But what I like most about his dish is the little side receptacle for dessert, you know, like those TV dinners where they give you a miniscule rubber brownie or that apple cake with the molten cranberry topping that burns the crap out of the roof of your mouth. Like that, only different.
The Ritzy Rover
$26 – $32
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As an exotic animal veterinarian, I am asked this question at least once a month, particularly when it comes to rodents. Now, when I say the word, “rodent,” out loud, many pet owners cringe. They think of parasite-infested, sharp-toothed, dirty, quick-moving creatures that squeak and run through the trash and around subway tracks. And while these creatures are, in fact, rodents, there are many other pet rodent species that often people don’t know are truly rodents.
For example:
So, now that you know about the variety in these uncommon rodent species, the next time you hear someone say “rodent,” think social, active, intelligent, communicative pets, and give these animals a better rep. Does anyone else know a rodent who’s been unfairly represented?
Photo credit: chinchillaplanet.com, critterconnection.cc, tcfexotics.com, mnh.si.edu
A pet silhouette by Carter KusteraCarter Kustera has been making fabulous pieces of art for the past 20 years and is best known for his silhouette portraits of people and yes, pets. His work has been used for store branding by Barney’s Co-op and Jonathan Adler stores and he’s been featured in numerous publications, including Teen Vogue and New York Magazine. He even has a line of pet accessories (among other items for the home) to his name.
Today, Dogsters, up for grabs is a silhouette portrait of your dog!
Carter has kindly agreed to do a 9? x 12? unframed hand-painted pencil and gouache work on paper for us.
All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below with the phrase/short description you would put beneath your dog’s portrait. (See the picture of Crockett at right to see how this is done.) I recently hired Carter to do a silhouette of my dog, Moxie’s, gorgeous hound-y head with the words “The Mayor of Lafayette Park” below it and I couldn’t be more excited that one of you will get the chance to have your pup similarly immortalized. 
For more examples of Mr. Kustera’s work, check out his blog. We’ll draw a random winner (using random.org’s true random number generator!) on Monday, April 4 and put the lucky Dogster member in touch with Carter to discuss the details (paint color, caption, where to ship, etc.).
Big woofs and best of luck!
Barney the diamond thief and his clever owner, who looks like a close cousin of Hillary Clinton...Who knows why he did it. What counts is that he did it. And that his owner, Karen Woolley, was smart enough to figure out that diamond heirloom family rings don’t just simply walk off of the side of the tub on their own.
Woolley may have saved Barney’s life when she started suspecting that a ring that had gone missing after she had taken it off to take a bath could have ended up in tummy of her six-month-old spaniel mix. The quick-thinking bed-and-breakfast owner got out an old metal detector and passed it over Barney’s chest. BEEP! Twenty minutes later, BEEP! right over his stomach. The ring was winding its way down his digestive system.
If nature had been allowed to take its course, the three large diamonds that stick out could have ruptured his intestines. Barney could have died. Not taking any chances, Woolly rushed Barney to the vet, who was able to surgically remove the ring before any real harm occurred.
Barney is recovering nicely, according to the Sun, and Woolley has learned her lesson about leaving small objects near voracious puppies. “I’ll make sure it’s put safely in a drawer when I take it off in future,” she said.
And maybe Barney will stop craving such a rich diet…
I leave you for the weekend with this video of a wonderful program, Hand2Paw, which brings together homeless teens and shelter animals for a win-win result: The teens receive humane education and professional skills, and a boost to their self-esteem, and the animals get the care and training they need in order to be more adoptable. Hand2Paw is in Philadelphia, and as far as program creator Rachel Cohen knows, there’s no other program like it. H2P should be everywhere there are homeless teens and homeless dogs, don’t you think?
Rich King Casting is looking for purebred, talented pups for “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2.” They’re seeking dogs with the looks and the talent to make it in Hollywood:
“Here is your chance to show off (to the world) your best friend. The scene is the Beverly Hills dog show and your purebred could be part of the movie. No talent too big or too small!
If interested, please email your name, contact info, a video of your dog and its talent, a picture of you and your dog, breed, and any miscellaneous information to dogshowfilm@gmail.com.
Casting will start the week of September 21, 2009, so send in your submission as soon as possible.”
More information can be found on their website.
