Animal Radio® Show #491 May 2, 2009

Live from America’s Family Pet Expo in Costa Mesa, California

Animal Radio® broadcasts live from America’s Family Pet Expo at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. 

The World Wide Pet Industry Association (WWPIA), the producer of America’s Family Pet Expo, is a 60-year-old nonprofit association dedicated to promoting responsible pet care worldwide.  WWPIA proudly donates more than $250,000 annually to animal groups.

At the Expo, there was everything from face painting for the kids to a pet adoption fair along with grooming demonstrations.  Tyson, the skateboarding Bulldog, was even on hand to wow the crowds with his skateboarding expertise (tune in for our play-by-play broadcast) and there was even a singing dog!

It was a fun day for all!

The Skateboarding Bulldog

Jim Blauvelt – Tyson

Jim Blauvelt is Tyson’s owner and enabler.  Tyson is the bulldog that is famous for his ability to skateboard.

Jim, a recovering small businessman, is now Tyson’s agent.  He states Tyson is a self-taught skateboarder and that it all started in 2001 when they were living at the beach.  When Tyson was a pup, he would attack the skateboarders as they went by.   One day, they were in the backyard with a skateboard nearby.   Tyson started playing with it and he started stepping up on it, wanting to ride it.

The next day Jim put Tyson on a retractable leash and took him out front.  Tyson  immediately started taking 30-foot rides.   That was 6 years ago and the rest is history.

Tyson has appeared on numerous TV shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show and has been featured on Internet sites such as YouTube.  He appeared in the two movies: Lords of Dogtown and Undiscovered in which his performance was considered to be "outstandingly gifted.”  When performing, he earns over $1000 a day.

We were fortunate enough to be next to his skateboarding area at America's Family Pet Expo and Bobbie gives us a play-by-play account of his skateboarding abilities.

http://www.skateboardingbulldog.com

Canine Unit

Jim Connor, LA School Police Department Canine Unit

Jim Connor is a Police Officer with the Los Angeles School Police Department Canine Unit.  He was the Pet Expo giving demonstrations of the dogs they work with. 

Currently, the Los Angeles School Police Department has a couple of narcotic canines that are specifically dedicated to  working in school searching lockers, backpacks and vehicles in and around the schools. 

They also have dogs that assist patrol officers doing building searches, searching for suspects and weapons.  Then they have detection dogs that do explosives detection. 

He says that the dogs live the handlers and pretty much stay with them 24/7.  they primarily get their dogs from a vendor who specifically deals with buying police dogs.  This company then travels the world in search of dogs that meet certain criteria.  The dogs are then tested to make sure that they are a good fit with their handler and the agency.  The dogs are then purchased at a very high cost, due to the decreasing value of the dollar overseas.  The dog will usually run around $10,000, with an additional $4,000 for training, for a total of $14,00 just to get a police dog out on the street. 

Taxpayers do not cover these costs and the Los Angeles School Police Department Canine Unit is totally self-sufficient and does its own fundraising. 

Their next fundraiser is the Golf Tournament on May 29th.  To find out how you can help, please visit http://www.laspdk9.com/schedule.asp.

Got Pets?  Tired of Renting?

Stephanie Galindo, Catwalk – Finding Your Own Home

How many times have you found the perfect place to rent but then you find out they don’t allow pets?  This is all too frequent, as a lot of rentals don’t accept pets.  And if you do find one that will allow your pets, they sometime ask for an additional deposit for each animal.

Stephanie Galindo, author of Finding Your Own Home, was also in a rental rut.  But she got out and decided to help others do the same. Don’t make the same mistakes Stephanie did! Finding Your Own Home is the only Realtor & Veterinarian approved step-by-step action plan for first time home buyers.  In fact, a 28-year real estate veteran went over this pet-friendly Action Plan with a fine-toothed flea comb three times!   Inside you will find tons of information distilled into an easy, customizable 100-page workbook with over 50 color photos, checklists, number crunching, links and personal stories.  Get started with 20 things you can do in the next 30 days to get ready to buy your own home.  You could be carrying your pet across the threshold much sooner than you think!

Finding Your Own Home answers questions like:

• What should I do first - right now - to get ready to buy my own home?

• How long will it take for me to qualify for a loan with my income/debt?

• Can I find a great house without moving too far?

• If I can’t buy a house here, where can I find affordable housing?

• If I decide to move further away, should I rent first or plan to buy?

• Do I have to change jobs, or can I take my job with me?

If you have pets or kids, you’ll want to plan financially for the next decade or two very carefully...  and right now interest rates are low, housing prices are more reasonable, and many foreclosures are available. It is time to get out of the rental rut. Watch www.FindingYourOwnHome.com for specials and cool stuff for people with pets!

