Pet Knows

Did you know that 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats show signs of oral disease by age 3? That’s what the American Veterinary Dental Society (AVDS) warns. Another scary fact I learned recently: many dogs with bad breath are suffering from periodontal disease, a result of plaque build up. If left untreated, this can lead to a bacteria infection, which can enter the bloodstream and spread to your dog’s kidney, liver, heart and even their brain.

Since becoming aware of the seriousness of dental care for pets, I have become very diligent about taking care of Mosby’s mouth. At his regular check ups with the vet, he has always gotten a clean bill of health after his oral exam, but I want to make sure that I am continuing to do things to prevent any issues from arising. While dental hygiene is important at all ages, older dogs can have a harder time recovering from an infection, so I want to take extra care to avoid any problems.

There are many ways to prevent dental issues for your dog that you can do right at home.

• For starters, brush your dog’s teeth.Mosby doesn’t love this but he’s getting used to it with practice.I started by letting him lick the doggie toothpaste* off of the tooth brush, and did only a little at a time so he could get used to it.Force it too much and your dog will only be afraid of it.You want them to be okay with it and learn to enjoy it. * Important note: NEVER use human toothpaste. Only use toothpaste that is formulated for pets.

• Between brushings, give your dog dental treats and chew toys. As they chew, their teeth are getting scraped, which means less build up. You cannot rely on this as your sole source of dental care, but it does help. The Veterinary Oral Health Council has a list of VOHC approved products on the market. Just remember to always supervise your dog while he is eating a dental treat or playing with a chew toy.

• Studies also indicate that kibble will help keep a dog’s teeth cleaner. Some people also advise against feeding dogs table scraps or sweet treats because they can increase the build up of plaque and tartar, and can lead to other health problems.

I tried to get a picture of Mosby getting his teeth brushed but he wasn’t so keen on cooperating for both me and the camera. But here is a picture of him chewing on a Bright Bites Dental Treat after dinner the other night!

If your dog has a Pimple Ball from Four Paws Inc, please return it immediately. If you prefer to not hear the full heart breaking story, I will summarize to say that the ball has a small but very serious design flaw that can, and unfortunately has, cause terrible harm to your dog.

You can read the full and very sad story at The Chai Story.

What is most upsetting to me is a recent update from Chai’s owners that Four Paws knew of the flaw years ago and never took steps to make a slight change to their design.

If you have a Pimple Ball, be sure to return it to Four Paws with a letter stating the reason for return to Four Paws Customer Service at 50 Wireless Blvd. Hauppauge, NY 11788. Four Paws will then issue a refund check.

Well I figured since this is one of my first posts on here, I’d introduce myself and my dog to everyone. As shown below, my name is Nima (not mistaken for Nemo the fish). I have the most fantastic and loyal friend named Santana (I like to call him “The Tana Man”). He’s a 2 year-old Pit Bull, who came from a friend of mines’ litter. But before I go on to talk up my dog, let me tell you that my dog is the ultimate womanizer. When any female (human!) comes in the house he instantly becomes protective of them, and tries to impress them by showing off his collection of toys…I guess in hopes of becoming boyfriend material. Not sure who he gets it from (no comment), but he sure is good at winning over girls’ hearts.

The thing that really stands out with Santana is how incredibly intelligent he is. For an animal that has been exposed to a meager 2 years of life and experience, he sure demonstrates more wisdom than expected. I think the saying is, it takes pigs about 2 tries before they learn a command, and dogs 17; well it takes Santana about half of what it takes a normal dog. He learned shake before I even taught him the sign for it.  And word on the streets has it that he can shoot fire balls out of his eyes (no just kidding on the last part).

So now ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you the Tana Man:

Mosby has now had his 2^nd and 3^rd acupuncture appointments, and I am starting to believe that I really am seeing results. Truthfully, I have been second guessing myself since the beginning, thinking that maybe I was so hopeful for positive results that I could be imagining them. But the other day I got an outsider’s confirmation that Mosby is doing better.

My dad walked Mosby for me one night last week when I needed to work late. Later that night, he commented on how well Mosby did on their walk; he didn’t seem to struggle with the distance or seem to be limping as much at all. What surprised me so much about this comment is that I didn’t ask how he did on the walk, and my dad had completely forgotten about the acupuncture treatments. When I smiled and told him that Mosby had his third treatment the day before, my dad, he seemed a bit surprised, as he was a bit skeptical of the alternative treatment idea. He now admits that there could be something too this “voo-doo” medicine.

This past weekend I took Mosby on a walk that he could easily handle a couple of years ago but has struggled with in the past couple of months…just to see for myself if he really was doing better or if it was a fluke. Sure enough, he made it to the farmers market and all of the way back without showing any signs of discomfort in his back legs. I took him out again on Sunday for one more trip, and he did just as well. The only thing really slowing him down was the warm weather. And back at the house, he was pretty eager to pick up a chew toy and fling it at me so we could play a bit more.

I cannot say that this has been a drastic, miracle-like improvement…he still has trouble on stairs and our leisurely walk wasn’t really that far (just over a mile round trip), but considering how much he was dragging to finish that distance at the beginning of the summer, I feel like something is happening here. He has also been more enthusiastic about eating his food the second I fill his bowl, and seems to have more energy in general. So will I keep up the treatments? I’m actually still on the fence because of the cost. But if I can find a way to afford to keep going with the treatments, I would definitely consider it and recommend it to others.