You know, Bliss is a purebred. And she’s quite charming. I’m really, really tempted… Hmm…
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These three-legged Chis don't even know they're disabled, say caretakers (Photo: Boston Herald)If you need a shot of can-do spirit this weekend, check out this video of three Chihuahua pups, born without front legs (probably because of overbreeding) and left homeless when their owner died. Are they moping and down in the dumps about their predicament? Far from it! It helps that they’re getting awesome care from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Read more about them in the Boston Herald.
This adjustable collar will fit most medium-sized dogs with a neck size of 10.5? to 14.5?.
I love these collars. So simple and elegant. And with the brass nameplate, it’s almost like your dog is a work of art. You know what I mean, right? Like those paintings? In museums? With brass nameplates? It’s like that. Just agree with me your dog will look like a work of art, okay?
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Jake used one of his patented moves to undo the MuttMop. It had no effect.When Jake received a colorful fleece MuttMops toy in the mail for review purposes, my first thought was, “Poor, poor MuttMop. Quick, run and go somewhere where you have a better chance at a longer life!” I figured it would just be another in a long line of great chew toys destroyed by Jake’s powerful penchant for chewing.
But as you can see by the photos, the MuttMop survived. This is truly a first. Even Kong toys don’t do well in the Jaws of Jake.
Jake's famed strategic Pull move didn't faze the MuttMop either.
Not even Jake's shake-it-'til-it-dies move worried the MuttMop.We throw it for him, he catches it and noshes on it for a while, he plays tug-of-war with it with his dog pals, he even uses it as a pillow. The rubber ring that firmly holds these soft strips of polyester is pliable and flexible. It has been two weeks now, and all the fabric arms of the MuttMop are still attached, and Jake seems to be getting rather fond of it. He carries it around with him sometimes, and puts his head on it for naps. In the last few days, he has given up trying to tear it apart, and only snuggles with it. It’s almost like a surrogate child. I guess he figures that if he can’t beat it, he may as well nurture it.
If a MuttMops toy sounds like something your dog might enjoy (and your dog will enjoy it), here’s a chance to win one!
MuttMops is offering one lucky Dogster reader their very own MuttMop. Just go to the MuttMops fabric-selection page and pick the fabric design you’d like if you win. Then write a comment that includes your choice, and a little about why your dog or you would enjoy a MuttMop. Enter by noon PST Monday, April 4. We’ll do a random drawing of qualified entries and will announce the winner on April 6 or 7, depending on my wifi connection in Athens!
One of the trainers, Melissa, is thinking of adding a new puppy to her home. The last dog to join her family was Goliath, who was rescued from a less than desirable situation at the age of 14. He’s doing well today at 15, even enjoying training, but Melissa would like a puppy this time. She was looking at a litter and a particular puppy in the litter, and said something along the lines that she couldn’t really tell a lot about his personality. The breeder was going to have someone come in and do temperament tests, and she’d wait until she found out how those turned out.
Several trainers told her not to think too much about the choice, to talk to the breeder, find out about the temperament tests, but also to listen to her heart and choose the puppy that caught her eye, for whatever reason. Choosing a puppy needs to be a logical yet also an emotional decision. This began a discussion that was really quite fascinating.
The first was definitions: Temperament is that which a being is born with (nature) while personality is that which is built upon that temperament and is shaped by experiences (nurture). An example given was that a litter of puppies can have the inherited tendencies to have stable temperaments, but if the mother is nervous about having a litter, is stressed while caring for the puppies, or has a traumatic experience; she could affect the puppies enough to make them fearful or nervous.
Another example closer to home, Bashir and Logan (pictured) are litter brothers. When we saw the litter, there were differences between Logan and Bashir. Bashir was calmer and more serious, but both were very nice puppies. Bashir went home with me while Logan went home with my business partner and friend, Petra. There was some discord in Petra’s home while Logan was growing up, and then a divorce, and Logan reacted to that discord. He is much more reactive than Bashir and there was definitely a personality shift.
This discussion was centered around the idea that while the baby puppy’s temperament is important, puppies can also be shaped and guided as they grow and develop. Therefore a good part of who they grow up to be is also based on their experiences as they grow up.
So our discussion then asked, “How important is nature? How important is nurture? Are they equally important in shaping who our dogs grow up to be? Does nature have a stronger influence or does nurture?” Wow! What good questions.
I won’t tell you where our discussion continued but instead will ask, what do you all think?
Photo: Litter brothers Bashir (left) and Logan. Photo by Liz Palika
A bull mastiffThe leg lift Teddy Bear did on a light pole at a park in Hoboken, N.J., could have been his last. As the bull mastiff was doing his boy business, he came in contact with exposed wires. The poor fellow was nearly electrocuted, according to The Jersey Journal. If this had been a smaller dog, he’d most likely have been a goner.
