Thursday, April 5, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Stray Dogs becoming a problem in the US | Spay/Neuter Your Pets!
SATURDAY, JAN 14, 2012 12:00 PM EST
The secret lives of feral dogs
A Pennsylvania city instructs police to shoot strays, opening a sad window on animal care in the age of austerity
BY WILL DOIG
originally posted at: http://www.salon.com/2012/01/14/the_secret_lives_of_feral_dogs/
(Credit: Salon/Mignon Khargie)
TOPICS:DREAM CITY, ANIMALS
Want to get people riled up? Institute a new policy about shooting puppies.
The city of Harrisburg, Pa., learned this last week when an internal police department memo went public, instructing officers of the cash-strapped city to stop bringing its growing number of stray dogs to the shelter. Instead, it said, they should release them in another area, adopt them themselves — or just put a bullet in them. Now that’s the new austerity.
Amid the predictable outcry, the city promised it would reconsider the policy. But the controversy also illuminated a serious — and largely ignored — urban issue: the soaring number of feral cats and dogs, and cities’ decreasing ability to deal with them. “The problem is way worse than people assume,” says Randy Grim, founder of Stray Rescue of St. Louis. “It’s a topic nobody talks about, but over the past 20 years it’s become an underground epidemic in most cities.”
There are lots of reasons for this — reduced animal control, the resurgence of dogfighting – but at base, the feral explosion has coincided with our ever-rising demand for furry little friends. America is turning into a nation of pet hoarders. In 1970 we had 30 million pet cats; today we have 90 million. Dog ownership has tripled since the 1960s. And the more we take in, the more we drop back on the street, where they procreate at a speed that would make Rick Santorum beam. The exact number of feral dogs and cats is unknown, but there are certainly well over 100 million at this point.
The epidemic has gone largely unnoticed because urban feral dogs and cats have extraordinary skills at remaining invisible. Grim, a fixture in St. Louis who’s been working with feral dogs there for decades, says the dogs emerge from alleys and abandoned buildings to look for food in early dawn or bad weather. “They understand how to survive. Most of them spend only 10 percent of their time being visible to people.”
Same goes for cats, says Jeff Horn, who completed a groundbreaking study of feral cat behaviors last year. Horn fitted 42 cats with radio tracking collars in the neighboring Illinois cities of Champaign and Urbana. “Some of the male cats are really only active for a small portion of the night,” he says. Females, on the other hand, are so often either pregnant or nursing that “they were active up to 20 hours a day just to find food to survive and feed their young.” And Horn was surprised by how large a range the cats staked out. Together, they prowled a region of some 6,286 acres, and a single cat roamed over 1,351 acres, an area greater than one-and-a-half Central Parks.
That territory included everything from forest to concrete jungle — feral dogs and cats are remarkably adaptive to different environments. Moscow’s feral dogs even use the subway to expand their territories. “They orient themselves in a number of ways,” Russian animal behaviorist Andrei Neuronov told the Financial Times. “They figure out where they are by smell, by recognizing the name of the station from the recorded announcer’s voice, and by time intervals.”
But many feral dogs in cities ultimately gravitate toward impoverished and abandoned neighborhoods, where hiding places and accessible garbage are more plentiful, and people are not. In depopulating Rust Belt cities, where nature is reclaiming entire swaths of the landscape, packs of dogs and colonies of cats are living in a world that’s nearly their own. New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis, who’s writing a book about dogs, spent time with Grim in East St. Louis and describes a world where people are scarce and dogs live wild once again.
“You’d have these abandoned buildings in grassy areas, an urban prairie that’s a perfect spot for these dogs,” he says. “You have dogs who were born out there who have had almost no contact with humans at all. We’d see them roaming in packs in the distance.” Grim says he’s seen some of these packs stick together for more than 20 years, spawning new generations to replace the old.
Feral dog packs are organized into hierarchies, just like wolves, and in the feral packs of Moscow it’s been observed that it’s usually the most intelligent dogs, not the most aggressive, that become pack leaders. For the wildest of these dogs, the ones that are several generations removed from domesticity, “It would be almost impossible to rescue them at this point,” says Denizet-Lewis. “They’ve been living without human interaction for too long.”
An extensive 1973 study of “free-ranging” dogs in Baltimore — still one of the few large-scale studies that exists on the topic — found that some of these dogs were relearning to hunt. But Grim says they’re more often stuck between wild and domesticated, able to activate their hunting instinct but not sure what to do when they’ve caught something. “We’ve bred that ability out of them. They kill pigeons but then just carry them around,” he says. “If I open one up for them, they’ll eat the meat.”
The Baltimore study also discovered that urban renewal efforts were wiping whole territories of feral dogs off the map. “The boarding up of buildings and their eventual clearance raises interesting ecological questions regarding the fate of the dogs that use them …Will urban renewal increase dog mortality?” The report concluded that “future slum clearance should consider the fate of the dogs displaced.”
The idea that the fate of feral dogs and cats should be considered when neighborhoods rapidly change sounds almost like a parody of liberal do-gooder thinking. But is it really so crazy? These are cities where some dying dogs and cats go to hospice centers and ICUs. The more we learn about the habits and intelligence of feral animals, the less inclined we may be to see their lives as disposable.
