Do Dogs Think?

Ever wondered what your dog thought about something or even how they feel about you?  Pretty soon, we may be able to find out.  I found this article from The New York Times to be fascinating.  It’s titled Dogs Are People, Too.  The author tells about a study by Emory University using MRI’s to map a dog’s brain activity to see how they feel about smells, people, and other animals. 

For this study dogs were trained to hold still in an MRI without being sedated.  Different smells, sounds, and images were used to map how the dog’s brain reacted to various stimuli.  All the reactions were very similar to human reactions.  The article states “by using the M.R.I. to push away the limitations of behaviorism, we can no longer hide from the evidence. Dogs, and probably many other animals (especially our closest primate relatives), seem to have emotions just like us. And this means we must reconsider their treatment as property.”  This proves what I have always believed…dogs are sentient beings and should be treated as such.

The Des Moines Register just ran this story about the study mentioned above and one for a study that believes cats get stressed out when you pet them.  This study does not make cat lovers very happy.  This study was performed by three different universities in England, Brazil, and Austria and measured stress hormones produce by cats under various conditions.  The study goes so far as to say that cats who tolerate petting are the most stressed.

Now I don’t know about you, but my cat Merlin loved to be petted.  He would come up to me and butt my hand until I started petting him.  I will have to disagree with the findings of this study…at least where Merlin and a few other cats I know are concerned.  

I believe a cat’s reaction has a lot to do with their personality.  Some cats are loners and don’t really care for human contact.  We are their food source and that is pretty much it.  Different cats have different personalities, just like humans.  So to me, this also proves that cats are sentient beings and should be treated as such.

What do you think??  Really…let me know.  I would love to see how my readers react to these studies.

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri

It's Greek to Me

 

Did you ever wonder what all those letters after your vet’s name meant?  Dr. Jane Doe, DCVSMR.  Or the letters after a purebred registered dogs name means?  Fido, GrC, CGC.  I read this article from The Whole Dog Journal today and found it very helpful.

I did some more research and Pet MD has this article called Vet-Speak that I found very useful.  As you can imagine, with the rescue, we go to the vet…A Lot!!   This helped me decipher some of the paperwork we have received with the various dogs we take in.

 

 

As well as knowing our vets on a personal level because of our constant visits, we also go through a lot of medication.  This article from VetDepot will help you decipher the prescriptions you get from your vet. 

If you really want to confuse yourself, this link, from the University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine Library, will tell you about every vet abbreviation or acronym out there.  Wow are there a lot of them.  Talk about being Greek.  It's enought to make you feel like a ...

 

 

We love our vets, Scott and Jayne.  They are a married couple who run a joint practice.  We are very comfortable with them and they know us and our pups very well.  If it comes right down to it and you want to know what something means…just ask your vet.  They are more than willing to explain things to you. 

 

 

 

The more comfortable you are, the more comfortable your pet will be.  Never be afraid to ask a question when it comes to the care of your pet.

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri

Pet Sale....We Love Pet Sales

Hy-Vee is having their bi-annual Pet Sale this week.  We at the rescue Love pet sales.  We spend a small fortune on dogfood, toys, grooming supplies, etc…

Over the many years we have done rescue work, we’ve found the best food that works for our population is Purina One Lamb & Rice.  This is an exceptional sale price…and if you have a fuel saver card you could get an additional $3 off with the digital coupon.

 

 

They also have some of our pups favorite toys there at a reasonable price and this week if you buy two you get one free.  Our pups just went through the last batch I bought them so I am definitely stocking up.

 

 

Of couse with 10 pups in the sanctuary at this time we won’t be dressing them up, but if you did want to get a costume for your pet you can do so at Hy-Vee Direct.  Enter the code costume25 to get an additional 25% off your purchase price.  P.S…they do have human costumes there as well.  J

 

 

 

My favorite thing with this sale is the new reusable shopping bags they have.  Look...Look...you can personalize them.  :)

 

 

So…what are you going to stock up on?

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri

What Is Your Cat Saying To You?

 

Cats can be quite independent and communicate loud and clear with body language, but did you ever wonder what your cat was trying to tell you with just a look?  I found this article and thought it was quite interesting.

