Merry Christmas!

Bella wishes you the best for the holiday season!

Christmas Chews

I come from an extended family of pet gift givers. In fact, I live in a neighborhood of dog owners who give other dogs a gift. Not everyone is as picky as I about what Bella is allowed to eat, so it is important to remain diplomatic while sometimes disposing of the treat after the fact.

What won't I give her?

• Anything that says "Made in China." I'm sorry, but too many horror stories have come from there regarding contaminants in human food that there is no reason to believe a pet toy would be higher quality. 
• Any toy that does not say where it's made. There is no reason to believe anything made here is better, but if it says made in the USA, I'm more of a believer. If it gives no place of origin, I am highly skeptical.
• Any toy of a vibrant, unnatural color where the smell is the most prominent thing about it. (This does not include disgusting, but obviously tasty, bully sticks.) What makes it smell like that?
• Any toy that is soft or has loose, easy-to-swallow bits. Bella is too vigorous a chewer to waste the money or risk the hazard.
• Rope toys with lots of color. I know some will be ingested so what dye did they use?
• Raw hide chews. This has been because of choking, but then I read this article in Bark. (I really should buy stock in that magazine. I love it!) If I could make the screeching sound here of tires squealing to a stop, I would. The author's description of how chews are made is enough to stop anyone from ever buying a raw hide chew again.

I quote from the magazine article:

Other poisonous residues that may show up in rawhide include arsenic and formaldehyde. Even dog skin is a possibility. An ongoing investigation of the fur trade by Humane Society International, an arm of the HSUS, resulted in this information, as listed on their website: “In a particularly grisly twist, the skins of brutally slaughtered dogs in Thailand are mixed with other bits of skin to produce rawhide chew toys for pet dogs. Manufacturers told investigators that these chew toys are regularly exported to and sold in U.S. stores.”

I'm sure there are toys that I give Bella that are far from perfect, that do contain dyes that aren't good, but I do try to find out where it is made and of what. In fact, I am almost more careful with what she gets, because I know some of it will be eaten, no matter how closely I monitor.

What I don't feel badly about is letting the gift giver know what can go into the manufacturing of a raw hide chew. It isn't good for any dog.

The Beauty of Aging Dogs

Bella is not an old dog, she's a young pup of two and a half years. Her best dog buddies, however, are mature. Boone is six and Amber, ten. Although they are nice to Bella, her energy can be a bit overwhelming for them. This Christmas, Amber and her owner will be joining us. Bella's half-sister, Molly, a young girl of three who is "mature" by nature, will also be there. There is a chance our in-laws' in-law's dog will be joining us also. If that's the case, he is younger than Bella. I'm anticipating a packed house with a fair amount of chaos.

Amber, the matriarch, and Molly, the mellow, will be the calm in the storm. There is something quite magnificent about an older dog. They know the rules; they are tried and true. Their lovely, graying muzzles exemplify their inherent dignity. They ask very little of your time, but never shirk their duty to greet you, follow you, or lend their head for stress-reducing pats.

Bella's best buddy, Amber.

Our first dog Suzie, was a two-year old pound-puppy  when she came home with me. She wasn't a big dog; at her heaviest she was only a hair over 45 pounds. At the time, dog food had not progressed in "healthfulness" to the extent it has today, but I tried to feed her well and she certainly got plenty of exercise. Perhaps it was her small size and good genetics, but Suzy was mountain biking with us up until she was 14 and even joined us on short rides for two more years. At 16, she was content to limit her activities to non-strenuous hikes and for two more years, small walks. Suz made it to 18. What a blessing she was! She will always have a special part in my heart reserved just for her.

Miss Lucy, my poor sick hound dog, barely crested 11. Even though she was a handful, I felt quite deprived that her time with us was so short. My fingers are so crossed that Bella makes a Guinness record for longevity.

There are two Internet links I want to share with you about old dogs. This one is from Bark magazine about a little, bitty mutt named Betsy who celebrated her 21st birthday back in August. A legal drinker! You go, Betsy-girl! I hope she's still with us; how awesome she's made it so long!

