Archive for September, 2009
Pets living longer, better
There aren’t any actual statistics on increasing longevity in dogs and cats, but ask any vet or pet owner and you’ll 
hear tales of dogs living to be 15 or more and cats reaching the age of 20 or even older. An informal and completely unscientific survey of people I know who have dogs turned up a number of pets who were living well past the 12 to 14 years that we tend to think of as the average lifespan. Some of those were small breeds, which tend to live longer anyway, but medium-size breeds such as Beardies and Corgis were up there at 15 and 16 years and sometimes more. I even heard about a 15-year-old Mastiff.
So I was happy to address the subject in my column this month, although many of my questions went unanswered. Why do smaller dogs live longer than giant-breed dogs but elephants and whales live for many years? Apparently, we don’t really know. One of the things we know about dogs, says Martha Smith, DVM, director of veterinary services at Boston’s Animal Rescue League, is that longevity directly corresponds to breed size, but within a group–Labrador Retrievers, for instance–smaller Labs don’t live longer than larger ones. So you can’t make any predictions based on the size of an individual dog versus another individual of the same breed.
And how do we know that pets really are living longer? Any statistics on that? Not really, Smith says.
There is no comprehensive study that has looked at that. I think the only way to gather all that data would be to get into the records of various veterinary hospitals throughout the United States. It’s a really complex data search that would be required.
Pets are living longer, veterinarians think, because of improvements in veterinary care, nutrition and the human-animal bond. Leash laws and keeping cats indoors, for instance, mean fewer pets get hit by cars. The attitude that the pet is a member of the family means he spends more time indoors, more time in the company of his family and thus gets looked at more closely. Little things that might turn into big problems are more likely to be seen and treated by a veterinarian before it’s too late to manage them.
That said, the number-one reason dogs die is cancer, says Johnny Hoskins, DVM, who has spent much of his career studying pet longevity. For cats, the main cause of death is usually related to some type of organ failure, such as kidney or heart. The key in animals as it is in humans is early detection and management, Hoskins says.
One of the things Smith and I talked about was how to estimate age in pets. Being a shelter veterinarian, she has to do that frequently. Time was, people relied on looking at the teeth and body condition. But that can be misleading.
Both of those factors are influenced by what their life experience has been. You can have a very fit animal with great teeth that’s quite old or you can have an animal who’s kind of loose and floppy and has bad teeth and is young.
A new technique has veterinarians looking into the eyes for answers. With training, they can shine a light through the lens, which creates patterns that can be tracked. The spot of the light diffuses at different rates depending on the animal’s age, and a chart was created to help establish the age based on the pattern.
Will we ever be able to predict lifespan? Smith wonders if canine genetic tests might play a role in that someday.
I’ve just learned that the makers of one of the big canine genetic tests has started to market the fact that they can predict a dog’s size based on his genetic profile when he’s a puppy. So if you adopt a mixed-breed puppy and you’re hoping he’s going to be under 25 pounds, but you’re not sure, you can send out a blood sample to find out based on breed composition how big he’s going to get. I wonder at some point if they’ll be able to make lifespan predictions.
That would be cool.
One thing my editor wanted to know was a formula for calculating a dog’s age in human years. The old “multiply by 7″ rule doesn’t really apply because different breeds age at different rates. But knowing that number isn’t essential. Other things are more important, Smith believes.
For me, it’s immaterial what they are equivalent to people’s age because they’re not people. They’re dogs and cats and they are what they are. Are they fit? Are they happy? Are they enjoying life? Are they enjoying your company? Are they active? Those are the important questions to ask, not what numbers we should assign to them.
Tell it, sister!
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/…
Technorati Tags: dog, veterinarian, lab, cat
Pets living longer, better
There aren’t any actual statistics on increasing longevity in dogs and cats, but ask any vet or pet owner and you’ll hear tales of dogs living to be 15 or more and cats reaching the age of 20 or even older. An informal and completely unscientific survey of people I know who have dogs turned up a number of pets who were living well past the 12 to 14 years that we tend to think of as the average lifespan. Some of those were small breeds, which tend to live longer anyway, but medium-size breeds such as Beardies and Corgis were up there at 15 and 16 years and sometimes more. I even heard about a 15-year-old Mastiff.
So I was happy to address the subject in my column this month, although many of my questions went unanswered. Why do smaller dogs live longer than giant-breed dogs but elephants and whales live for many years? Apparently, we don’t really know. One of the things we know about dogs, says Martha Smith, director of veterinary services at Boston’s Animal Rescue League, is that longevity directly corresponds to breed size, but within a group–Labrador Retrievers, for instance–smaller Labs don’t live longer than larger ones. So you can’t make any predictions based on the size of an individual dog versus another individual of the same breed.
And how do we know that pets really are living longer? Any statistics on that? Not really, Smith says.
There is no comprehensive study that has looked at that. I think the only way to gather all that data would be to get into the records of various veterinary hospitals throughout the United States. It’s a really complex data search that would be required.
