Animal Radio® Show #502 July 18, 2009
It’s back! Animal Radio’s Summer Giveaway for 2009 and you can enter as many times as you would like before September 30th.
This year’s Grand Package includes items from Celestron, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of high quality optical products, with the Regal 65F-ED Spotting Scope; Bissell, with the Lift-Off Revolution Pet Vac; Automated Pet Care Products, with the Litter-Robot; and Disney, with the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park passes.
The five runner-ups can win packages, which include the Outland Waterproof Binoculars from Celestron; the Pet Hair Eraser Corded Handheld Vacuum Cleaner from Bissell; and the "UP" DVD, Leapfrog Reading System and "UP" Leapfrog Storybook from Disney-Pixar.
What are you waiting for? Get entered now!
Robert Rodi – Dogged Pursuit
Robert Rodi had previously trained a Sheltie for agility, who was a natural. She has since retired and Robert was looking for a new Sheltie. He went to a Sheltie rescue and saw many dogs who were “go getters” and possible candidates. He then saw Dusty, whom who called a misanthropic, sociopathic fear biter, who had been lingering on their adoption list forever.
Robert’s heart got the better of his head and he took Dusty home and tried to go ahead with his original plan. Comparing Dusty to his previous agility dog, he says it was like going from a Ferrari to a tricycle! Not only that, he says Dusty is a strange looking Sheltie and looks like Willie Coyote.
Despite the odds, Robert was determined to tame his unlikely partner and take him all the way to the pros. Dogged Pursuit follows a year spent of this crazy owner-pet relationship – the victories, defeats and roster of hilarious characters they meet along the way!
You can now follow Dusty’s pursuit on his twitter page
Dr. Jim Humphries - Veterinary Minute
Heat Stroke in Dogs
You know it stays hot even through September and people find all sorts of ways to keep cool, but what about our animals? How should we keep them cool? Yes, even into the fall thousands of dogs find their way into the family veterinary office or even the emergency room after spending just a few hours in the hot sun.
As most people know, dogs don’t sweat like we do; they most often cool themselves by panting. Anything that inhibits that natural cooling system can lead to heat stroke. Normally a dog’s temperature ranges from 100 to 102.5. In cases of heat stroke, temperatures over 106 degrees are considered to be an emergency, and temperatures over 110 degrees can be fatal in less than 15 minutes.
Here are the symptoms you need to watch for:
Vigorous panting
The inability to stand or weakness while standing
Thick, ropey saliva, literally foaming at the mouth
Bright red mucous membranes, although some dogs may show pale or even muddy gums
Use cool, not cold, tap water on the extremities. This will help effectively lower the body temperature. Do not use ice or extremely cold water. While this may seem logical, extreme cold water will cause the surface blood vessels to contract, forming an insulated area that traps heat in the body and literally stops the cooling of these vital internal organs. Without these life savings steps, many dogs could lose their lives to a simple hot day. Then load you pet carefully into the car quickly and get your pet to the veterinarian office.
Dogs and Chocolate
Unfortunately there are a number of household items that we tend to take for granted which are potentially very dangerous to your dog’s health. One of these dangerous household items is simple chocolate.
While chocolate has been reported recently to be high in human friendly antioxidants, it appears to be potentially lethal for our pets, and particularly for our dogs. Cats are mostly unaffected, as they do not care for the taste of chocolate, but dogs tend to be crazy about it.
The root of the problem is that chocolate contains various chemicals that are called methylxanthine alkaloids. Very small amounts of these chemicals are capable of causing such serious problems as constriction of the arteries and an increased heart rate. Large amounts may even cause more dire symptoms. A pound of dark chocolate could possibly kill a 16-pound dog.
If you find that your dog has eaten chocolate, get on the phone with your veterinarian right away. Be sure that your children know how important it is to keep chocolate out of your dog’s reach. If you’re not aware that your dog has consumed chocolate, the consequences could be severe. If consumption is not found within 4 to 6 hours, without the right treatment, cardiac failure, seizures, coma and death could result.
