mid-pee.
But you can teach an old man new tricks, as My Lovely Wife did. The dogs of her youth were allowed to be dogs, to establish their pecking order in the household, to shed, to sniff, to hump, perchance to dream.
So now I allow Charlie to stop and smell the roses -- and the buttocks. It's really his only hobby, you see. His nose is his instrument, the world is a symphony and your dog is a violin solo -- or, ideally, a duet.
Max Edelman, a sprightly gentleman with a
potent laugh, huge social network and vast array of interests, surges
through life. At 86, he figures he's got too much to do to slow down.
Blind for decades, he receives a little help from Tobin, a placid black
Lab.
Like each of the thousands of service dogs,
Tobin has been bred and trained to help keep his owner safe and
independent. And like the thousands of people who are paired without
charge with a dog, Edelman has undergone training to make the most of
the union.
But Edelman was far from typical when, in 1990,
he traveled from his home in Lyndhurst, Ohio, to Guiding Eyes for the
Blind in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., to get his first-ever guide dog. For
one thing, he was nearly 70. Back then, says Guiding Eyes' Graham Buck,
almost all clients were much younger, mostly kids blind as a result of
premature births.
But it wasn't Edelman's age that was the biggest challenge. It was his back story.
The things he'd seen and endured would have
destroyed most men — and did, in fact, kill millions. He suffered years
of starvation and beatings and spirit-crushing cruelty, including an
eight-day forced march just before the U.S. Army arrived to liberate
the German camps. He spent 192 grueling hours without food or water,
during which 1,700 of the 2,500 prisoners collapsed and were shot by
the side of the road.
Somehow Edelman, a Jew sent to Nazi
concentration camps when he was 17 and freed at 22, managed to survive.
He was blinded in a vicious beating by guards —"for no real reason. It
was sport for them, they enjoyed inflicting pain" — months before his
rescue.
He was trained as a physical therapist, married
and immigrated to the USA in 1951. He landed a job in the X-ray
department at the Cleveland Clinic and built a life — more or less
successfully moving beyond the memories of the camps, including the
death of his father.
He coped reasonably well with survivor guilt and
was largely able, except at night when nightmares invaded his sleep, to
deflect the awful images that were the last he would actually see.
There was one thing he couldn't vanquish: the memory of one night in the camp.
The commandant was holding a party for
like-minded people. As part of the evening's entertainment, he ordered
that several prisoners be lined up. Edelman was among them. The
commandant eyed the men, made a decision about who would die and
ordered his massive German shepherd to attack. The dog lunged, grabbed
the prisoner by the throat and killed him.
From that night forward, Edelman's fear of dogs was intractable.
But when he retired, he wanted to relieve his
wife of the job of taking him everywhere he wanted to go. A guide dog
would be ideal.
He mustered his courage, attended the 26-day
Guiding Eyes training, was coached patiently through his dog phobia,
and went home with Calvin, a chocolate Lab.
The two had the skills to mesh as a team, but
Edelman couldn't connect, didn't really know how to trust the animal.
He was appreciative of Calvin as a "tool to get around," he says, but
formed no bond. Guiding Eyes experts provided additional help.
"If I failed at this, it would not be for lack of effort," he says.
But Calvin knew something was off. The dog had
been around people all of his two years; he knew how things were
supposed to be, and this wasn't it. He lost weight and was depressed.
The vet said he sensed Edelman's emotional distance.
One day, at a crosswalk, Edelman heard the
traffic stop and gave Calvin the "forward" command. A driver made a
sudden, sharp right turn and was upon the two without warning.
Watchful Calvin stopped instantly, and the two
returned to the sidewalk. "He had saved both of us from serious
injury," Edelman says. He hugged Calvin, and the barrier dissolved.
"From that day on it was love. We both blossomed."
Calvin served him well for nine years and
retired with an adoptive family. Then came Silas, a yellow Lab who
forged a solid bond with Edelman; he died last year. Edelman misses
Silas deeply. "When we were on our 3-mile walks and I'd get lost in
thought and have no idea where we were, he'd get me home."
But he and Tobin, who were paired earlier this
month, are bonding. Last week, the dog accompanied Edelman to a college
campus where he spoke about the Holocaust.
Edelman accepts two or more such invitations most weeks, after decades
of silence. "Survivors are few in number now," he says, "so we have to
bear a larger load."
Tobin eases the way.
What It Takes to Become a Vet from Woof Report
Admit
it – at least once in your life, you imagined yourself as a
veterinarian. Maybe you’d run a local practice to get to know the
neighborhood pets. Maybe you’d be a modern-day James Herriott,
delivering new life at lambing season. It all sounds so good that the
Woof Reporters just had to know: What does it take to become a vet
anyway? Thanks to Your Dog newsletter from the Cummings
School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, we got the details
from prereqs to postgrad. Sharpen those pencils, this is going to take
awhile.
Ready?
With 125 medical schools to choose from, it seems odd that only 28
veterinary graduate programs exist in the U.S. No wonder the admissions
process is so highly selective. For example, each year the Tufts School
receives approximately 750 applicants for only 80 seats. Overall, about
8500 students enroll in veterinary programs in the U.S. each year
(interestingly, 75% of whom are women), with 2100 graduating into a
wide range of veterinary careers. Job options include positions in
public health, research, international vet medicine and conservation
and wildlife medicine. But most vets, a whopping 70%, choose careers in
private, small animal practices. For a grand total of roughly $100,000
smackers (not including books and beer) it’s a worthy investment.
Get Set.
Most veterinary schools require two years of prerequisite or
"pre-veterinary" science classes with excellent grades, of course. The
average applicant has a grade point average of 3.5. Then, depending on
the college you select, it’s necessary to take the Graduate Record
Examination (GRE) and/or the Veterinary College Admission Test (VCAT).
The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges website spells
out the latest admissions details for the different schools.
Go!
Once a student is in, they’ve got to buckle down for four full years of
veterinary medicine. They’ll cover courses in pharmacology, physiology,
anatomy, immunology and surgery just to names a few, and of course
learn all of the differences for each species. In their third year,
students begin applying the knowledge they’ve learned to diagnose and
treat patients under the supervision of practicing vet faculty. It
continues in the students’ final year, and they take electives or may
complete externships related to areas of interest, all before receiving
their degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM). They also must
pass board exams to receive a license from the state where they plan to
practice and in some cases, a state vet law exam too. For some, it
doesn’t stop there; they may complete an internship at a referring
hospital or extend their education three to four years in residencies
specializing in specific disciplines such as orthopedic surgery or
oncology.
So there you have it. It takes six whole years of study, lab work and
clinical studies (or about 6,000 hours) to become a veterinarian. But
everyone knows that good ones offer something not covered in school.
It’s that certain way they connect with your pet, that kind, loving
approach you grew to trust. Does this sound like someone you know? Take
the time to honor an exceptional veterinarian by entering him or her
into the "Thank Your Vet for the Healthy Pet Contest" short-essay
contest, running until August 31st. It’s co-sponsored by Hill's Pet
Nutrition, the Morris Animal Foundation, and BowTie Inc. and will
recognize those who provide care above and beyond the norm to keep our
pets happy and healthy.
www.bls.gov/veterinarian
Honor
an exceptional veterinarian by entering him or her into the "Thank Your
Vet for the Healthy Pet Contest" essay contest, running until August
31st.
