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Veterinary & Animal-related

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Food Guarding. Introduction Guarding possessions from humans or other animals is normal behavior for dogs. Wild animals who successfully protect their valuable resources—such as food, mates and living areas—are more likely to survive in the wild than those who don’t. However, we find the tendency to guard valued items undesirable in our domestic pets, especially when the behavior is directed toward people. Resource guarding in dogs can range from relatively benign behavior, like running away with a coveted item or growling at an approaching person, to full-blown aggression, such as biting or chasing a person away. Some dogs only direct resource guarding toward certain people, often strangers. In many cases, food guarding doesn’t need to be treated. However, if children live in a home with a resource-guarding dog, the situation becomes unacceptably risky.

An Ounce of Prevention With some dogs, treatment for food guarding can be tricky. The exercises described below are done in stages. Stage One Stage Two. Acupuncture Works! (Just as Well as Fake Acupuncture Anyway) | The SkeptVet. The evidence has been accumulating for some time that acupuncture is an elaborate and very potent placebo that can effectively make subjective symptoms better without actually influencing the underlying disease. I have written about a number of studies illustrating this (e.g. 1, 2), and a new one has recently been published. Rana S. Hinman; Paul McCrory; Marie Pirotta; et al. Acupuncture for Chronic Knee Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. This study compared “real” acupuncture using needles and lasers with sham laser acupuncture and a no treatment group.

Analyses showed neither needle nor laser acupuncture significantly improved pain (mean difference; ? Such studies clearly show that while acupuncture might make you feel better temporarily, via the placebo effect, it does not produce a real or lasting improvement. From the JREF Swift Blog- Alternative Medicine & Placebo Effects: In Pets? | The SkeptVet. Why Some People Should Never Be Allowed to Adopt a Shelter Dog | Kirschner's Korner. Rocky When we adopt a shelter dog, we make a lifelong commitment. The dog we adopt may have been hit by a car, neglected and left starving in a backyard, raced, kicked and beaten and now fearing human contact, or surrendered by the only family and home he or she has ever known.

These are not reasons to not adopt shelter dogs; these are the reasons we should adopt shelter dogs instead of supporting pet stores with dogs from cruel puppy mills or profit-driven breeders who unnecessarily contribute to overpopulation problems. Erin Auerbach’s harmful Washington Post article “Why I’d never adopt a shelter dog again” (intentionally not hyperlinked to prevent an increase in your blood pressure) fails to recognize several key points: 1) If a shelter dog has a challenging medical problem, we can’t extrapolate that experience to all shelter dogs. 2) Any dog we adopt, even from a breeder or pet store, comes with health risks. Rusty This is Rusty, an abandoned shelter dog with a clean bill of health. Animal Spirit. Abcnews.go. Jul 30, 2013 5:59pm ABC News With all the ball-chasing, tails wagging and playful barking, a day at the office of URBN is truly for the dogs. For Emily Netter, who works in bridal attire for the company’s BHLDN subsidiary, the workday includes having her Brittany spaniel, Riley, right by her side.

“It’s kind of nice throughout the day just to peek down and that’s what I see: Riley being cute, Riley taking a nap, Riley checking out a new gown,” Netter said. “He kind of brings a positive energy to our little area. URBN, an apparel company in Philadelphia, is just one of a growing number of businesses that allows its employees to bring their dogs to work. Tips to Follow Before You Take Your Dog to Work Staffers said the the move “boosts morale.” “It definitely makes the day better, all day,” said Kathryn Schutt, who works for the company’s Free People subsidiary, and brings along her Italian greyhound, Fritz. “We keep them on their leash. 11 Pet-Friendly Workplaces. You're automatically signed up for the Inc.

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Exotic Pets. Photograph by Vincent J. Musi All across the nation, in Americans’ backyards and garages and living rooms, in their beds and basements and bathrooms, wild animals kept as pets live side by side with their human owners. It’s believed that more exotic animals live in American homes than are cared for in American zoos. The exotic-pet business is a lucrative industry, one that’s drawn criticism from animal welfare advocates and wildlife conservationists alike. At least not to Leslie-Ann Rush, a horse trainer who lives on a seven-acre farm outside Orlando, Florida, a place where the wind makes a rustling sound when it whips through the palms. Rush weaves in and around her exotic pets with ease and cheerfulness and Cheerios, doling them out to the lemurs.

EXOTIC PET INCIDENTS1990-2013Born Free USA has tracked 2,000 incidents involving wild animals held in captivity. Graphic: Lawson Parker, NGM Staff; Margaret Ng Source: Born Free USA *Animals covered by bans vary by state “Look!” How Are Dog Bites Like Tetris? I admit, friends, that I am secretly a video game addict. I don't get to play often, but I've been known to spend far more hours than I should absorbed in a great game. One of the first games I fell in love with was Tetris (surprising since I'm usually a quest game devotee). I assume that most of you know about Tetris, but to clarify, it's basically a timed jigsaw puzzle.

Pieces fall from the top of the screen and players must manipulate these pieces to create solid lines. When you clear a line, you gain points and the line disappears, leaving more screen room for new lines. As you progress throughout the game, the pieces are dispensed more rapidly. I often tell clients to think of dog bites like losing in Tetris. All dogs, whether they are defined by owners or behavior professionals as "reactive," "aggressive," and yes, even "friendly" can and will bite.

Bites are usually caused by an accumulation of stressors. Stressors vary in individual dogs. Bite thresholds also vary. Interpreting Your Dog's Barking. Though your dog won't "talk" to you in English, you can interpret both her intentions and immediate desires if you know what to listen for. The following table outlines the range of sounds dogs make, providing you with a human translation and the moods behind every utterance. Overall, a low pitch indicates a more dominant or threatening stance, whereas a high pitch conveys just the opposite — insecurity and fear. A dog whose pitch or vocalization varies is emotionally conflicted.

Unsure and unable to properly interpret a situation, this dog needs a lot of direction and interference to feel secure. Table: Barking Interpreted Dogs Glossary A-B-C assessment Checking a dog’s airway, breathing, and circulation. animal shelter 1. BARF diet A method of feeding dogs as closely as possible what they would eat in the wild: raw flesh and bones, along with vegetable matter from the stomachs of their prey.

Blow out A twice-yearly shedding of a dog’s undercoat. blue slip breeder castrate clicker cohesive bandage.