One small piece of chocolate may not cause a problem, so don’t panic. But if your dog friend eats a whole box, a trip to your veterinarian is in order.
Vladae,
The "World Famous" Russian Dog Wizard
A Dog Bite In An Inappropriate Place!
When a friend entered this man’s house unannounced, his French Bulldog jumped up and bit him in his crotch. The bite was bad enough for the man to receive 5 stitches. This is a very serious situation, and the first thing that needs to be done is to diminish this dog’s social status. How is this done? Tune in to find out!
2-Yr-Old Shar-pie Is Anxious Since Being Neutered
Since being neutered, this dog has been acting anxious and is now approaching his food bowl very cautiously. He approaches his bowl with his 
tail down, takes a bite, backs up and looks around and up at the skylights. He is especially nervous when people enter the home. At around 2 years of age is normally when a dog comes to age and maturity, and you can see some behavior changes and Dr. Debbie feels this is just a coincidence with the neutering. Since there is a second Shar-pie in the home who is not having any behavior problems and just loves visitors, Vladae suggests using an “imitative method,” and let this problem dog learn from the good one. He suggests getting one large crate and put both dogs in it. When visitors arrive, give them a special treat to present to both dogs. You can assure that your pet will know it is a treat, by putting it in a cellophane bag and let your dogs get used to that sound ahead of time before receiving any treats. You can condition this dog in two ways, by having visitors giving him a treat and by having him watch how the other dog responds in a positive manner.
Dog Doesn’t Like The Baby
This Cocker Spaniel has been a member of the family for the last two years, ever since she was a puppy, and she is spoiled rotten. There is now a new “human” baby in the house and the dog doesn’t want anything to do with it. If you don’t give the dog attention, even though she is housebroken, she will inappropriately eliminate in the house. Vladae states that you have to be very careful with dogs around babies. You should get a professional dog trainer to evaluate if the dog can be safely around the baby. If the dog can be around the baby, make it a positive experience. For example, when feeding the baby, feed the dog. When the baby is sleeping, have the dog sleep on the floor of the baby’s room. When the baby is awake, give attention to your dog by giving him praise and treats. However, never leave the two of them alone unattended.
Vinnie Penn, Animal Radio's Resident Party
Animal
Hidden Dogs in Parked Cars
I have an interesting question I would like to ask you. Also, feel free to hit me up at vinnnie@animalradio.com.
My question is this, why is it that whenever I park my car in a convenience store parking lot and I’m getting out and cutting between two other cars on my way to walking to the store, the rabid, aggressive, hostile beast that someone has left in their vehicle, usually a pickup truck, is ninja quiet until I’m in between the two cars and then lunges through that half-way rolled down window of the truck, just at the time that I’m passing through the cars? Can anyone answer that? It’s like these dogs are left in the front seat of the vehicle and almost trained to, “Now, you don’t make a sound, don’t let anybody know you’re in there until they’re creeping in between our car and the car next to us and then scare the bejesus out of them!” Cause you know the guys who own these dogs say things like bejesus!
The other day I was on my way into the convenience store. I just wanted to grab a soda, which I didn’t even wind up doing because the Mountain Dew would have finished me off with the heart attack I had in the parking lot. It would have been the final blow. I’m walking in between a car and a truck when this German Shepherd/Pit Bull/Rottweiler/Hybrid, yes, I believe they exist and I’m going to call it a Germit Weiler, comes lunging through the half-way rolled down window just at the exact moment, not three minutes or three seconds before, just as I’m in between. And there’s just enough window down so that he’s barking wildly and his saliva splatters me on the side of my face, and I had to scream (which I’ve been told that I scream kind of like a girl) in the parking lot of the convenient store. The owner of course thinks that this is hilarious, but if I was with my five-year-old, that would have been it, dogs would have been off limits for the rest of her life.
So please, somebody out there tell me, are dog owners training their dogs to sit like ninjas on the front seat of their vehicle with the window rolled halfway down, trained to wait just until that person cuts in between their vehicle and the one next to it, just for laughs?
