2010-07-27T19:54:29-04:00

Over at BlogPaws, we're gearing up for our next conference - in Denver! W00t!!! We hope you'll be there. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I'm a co-founder of BlogPaws, the only online resource for pet bloggers, created to help you be a better blogger, whatever "being a better blogger" means to YOU. So whether you are blogging for fun, to raise money or on behalf of a company or organization, BlogPaws is your go-to place. We held a successful conference in April and we're doing it again! It may seem a bit soon, but we got such wonderful...

2010-07-27T09:53:33-04:00

Did you know that somewhere between 40,000 and 150,000 pets die in fires every year. I didn't, but given pet behavior, I'd be surprised if the actual number was closer to the high end. According to fire fighters, pets tend to hide when fire strikes which makes saving their lives that much more difficult. That job just got a little easier thanks to The Invisible Fence Company and a program called "Project Breathe". Invisible Fence is donating pet oxygen masks to fire houses around the country. In fact, they've given out over 1600 kits to fire houses around the country... Did you know that somewhere between 40,000 and 150,000 pets die in fires every year. I didn't, but given pet behavior, I'd be surprised if the actual number was closer to the high end. According to fire fighters, pets tend to hide when fire strikes which makes saving their lives that much more difficult.  That job just got a little easier thanks to The Invisible Fence Company and a program called "Project Breathe". Invisible Fence is donating pet oxygen masks to fire houses around the country. In fact, they've given out over 1600 kits to fire houses around the country so far. Each kit contains a small, medium and large mask and the kit is valued at $60. Most fire related pet fatalities are the result of smoke inhalation and timely oxygen therapy is the key to survival in most cases. First responders are best positioned to be able to give timely oxygen therapy. Unfortunately human oxygen masks don't work on pets and the vast majority of first responders have never been trained to administer oxygen to pets. Pets need specially designed masks that will fit over their elongated snouts and one size does not fit all. That's where Project Breathe and Veterinarians like Dr Thomas Nick come in. Through donations, Project Breathe makes the special kits available and works with Vets like Dr Nick to train the first responders in their use. According to a story I read on-line in a Chicago paper, Invisible Fence has given out 90 kits in Chicago land. Since the program began three years ago, nineteen pets lives have been saved with the special kits.  Saving human lives is obviously the priority for first responders, but you can help fire fighters by having a plan for your family in case of fire. You should have an evacuation plan and if you have pets, someone needs to be made responsible for their evacuation in the case of fire. You can also get pet safety kits that will alert first responders to the presence of pets in the home. It's nice to know someone in the pet safety business like Invisible Fence is thinking about our pets in emergencies. Good job.  [...]

2010-07-27T19:32:58-04:00

That title should say "more" pet friendly. Ever since becoming a member of their Pack of Pet Lovers, I've been really impressed by the way Bissell embraces pet parents and their four-legged (or two-clawed, whatever!) kids! We use Bissell products on The Grumpy Old Lady's hairballs and they're great! Well, I just read on Inside the Pack, the Bissell pet blog, that "The BISSELL Pet Spot is officially open!" The Pet Spot is a place at Bissell for employees to bring pets. Can I hear a big cheer for that? Of course, Purina allows pets at their offices, but isn't... That title should say "more" pet friendly. Ever since becoming a member of their Pack of Pet Lovers, I've been really impressed by the way Bissell embraces pet parents and their four-legged (or two-clawed, whatever!) kids! We use Bissell products on The Grumpy Old Lady's hairballs and they're great! Well, I just read on Inside the Pack, the Bissell pet blog, that "The BISSELL Pet Spot is officially open!" The Pet Spot is a place at Bissell for employees to bring pets. Can I hear a big cheer for that? Of course, Purina allows pets at their offices, but isn't it interesting when a company that is not traditionally pet-friendly, becomes pet friendly? I know Bissell has recognized the power of pets, how they uplift us and encourage us and just make us feel better. But, it seems to me, as I read the blogs from the other talented pet bloggers in the Bissell Pack of Pet Lovers, that Bissell is more than pet-friendly. The folks at Bissell are pet people, like us. It wasn't the growth of the pet market that convinced Bissell to start a line of pet cleaning products. Rather, it was the fact that so many Bissell folks had pets and recognized the need for specialized cleaning products, that created the many new products for keeping our houses clean. The Pet Spot, according to this article in Mlive.com, "...features three indoor kennels, each with a pet door to an outdoor dog-run area; three workstations for dog owners; a conference table; and a dog bathing area." The story says several employees gave the new space a "test drive" - including the pet parents of a Golden Retriever, a mutt (my favorite!) and a Pug. This is more of a doggie daycare, I think, rather than an invitation to "bring your dog to work". All in all, it's a wlecome idea. If I were an "employee" I'd love it if I had somewhere close by to have my dog. Plus, to introduce the Pet Spot it to the world, Bissell had a grand opening event where they partnered with the local humane society and Petfinder.com to showcase some dogs and cats, and other animals, that were up for adoption. Bissell employees participated in helping work with the pets that were there, walking them and working with the crowd that came by to see what was going on. "The event resulted in eight animals finding new homes, including two cats, two degu, and four dogs. The two cats were adopted by Meghan and one of the dogs, a Chihuahua, was adopted by Mary, both BISSELL employees." You can click here to see their picture. And visit the Bissell Facebook page! Does your business or company have pet friendly areas, separate from the traditional take your pet to work day area? Do share... [...]

