Dogs For Disabled Vets

http://www.petside.com/news/the-dog-tags-program.html

The Dog Tags program can be found via the link above. It's a unique program that benefits disabled soldiers coming home from war. But, the program also involves prisoners who are training these dogs. Essentially, there are two programs working together:

The Dog Tags Program: More and more soldiers are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with disabling injuries that make it difficult to cope with the challenges of daily life. For this reason, Puppies Behind Bars has started the Dog Tags program.

The Puppies Behind Bars Program: Puppies Behind Bars is a program which trains inmates to raise Golden Retriever and Labrador puppies to become service dogs for the disabled and explosive detection canines for law enforcement.

There are many ways to help this program, including helping an inmate train a dog, and by making a donation.

Personally, I love the fact that dogs are helping these disabled soldiers to life a better life. Maybe more non-prisoners can come forward and help train these dogs? For me, the thought of making a donation to help a prisoner doesn't entice me to act. What are your thoughts?

Dog Eats Too Fast? Try DogPause Bowl

For more information, check out http://www.dogpausebowl.com/.
Health professionals always say that it's best to chew your food thoroughly and eat your food slowly. Unfortunately, I've always been a fast eater. So, it was only fitting that when we adopted our second dog, Kelso, last summer, he was a fast eater too.

Since it's not healthy for humans to eat fast, I figured it can't be good for dogs either. That's why when the makers of dogpause contacted me about checking out their new dog bowl, I was more then happy to oblige.

It is important to note that dogs who eat fast can suffer from vomiting, gagging, choking, flatulence and belching.

Kelso has had the occasional vomit after eating too fast, and cleaning it up is never an easy task. And it's usually later that night, or the next morning when it happens.

So, we were more then happy to try the dogpause bowl. The result - It definitely slowed him down. And the design of the bowl is so simple (see picture). Four separate compartments, that are deep enough that the dog has to work a bit for the food. To me, it seemed as though it made it tougher for Kelso to take the big bites he's used to taking. Rather then having the food in a big bowl where he can fit as much in his mouth as possible, he instead could only take in a little bit of food at once.

Kelso still eat everything in the bowl (as always), but it took him at least 2-3 minutes longer. It may not seem like a lot, but since he usually eats his food within 2-3 minutes in a regular dog bowl, this essentially doubled the amount of time it takes him to eat.

The bowl itself is sturdy, strong, and easy to clean and comes in two different colors - blue and red.

After trying the bowl out, I checked out their website on why the bowl works. And everything they said about why it's better proved true in my little trial.The DogPause dog bowl works to slow down the pace of eating and aid with portion control in the following ways:
-Divides the bowl into 4 feeding zones
-Each feeding zone is 1/2 cup in capacity and designed to "block" the dog from putting his full snout into the bowl; this slows down eating pace as your dog needs to use his tongue for each bite -After your dog finishes each zone, he must re-position himself for the next zone
-The bowl is designed to slide a little on the floor, further slowing down the dog as he needs to re-position for each bite.

They aren't sold in major retailers, so check out their website for details.

A Cat Personality Test

We've all seen the ads for those dating services which match people based on their personality profiles. But what if you could pick your cat, based on their personalities? According to a recent article, many animal shelters are starting to do just that.

The program is aimed at ending human-animal mismatches, a common reason cats are returned to a shelter after they're adopted.

The article, which can be found http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_on_re_us/cat_personality,
talks about how the program rates the animals on confidence and sociability. It then tallies those assessments to place the cat into nine personality categories, which can be matched with a family's situation and desires.

Poop Pick-Up Service

I wrote about this a while ago, but it seems these type of companies are becoming more popular and more are joining the industry.

What do these companies do? Well, are you too pooped to scoop? Would you rather do anything else in the world then clean up your yard after your pet has been out there doing his duty? There are several small businesses that will do the dirty work for you. “There is a never ending supply of the stuff and you have better things to do,” claims one such service. These companies will come to your house, clean up the mess, bag it up, disinfect the area, and take it all with them once they’re done.