I got it – it’s a hidden camera show. “It’s When Dogs Scare the Crap Out of You in Parking Lots.” And hey, Vinnie Penn’s on the debut episode!
What Is It With Guys And Neutering?
This subject was sent to me by Hal Abrams from Animal Radio®. He seems to have a problem with guys who go on and on about neutering their dogs. I know what he’s talking about!
It’s really no different from those guys who have a son and they’re talking about circumcision or just anything in general. Men are very territorial when it comes to their offspring’s or their pet’s privates.
They feel it gives them pause to become standup comedians. They say things like “My dog won’t be the same anymore,” or “His bark’s going to go up an octave or two.” They think the dog won’t be the same – yeah, he’s not going to be the same for the first couple of days, and yeah, he may have a look in his eyes that says. “Hey dude, thanks a lot!” But basically, everything your vet says about the neutering situation is true.
Number one, we do need a bit of population control when it comes to pets. There is an overabundance of dogs and cats, and the outcome is something that any pet lover doesn’t want to see. So yes, it is the wise thing to do. There is nothing worse than that overheated animal who’s calling your Barco Lounger his girlfriend.
So, all of the benefits of neutering are in tact, but the guys tell their wives “You’ve got to bring him,” “You must drop him off, I can’t do it!” Why, is there a horserace that day? Is there a Soprano’s marathon? Give the real answer! Don’t say it has anything to do with your heart breaking or how can a man do this to his dog!
Another similar routine is when its over. It’s like your father coming over to your house after you’ve had a vasectomy, and he’s like “What did you do?” You’re just lying there looking at him the same way your dog would be looking at you, and saying “Can’t you just get out of here! I’m stitched up, a little bit tender and your little comedy routine here is really kind of annoying me. You’re really a pain in the ass right now and that’s not an area I need a pain in, because I’ve got one not far from there.”
I had one of my dogs neutered and it was the best thing I did because he was really uncomfortable and he was unsightly, to say the least! And I’ve got to be honest with you and as candid as I can be when it comes to these party animal segments, I did the little routine when I dropped him off.
He was scheduled for a few hours later, and I said, “Let my man have some fun in the other room with some of the girl dogs before he goes in there!” And of course they’re like, “You want him to knock up three or four of our females before he has the incision? That’s really not protocol.” And, you’re just standing there thinking; I’m just doing some standup. I don’t know why, it was just a gravitational pull of some sort for me to do a bad routine out here in the lobby.
But nevertheless, there is something like that that goes on. Spaying, neutering, we all know how important it is, but even more important, ex nay the standup comedy boys!
Why Do Goldfish Die When You Go On Vacation?
Why is it that your goldfish always die when you go on vacation? You know what I’m talking about! You’ve taken care of them all year, you’re six, and you’ve managed to keep them alive for the past year. And yet you go away for a week, and either (a) come back to the sob story of the year from some relative you never see or a friend of your mother’s who was given the job of feeding the fish or (b) to a fish that doesn’t look remotely like Pokeman, the fish that you left the week before.
If you are going to care for your friend or family member’s child’s fish, take a good look at him. If you are going to choose to starve him for a week and figure on replacing him because you are a cold callous person, and mom has overlooked that fact during the hiring process, you should still take a look at him so you know what you are replacing him with. Nothing worse than a six-year-old to come back and find his goldfish that has been replaced with a piranha.
So, if you are going to murder the goldfish, replace it with a goldfish! Isn’t that a crazy concept? But, I don’t know what it is. Every time the fish die, we think Grammy overfed him. Well, I can believe that, as Grammy overfeeds me every time I stay with her. But, I didn’t know you could really die from that. That’s always the excuse - that your goldfish was overfed.
Now this comes from a real place. When I was six or seven years old, I had two goldfish, Cheech & Chong. When I came back, there was just one big fat fish in the tank. Not two, one – big fat fish, clearly different fish, in which my brother of course, in a continuing effort to torment me, informed me that Cheech had eaten Chong. But I still didn’t buy it, since it wasn’t even the same color. It took me years to unravel the mystery.