2010-07-27T09:39:10-04:00

Just got back yesterday from our seven day backpacking trip with Miles in the incredibly beautiful Gila Wilderness. We are so lucky to have this area virtually in our back yard. Even if you live back East you should consider a visit if you love the back country. Drop a few bucks with our local merchants on the way in. There are so many memories from the trip it's hard to pick one to get started with. Miles had a wonderful time of course. There is nothing quite like the unfettered freedom of the wilderness for a dog like Miles.... Just got back yesterday from our seven day backpacking trip with Miles in the incredibly beautiful Gila Wilderness. We are so lucky to have this area virtually in our back yard. Even if you live back East you should consider a visit if you love the back country. Drop a few bucks with our local merchants on the way in. There are so many memories from the trip it's hard to pick one to get started with. Miles had a wonderful time of course. There is nothing quite like the unfettered freedom of the wilderness for a dog like Miles. We were fortunate to have had some test runs with him and we used all that learning to good advantage. We kept him on a lead most of the time and that proved to be a really good idea. Besides the frequent encounters with lizards, toads, chipmunks and squirrels, we saw a mature Black Bear on the third day. Miles saw him too and I'm sure he assumed this was just a big dog like many he's seen at the dog park. If he had been loose it could have been a disaster. A wild bear will run from a dog most of the time, but who wants to test that theory? They will turn at some point and an encounter will invariably favor the bear. I remember patching up a dog back in Montana that had tangled with a bear. Not a pretty sight. On the food front our preparation was right on. We estimated that Miles would need seven cups of food a day as opposed to his usual allotment of five cups. He snarfed down the extra food and his body condition at the end of the trip was excellent. He did the pre wash on our dishes after breakfast and dinner too. His tongue is a great scouring pad and we took too much oatmeal. Miles made sure nothing went to waste. We covered a little over fifty miles in six days of hiking including climbing the two tallest peaks in the wilderness. That's a lot of physical work and the daily hikes Chris takes with Miles were very good preparation. We hiked four to six hours a day with one layover day to rest up and fish for the elusive Gila Trout (not so elusive if you can fish like Dr larry). The fact that Miles was in shape made all the difference. His feet held up well because they were accustomed to rocky, uneven terrain. His back pack worked very well for him too. He started out with a little less that 15 pounds, slightly more than the recommended 1/6 of his 80 pound body weight. I carried 40 pounds the first couple of days and that's much more than 1/6 of my body weight. He's stronger than me too. We had to do a little work every day making sure that each saddle bag carried the same amount for good balance. Even with all that preparation, Miles developed some abrasions under his front legs from the straps and daughter Claire carried his pack out on the last day. One reason for the abrasions was the fact that we had to cross the West Fork of the Gila river about 73 times on the last two days and being wet underneath caused some chafing. All in all it was a great experience. We saw both species of deer, wild turkeys, elk, grouse, eagles and the bear I mentioned. We caught and released the endangered, but legally fishable Gila Trout and we ate some fresh Rainbows too. We picked wild raspberries for our oatmeal on one morning and we had just enough food for all of us.  Go backpacking with your dog. Use common sense and be prepared. It's really fun. Happy Trails.   [...]

