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Showing posts with label again. Show all posts
Showing posts with label again. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Pets with mobility problems can get moving again
April 19, 2011
When Frankie was hit by a car on the streets of Denver, two vertebrae in his midback were shattered, and his spinal cord was crushed. At that moment he became a permanent paraplegic, never to walk normally again. In times past, he would have been euthanized.
Fortunately for Frankie — and for other pets with special needs — times have changed. No longer are mobility issues an impediment to an excellent quality of life. In fact, dogs and cats — and even unusual pets such as rabbits and ferrets — can be fitted for assistive devices that allow them to sustain the activities they’ve become accustomed to. Pet owners can be taught how to manage their pets’ bodily functions. And the pets themselves can easily be taught to accept the use of the various assistive devices that are currently available. (Read more…)
And “The Buzz” from Dr. Marty Becker and Mikkel Becker:
Two fingers on a dog’s muzzle can stop her from shaking water all over after a bath. That’s one of hundreds of secrets, surprises and solutions in the new “Your Dog: The Owner’s Manual” by the Pet Connection’s Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori.
You can read all this and more in this week’s Pet Connection!
Photo of Jessie the Pembroke corgi by Dr. Robin Downing.
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Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Twyla catches the wave — over and over again — thanks to a clicker
I am not an especially good trainer. There’s a reason I’ve always chosen breeds that are easy to live with and don’t need or want extensive training. I’ve used a clicker to teach basic behaviors like sit and down and to reinforce tricks the girls do naturally like roll over and sit up, but when it comes to using it to shape behaviors, I just don’t have the patience. I find that the girls are so excited that the clicker and the treats are out, I can’t get them to pay attention to actually producing new behaviors. They just offer all the things they already know, over and over. Every once in a while I try again, though, usually after I’ve written something training-related. “It can’t be that hard,” I think. “People train cats.”
We practiced a little more the next morning, and she still remembered it. Since then, she has been a waving fool. It used to be that she would come remind me that it was time for elevenses, but otherwise she was content to lie in her recliner or play with her Skinnneez toys. Not anymore. Now it’s train, train, train, all the time. She cries if I won’t get up and let her do some tricks–for treats, natch. It’s like having a little kid always saying, “Hey, look at me do this!” Every time I stand up, Twyla views it as an opportunity.
Harper is disgruntled now that her “sit pretty” trick has been superseded. She’s a little suspicious of the bird perch, but she’s good at spinning so we’re working on “chase your tail.” And I think I had better come up with some new things for Twyla to learn. I just wish I could teach her to transcribe interviews.
Are Merrick’s less-than-stellar past recall efforts playing out again?
[Update Sunday, 1/30: Merrick has finally gotten around to posting the recall on their website, including putting it prominently on their home page, and tweeting about it as well. Better late than never, but still ... ]
No, a company doesn’t have to prominently note a recall on its website, but I gotta tell you I don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling that makes me want to trust those companies that do not.
Like … Merrick, which seems to have recalled a product according to the FDA but no sign of a problem on its website as of this writing.
From Therese at PetSitUSA, who never sleeps and never misses a dump-and-run, recall, or, in this case, what seems to be a “we won’t tell you because we don’t have to” recall:
From the FDA website, a new notice about a pet food recall from Merrick. Notice the date on the release is 2010, although on the FDA page it has 2011. I don’t see the recall notice on the Merrick website for last year, and I don’t remember one for this product last year, so I’m assuming it’s a new one. I’ve left messages for Merrick and the FDA. If either of them return my call or fix the info online, I’ll be sure to post it here. You’ll find the Merrick pet food recall notice on the FDA website. There’s nothing on the Merrick Pet Care website yet:
MERRICK PET CARE RECALLS JR TEXAS TAFFY PET TREAT (ITEM # 27077, ALL LOTS UP TO AND INCLUDING 10364) BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE SALMONELLA HEALTH RISK
FOR IMMIDIATE RELEASE – January 28, 2010 – Merrick Pet Care, Inc. of Amarillo, Texas is recalling the Jr. Texas Taffy pet treat (ITEM # 27077, UPC # 02280827077, All Lots up to and including 10364) because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Merrick Pet Care has made the decision to recall all Jr. Texas Taffy pet treats in the abundance of caution.
Judging from Merrick’s past behavior, I’d put my money on the FDA putting 2010 instead of 2011 on the release (along with misspelling “immidiate”), especially since “2011? is noted on the bottom of the FDA web page. After all, Merrick is not a company that has shown much regard for its customers — much less an “abundance of caution” — in the past. But of course, if I’m wrong, I’ll correct and blame some anonymous clerk at the FDA.
In the meantime, if you have this product, don’t handle it or give it to your pets until this discrepancy is resolved.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
He’s baaaack! There’s light in Archer’s eyes again
Our Pet Connection’s Dr. Becker and Dr. Johnson and Archer’s veterinarians, Dr. Paul Richieri and Dr. Mary Gibbs, all told me that Archer’s recovery would take time. As in lots of time. Dr, Becker specifically said months. Not a particularly patient person, I didn’t want to hear that. But since I couldn’t find my magic wand, I grudgingly accepted it.
After the first week and a half of extremely rapid recovery, things did seem to slow down. Paul and I both sighed — a lot– and steeled ourselves for a long, slow but what we hoped would be complete recovery.
Archer didn’t listen to his veterinarians. He would stay at an even keel for a few days and then make a leap in recovery. A few even days and another leap.
This past Saturday I took him with me to the Kindred Spirits training yard. We had several classes, and I had Bashir and Sisko with me to work, but I thought maybe Archer was going a little cabin-crazy so I brought him. I figured if he got tired I could put him in the office and let him sleep.
Yeah, right.
He was thrilled to be back to work. He volunteered to demo exercises. And I mean that; he volunteered. He left the area in the middle of the yard where the dogs can relax between exercises and he placed himself in a pretty sit in front of the trainer who was explaining the exercises being taught. He made it very clear he was ready to work. Good boy, Archer!
After classes, he played with the other dogs, he went to people for petting, and was just plain Archer. He was back!
Now granted, he doesn’t have much stamina, and when we got home he was out like a light. But that day at the yard showed how much progress he has made.
At home he has been playing, tossing balls at us, soliciting play from Sisko and Bashir, and he’s back to following me around the house. Most importantly: The light is back in his eyes!
He’s also putting some weight back on — he lost 10 pounds (off a 50-pound dog!) — and he enjoys the multiple small meals he’s getting. He’s blowing coat but the coat is looking healthier. Amazing how quickly the coat can change when a dog is sick.
This was a very scary thing; we were so very close to losing Archer. But I’m thrilled he’s back. And Paul is even happier. We aren’t asking Archer to do his regular service dog work yet– other than a trip to Starbucks and back — but I think Paul will have his working partner back real soon.
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