Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Helping Pets Survive Fires

Did you know that somewhere between 40,000 and 150,000 pets die in fires every year. I didn't, but given pet behavior, I'd be surprised if the actual number was closer to the high end. According to fire fighters, pets tend to hide when fire strikes which makes saving their lives that much more difficult. 

That job just got a little easier thanks to The Invisible Fence Company and a program called "Project Breathe". Invisible Fence is donating pet oxygen masks to fire houses around the country. In fact, they've given out over 1600 kits to fire houses around the country so far. Each kit contains a small, medium and large mask and the kit is valued at $60.

Back From Our Backpacking Trip with Miles

Just got back yesterday from our seven day backpacking trip with Miles in the incredibly beautiful Gila Wilderness. We are so lucky to have this area virtually in our back yard. Even if you live back East you should consider a visit if you love the back country. Drop a few bucks with our local merchants on the way in.

There are so many memories from the trip it's hard to pick one to get started with. Miles had a wonderful time of course. There is nothing quite like the unfettered freedom of the wilderness for a dog like Miles. We were fortunate to have had some test runs with him and we used all that learning to good advantage.

A Holistic Approach to Nutrition

I've done a series of posts over on the pet insurance blog about a new approach to nutrition being advocated by the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). The latter group is made of of board certified Veterinary Nutrition specialists.

 Most ACVN members practice at university teaching hospitals at Veterinary colleges around the country. Others work in specialty referral practices or for pet food companies helping formulate and develop new diets. Purina has several on staff and consulting arrangements with many more around the country and the world.

Save Our Pets in the Gulf

I've written about this on BlogPaws, but I wanted to share it here, also. We cannot discuss it enough. We cannot speak of it enough. We must hold BP accountable on all counts - not only for the oil in the gulf, not only for ruining the livelihoods of so many Americans, but also, for causing the drastic increase in abandoned pets.

I'm not talking about pets left by the roadside, though my heart goes out to them with great love! I'm talking about pets surrendered at shelters because their pet parents can no longer care for them, or feed them!

Lyme Disease in Dogs

If you live in certain parts of the country you are undoubtedly aware of Lyme disease.

Lyme disease affects both people and pets and can have serious health consequences for both. If you live in the Northeast or upper Midwest you live in what is called a Lyme disease endemic area (see map).

That means your chances of coming into contact with a tick that carries the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease is pretty darn good. The chances that your dog will encounter an infected tick is even better, considering how they like to play in the woods and run through the brush where ticks hang out.

Be the Change for Pets at BlogPaws

Regular readers know that I'm a co-founder of BlogPaws, along with Tom, my business partner and husband, and Caroline, the founder of Romeo the Cat. BlogPaws exists to bring pet bloggers together - for learning, community and fun.

As we all learn more about ourselves and each other, we discover the true value of friendship. Many BlogPaws' friendships began online, via blogs and twitter and facebook, and continued IRL (in real life) at the first ever pet blogger conference, back in April.

Now, we are connecting to each other even more - all to help make a change in the world.

Exercising Your Dog: A Scratchings & Sniffings PodCast

Today, Dr. Larry and Dr. Grace share some insight into the best ways to exercise with your dog. Including the ever favorite frisbee toss and the "hey, let's run up and down the stairs!" (that's for rainy days...)

Seems simple enough, but remember - your dog isn't MY dog. And My dog isn't...my neighbors dog. All dogs are not built alike. I loved the stories Dr Grace and Dr Larry told in this Scratchings and Sniffings Out Loud podcast.

And, I learned some interesting facts. I'm betting you will, too.

Banning Pet Stores

I posted on this over at BlogPaws but thought I'd add some thoughts here, also.

Some cities in America are banning pet stores to save puppys and kittens from the ordeal of being bred just to go to a pet store. The idea is that by banning pet stores outright, the puppy mills and kitten factories will go out of business. They will have no where to market their "wares".

Who believes this? Apparently, lots of people. People in Florida, New Mexico, Missouri and other states, are working to put pet stores out of business, on the theory that no more pet stores, no more puppy mills and no more kitten factories.

Figuring Out How Much To Feed Your Pet

In the last post, I went through a convoluted process tying to figure out how much food to take for Miles on our upcoming backpacking trip. It can be tricky, especially when you consider the tremendous variation in caloric need created by different activity levels.

For most people it should be easier.

There are basically two ways to arrive at a starting point for how much to feed a pet. I say starting point because there can be significant variation in caloric need even in dogs and cats of similar weight and activity levels. That's important because most problems with excess weight happen because an owner feeds slightly more than a dog or cat needs over a prolonged period of time. As few a 15 extra calories a day over a year can add up to several excess pounds.

Wow, This is Cool

You've got to see this video on Oscar the cat and his amazing surgery. My Facebook pal, Patrick, sent it to me and it totally made my day.

Oscar had an unfortunate run in with a farm implement and lost both his hind feet in the process. His owner took him in to his Veterinarian who referred him to Dr Noel Fitzpatrick; star of a British TV show called the Bionic Vet.