2010-07-20T14:02:48-04:00

I've written lots about the unique relationships we have with our dogs and cats. I've written extensively about our dog Miles and the effect he's had on my wife and I since we took him in last winter. He's a special dog and we both love him. Lately though, I've noticed something interesting. Miles is my wife's dog. Oh, he likes me and he's happy to see me in the morning when I come up the steps. He wags his tail and gives me a nice greeting, but he's really waiting for Chris to come up stairs. When he sees... I've written lots about the unique relationships we have with our dogs and cats. I've written extensively about our dog Miles and the effect he's had on my wife and I since we took him in last winter. He's a special dog and we both love him.   Lately though, I've noticed something interesting. Miles is my wife's dog. Oh, he likes me and he's happy to see me in the morning when I come up the steps. He wags his tail and gives me a nice greeting, but he's really waiting for Chris to come up stairs. When he sees her his whole body wiggles and his tail wags and it seems that he even smiles. He's excited to see her and the feeling is mutual. If I lay in bed a little later, I can hear them talking upstairs. Chris is explaining that they will go for their morning hike as soon as she has some coffee and something to eat. When she comes downstairs to get her hiking shoes I can hear Miles whine a little as if to say, "Where are you going now? We're supposed to be going up on Boston Bill to chase rabbits and lizards." I can hear him do his little dance when she heads back up and then off they go for a three to four mile hike with plenty of elevation gain. They do this every morning without fail. I go about every third time and I think Miles likes having the whole family along. They go for another walk when things cool off in the evening. Yesterday, Chris went to Las Cruces with Alice's mom, Martha. Before she left she made me promise to take Miles for a hike and make sure he had plenty of food and water. It was just like when she used to leave me with the kids. I really didn't need to be reminded to feed and water either Miles or my children, but Chris felt it was her duty to make sure she had given explicit instructions before she left. She tells Miles that she loves him at least two or three times a day. She may have said something along those lines to me last week sometime, I think. She tells me that she loves having a dog that is big enough to hug. When we sit and read or watch TV at night, Chris sits on the floor so Miles can lay his head in her lap.  Miles has a great life. I think our kids are a little jealous of all the attention Miles gets. They think back to their childhood and try to remember if they were treated as well. I tell them not to think about it too much. They may have a legitimate argument. We all know that raising dogs and kids are two very different things. It's so much easier to raise a dog. Seriously, it's a real pleasure to be able to witness the relationship Miles and Chris have. They both get tremendous rewards out of living together. Talk about unconditional love. I see it every day. In fact, I think it makes me a better husband and a better father to observe and attempt to model the behavior I see between the two of them.  A girl and her dog. And me.   [...]

2010-07-20T13:51:08-04:00

Oh my word! I got all caught up in this fabulous video from Fido friendly and it made my day! It's a bit long, but well worth it. Enjoy!

2010-07-18T16:55:18-04:00

I've done a series of posts over on the pet insurance blog about a new approach to nutrition being advocated by the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). The latter group is made of of board certified Veterinary Nutrition specialists. Most ACVN members practice at university teaching hospitals at Veterinary colleges around the country. Others work in specialty referral practices or for pet food companies helping formulate and develop new diets. Purina has several on staff and consulting arrangements with many more around the country and the world. The new approach to nutrition is... I've done a series of posts over on the pet insurance blog about a new approach to nutrition being advocated by the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). The latter group is made of of board certified Veterinary Nutrition specialists.  Most ACVN members practice at university teaching hospitals at Veterinary colleges around the country. Others work in specialty referral practices or for pet food companies helping formulate and develop new diets. Purina has several on staff and consulting arrangements with many more around the country and the world. The new approach to nutrition is based on a simple idea called the "Circle of Nutrition." This approach involves a holistic look at the issues affecting nutrition and includes three main components. The components of the "Circle" are the pet itself, the diet, and the feeding management practices and environment the pet lives in. All elements of the circle are closely related and linked together and when everything is in sync a healthy pet is the likely outcome. The Circle of Nutrition has been adopted as a position statement by the American Animal Hospital Association and they have developed Guidelines for Nutritional Assessment for their members. Their thinking is that Nutrition is a key component of overall health and it should be monitored throughout the pet's life.  The first step in the assessment is the initial screening process involving the pet. This includes a detailed history from the owner and a physical examination by the Veterinarian. The pet's diet is examined as well as the environment in which the pet lives. If the pet is healthy the nutrition assessment is complete and the owner is encouraged to keep up the good work.  If any risk factors are identified during the screening process an in depth evaluation is called for. Let's say that the pet is 20% overweight. This is an obvious risk factor and the in depth evaluation is undertaken to develop a holistic approach to getting the pet back to optimum health. The pet will get a more thorough physical with lab work and other tests to rule out any complicating medical conditions. The pet's BCS ,or body condition score, will be evaluated and an attempt will be made to estimate his caloric need via calculating his resting energy requirement and factoring in his activity level.  The pet's current diet will be full evaluated. It's caloric content will be determined and any other sources of food will be accounted for.   Finally the feeding management system and the pet's home environment will be examined. The Vet will ask questions about when, where, how much and how the pet is fed. They will ask about other pets in the house and whether there is competition for food. They will ask about who is the primary feeder and whether others feed the pet too or whether they might sneak treats under the table.  You'll be asked about the pet's home environment. How much exercise does he get? What form of exercise and what kind of toys does he play with? Is he housed inside most of the day or does he have a big fenced yard to exercise in? Does he play with other dogs?  All of this information about the pet, his diet and his home environment and lifestyle are then [...]