 

 

I also found a website called wikiHow that gives these instructions for communicating with your cat.  The illustrations crack me up.  Petfinder.com also has some great information on their page.  And here is a link from Wikipedia with some useful information. 

 

On a side note…I’ve been criticized for using Wikipedia as a resource.  However, I do find it to be fairly reliable.  I always check to see if my other sources agree with what Wikipedia says.  I also used Wikipedia a lot when I was in college, so even my college professors approved of it, as long as I could backup my research.  So…if I say I learned something in Wikipedia that is not true, let me know what it is and what your source is.  I’m always open to learning.

 

 

Now…back to my topic.  I used to be able to tell what kind of mood Merlin, my magic cat, was in just by looking at him.  If I was reading a book and he wanted my attention, he would come and sit on my chest so I could not see my book. If he was content with my reading, but just wanted attention, he could come lay on my thigh so I could still read, but pet him at the same time.  I could tell when he wanted to play by the way he walked up to me.  He would grab my wrist and lay on his side and I would spin him around on the living room floor.  He was truly my Magic Cat.

 

 

It’s amazing how you will be thinking about something, like me thinking about what I wanted to write about in this blog, and something will pop up that is absolutely perfect for what you were thinking about.  Case in point.  I’m writing a blog about communicating with your cat when this story popped up on my Facebook page.  How amazing is that?  A Seeing Eye Cat!!  Have any of you heard of anything like this before?  This is true devotion and an amazing ability for this cat to communicate with her owner.

 

 

So tell me…how does your cat communicate with you?

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri

Baby It's Hot Outside

Here in the Midwest, the mild weather we have been experiencing this summer is over.  Highs have been in the 90’s for a week and are forecast to be even higher this week.  Over 100º today.  Common sense states that you need to keep your pets indoors.  If you can’t keep them indoors, you need to keep them cool.  I did some research on products available to help keep your pets cool in this extra hot weather.  My research focused on dogs.

 

 

 

Cesar Millan gives some great tips to keep your dogs cool in the summer.  One even I didn’t know.  Dogs cool from the bottom up, so when you hose your dog down to cool them off, start at their feet and underbelly.  Instead of draping a wet towel over your dog’s back to cool them down, lay it on the floor and let your pup lay on it.  Or you could get a cooling mat for your pup.  Some are filled with water and put in a cool place for your put to lay on.  Some have inserts you can put in the in a fridge or freezer before putting in the mat. 

 

 

 

I’ve warned my readers about signs of heat stroke in your pets back in July.  What I have recently learned is that hot sidewalks and pavement are also dangerous for your pets.  I know when you think of doggie boots you think of winter, but these are also great for summer to protect your pets’ feet from burning on the hot pavement.  They even have Sandals.  J Think about when you walk outside on a sidewalk when the sun has been shinning on it all day on a 90+º day…in bare feet.  You do the Hot Feet Dance…right? 

 

 

 

I found Kong Easy Freeze Kits for frozen treats any pet would love.  Whenever I drop an ice cube at home it is fun to watch the puppies take turns chewing on it.  Sometimes they play Puppy Hockey skipping the ice cube all over the kitchen.  

 

 

 

 

I also found this Kumfy Koatz cooling harness from Kumfy Tailz.  Covers the dog’s core to help keep them cool.  Used with a coat it will also keep them warm in winter.

 

 

 

Then there is always the good old fashioned kiddie pool.  Put out a kiddie pool of water for your dogs to play in.  Remember to dump the pool when your pets are done playing to avoid getting any diseases.  This is also a great time for doggie baths…although my dogs may not agree with me.  They feel cooler when their coats are cleaned and well maintained.

 

 

 

So…tell me how you keep your dog cool in the hot summer weather?  Do you have a pet that is not a dog?  How do you keep them cool?

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri

Fun With Pets

I was reading this article today about funny dog behaviors.  The question about why dogs howl made me remember a funny thing I did a while back.  I was outside with the dogs.  I think we had about 15 back then.  I heard the coyotes yipping and howling.  One of my dogs started a little howl.  I thought it was too cute so I decided to have some fun.  I started howling.  Well pretty soon all of my dogs were howling.  I was laughing so hard.  We had a concert going between my dogs and the coyotes. I think my neighbors are still trying to figure out what was going on.  Fortunately, we live in the country and the nearest neighbor is about a quarter mile away.