All of us have that long-standing pet incident from our youths that have taken years to uncover what really happened. It took years for my mother’s best friend Linny to say, “Look, the fish died and I didn’t know what to do. I had missed a day and I just went and bought you a new fish. Wasn’t that nice of me?” The classic, “What about me?” “You know, I felt terrible.” “Here you were my best friend’s son and I killed your fish, what about me?” And, you’re sitting there like, uh, but what about Cheech & Chong?
Animal Radio® News with Bobbie Hill
What About Michael Jackson’s Animals?
Michael Jackson’s sudden death last month left fans wondering about where his children would go and what would happen to Neverland. Few asked about the exotic animals once housed at the central California estate. Actress Tippi Hedren has been an animal activist for years and runs Shambala - a wildlife sanctuary in Acton, California. It’s now home to two of Jackson’s big cats - both bengal tigers, one named Sabu the other Thriller. Hedren spoke to the French Press Agency urging the King of Pop’s fans to “take action for the big cats he loved” by supporting laws to ban breeding of exotic animals for pets. As Shambala’s website points out neither of Jackson’s tigers arrived with a bank account or dowry.
Other animals from Jackson's zoo were sent all over the country; most famously, Bubbles the chimpanzee went to the Center for Great Apes in Florida. Flamingos went to a New Jersey zoo and giraffes to a sanctuary near Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border. Both Hedren's Shambala reserve and the Center for Great Apes have placed requests for donations for the care of Jackson's animals on their websites.
Pig Swims for Safety
A big rig carrying a load of hogs to slaughter in Arkansas overturned, freeing many of the porcine passengers. One 800-pound hog successfully dodged the bounty hunters and was found in the swimming pool of a homeowner. LeeAnn Baldy told the Associated Press that when she called the sausage company to come get it’s “missing link” she was told the hog wasn’t fit for human consumption. Apparently the hog couldn’t account for his whereabouts the week it was missing so no one knows what he might have consumed. Baldy found a nice farmer willing to adopt the wayward hog.
How to Avoid Lyme Disease
This summer can be a safe and healthy one for people and pets who are concerned about Lyme disease. Veterinarians and parsitologists tell pet owners while Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be passed from pets to people, getting sick can be prevented. These very scary sounding illnesses are easily avoided with good hygiene as well as year round deworming and parasite control. Check with your veterinarian!
The Dog Ate My Passport!
A Wisconsin teenager’s summer trip to Europe was ruined by the family’s golden retriever. Sunshine the dog took a couple of bites out of the corners of Jon Meier’s passport. The customs guys at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport didn’t have a problem with the “chewed document” but it didn’t fly with the feds in Miami. Officials there wouldn’t accept Meier’s passport and he missed his Spanish class’s trip to Peru.
When the Birth of Kittens is Good News!
There’s good news from biologists with Colorado’s Division of Wildlife - the birth of 10 lynx kittens this spring are the first found in the state since 2006. The A.P. says the seven male and three females are in five separate dens. The species was nearly wiped out by the early 1970's due to loss of habitat. Defenders of Wildlife estimates only about 1,000 lynxes live in the lower 48 states.
NEWS UPDATE Brought To You By Simple
Solution Natural Line Of Products
Animal Minute With Britt Savage
Man Wrestles Alligator - Do Not Do This at Home!
Brent Carey reacted to an alligator that jumped out of a lake and tried to drag his girlfriend’s dog back in the water, by jumping on the alligator’s back. Brent and his girlfriend were walking at a park in Charleston, South Carolina, when all of a sudden an alligator jumped out of the water and grabbed her dog Chance.
Without even thinking, Brent jumped on his back and began to fight the alligator so it would free the dog. The dog eventually broke free and ran to the shore. Brent received only minor injuries on his arms and legs during the scuttle.
Afterwards, Brent stated that it was probably not a good idea to ever jump on the back of an alligator.
A Soap Opera in the Barn!
Cathy Crosson, who runs a family farm that breeds alpacas, has filed a lawsuit against Likada Farms of Wayne, Ill., whom she hired to provide breeding of her prized female, Peruvian Lily of the Incas, with its sire, Snowmass Casanova.