It turns out that someone has likely been stealing the metal plates that cover the wires and using them for scrap metal. As of yesterday, all of the city’s light poles have been checked, and caution tape put around those with missing plates. The city will work with the local utility company to try to install new plates with locks so this — or something worse — never happens again.
I’m sure it’s very rare for someone to steal metal plates that cover electric wires in public places, but I wanted to run this story just in case any of you run across something like this, wherever you walk your dog. In this economy, you never know. Consider this a “heads down.”
We hope Teddy Bear is recovering well, and is not shocked out doing leg lifts in the future via some crazy operant conditioning response.
If you can have even one-fourth as much fun as this dog is, you’ll be on your way to a stellar weekend. Have a great one, Dogsters! (It may actually snow in San Francisco this weekend! We welcome it — for a day…)
(Photo found on Pixdaus)
This is the third time I have attended this CE conference – the first being when I was in veterinary school (at Washington State University – Dr. Marty’s alma mater) and the second being last year, when I delivered several lectures on emergency medicine topics and was lucky enough to be voted speaker of the year. I was able to finagle a press pass for this trip – the first of my life. Since my dad was a dyed-in-the-wool reporter (in the days when there were still newspapers around), this trip had special significance for me.
Dr. Marty, Gina, Arden Moore, Kim Campbell Thornton and I made up the team, which I have dubbed Becker Team Sparkly Starfish Optimus Awesome, or Away Team One (I can’t decide which – I am waiting on input from the other members). David stayed home to make sure everything hummed along smoothly at PetConnection.com, and also because he is banned from entering the state of Nevada until the year 2035. I am not sure on the specifics, but I believe it involved a showgirl, a missing slot machine, and either Roy, Siegfried or both.
Conferences are an opportunity for your vet to hone skills, network and have a little fun. All states have a requirement that veterinarians must attend a certain number of continuing education classes every year to keep their skills sharp and stay abreast of changes and advances in our profession. A vet who makes it a point to attend conferences and lectures (beyond the minimum requirement) is one who is demonstrating a commitment to personal and professional excellence. It would not be a bad idea to discuss what areas your vet seeks out for professional advancement and CE the next time you are in their office.
On the ‘honing skills’ front, there are usually 8 to 10 lectures to choose from every hour on a variety of topics, for both small, exotic and large animal practitioners. (As a side note, I learned that in Vegas the word ‘exotic’ does not have the same connotations that it does for most veterinarians; for example an ‘exotic’ animal veterinarian treats hedgehogs and iguanas, while an ‘exotic’ dancer in Vegas is a naked person, usually female).
Lectures this year were offered from Sunday through Thursday (I fled a day early). Lectures are offered from 8 a.m. until 6 or so p.m., so the day usually starts by scanning the schedule grid and looking for suitable talks to attend. I made it to several ER topics this time – from dealing with GDV (gastric dilation volvulus syndrome) to managing patients after cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and a smattering of others. Gina was going to be cruel and make me attend lectures on the dreaded topic of dermatology (I am assuming that she buys into that whole ‘suffering builds character’ mystique) but she relented when my big brown eyes filled up with tears and my lower lip quivered a bit.
If your vet has a particular area of interest or expertise, say pain management or reproduction, they can focus on these and just attend lectures in this arena; the talks tend to be grouped by similar themes and topics, so it is fairly easy to get in the groove and gain some in-depth knowledge on special areas of interest. Your vet could also choose to expand their horizons a bit and branch out into areas they may not be familiar with – attend a lecture on acupuncture or check out what’s new in nutrition. It can get a little frustrating when there are several topics running at the same time that you may have an interest in, so you have to pick and choose your talks carefully. The talks can vary in degree of usability – from ones where you are scrambling madly to write down every little nugget of information, on down to snooze-fests where you are desperately trying to stay awake and hoping a fire breaks out so the hall is evacuated. I found the caliber of the talks to be slightly below par this year when compared to prior years and other CE conferences, but this may have had something to do with some of the extracurricular activities that we took part in, and not the actual talks themselves.
Most CE conferences offer additional learning opportunities beyond just lectures for picking up some new skills (or improving old ones). There are often labs that vets can take (usually for an extra fee), round-table discussions to participate in and lunches with experts. The labs offer hands-on experience with new surgeries or techniques and are usually very popular and well-attended.