It’s an interesting business and I can appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit of these folks. Dog waste can pollute the environment if not disposed of properly and apparently this is a needed service for people who just don’t want to deal with the problem themselves.

Betta Fish Don't Need Isolation

One of the most common misconceptions of betta fish is that they must be in a bowl all by themselves. Mostly because of the stories that they are fighting fish and because these fish are seen in stores in those little plastic cups.

Although Bettas don't get along with their own kind, they can make a good community aquarium fish and get along with other community type fish. I've have one with tetras and an angel fish without any problems.

Because they are used to being in confinement and are very shy by nature, I found that it likes to hide in the caves and plants I had set up in my aquarium. Having plants, artificial or real, is important for housing a Betta in a community aquarium.

It's been very popular lately to have a betta in a bowl with a plant in it...you see them displayed at malls and boardwalks all the time. While the plant may look good and make a nice display on a desk or end table, bettas are carnivores....in other words, they don't feed off of the plant. They need to be fed food formulated specifically for them like any other tropical fish.

As with any fish, it is better to house it in an aquarium with a filter. However, if you do decide to house it in one of those bowls, it must be cleaned out frequently, as it needs fresh, clean, de-chlorinated water. Otherwise, the water will contain ammonia caused by fish waste and uneaten food. The ammonia is toxic to fish.

Bettas have a special respiratory organ that allows them to breath air directly from the surface. In fact they inherently must do so. Bettas must have access to the water surface to breath air directly from the atmosphere.In their natural habitat, Bettas often come from warm, tropical climates. Bettas thrive on heat, and will become increasingly listless when the water temperature falls below 75 degrees F.

Nuts Toxic To Pets

Did you know that nuts can be toxic to your pets? According to a report, walnuts and macadamia nuts are especially toxic. Side effects can be anything from vomiting to paralysis to death.

If you see any of these symptoms, be sure to get to your pet hospital immediately. Within 12 hours of eating the nuts, pets start to develop symptoms such as an inability to stand or walk, vomiting, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), weakness, and an elevated heart rate.

These symptoms can be even worse if your dog eats some chocolate with the nuts. The effect can cause kidney failure, often leading to death.

If you know your pet has eaten nuts, be sure to act fast and call your vet.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day, no matter if your child walks on two legs or four legs; hops or walks, swims or slithers.

And for those of you who's only "children" right now aren't of the human variety, you're not alone.

My own mother was recently given this little memento to hang near the pictures of her grand-dogs. ~Enjoy your day, Mom!~

Cat Myths Exposed

Great article by Sandra L. Toney posted on Petside.com. She exposes some common cat myths and explains the reasoning. For instance, cats don't always purr just because they are happy...and assuming that could be harmful to your cat.....they also purr when they are in pain or even dying!

And, cats don't always land on their feet....and even when they do fall, they can suffer injuries and broken bones.

Check out the article http://www.petside.com/news/fact-or-fiction-feline-myths-exposed.html, a must read for cat lovers.

Why The Jockey Would Have Stopped

Although this is usually a pet related website, I've spend this week posting and reading about the Kentucky Derby, and more specifically, Eight Belles. Although I plan to get back to my other writings, I felt this is such an emotional issue and I wanted to add in my perspective for whatever it is worth (maybe 2 cents?).

PETA is accusing the jockey of knowing something was wrong with the horse before she fell. But keep this in mind....in any race it’s in the jockey's best interest that the horse is stable and healthy. The jockey is looking out for himself. If the horse goes down on the track, a number of unfortunate things can happen. This includes the horse potentially rolling over the jockey, or the jockey getting trampled by the other horses behind him.

This is why it is unlikely that the jockey felt anything before the horse went down. A horse going down can lead to major injuries and even death for that jockey. Who would really want to risk that?

The risk of falling down on the track are way too dangerous to ever push a horse farther then an injury will let it go.