Cathy states that Likada Farms improperly breed Peruvian Lily and now refuses to identify the offspring's father. A blood test on the young alpaca ruled out Snowmass Casanova as the father, and without the disclosure of the male’s name, Cathy said she couldn’t register or sell the young alpaca.
Where is Maury Povich when you need him?
Talk With Your Animals with Joy Turner
Is My Dog Happy?
Jan, a truck driver, speaks with her rescue dog Trixie, who is a black lab. Jan wants to know if she is happy and if she needs anything? Trixie rides the truck with her and will hide when she sees animals such as cows and horses. Trixie responds by saying she is well taken care of and is trying to get used to the truck, but she would really like to have more of the ability to stop sometimes and run around. As far as the other animals go, she is not sure what they are and is afraid of them. Perhaps her guardian can tell her what cows and horses are and that they will not cause her any harm.
http://www.talkwithyouranimals.com
Your Vet Questions Answered with Dr. Debbie
How Do You Keep Cat Away From Other Cat’s Special Diet?
This woman is blind and is having a hard time keeping her cats’ diets separate. Dr. Debbie states that providing a special diet for a cat is a lot easier than having to give a pill to a cat, and there are ways to keep the food separate; it just requires dedication, being a firm mom and maybe even earplugs from all of the complaints! You may have to separate the cats at feeding time, like putting one in a bathroom or one in the laundry room. You can also use a clicker, clicking it when you are putting the food down, so they understand that it is feeding time, as you can’t leave the food out all day.
10 Year Dog Is Allergic To Wool
This dog constantly licks the top of his paws and it was determined he is allergic to both wool and cotton. Unfortunately his home is full of wool carpets and cotton items. While it would be a hardship to rip up all of the carpet in the house, Dr. Debbie suggests getting rid of as many of the offending items that you can. She also suggests using hypersensitive therapy, which is basically an injection of those antigens that the pet is sensitive to, at a low level, which will eventually bring up the tolerance to those items.
New Dog Affects Personality Of Other Dog
The family dog’s personality changes when the new dog is around. They are both labs and both female. The dog is quiet and subdued, but she doesn’t snap or growl at the new dog. Right now they are separated, with the family dog riding with his truck driving guardian and the new dog at home. Dr. Debbie states that it is usually a problem when introducing two females. It sounds like the family dog is more subdued and submissive and the new dog is taking the dominant role. If this happens, don’t worry. It is something they have worked out together. Some of the signs to watch for are to see who has the dominant behaviors like a body block, with the dominant dog blocking food, a bed, etc. If the other dog just walks away, that is a good thing. That means that they are working it out and there is not going to be a struggle. You should also watch out for mounting behaviors. Sometimes female dogs will mount another female, displaying their dominance. If the newly adopted dog does the mounting and the other dog seems okay with it, and stays still and then walk away, the mounting dog will be the dominant one. Again, if there is no fighting between the dogs, you need to support this hierarchy and don’t push the old dog to be the dominant one. You can do this by feeding and greeting the dominant dog first.
Yorkie Has Collapsed Trachea
This 4-year-old Yorkie first started out with reverse sneezing, which eventually went away. But about a month ago she started “honking,” which may or may not be related to the reverse sneezing. The vet feels her trachea is starting to collapse, and gave her a cough depressant and anti-anxiety medication. Her guardian is worried about over-medicating her. Dr. Debbie states that a collapsed trachea is a very likely cause of a cough. There are no cures for a collapsed trachea, but the number one thing you can do is to keep the dog at an ideal weight, which can eliminate the need for some medications. If you are a smoker, now is a good time to quit, as the smoke can irritate the trachea in your dog. But first, it should be diagnosed with a chest x-ray and a blood panel, as there are other conditions, which can cause coughing.
Listen to the entire Podcast of this show (#502)
Broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and Podcast Versions Only.
Listen to Animal Radio® - Go to the launch page
Copyright 2009 All Rights Reserved Animal Radio Network LLC