2010-07-18T17:03:36-04:00

I've written about this on BlogPaws, but I wanted to share it here, also. We cannot discuss it enough. We cannot speak of it enough. We must hold BP accountable on all counts - not only for the oil in the gulf, not only for ruining the livelihoods of so many Americans, but also, for causing the drastic increase in abandoned pets. I'm not talking about pets left by the roadside, though my heart goes out to them with great love! I'm talking about pets surrendered at shelters because their pet parents can no longer care for them, or feed... I've written about this on BlogPaws, but I wanted to share it here, also. We cannot discuss it enough. We cannot speak of it enough. We must hold BP accountable on all counts - not only for the oil in the gulf, not only for ruining the livelihoods of so many Americans, but also, for causing the drastic increase in abandoned pets. I'm not talking about pets left by the roadside, though my heart goes out to them with great love! I'm talking about pets surrendered at shelters because their pet parents can no longer care for them, or feed them! What will happen to these hundreds of pets, BP? Many of them will be euthanized. Because the oil in the gulf has wreaked such havoc on human lives and animal lifes. There will be an accounting. We are watching. Thanks go to Anderson Cooper of CNN for this video. [...]

2010-07-16T11:41:48-04:00

The Mexican Gray Wolf reintroduction is not going well and it's not the fault of the wolf. As usual, it's a people problem. There are several reasons for this. First of all the original plan for the reintroduction is woefully outdated and the US Fish and Wildlife Service needs to revise it to meet the new demands of a successful program. The other big reason for the failure of the program are the criminal actions of a few misguided local thugs. Since the program began 31 wolves have been killed illegally and another 47 have disappeared mysteriously. It does not...

2010-07-16T11:36:18-04:00

Nestle' Purina and Kroger grocery stores are celebrating love - of the mostly four-legged kind. I say 'mostly' because we know pets come in two-legged versions, also. In fact, I just read a superb story in Reader's Digest about pets where an Eagle was featured. And, I know people who keep chickens as pets! The pet world is a big one, my friends. And, precisely because of that, pet parents and pet enthusiasts need to come together to help disadvantaged animals . Okay, disadvantaged is marketing-speak. We'll say abandoned and abused animals, animals that have saved lives, animals who give... Nestle' Purina and Kroger grocery stores are celebrating love - of the mostly four-legged kind. I say 'mostly' because we know pets come in two-legged versions, also. In fact, I just read a superb story in Reader's Digest about pets where an Eagle was featured. And, I know people who keep chickens as pets! The pet world is a big one, my friends. And, precisely because of that, pet parents and pet enthusiasts need to come together to help disadvantaged animals . Okay, disadvantaged is marketing-speak. We'll say abandoned and abused animals, animals that have saved lives, animals who give more love than they will ever get. Your pets and mine. Here's the scoop, straight from the Tales for the pet lover's heart site: Tales for the Pet Lover's Heart™ is a celebration of our love for our four-legged friends. Pets. Partners. Companions. They answer to many names. Dogs and cats. Big and small. Old and young, but one thing's certain – their special place in our hearts and lives. To honor this bond, in 2010 Purina and Kroger are contributing $150,000 to animal welfare organizations around the country to help them feed pets who are waiting for their opportunity to share a better life in their forever home. (hey, Purina, pet people woulda said "fur-ever homes! Just meowin') Get the to the Facebook page and click "like"... share a story, share the link so others can share a story. Help us save our pets! The bond between pet and person, between cat an Mom, or Dog and Dad, ferret and everyone...is so unique, only YOU can tell YOUR story! And visit the Fun for you and your pet page where there are great activities for kids! (and adults - but hey, we're just taller kids, right?) [...]