Conferences are typically held in ‘destination cities’ and usually in rather large and glitzy venues. The WVC was held in the rather large and glitzy Mandalay Bay hotel, but veterinarians tend towards being a rather frumpy and non-glitzy crowd (my wife excluded – she is a pretty and sparkly princess; her rhinestone-studded flippy-floppies meshed perfectly with the Vegas milieu). I think conferences serve an important function in keeping vets on top of their game, but also allowing for a chance to get away and see cities they may not otherwise be able to (many vets can write off the trip for tax purposes, or are reimbursed by their employers, or perhaps both).
The other thing that these conferences are good for is networking – when you get a whole buncha people who are interested in the same thing gathered together under the same roof, connections inevitably form. One place that this occurs is the exhibit hall; this is a giant room (we’re talking several football fields in size) that is filled to the brim with corporate sponsors. I am fairly used to them by now, but when I was a student I remember being totally floored by the sheer number of crappy free things I could make off with (example: a free dog food company logo pen that lights up when you press a button! Free! It does not write – but it lights up!). You take armloads of the stuff and then get home and think “What the hell do I need all this junk for?” The sponsors are even thoughtful enough to give you crappy free logo bags to hold all the crappy free logo items as well – they have really thought of everything, and have only our best interests at heart.
The exhibit hall is a great place to meet other veterinarians and suppliers and hash out deals on equipment, surgical instruments, drugs or any of the myriad other things that keep a veterinary practice running. I know of many jobs that were lined up through conference networking, and more than a few romantic entanglements.
I will highlight some of the PetConnection networking that took place at WVC in the next installment, as well as give you a censored and family-friendly version of the ‘have some fun’ part – turns out there is a lot more than just gambling to be had in Vegas! (Here’s a sneak peek)
Photo credits: Top, wildnatureimages. Bottom, Dr. Tony Johnson.
Things are a little crazy at my house for play time. About half way in Rufus rolls over on one of the toys and it lets out an awful squawk. Hilarious!
Dont look at the tin foil on the windows… We are not running a meth house here lol, I have to put it on the windows so they wont bark at the passing dogs — ugg!
Jackie and Berg Pissed off nazisJackie: Mutt War Hero – Documents that were recently unearthed in the political archives of the German Foreign Ministry reveal details of an interesting footnote in history; a dog that mocked, and angered Hitler himself.
According to the documents, during WWII Nazis were enraged to learn about a mixed-breed dog named “Jackie” in Finland who earned the nickname “hitler” because of how it would raise its paw in the air in what looked to be a mock “heil hitler” salute.
According to records, officials in Berlin heard about the dog’s strange habit, and ordered German diplomats in Finland to investigate and gather evidence. Soon, the dog’s owner, Tor Berg, was ordered to the German embassy in Helsinki for questioning.
As the scandal grew, more ministries were involved including the foreign office in Berlin, the economy ministry and hitler’s chancellery. German suppliers were ordered by the nazis to end cooperation with Berg, who owned a pharmaceutical wholesale company. Records also show nazi plans to destroy Berg’s company.
However, witnesses against Jackie and her owner were not willing to testify in court. As WWII progressed, attention to the matter was eventually diverted. Although Jackie was never given official credit as a war hero, the momentum in the war soon shifted in Russia’s favor against the Germans.
Stories like this, (along with the fact that one of Hitler’s last acts was to order the execution his own German Shepherd, Blondi) help to solidify his title as history’s biggest bastard. Thanks to Jim Dumont in Newtown, Pa
After a few weeks of work, Bliss and I are proud to present a whole new design for “Dog Bliss”! We’re hoping this new layout will give us the flexibility to show off more doggie products and have room left over for events, public service announcements, and other dog-related stuff. And JELL-O. There’s always room for JELL-O.
Today is the perfect day to officially launch, as it’s Bliss’ ninth birthday. Happy birthday my little furball factory! She’s very excited about her ninth birthday, as you can tell from this photo.
We’re still working on adding features and ferreting out the last few bugs, so please bear with us during this transition. If you see anything wonky, please drop us an email at keri (at) mydogbliss (dot) com.
We have a lot of dog products waiting in the wings, and we’re ready to get back to the business of showing them off. Oh! And don’t forget we’re on Twitter, so please follow us!
Thanks for reading, and we’ll be barking at you soon. Or whining. Depends on our mood.
Keri & Bliss
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