Pets are living longer, veterinarians think, because of improvements in veterinary care, nutrition and the human-animal bond. Leash laws and keeping cats indoors, for instance, mean fewer pets get hit by cars. The attitude that the pet is a member of the family means he spends more time indoors, more time in the company of his family and thus gets looked at more closely. Little things that might turn into big problems are more likely to be seen and treated by a veterinarian before it’s too late to manage them.
That said, the number-one reason dogs die is cancer, says Johnny Hoskins, DVM, who has spent much of his career studying pet longevity. For cats, the main cause of death is usually related to some type of organ failure, such as kidney or heart. The key in animals as it is in humans is early detection and management, Hoskins says.
One of the things Smith and I talked about was how to estimate age in pets. Being a shelter veterinarian, she has to do that frequently. Time was, people relied on looking at the teeth and body condition. But that can be misleading.
Both of those factors are influenced by what their life experience has been. You can have a very fit animal with great teeth that’s quite old or you can have an animal who’s kind of loose and floppy and has bad teeth and is young.
A new technique has veterinarians looking into the eyes for answers. With training, they can shine a light through the lens, which creates patterns that can be tracked. The spot of the light diffuses at different rates depending on the animal’s age, and a chart was created to help establish the age based on the pattern.
Will we ever be able to predict lifespan? Smith wonders if canine genetic tests might play a role in that someday.
I’ve just learned that the makers of one of the big canine genetic tests has started to market the fact that they can predict a dog’s size based on his genetic profile when he’s a puppy. So if you adopt a mixed-breed puppy and you’re hoping he’s going to be under 25 pounds, but you’re not sure, you can send out a blood sample to find out based on breed composition how big he’s going to get. I wonder at some point if they’ll be able to make lifespan predictions.
That would be cool.
One thing my editor wanted to know was a formula for calculating a dog’s age in human years. The old “multiply by 7″ rule doesn’t really apply because different breeds age at different rates. But knowing that number isn’t essential. Other things are more important, Smith believes.
For me, it’s immaterial what they are equivalent to people’s age because they’re not people. They’re dogs and cats and they are what they are. Are they fit? Are they happy? Are they enjoying life? Are they enjoying your company? Are they active? Those are the important questions to ask, not what numbers we should assign to them.
Tell it, sister!
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/…
Technorati Tags: dog, veterinarian, lab, cat
Ginger The Brittany Spaniel Dog
This is Ginger, the 3 year old female Brittany Spaniel dog breed from Huntington, Indiana. Pic was submitted by Brandi.
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Rudy The English Bulldog
This is Rudy, the 5 year old male English Bulldog dog breed from Indianapolis, Indiana. Photo was submitted by John.
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Is a Bark Shock Collar Good for Your Pet?
New dog owners are sometimes unprepared to deal with common problems of newly adopted or bought dogs, such as excessive barking or barking at the wrong time. One of the most common solutions for this problem is using a dog bark shock collar, although the word “shock” alone is enough to scare some people. Dog […]
Technorati Tags: dog
Understanding of how insects smell
New research announced recently, Wednesday 30th September, by a team of leading researchers working with the UK’s national Synchrotron, Diamond Light Source, could have a significant impact on the development and refinement of new eco-friendly pest control methods for worldwide agriculture. Reported in the Journal of Molecular Biology, the study was carried out by Dr Jing-Jiang Zhou and his colleagues at the world’s oldest agricultural research centre and the largest UK facility, Rothamsted Research, in collaboration with Professor Nick Keep’s group from the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology at Birkbeck, University of London……..
http://www.biology-blog.com/blogs/permalin…
Technorati Tags: lab
Dog Grooming Equipment
No matter if it is conducted in a salon or at home, dog grooming requires special dog grooming equipment. There are lots of items that you can buy but not all of them are really necessary, and not all come handy for a certain pet. The supplies we are going to discuss here are usually […]
Technorati Tags: dog
Nutro recalls puppy food that may contain melted plastic
It started out as a rumor, but one of Nutro’s “Ambassadors” just confirmed it on her Twitter feed: Nutro is “voluntarily withdrawing” — or, in plain English, recalling — some puppy food sold through PetSmart and Petco stores:
EdnaAtNutro @cvec Hi! I’m with Nutro. Re: plastic-During a maint. shutdown, a bump cap inadvertently made its way into our mfg. process equipment….
EdnaAtNutro @cvec Nutro audited 3000 bags of potentially affected finished product that never left our mfg site.
EdnaAtNutro @cvec Out of abundance of caution, Nutro voluntarily retrieved pot. affected product in a small number of PS/PC stores.
EdnaAtNutro @cvec Consumers who have purchased pot. affected product should return it to their retailer or contact Nutro’s Consumer Care @ 800- 833-5330
My favorite question for Edna, and one I’d like to see an answer to from the company:
kittymadgrrrr @EdnaAtNutro perhaps Nutro should post this at their website?
