Loyalty - Italian Street Dog

When it comes to loyalty, dogs have the market cornered. Mutts and senior dogs have an edge because they may not be noticed for anything other than their unswerving loyalty to their masters – even if that master is dead. The most famous example of this loyalty was by Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye terrier. But the most heartbreaking example comes from an Italian MUTTnamed Fido. Remember that Fido really means “faithful one” -- not "dog."

With my surname being Messina, one cannot overlook this heart warming and,at the same time, heart breaking story about Fido an amazing Italian dog.

On a bitter night in 1941, bricklayer Carlo Soriani found Fido dying under a bridge. He took Fido home to his wife. They gave the mutt food and care until Fido was back in good health. Perhaps the only holistic integrated veterinary care used was none other than TLC. In a way still unknown to science, Fido and Carlo bonded. Fido would follow Carlo to the bus stop and wait at the stop for Carlo to come back from work and then the both would walk home.

But in December 30, 1943, Carlo never came home after boarding his usual morning bus. His factory was bombed and Carlo did not survive. Fido waited … and waited … and waited. He never stopped waiting. He refused to go home to where Carlo’s widow wanted him. Food and blankets were brought to the loyal dog. In 1957, the town gave their canine fixture a medal for loyalty. Fido would die a year later, still at the bus stop. His fourteen year wait was finally over.

It is still unknown why this one Italian dog waited in such an extraordinary way but is it any wonder that people remember dogs better than humans. But out of all the famous dogs, political dogs or humorous dogs offered up to memory, none was as loyal as an elderly mongrel named Fido.

Chief Presidential Issue This Year? Dogs!

While a number of spotlights have paid tribute to the influence of dogs in political campaigns, the voice of the Mutt needs to be heard. The 2012 presidential election is rife with political dog stories ranging from reports of Governor Mitt Romney’s vacation with his dog riding on the roof of the car (belch!)  to his adventure saving a drowning  

Seamus Romney

Scottish Terrier while on a jet ski (who knew?). President Obama too has received questions from dog owners during his campaigns regarding his support of shelter dogs and rescues. This political season, it is important for you and all other dog owners across the nation to speak up about the importance of supporting shelters, rescues and getting another Mutt into the White House. 

The Incumbent First Dog

Bo Obama

Bo, the First Dog of the United States and close advisor to President Obama, is a Portuguese Water Dog. President Obama had originally intended on getting a dog from a shelter, however he cited his daughter’s medical struggles with allergies as reason for finding a hypoallergenic breed. At the time of his inauguration, President Obama expressed a kinship with Mutts along with his interest in shelter dogs stating that “a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me.” Many dog shelter organizations have prompted President Obama to keep with his word about adopting a dog and educated him on the fact that he could find a sheltered mutt suitable for his daughter’s health needs. In the meantime, the president’s family has been giving financial support to shelter organizations (yea!).

The Kennedy Mutts

Pushinka and Pupniks

Bo was given to President Obama by the Kennedy family. It was John F. Kennedy that brought Mutts into the White House by adding Pushinka and Wolf to his dog family and the former gave birth to a loving litter known as the pupniks. This was an important political metaphor as Pushinka was a gift from a Russian premier and pup of a Soviet space dog. By bringing in a Russian dog and breeding new pups with his own American dogs, Kennedy created a message of unity and kinship through the world’s love of animals. While most presidents have elected to bring home traditional breeds to the White House it is time for another Mutt to represent the country.


Training Presidents to Make a Statement

Presidential candidates strive to listen to their voters. The political dogs of America and you, their owners, must voice the importance of helping rescues and providing for shelter dogs. America is a country of dog lovers and if a president can make a valiant effort to show care towards senior dogs, rescues, and Mutts then the general public will be inspired to follow suit.  More on first dogs here.

This post represents Reba’s personal opinion but we encourage all pet owners to continue to support rescues and ban puppy mills no matter what the breed may be.

What We're Learning from the "Wet Dog Shake"

Dogs definitely have a distinctive way of getting rid of excess water from their coats. We've all seen it. Large or small, mutt or purebred, when a dog comes bounding out of a lake after a swim or a fetch, they all do a version of the "wet dog shake."