The other site is from the Daily Mail out of England and features some of the search and rescue dogs from 9/11 that are still with us. Look at the pictures. What lovely old faces! If you have an old hound, how lucky you are! If you've adopted an older dog, three cheers to you! Let their loyalty and love bring out the best in you.

"Let's Take the Long Way Home"

"Let's Take the Long Way Home" is a short memoir by Gail Caldwell about her friendship with another writer, Caroline Knapp. It's a sad and tender story about friendship, love and loss. The two women meet through a dog trainer, their love for their young dogs providing the first bond, their mutual respect and admiration for each other cementing it. I had read two of Knapp's other books, "Drinking: A Love Story" and Pack of Two" earlier, so knew a little bit about Caroline going into this story. The book makes you want to love up your pup and hug those friends who know you inside and out, and love you unconditionally.

So my advice is to go kiss your pup and call your best girl friend and let her know how much you love her. No dog gets enough loving and friends rarely hear how important they are, though they may know it intuitively. In the scheme of things, life is just too short.

Introverts as Pet Owners

A friend sent me this link regarding introverts. My friend is a bonafied introvert, not anti-social, just not chatty; she does not need, in fact, cannot be, with people constantly. According to the article, I'd classify myself as a border-line case. I do not need, nor do I desire, to be with people all the time. I can be chatty, but only with certain people. My truly close friends can be counted on two hands. In fact, I find if I am around crowds (even people I love) too often or for too long, the need for some "away time" to regroup is not only a powerful urge, but an absolute necessity.

My friend spends much of her time with her horse. I spend lots of time with my dog. It is quiet, satisfying and rarely depleting. I find I can diffuse, what for me would eventually become the sapping energy of crowds, by focusing on Bella, by making a virtual cocoon with just the two of us. Bella is fine in crowds and around other animals, but even for her it can sometimes prove too much and she becomes overly stimulated and a bit manic. With our previous dog, Lucy, and her anger management issues, time with her spent in crowds was emotionally exhausting for both of us.

This makes me wonder if many pet owners tend towards being introverts? I often hear dog owners say they like dogs better than people and prefer time spent with their dog(s), more than socializing with their own kind. My friend says this is true of horse people too. Neither my friend nor I exclusively prefer our pet over people...though sometimes their quiet personalities are wonderful!

I took a very quick, unscientific look on the Internet and found several references to a study done by Sam Gosling, a psychologist at the University of Texas, who with a graduate student, conducted a web-based survey of over 4,500 people to discover if they were "dog" people or "cat" people and what that might mean. It certainly didn't bear me out. In the article I read by Stanley Coren, PhD, in Psychology Today, he states the results of Gosling's study this way:

The results showed that dog people were generally about 15 percent more extroverted and 13 percent more agreeable, both of which dimensions are associated with social orientation. In addition dog people were 11 percent more conscientious than cat people. Conscientiousness involves is a tendency to show self-discipline, to complete tasks and aim for achievement. The trait shows a preference for planned rather than spontaneous behavior.     

In comparison cat people were generally about 12 percent more neurotic, however they were also 11 percent more open than dog people. The openness trait involves a general appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience. People high on openness are more likely to hold unconventional beliefs while people with low scores on openness (dog people) tend to have more conventional, traditional interests.

In the same linked article, the author's own study of over 6000 individuals, Coren found:

According to my data, cat owners were one third more likely to live alone than dog owners and twice as likely to live in an apartment or flat. Being married, living in a house, and having children living in the home, are all factors that are more likely for dog owners than cat owners.

Turning to the personality profile of the person who owns only cats, we find a reasonable overlap with Gosling's recent findings. To begin with we find we find that people who own only cats tend to be relatively introverted (low on extroversion) and also reasonably cool (low in warmth or agreeableness) which is the pattern confirmed by the more recent data.

Hm-m. Next, I came across a blog entry cataloging what your dog's breed says about you. This is pure fun. As a Labrador owner, they were pretty spot-on about our life style. (Yes, yes, I know she's crossed with an Australian Shepherd, but that's a much smaller part of her personality.)

If your favorite dog breed is a Retriever or Spaniel (Labradors, Goldens, Labradoodles, American Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, etc) then your personality traits are:

• Family-focused
• Fun-loving and social
• Easygoing
• Active lifestyle
• Positive perspective, with an “open door” policy at home

Now that I've blown any possibility of connecting the dots between pet owners and introverts asunder, I ask you. What's your take on this?