Indeed.
One of our readers emailed PetSmart about the recall, and received this reply:
Thank you for contacting PetSmart. Nutro has done a voluntary product withdrawal. This was done by the company for certain Nutro products and size. The affected items were Nutro Ultra Puppy 4.5 lb bags and Nutro Natural Choice Chicken, Rice and Oatmeal Puppy Small Bites in 5lb bags. While we have not been notified of any injury or illness related to these products, Pet Parents who have purchased these products should immediately stop feeding the food to their pets.
Because the withdrawal of these items only affects certain sized packages, you can return these to your nearest PetSmart to exchange the affected product for an alternate-sized package of the same food or a full refund.
If you have any more questions about this withdrawal, please contact Nutro customer service at 1-800-833-5330 or visit http://www.nutroproducts.com.
Again, we would like to reiterate that this is a voluntary Nutro product withdrawl.
I find the whole “voluntary.. withdrawal” thing so aggravating. Since FDA does not have the authority to order pet food recalls (or human ones, for that matter), all recalls are voluntary.
Including the ones that get spun into “withdrawals.”
Long story short: Companies, stop parsing words. Announce clearly and early, and don’t fantasize that you’ll be able to bring this in under the radar. You won’t. It just makes you look like you have something to hide, and erodes consumer confidence.
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/…
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Gorillas, Bees and Bacon
Today I’m going to try something different; a bunch of little stories for your enjoyment. Here we go…
The following could happen in my neighborhood too, especially if my old man were to run around with his shirt off.
A man dressed as a gorilla for a charity run was stopped by police after calls from motorists who thought he was an ape which had escaped from a zoo.
Rory Coleman ran from his home in Nottinghamshire to London in his costume to take part in the event supporting the Gorilla Organisation – which works in central Africa to protect the apes’ habitat.
Some of the other runners embellished their costumes to become gorilla superheroes, ballerinas, Vikings and pirates.
—
Ever have one of those damn insects flying around your head and you just can’t catch them with your snout or swat them with your paw? Fortunately for me I’m usually not driving when that happens. The following is what happens when you drive a truck load into a bee commuter bus.
A van stacked with beehives crashed into a truck, causing the bees to swarm and attack five injured victims and their rescuers.
Around 20 people, including medical staff and police who responded to the accident, needed hospital treatment after the accident near Marmaris in Turkey.
Beekeepers had to be called in to evacuate the injured and clear up the mess safely.
—
I’m not much of a reader, more of a writer really, but I think that’s about to change. Check out the latest technology being employed by bookmark makers.
Bookmarks made of leather are common enough but how about a rasher of bacon?
That was what one library-goer used as they made their way through Len Deighton’s World War II book Blood, Tears And Folly.
The slice was uncovered when the tome was returned to a library in Worthing, West Sussex.
I gotta run. I have to call my publisher to see if we can print Bad to the Bone on bacon.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BoKnowsOnli…
Technorati Tags: cat
Prepare pets for the fling into fall
It’s not just people who get a new spring in our steps at the first hint of fall in the air. So do our pets. But there’s more to getting our animals ready for cold weather than enjoying the change of season. From Dr. Marty Becker and Gina Spadafori in this week’s Pet Connection feature:
Every year at this time we seem to get a little extra bounce in our step, and our pets do, too. But even as we’re enjoying the brisk beauty of fall, we need to remember it means winter is around the corner, and with it, an awareness of seasonal challenges for our pets.
That’s why we’re focusing here on how to enjoy the season, but also how to prepare pets for what’s to come next — winter.
The weather — heat in the summer, cold in the winter — is certainly important to outdoor pets. We don’t agree with the practice of keeping dogs and cats outdoors all their lives — these pets are often lonely and bored, and are more likely to be suffering from physical neglect.
That said, we realize some people won’t bring animals in the house, no matter what. If you’re one of those people, you must provide adequate outdoor shelter. And the time to review your pet’s shelter is now.
And don’t forget that just as the leaves turn in the fall, many dogs begin the furry equivalent and begin “The Big Fall Shed.” Fortunately, Gina’s got tips on how to handle it.
In “The Buzz,” Dr. Becker and Mikkel Becker Shannon point out that dogs and trucks don’t mix:
At least 100,000 dogs are estimated to die each year by falling or jumping from the back of pickup truck beds. If a dog survives a fall, broken bones, joint injuries and severe abrasions are the most common injuries, according to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. To protect pets, WSU veterinarians recommend putting a shell on the pickup, or having your dog ride inside a crate strapped down securely. Tethering a dog isn’t considered much of an improvement from allowing him to ride loose — there’s just too much risk to the pet.
Want more? Read the entire Pet Connection for this week, or see it just how we send it to our client newspapers in this PDF file.
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/09/…
Technorati Tags: dog, veterinarian, cat
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