The wet dog shake is nothing new, and we've all enjoyed watching it (preferably from a distance!) But what is new is that recently scientists and engineers have taken an interest in this iconic dog activity. Why? It turns out that the wet dog shake embodies unique physical motions that could help in creating technological advances in how we clean sensitive, hard to reach instruments.

High speed cameras are being used to study the wet dog shake. Researchers from Georgia Tech have determined that dogs can shake off about 70% of the water from their saturated fur in about four seconds. The main reason for this is their loose-hanging skin. While a dog's spine can only rotate about 30 degrees in either direction, the loose-hanging skin of the typical canine can swing a full 90 degrees each way. The result is three times the velocity, three times the amplitude and nine times the centrifugal force of just shaking the backbone alone.

Scientists believe that dogs evolved to have loose skin in part because of the way it helps them dry off quickly. Wet fur causes a drop in body temperature, and it requires a lot of energy for a dog to reheat itself. Without the ability to shake off most of the water right away, as much as 20% of the daily dog's caloric intake would be depleted helping the dog dry and reheat.

Researchers believe that the information gleaned from the wet dog shake could have many practical applications. It could lead to more efficient cleaning and drying processes for sensitive instruments such as solar panels, the insides of electronic devices, optical devices and even equipment in outer space.

So the next time your mutt does the wet dog shake (video) right next to you, try not to get too annoyed. He's helping us more than you realized!

Pet First Aid Awareness Month is almost over.

April has been Pet First Aid Awareness Month. As the last few days of April wind down we wanted to remind you that having pet first aid tools at your fingertips can be the difference between panic on your part to actually saving your pet in an emergency. Here are a couple of things you may not have yet. For mutts and all pets!

There is an App for everything right? Yes there is and one is a PetTech Pet Saver App for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and Android is here and it's only $4.99. While not a replacement for your Vet or a Vet Tech, this app covers things like what to do in emergency situations, heat stroke, snake bites, CPR, choking, shock, bleeding protocols, how to restrain and muzzle, how to transport an injured pet, the snout-to-tail assessment and more with instruction and video.

Another must have tool is a Pet First Aid Kit. We have one in our car and another in our house. We like the Wag 'n Enterprises first aid kits. They come in two sizes (Well Fed and Skinny) and a portion of their sales goes to donating specially made Pet Oxygen Masks (02 Fur Life®) to Fire Departments. In the interest of full disclosure, Wag'N Enterprises is a friend of ours located right here in Herndon, VA. 

If you think this post is interesting,  Reba would be barkin’ happy if you would share it on Facebook, Twitter, Stumble or Pinterest. It helps her gain more followers for her blog.

Don't forget to enter my UpCountry Inc Contest and/or my The Honest Kitchen Giveaway at the top of the page!

Dogs of the Titanic - the Survivors!

The Titanic. Next week is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. We've heard a lot about human survivors over the years yet little is known about another group of survivors from this ship, the Dogs of the Titanic. A dozen dogs were aboard (photo). We never knew about this until today when we found this article about 3 survivors. Two were Pomeranians and the third was a Pekinese, all tiny dogs so people probably didn't notice that they were being taken aboard the lifeboats.

This little Mutt feels so sad about the dogs who perished. We thought you would find this information interesting as it includes a mama Cat with a possible premonition. The entire article here.

Dementia in Senior Dogs; What We Do to Drive Veterinarians NUTS!

Guest Blogger: Linda Messina

Today we're going to post about Senior Dogs with Dementia. It's a subject I've been researching over the last couple of weeks because Reba is starting to show signs that she's made a decision to totally ignore me forever or she can't hear me or she's zoned out and is sleeping standing up.  I find that Reba is showing signs of dementia. She's pushing age 17 and these things are expected. It's how we handle them that matter.

In my research I found an article by Dr. Patty Khuly from Miami FL who has some very impressive degrees from some very impressive schools. In the article Dr. Khuly talkes about ways to deal with the effects of the disease. The symptons with an * by them are the things that Reba is showing so far.

Dementia in Senior Dogs: 6 Ways to Deal With the Effects

Confusion, disorientation, dogzheimers. Call it what you will, but canine dementia (known clinically as canine cognitive dysfunction) can be a serious problem. Just like humans, dogs can suffer from many of the same symptoms:

• Sleep-wake cycle disturbances* 

• Generalized anxiety 

• Lower threshold for aggression 

• Decreased activity levels* 

• Inappropriate vocalization (howling, barking or whining) 

• Repetitive behaviors (pacing)*

• Elimination disorders 

• Staring at walls* 

• Fewer social interactions 

• Disorientation (getting “lost” in the house
• Nipping and biting* (not mentioned in the article but something Reba has started doing over the last couple of months. I think it may have to do with her losing her peripheral vision.