Indestructible Dog Toys—Do They Exist?

I was chatting with a friend today about dog toys. Remember my post last December about the wonderful customer reward we received from our dog food store? My friend now shops there and we were discussing this year's goody bag which included a plush toy. Her dog, a lovely, sedate boy of six, has been carrying his toy around the house for the past two weeks. Bella and I picked up our bag yesterday. My lovely, energetic girl of two and a half, eviscerated, decapitated and delimbed hers within ten minutes. So I was lamenting with my friend that the amount of money I've thrown at toys is depressing as Bella destroys them so rapidly. Truly, if something lasts a week, I am thrilled.

Bella and the short lived Mr. Leopard.

I have been very interested in getting her a Nina Ottoson toy but they are just too expensive to have Bella destroy in a sitting. Treat filled toys my other dogs "worked" to get their food reward; Bella just chews through. There is no game involved other than the direct route to the reward.

I have given her Tuffys before (not so plush, plush toys) and those do last nearly a week as long as I get her an "8" or higher on the chew scale. I've read about some other plush toys called Fluff and Tuff that claim they are nearly indestructible, but they aren't available here. So I was quite thrilled when one of the clerks at the pet food store told me about Bionics. Again, it's a treat toy. Their selling schtick is if your dog destroys it, they'll send you another one for free. If your dog destroys the replacement, your dog becomes a product tester. This could mean toys for life! And, no sooner did the marketing ploy suck me into buying one, but I read about Goughnuts which has a similar promise.

This is music to my ears and a jingle in my pocket. Could there actually be a toy Bella can't destroy? The verdict is out. I'll report back on what we discover. Now tell me, have you discovered a chew-proof toy yet?

Doggie Factoids

I found this site via City Dog/Country Dog. It's comically illustrated factoids about dog anatomy versus ours. How cool is this? What a great teaching tool to explore with children!

Perhaps one of the more enlightening pieces of information was the fact that dogs only have 1700 taste buds clustered around the tip of their tongue compared to our 10,000 that are all over our tongue (and even on the insides of our cheeks!). This could explain some of dogs—ahem!—less desirable food choices. Scat, anyone?

PTSD in Dogs

I came across this article today in the local paper. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in dogs is now officially recognized, thank heavens. It is wonderful to read that the military is helping the dogs that have been traumatized in a combat zone learn to cope.

Those of us who have picked up "pound puppies" know that it isn't just the military life that can traumatize a dog. My Lucy was a perfect example of a dog where something had occurred in her life to make her perpetually fearful. Bangs of any kind (among a myriad of other things) set her off. For example, we couldn't even go near a trail that ran behind a high school sports stadium where they used a gun-like sound to start a race. She was absolutely petrified of the place—and any percussive noises.

I think this speaks highly of positive training for affected pups. For dogs who live in fear, gentle training hopefully can help them deal with those things in their life that make them miserable. There is a local dog training facility where the owner has created a training called BAT (behavior adjustment training) that helps dogs control their response (lunging, barking, growling) to a threatening environment. Like the military's counter-conditioning, BAT training uses a similar approach to desensitize the dog.

FOOTNOTE: Here's another post on PTSD in dogs you might want to read:  Yes Dogs Really Do Get PTSD

Giving that Final Love—The Compassion Program

My friends tease me how at the mere mention of a sweet dog story, I well up. If I was an actress, this would be my method for bringing on the tears. Yet I can't help it. Dog devotion is powerful.

I came across this story this morning and barely began reading before tearing started. These wonderful people volunteer in a Manhattan animal shelter to be with dogs the night before they are euthanized—to give them a warm touch, walks, treats and love at the end of their lives. My hat goes off to the shelter employees and volunteers who thought up this program and continue it. I don't think I'd be able to do it without crying and further stressing the animals. But oh! I do appreciate the individuals who give this care so freely!

NOTE: And now, more from Bark Magazine (my absolutely favorite read)! This story is about the selfless volunteers who have been entering the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to remove or feed (if the animals must stay) for the abandoned pets. These are some amazing people!