 

Have you ever done anything funny with your pets?  I did a google search for funny pet stories and came across this link on Oprah’s web page.  Some very cute stories here.  All of the stories are very cute and funny.  The last two made me laugh out loud.  I can so see some of my dogs doing some of these.

 

My cat Merlin used to play with my husband.  Our living room and kitchen were separated by a hallway.  Merlin would wait around the corner in the living room for my husband to walk by.  He would leap out and wrap his front legs around my husband’s ankle.  My husband would then drag him through the living room. 

 

Do you have any funny pet stories??  Why not share them with us?  I would love to read them.

Be Well & Be Happy,

Pet~Pourri

Sad News and a Health Warning

Panama Red at the Rainbow Bridge

On Sunday (August 18^th) we lost a very special pup.  Our very dear friend and fellow rescuer Kathie (my readers may know her as Aunt Kat), adopted Panama Red from us in 2005.  She had come over to donate some items from a pup she had lost a few months before.  When she sat down on the bench, Panama came running and leaped into her lap.  It was love at first leap.  J  Because of this Kathie became a close and very dear friend and our best volunteer.  Eventually she was named to our Board of Directors.

 

Panama Red Knomb Transportation

Kathie notified us on Wednesday that Panama was very ill and was at the emergency vet.  I stopped in to visit with him and Kathie on Thursday and I was in shock.  He looked like he had aged 10 years since I last saw him.  Kathie told me they thought he had Leptospirosis (Lepto), a bacterial infection with a host of different names: mud fever, swamp fever, haemorrhagic jaundice, swineherd's disease, sewerman's flu. All are known as Leptospirosis.  I had never heard of this disease.  The emergency vet had taken some blood and sent it up to the ISU Vet School to confirm their diagnosis. 

 

Panama Red Rescue Ambasador

On Friday I stopped in again to visit and they had confirmed the diagnosis, but his kidney’s had stopped functioning.  They were giving him Lasix and antibiotics and said it could take 2-3 days to see improvement.  I worked all day Saturday so I didn’t have a chance to visit.  Early Sunday morning we received a frantic call from Kathie.  It wasn’t good.  My husband and I immediately rushed to the vet.  Panama’s kidneys had shut down and his liver was failing.  There was blood in his urine and fluid on his lungs.  Kathie made a very difficult decision to end Panama’s suffering.  We were there with Kathie as he left for the Rainbow Bridge.

 

Panama Red Visiting Hours

The purpose of this blog is to inform my readers about this insidious disease.  Leptospirosis (also known as Weil’s Disease) is a bacterial infection that can attack the liver and kidneys.  Your pets can get it from dirty water that has been contaminated with urine from infected animals (i.e. squirrels, raccoons, mice, etc.).  They can also get it from sniffing the urine of an infected animal. 

 

Panama Red Sick Puppy

There is a vaccination pets can be given for this, although there are risks with this as well and it only covers a few strains.  Lepto was prevalent many years ago and the vaccine was given regularly.  Then cases died off so it was not part of regular vaccinations.  Over the last several years there has been a comeback of this disease.  Humans can get this disease from their pets and wild animals.  As a matter of fact, Olympic athlete, Andy Holmes, died from this disease in October of 2010.

 

Panama Red and Hubby

If you leave a water bowl outside for your pets, make sure you clean it daily…or more often if it becomes dirty.  Vomiting, fever, failure to eat, reduced urine output, unusually dark or brown urine, and lethargy are indications of the disease.  For humans, the disease begins with flu like symptoms (headache, high fever, vomiting, muscle aches, etc…).  The incubation period is 4-14 days for humans and 2-20 days for animals. 

Life Cycle of Leptospirosis

A diagnosis of Lepto can be confirmed with a blood test.  Treatment includes quarantine, antibiotics, and dialysis.  If you or your pet are experiencing any of these, go to the doctor.  This is not something you can blow off till later or you feel better.

 

 

Be Well, Be Happy, & Be Safe,

Pet~Pourri