Chimps with Wolves

This week’s Doggie Headlines:

Polluting pets: the devastating impact of man’s best friend
According to a new study, dogs are worse for the environment than cars. The study was conducted by New Zealanders Robert and Brenda Vale. Their conclusion was a medium sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) — around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4×4 driving 6,200 miles a year, including energy to build the car. The results were confirmed by another scientist who used his own data.

Personally, I wish I was only driving 6,200 miles a year. I’m probably twice that amount (sadly, but bills must be paid), so the disparity between both carbon footprints is much smaller. Also, I think the scientists are looking at it the wrong way. A car is a tool of people and should be looked more as a piece of man’s carbon footprint instead of being compared to a pet… and man’s carbon footprint is much higher than your standard canine. Still, it’s an interesting story and study.

Owner responsibility, not the breed, is key to dogs’ actions
Many people blame the breed when a dog acts up or gets destructive. No breed knows this better than the Pit Bull, which gets a bad reputation for being “aggressive” and “dangerous”, and are constantly being singled out in breed-specific legislation. It’s truly unfair and this column is great at disproving the bad rep Pit Bulls get, especially of late.

Things to know when getting a new pet
With the holiday season comes a wave of pets as gifts. And depending on the motivation and planning put into it, it could be a perfect fit or a bit a complete mismatch. Just like buying a car, it’s important to do your homework before adopting a dog. This column is short, but gives nice bullet points on things to know and consider before bringing home a new dog.

After the jump, are Labs the best choice for a family and a search-and-rescue Border Collie gets some online love after being quarantined.

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As useful as I hope you all find the “Keep your dog safe” posts and news items, I also want this blog to show the fun, amusing and light-hearted side of owning a dog, because, honestly, it’s moments like the videos below that we adopt a puppy from a breeder or save a dog from a rescue. Dogs find endless ways of entertaining us in the most parculiar ways.

Exhibit A: Bulldog puppy, Beatrix. She was about 11-12 weeks (I believe) when I took these videos a month ago, so she’s half the size she is now, but just as fiesty.

Breatrix takes a break from playing, finds interesting place to take a nap

After the jump, two more videos of Beatrix entertainment, including Beatrix showing skills she’s learned from her three cat siblings.

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This week’s Doggie Headlines:

Senate approves funding for service dogs for veterans
Last week, the US senate voted 57-35 in favor for funding of a bill that will provide service dogs to veterans with disabilities. This includes those with mental disabilities as well, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Nice to see our vets getting some canine help when needed.

Study: Dogs beat humans as walking buddies
According to a study from the University of Missouri, people who walk dogs are more consistent about it and are more physically fit than those who walk with people. Doesn’t sound too surprising as dog walking is a must for dog owners, but researchers were surprised when dog-walkers were walking faster at about the time people-walkers were making excuses for staying indoors instead. The NY Times posted a blog story, too.

BBC debuts dog training show
The BBC debuted a new dog training show, The One Man and His Dog. Specifically, this show deals with sheep herding dogs and four handlers vying for herding trophy. Not sure if this is going to be airing on any of the BBC-US stations, but if you’re in the UK or find it online, it sounds worth a glimpse.

After the jump, dogs train inmates (or is it the other way around?) and a two-legged dog gives Army vets a little faith.

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Well I just came inside from shoveling a foot of snow from the sidewalk, cleaned off the car and took Zach for a walk. Zach is a friend’s Lab/Border Collie mix (see the dog in the header-pic, stretching out and showing his dignities) that we’re watching until after Christmas while his owners are in warm, sunny Brazil celebrating their marriage. As much as I love Zach, somehow I think they got the better end of this bargain.

But I digress…

As Kate and I were walking Zach, he started whimpering and hobbling around, his back leg held high in the air like a horse about to give a quick kick. We stopped and I checked our his paw to see what was the matter. I didn’t find anything but it was clear what had happened. He walked through a salt patch.

Despite the pads on a dog’s paw and the fur surrounding it, dog’s paws are very sensitive and things like sand and melting salt — although great for breaking up ice and snow — is irritating to dog’s paws. Many times it’s easy to spot salt and sand patches and the best thing to do is just avoid that bit all together, but sometimes the particles are smaller or in some other way harder to see. To help in this instance, “doggie booties” can be used. Some are made of rubber, others cloth. An example of these is the Paw Tectors Paw Protector and Paws Dog Boots.

The Cocker Spaniel I owned as a kid didn’t take to having anything on her feet, so don’t be surprised if your dog isn’t a fan either. You might have to convince them that the boots are good and fun.

If you need to use salt yourself, I suggest getting some pet-friendly melting salt. You can get them at any pet store, so stock up.

If your dog does walk through some salt, you need to clean the paw out before it hurts your dog more. Not only is it very irritating, but it can also cut your dog and that’s a whole new world of trouble you want to avoid. Also, you don’t want your dog trying to get the salt out itself because if it does, it’s going to use it’s mouth (note: more trouble you want to avoid). So, if your dog does get salt or sand in its paw, clean it out but be gentle. I recommending using a warm, damp rag or towel to clear the pad and between the paw pads.

After the jump, get a quck rundown of other winter hazards to avoid with your pup.

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This past Sunday my girlfriend, Kate, and I were over a couple-friends’ house for the day. While the ladies were off sewing (they’re costumers), I was left with my buddy and their new puppy Beatrix, a cute, little twelve-week-old bulldog just getting her wrinkles and who, at times, acts like she’s one of their cats. She’s in the image on the blog’s header, trying to crawl into her owner’s nose… or giving unnecessary dog-to-human CPR. One of the two.

Anyways, they had just put up the Christmas tree and decorated it with lights, ornaments, etc. and had a nice, soft tree wrap underneath it — your classic-looking Christmas tree. And all was said-and-good for a couple of hours until Beatrix decided to go investigating, sniffing under the tree and then, just as quickly, she squatted and relieved herself on the wrap. We tried catching her but she was mostly empty by the time one of us could get under the tree. We took her out to let her finish, which she did, and brought her back inside and cleaned up the mess and deodorized the area. A little bit later she did it again. And then later on, the hat trick. Three times she decided to create a yuletide pool to float Christmas gifts on. After her third time, the owners decided to take the wrap from the tree and that was the last of Beatrix’s accidents. Luckily, she didn’t leave a yuletide log… ok, that was a bad joke…

The problem is fairly simple, really. She’s a very young puppy and is still being housetrained. She’s on a solid pee schedule and, from all accounts, doesn’t have many indoor accidents anymore. But, of course, we’re confusing Beatrix in a way. We’re bringing in the outside inside the house and with the plush tree wrap underneath that may feel like soft grass or snow, the smell, feel and instinct is just too much for little, ol’ Beatrix to handle. She smells the outdoors and down she squats.

We were all surprised to see Beatrix pee not once, but three times under the tree, but after a little thought, it makes sense. And I’m sure Beatrix isn’t the first pup to give into temptation. I gave it some thought on the ride home on ways to help your dog avoid going to the bathroom under the tree. Here’s what I came up with:
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