Animal Minute With Britt Savage

Cat Adopts Rottweiler

Charlie the Rottweiler was found on the roadside where her mother gave birth to two puppies.  One was stillborn, the other was Charlie, whom his mother rejected.

After bottle-feeding Charlie every two hours, volunteers at the Meriden Humane Society came up with a better idea.  Satin, a cat that had recently given birth to four kittens, seemed like a suitable surrogate mother.  Satin and her kittens immediately took to Charlie and treat him like one of their own.   Unfortunately, as Charlie grows into an approximate 100-pound dog, things will change. 

Volunteers are asking dog owners to volunteer their puppies as Charlie’s playmates, so that Charlie can learn to be a well-socialized dog.

So far Charlie has not meowed!

Scooter Gets a Scooter

Originally, Scooter’s owner was unable to care for him, but not anymore.  Scooter ended up at the Pet Kare Clinic and was adopted by Bill Higby.  Scooter had been terribly injured and was not able to move his back end and had little chance of surviving.

But, with the help of Bill, Scooter’s new owner, Scooter gets around on, well, a “scooter.”  Not only did Bill build Scooter a scooter, he takes him to the vet once a week for acupuncture to get his “chi” flowing.

Do you think this is going overboard?  Bill doesn’t – he said it’s just what you do for your family.

Vladae, The "World Famous" Russian Dog Wizard

Dog Won’t Eat Dog Food

This guardian is not sure who the person was that previously cared for this dog, but she feels that they evidently only fed him people food, as he will not eat dog food.  On a rare occasion, he will eat one type of dog food if it is hand fed to him. Vladae suggests offering him dog food for about 15-20 minutes and if he doesn’t eat it, pick it up.   Do this in the morning and then again in the evening.    To make it more enticing, you can even add canned food to his dry kibble.  Hal then suggests Lucky Dog Cuisine, the dog food we feed Ladybug, the Animal Radio Stunt Chihuahua – which is like human food but is nutritionally balanced for dogs. Vladae states that as long as the dog doesn’t go more than 3 days without eating, he will be fine.  Just don’t give in and give him people food during this time!

Natural Healers

Vladae speaks with Pamela, who is an intuitive animal healer.  Pamela uses a holistic approach to correcting bad dog behaviors.   She can actually feel, in her own body, what’s happening in an animal’s body.   She is therefore able to pick up pain or injuries and then shift the negative energy, which helps to bring back the natural flow of the body and let the animals heal themselves.  She states she is sort of like a conduit.

During these hard economic times where many people are stressed,  Pamela warns that our animals can pick up on this negative energy and  take on our stress.  She is then able to clear it away. 

http://www.socaldogtraining.com

Vinnie Penn, Animal Radio's Resident Party Animal

Drunken Fight over Benji & Lassie

I’m back with another Party Segment.  Despite all of your email, I have not been cancelled.

That’s a joke!  Nobody’s been emailing about getting me cancelled or kicked off the air!

I had an interesting drunken fight the other night, believe it or not.  A girl I went to grammar school with and have known since the sixth grade (now our kids are in the same class together) and we were talking about what fans we were of Benji when we were young back in the 70’s.  The Benji movies – you all must remember them?

And her husband, who up until this point seemed like a pretty good guy, all of a sudden turned it into a Rolling Stones vs. the Beatles thing.  It was like, “Lassie this,” and “Lassie that.”  And I was like,  “Bro, whoa, whoa, we’re talking about Benji here.  No need to bring up that corny collie.”

Next thing you know, it was Benji vs. Lassie.  How Lassie always knew how to communicate and get Timmy.  Why was Timmy always in trouble?  Why was Timmy always falling down a well and letting tree branches fall on him  Timmy was just a little too needy!

Now Benji, he stopped bank robberies.  Benji kind of ran on his own.  He was a lone dog.

Yes, it was pathetic.  It really was kind of pathetic that we could get into a Benji vs. Lassie argument! 

Maybe you’d like to chime in.  Drop me a line at vinnie@animalradio.com.  I say I won that argument.  I’m going to check with Maria to see if her husband is still pissed!  He looked like he was going to punch me at one point!

A Snake is Not a Pet 

I’ve got six words for you to kick off this week’s Party Animal installment.  “A Snake is Not a Pet!” 

Now, I am not talking about the dorm room snake where everybody sits around doing bong tokes and gathers in Chucko’s room to watch him feed a mouse to a snake.  I’m talking about when you’re at an outdoor festival, a flea market, as I was with my family recently.  And, you lean over and you see this guy who has this huge thing on his shoulders, and it’s rather still, and you think it’s kind of this funky new thing (if he wasn’t wearing his Harley T-Shirt) that is the latest trend in scarves.  And then it moves and you’re like, oh, it’s a massive white snake on his shoulders.  