Getting old and loopy doesn’t have to be as stressful as all that — not for dogs lucky enough to be cared for by owners willing to learn what it takes to mitigate the effects of dementia as they age.

To read how to mitigate the effects, in six mostly simple steps, click here:

Are you experiencing any of these symptoms with your furbaby?

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While we were checking Dr. Khuly out we noticed another article she's written about what us humans do to drive Vets nuts!

She starts out admitting that It’s a tough subject to tackle. She admits that veterinarians do plenty of annoying things, too. But this particular post is all about us, the pet parent. Personally my jaw dropped at some of these things people have done. So without any further hedging, let us launch into the most annoying things pet owners do here.  Let us know what you think.
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Don't forget to enter the Up Country Inc Contest at the top of our page. DRAWING on the 31ST!

Natural Pet Food - What does it mean and is it really better?

Some of you know that when I was a mere pup of 13 years old, my Mommy took me off a high end food Veterinarians sell and started me on the road to a raw diet. The 2 years previous to the diet change involved lots of time spent with knowledgeable self-taught friends dragging Mommy kicking and screaming to their way of thinking. Eventually it started to make sense and she spent more time with owners of independent pet shops learning about what was really in the food I had been eating. Grains, chicken parts (what parts I asked. Reba you really don't want to know they said). Mommy didn't like that I was eating ground up chicken talons and beaks not to mention other undesirable less than nutritious fare. So we were on the road to raw** foods and holistic supplements. 

It seems today that the big box pet stores are jumping on the bandwagon and offering all kinds of natural foods. When it comes to pet food, the options are almost as varied as people food. "Natural food" is a growing trend among our furry friends, so we wanted to talk about what does a natural diet actually entail?

For Veterinarian Doctor James Bianco*, it's a no-brainer. We found Dr. Bianco, whose practice is Ardmore Animal Hospital in Pennsylvania. He is often called on to speak about pet health issues and diet. "They (natural foods) are worth their money, absolutely. They're worth their money because they promote healthy skin and healthy coat, they promote a healthy immune system," said Dr.Bianco.

Natural food will say "natural" on the packaging, but that isn't the only word you will want to look for. You must look at the ingredients. "The first things you look at, the type of meat. Is it a meal, is it a meat by-product, or do you have corn or soy as a first ingredient. What you want to see is meat," said Bianco.  One of the first things Mommy and I did was cut out all grains and I give a puppy up  recommendation that you stay away from grains of any kind. Dogs are carnivores. We don't forge around in wheat or corn fields in the wild. We go for the nutritious stuff.... meat, tripe, salmon, rabbit, chicken and beef hearts, venison, pumpkin, carrots, sardines, fruits, nutritious yummy foods!

National pet store chains are growing their inventory and it can be confusing. Many have a section devoted to natural options, but Doctor Bianco recommends the mom and pop shops in your neighborhood. "Personally, I feel that going to the smaller, non-national chain type stores is where you're going to get your best information. Many times when you have the owner there, they're very knowledgeable," said Bianco.

We could not MUTTer more in agreement. The small independent shops are way ahead of the game and they understand what 'natural' means. They will steer you in the right direction for your dog. In fact, most of them will want to meet your dog to determine the best food for him or her.

And that's where Food Energetics comes in. When we went to a small independent store where we spend the summer, we were amazed when the owner looked at my gums and said "Oh, Reba is a warm dog she has red tongue and gums". She asked my Mommy if I liked to sleep snuggled under covers or on a cool spot on the floor. I always go for whatever is going to make my tummy cool. That short evaluation (more came later and continues to this day) gave her the information she needed to steer my Mommy to food for warm dogs. I should not eat what cool dogs eat. She actually started me out on Nature's Logic Duck and Salmon and I thought I died and went over the bridge! BOL!

So Food Energetics is a subject I'll talk about in my Blog next week. It's fascinating stuff. You don't have to buy into it but all I can tell you is that it has worked for me and within 3 to 4 weeks of being on the raw diet my Mommy could tell a big difference in me. She said I was like a different dog. 