If you have any stories to share about experiences with alternative treatments for pets, please send them our way! Dogster also has a call out for successful acupuncture stories that can be shared on an upcoming episode of a morning news show. This is your chance for you and your dog to be on TV!

While it seems that we humans are living through 9-5 jobs (9-8 for some of us) and putting ourselves through stress to survive, some animals are having the time of their life from our pampering. A recent article by The Associated Press discusses how a massage therapist named Mercedes Clemens is fighting to keep her passion after the state of MD denied her the right to perform massages on horses. And as Claudia mentioned in another blog post, dogs are now receiving acupuncture for their pain.   Both of these are great, but neither matches up to the luxury of being pushed around in a stroller. This makes me wonder what really goes on in doggy hotels.

In a late breaking article, the Washington Post reports that law enforcement barged into the house of the Berwyn Heights, MD Mayor murdering his two black lab pets in the chaos WITHOUT a “no-knock warrant.”  This is an egregious misuse of law enforcement power and a black mark on Maryland law enforcement’s credibility.

Tim Maloney, the attorney for Mayor Calvo, sums it up best, saying “There’s nothing in the four corners of the warrant saying anything about the Calvos being a threat to law enforcement…This was a lawless act by law enforcement.”

I was so pleased when I saw this article in the Washington Post - DC Council Member, Mary Cheh is a true animal advocate and now she’s got the glitz to prove it.  Yesterday, the US Humane Society awarded her with their Humane Legislator Award in honor of the legislation she wrote and saw through passage protecting animals’ rights in the District.

One of the key elements of the new law is that it is now a felony to participate or even WATCH a competitive animal fight akin to the infamous Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring.  Animal seizure is now a result of people charged with cruelty to animals.  Wonder if that applies to any pet owners on the SWAT team that shot the Berwyn Heights, MD Mayor’s dogs.  It should.

Anyway this is a great day for District pets and hopefully will be the beginning of other states and jurisdictions passage of similar legislation.  As Mary Cheh said in her acceptance speech, animal atrocities should be “curbed at the local level.”

Mosby had his first appointment with the acupuncturist last Wednesday. So far, no noticeable difference, but I know that it is rare to see results until the 3^rd or 4^th visit, which is tough when you had over checks after each appointment.

A few observations from the doctor:

• Dog’s bodies were not meant to climb stairs so a house like mine, which has a lot of stairs, is going to be a continual challenge for him.
• Keeping up gentle exercise is important. Since he extreme heat right now makes trips to the park difficult, doing exercises in the house is important. He suggested a few strengthening exercises and recommended taking him swimming.
• Hardwood floors (I have a lot of those in my house) are hard to get up from and using runners and throw rugs should help him.

Mosby loves to wander the house so keeping him off the steps is not easy, and he prefers the bare floors to carpet in the summer months, so I clearly have a few challenges ahead in retraining Mosby to reduce his trips up the steps and to take his naps on the carpeting. I will also try to get him out swimming more while the weather is still warm.

In my continuing research on acupuncture and what to expect with a dog, I came across an article in the New York Times that is worth reading if you are interested in the treatment. I emailed it around to my family this morning and got many responses that they hope Mosby’s old puppy energy will come back, as it did with Otto, the dog in the article.

For those in the Washington DC area, this story has been all over the news.  I had to comment.  I am sickened and horrified at the unnecessary killing of 2 black lab pets.  The mayor of Berwyn Heights, MD (Prince George’s County) was raided during a police sting operation in which his mother in law accepted a package at their home of 32 lbs. of pot, asking the undercover officer to leave it at the door.  The home was later raided by a SWAT team (unnecessary force!?!) and both pets were shot to death because the police feared them (wimps!).  The younger dog was actually shot from behind after it was fleeing from seeing its brother shot dead by the cops.  And, to date no one has been charged in this case.

Where is the due diligence here?  This seems like an unbelievably botched job on the part of the cops.  If they are setting up a sting operation and planning a raid - shouldn’t the cops known there were dogs in the home?  Shouldn’t they have also known they were docile pets who played with neighborhood children?  Should necessary precautions been taken?  And, I ask this question: this was a mayor, and elected official - not some gun slinging thug on the streets who is suspected of having a gun arsenal in his home to protect his meth lab and his gang of pushers.  Was it really necessary to raid his home with a SWAT team?  This is what happens when there is a political agenda behind a police sting of this sort.

I am outraged at this incident - to the point of being beyond tears.

Coverage of the story:

http://wbal.com/apps/news/templates/news.aspx?articleid=10368&zoneid=3

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/SWAT_team_kills_2_dogs_in_0731.html

http://www.theagitator.com/2008/07/31/mayors-dogs-killed-in-drug-raid/

It has come to my attention that Literary Cottage is seeking submissions for a book entitled “My Dog Is My Hero”.  Here are the details I received:

“Seeking 50 (850-1100-word stories) featuring a remarkable dog in your life. Yes, about dogs and only dogs, not cats, or other pets. Please review the spelled out guidelines and sample stories on the “Hero Series Guidelines” page available on www.literarycottage.com.
DEADLINE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2008.”

If you submit a story - send it to PetKnows - we’ll publish it too!