I mean this guy had Anaconda on his shoulders at a flea market.  When the forked tongue started flicking out, my daughter shrieked like Jason Voorhees had just shown up.  (I took her to see the new Friday the 13th.  Not a good movie – she’s very young for that). 

But I must reiterate – the snake is not a pet!  Or at the very least, you don’t take your snake for a walk – and that’s not a metaphor!

Animal Radio® News with Bobbie Hill

New Presidential Dog is Tame Compared to Presidential Pet History

The hoopla over the “First Dog” continues but in looking back at Presidential Pet History, Bo is awfully tame by comparison.  Take for example President Hoover whose son Allan had a pair of alligators.  According to White House history alligators have been around the grounds since the sixth president John Quincy Adams.  The Marquis de Lafayette presented him with a pet gator that was kept in the bathroom in the East Room of the White House and on occasion was used to scare guests.

“Snakes on a Plane!”

The Associate Press reports a Qantas jet was grounded last week because ......there were snakes on the plane!!  Twelve non-venomous Stimson pythons were being shipped from Alice Springs to Melbourne but upon arrival there were only 8 in the box.  The plane was grounded and a reptile expert searched the plan without success, meanwhile the plane missed two scheduled flights. The airplane was fumigated and has now returned to service.  By the way, pythons can grow to three feet.

PETA Asks British 80’s Band To Change Its Name

Animal activist organization PETA has asked a British 80's band to change its name.  Thankfully the Pet Shop Boys turned down the request from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals but not before saying their suggestion warranted some thought.  PETA wanted the band to renamed themselves the Rescue Shelter Boys, but band members Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant told PETA they would be “unable to comply” with the request.

Political Persuasion Doesn’t Affect Animal Rights Organization

Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said in a recently posted blog that the animal rights organization “aims to stay in step with all good people regardless of political persuasion.” Illustrating that point will be a series of PSA’s from boisterous conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.   Seems the big conservative mouth actually has a soft spot for critters evidenced by his cat Punkin.  Limbaugh also supports the Humane Society’s anti-dog fighting campaign, which is the subject of one of the PSA’s.

Most Genetically Studied Breed of Dog

The most genetically studied dog breed is the same one that just moved into the White House.  Portuguese water dogs are well suited to genetic research because there is significantly less genetic variation within the breed.  According to a story in the Chicago Tribune the University of Utah’s Georgie Project studies the genetics of Porties.  It seems the breed is genetically predisposed to autoimmune diseases and the project hopes to change that.  Georgie Project senior researcher Kevin Chase told the Chicago Tribune “Dogs have many of the same diseases that humans have ....there is great hope these {findings} will translate to humans.”

Pet Adoption Tax Deduction

Now that tax day has come and gone comes good news for Californian’s thinking of adding to their families.  Assemblyman Cameron Smyth has introduced legislation that would give people who adopt pets a tax deduction.  Assembly Bill 2-3-3, if passed would allow adopters to write off up to 100 bucks in adoption fees.

NEWS UPDATE Brought To You By Simple Solution Natural Line Of Products

Talk With Your Animals with Joy Turner

Miniature Pinscher Goes Insane

This 3-year-old Miniature Pinscher, Duke, goes everywhere with his truck-driving guardian. In fact, he has been in every state in the United States, as well as in Canada.  But, when his guardian gets out of the truck, he goes insane.   Duke tells joy that he takes his job very seriously, and that part of his job is to protect his guardian, which he can’t do when he is left alone in the truck.   Joy advises the guardian to talk to Duke every time she gets out of the truck, and let him know where she is going and how long she is going to be.  Also, Duke wants his guardian to collect decals for every state he has been in and place them on the truck for everyone to see!

http://www.joyturner.com

http://www.talkwithyouranimals.com

Your Vet Questions Answered with Dr. Debbie

Dog Has Food Allergies

This 5-year-old German Shepherd recently started scratching and gnawing on his paws and was diagnosed with food allergies.   His guardian was told to stop feeding him anything containing wheat, corn, chicken or beef.   The guardian stopped feeding treats as well as his de-worming medication, which contained animal protein.  Dr. Debbie also warns about medications that might contain beef flavors.   The dog is now on lamb & rice.   Dr. Debbie suggests a novel protein diet, where you test a unique food, which they haven’t been exposed to, such as venison or kangaroo.   Another method is a hydrolyzed protein diet, where the food is processed and the proteins are broken down very small, so they bypass the pet’s immune receptors in the gut.   When testing any diet for allergy reactions, make sure you feed the food at least 8-12 weeks. 