But isn't this an expensive undertaking Reba? Well depending on the brand or if you make it at home yourself it can cost anywhere from $30 to $100 a month but there will be may be some hidden money savers. 

Your dog will eat a smaller quantity of food, feed him the same amount you are feeding now and he will gain weight. Because there is no filler in these foods our poop is much smaller and it doesn't smell and it's perfectly formed and easy for the pawrents to pick up and you just might have fewer trips to the vet.

"As veterinarians, we see dogs on the more premium diets with healthier immune systems, healthier coats, less gastrointestinal problems," said Dr. Bianco. Overall, pet lovers say that they can see a difference.

FYI - a word worth writing down: AAFCO, it's the pet version of the FDA.

Next week:  Food Energetics for pets.

* Ardmore Animal Hospital has provided compassionate care and veterinary services since 1937 for pets in Ardmore as well as the Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Radnor, Wynnewood, and Narbeth areas. Currently owned and operated by veterinarian Dr. Bianco since 1989, our veterinary hospital caters to the health and well-being for dogs, cats and certain pocket pets including guinea pigs, ferrets, rabbits and hamsters.

**Cavet: Raw does not necessarily mean raw out of the freezer or fresh not cooked raw although many people do it that way. There is air dried raw and other raw presentations. Raw home prepared meals are often referred to as the Canine Cancer Diet.

The WINNER for January is . . .

The winner for January is Coffeedog. The blog is Coffeemeister. Drop by and read about Bailey and her Mom and their coffee escapades.

Bailey and Mom, write to Reba at rebamjr@yahoo.com.  Put in subject "I'm the January winner"! Reba will write back with instructions on how to choose your prize!

Jump on in and join a bunch of us on the Saturday Blog Hop!

Dog Gone Genetics...

Did you know these two are closely related?

As many of you know, I am a former MUTT. When my female human had my DNA done a few years ago, they said I was so far in the mix that not one breed stood out. They saw traces of Akita, Chow Chow, Poodle and ShihTzu. In person most humans think I'm a Terrier of some sort. In fact several actually asked if I'm a Giant Westie! BOL! The DNA people didn't see any Terrier! Huh? WTD (What the dog)? So that's why I'm a former mutt. Mom and I created the first all encompassing breed for mutts. I am a part of a breed!  I'm a GenChan®! That's short for the genetically challenged dog and I certainly am !

So I saw this article on NPR and it pretty much amazed me. It says that us dogs, like the two in the photo, are not far apart genetically at all. Us dogs were all created from a very few dogs from waaaaay back when.  Well whoever they were let's toast to our ancestors big or small with good or bad breath! BOL!

While you're here reading, make sure you are entered into my monthly contest to win an UpCountry Collar or Lead of your choice! Just go to the top of my blog and enter your email address.

Animal Domestication, Foxes and Me - See for yourself!

Fox or Me?

More than one person has told my Mom that I look like a Fox from the back!  Well, here's a fascinating story from National Geographic. It turns out that some researchers tried to compress 15,000 years of breeding from foxes to dogs in just a few years, and they succeeded. In only nine generations they were able to breed a fox that was friendly to humans.

That's interesting enough, but it gets better. Here's a quote from the story:

Selecting which foxes to breed based solely on how well they got along with humans seemed to alter their physical appearance along with their dispositions. After only nine generations, the researchers recorded fox kits born with floppier ears. Piebald patterns appeared on their coats. By this time the foxes were already whining and wagging their tails in response to a human presence, behaviors never seen in wild foxes.

We just think that's amazing. The only thing they were breeding for was friendliness to humans, and they got floppy ears and coats that were more of a mixture instead of being all uniform.

Fox

Me

So may be there is something to what those researchers came up with.  There's a little fox in all of us MUTTS!  Nothin' wrong with being Foxy right? BOL!  Why don't you send pictures of your foxy tails to  me. I'll post them on my blog and we can vote on the tail that looks most like a fox and the winner will win a new foxy collar from Up Country! The Foxy Tail drawing will run from Sept 3 thru Sept 10th.  Send your Foxy Tails to customerservice@MyGenChan.com.  Photo needs to be taken from the posterior position and be clear. Be sure to include your name and email address so we can contact you!