Dogs Bark At Anyone Who Comes To The House – Even Him!

This guy’s roommate has two Miniature Schnauzers that bark horribly any time anyone comes to the house.   They have free roam of the house and will bark when someone comes to the door whether they are home alone or someone is with them in the house.  The female seems to be the biggest instigator and then the other dog joins in.  Dr. Debbie says stay away from the shock collars and try to use positive reinforcement instead and try to redirect their attention towards something else.  If possible, have someone come in a different door and avoid using a doorbell or knocking on the door.  You can even set this up and have friends or neighbors help with this new training.

2 Siberian Huskies Have Diarrhea

This guardian has 4 Siberian Huskies and two of them have chronic diarrhea.  They have been on many different types of medicines and they are currently on a hypoallergenic diet.  Their guardian sanitizes the yard and washes the food bowl frequently, all with no luck.   Dr. Debbie suggest several different remedies to try to get rid of this parasite and to restore normal bacteria in the digestive tract.  

My Dog Stinks!

This 5 and 1/2 year-old Doberman is groomed once a month, but within a week, she starts stinking like dirty socks.  Her guardian wants to know if she is lacking something in her diet or is this normal?  Her skin looks good, but she stinks all over her body.  Her guardian says it is embarrassing when company comes over because they start looking around for the source of the foul smell.   Dr. Debbie states the first thing she does when you can’t detect where the odor is coming from, is to get a sample from the skin for testing.   She also mentions that Dobermans can sometimes have problems with their oil glands in their skin and can produce an excess amount of oil.   She also suggest checking the teeth and anal glands, because these are also potent odor sources from dogs.   But, if it smells like dirty socks, try checking for yeast.

Cats on A Leash 

Jean Miller - Walk Your Cat

We have four studio cats here at Animal Radio® that will walk on a leash.  Fortunately, we never had a problem with them, as they took immediately to being walked.  But, of course, unlike a dog, they go where they want to go – not where you want them to go!

Jean Miller, along with Steven Jacobson, wrote the book, Walk Your Cat: The Complete Guide.  Jean states that she has been walking her cats for around 8 years and she is able to direct them as well.   She doesn’t pull on the leash, but she ”tuggles” the leash (an easy little tug with direction) to get them to go where she wants them to go. 

One of her goals is to change the way people think about walking cats and she would like to make it as normal as walking a dog.   She gets mixed reactions from people when walking her cats with some people who think it is fantastic, to others who state it’s not a dog and shouldn’t be on a leash!  A lot of people also don’t think its safe to walk a cat.

Jean offers advice for those training their cat.  If the cat just lies there in the beginning of training, it probably has not associated the harness and leash with going outdoors, which is the reward and motivation.    If the cats lies there later on, they could just be refusing to go where you want to go. 

To those people who think that cats can’t be walked on a leash or directed where to go - they’re wrong!  Check out the video at http://www.walkyourcat.com.

Beginner’s Agility

Pamela Spock – Affordable Agility

We check in with Pamela Spock, the President of Affordable Agility and a 10-year-veteran in agility training and research, to see how ladybug is doing on her second week of training in agility.  We are working with Ladybug using the Agility-In-A-Bag.

We were at first worried about whether or not Ladybug would be able to do this, but she seems to be a natural.  She learned the adjustable jump and the adjustable tire jump in just a matter of minutes.

Pamela assures us that once a dog gets the confidence to do one obstacle, that the next one is easy.  She was, however, amazed when Ladybug took it upon herself to run with her Frisbie through the tire hoop without any coaching.   Who knows, we might have the next Agility Champion here!

Next, we will work on the tunnel & chute along with the weave pole set.  Hopefully she will do as well on these as she did on the others. 

Pamela states that Agility makes a dog feel like it is doing something useful and while it is work, it is also play at the same time.  That is the appeal of agility for the dog.  Plus, it’s a teamwork effort between the guardian and the dog and bonds them together as a team.

Pamela states that all dogs can do agility, from the littlest dogs to the largest dogs.    She even once saw a bulldog running through an agility course! 

Check back every week to see how Ladybug’s Agility training is progressing. 

To see a video of Ladybug in action, click on http://animalradio.com/ladybug-the-studio-stunt-dog.html.

http://www.affordableagility.com

Listen to the entire Podcast of this show (#491)

Broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and Podcast Versions Only.

Listen to Animal Radio® - Go to the launch page
Return to Animal Radio Network™ Home Page
Read April Newsletter