Some cities are already moving in that direction. The Washington Post recently reported on the rise of trap-neuter-release (TNR) for urban feral cats as an alternative to euthanasia, a shift that rests on the assumption that they aren’t better off dead. But perhaps surprisingly, animal-rights group PETA doesn’t support TNR. “They need to be taken off the streets,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk, and if that means humanely euthanizing them, Newkirk says that’s better than the short, brutish life they’ll suffer while homeless. “There’s traffic, weather, illness, injury,” says Newkirk. “People like to have a go at these animals.”
Grim agrees that the life of these dogs and cats can be hell: “Right now I have 500 to 600 dogs in our system, and 70 percent of them have gunshot wounds.” Starvation is never far off (when temperatures drop below freezing, thirst can also be a problem). Disease claims even more of them, and humans are the biggest threat of all, as the fiasco in Harrisburg shows.
As it stands, solutions seem to be growing more distant, not closer. Like the feral population itself, it’s a problem with no owner, largely hidden from view but getting bigger all the time. Eventually, it may come back to bite us.
Stray Pitbulls terrorise a Brookyn neighborhood.
The secret lives of feral dogs
A Pennsylvania city instructs police to shoot strays, opening a sad window on animal care in the age of austerity
BY WILL DOIG
originally posted at: http://www.salon.com/2012/01/14/the_secret_lives_of_feral_dogs/
(Credit: Salon/Mignon Khargie)
TOPICS:DREAM CITY, ANIMALS
Want to get people riled up? Institute a new policy about shooting puppies.
The city of Harrisburg, Pa., learned this last week when an internal police department memo went public, instructing officers of the cash-strapped city to stop bringing its growing number of stray dogs to the shelter. Instead, it said, they should release them in another area, adopt them themselves — or just put a bullet in them. Now that’s the new austerity.
Amid the predictable outcry, the city promised it would reconsider the policy. But the controversy also illuminated a serious — and largely ignored — urban issue: the soaring number of feral cats and dogs, and cities’ decreasing ability to deal with them. “The problem is way worse than people assume,” says Randy Grim, founder of Stray Rescue of St. Louis. “It’s a topic nobody talks about, but over the past 20 years it’s become an underground epidemic in most cities.”
There are lots of reasons for this — reduced animal control, the resurgence of dogfighting – but at base, the feral explosion has coincided with our ever-rising demand for furry little friends. America is turning into a nation of pet hoarders. In 1970 we had 30 million pet cats; today we have 90 million. Dog ownership has tripled since the 1960s. And the more we take in, the more we drop back on the street, where they procreate at a speed that would make Rick Santorum beam. The exact number of feral dogs and cats is unknown, but there are certainly well over 100 million at this point.
The epidemic has gone largely unnoticed because urban feral dogs and cats have extraordinary skills at remaining invisible. Grim, a fixture in St. Louis who’s been working with feral dogs there for decades, says the dogs emerge from alleys and abandoned buildings to look for food in early dawn or bad weather. “They understand how to survive. Most of them spend only 10 percent of their time being visible to people.”
Same goes for cats, says Jeff Horn, who completed a groundbreaking study of feral cat behaviors last year. Horn fitted 42 cats with radio tracking collars in the neighboring Illinois cities of Champaign and Urbana. “Some of the male cats are really only active for a small portion of the night,” he says. Females, on the other hand, are so often either pregnant or nursing that “they were active up to 20 hours a day just to find food to survive and feed their young.” And Horn was surprised by how large a range the cats staked out. Together, they prowled a region of some 6,286 acres, and a single cat roamed over 1,351 acres, an area greater than one-and-a-half Central Parks.
That territory included everything from forest to concrete jungle — feral dogs and cats are remarkably adaptive to different environments. Moscow’s feral dogs even use the subway to expand their territories. “They orient themselves in a number of ways,” Russian animal behaviorist Andrei Neuronov told the Financial Times. “They figure out where they are by smell, by recognizing the name of the station from the recorded announcer’s voice, and by time intervals.”
But many feral dogs in cities ultimately gravitate toward impoverished and abandoned neighborhoods, where hiding places and accessible garbage are more plentiful, and people are not. In depopulating Rust Belt cities, where nature is reclaiming entire swaths of the landscape, packs of dogs and colonies of cats are living in a world that’s nearly their own. New York Times Magazine writer Benoit Denizet-Lewis, who’s writing a book about dogs, spent time with Grim in East St. Louis and describes a world where people are scarce and dogs live wild once again.
“You’d have these abandoned buildings in grassy areas, an urban prairie that’s a perfect spot for these dogs,” he says. “You have dogs who were born out there who have had almost no contact with humans at all. We’d see them roaming in packs in the distance.” Grim says he’s seen some of these packs stick together for more than 20 years, spawning new generations to replace the old.
Feral dog packs are organized into hierarchies, just like wolves, and in the feral packs of Moscow it’s been observed that it’s usually the most intelligent dogs, not the most aggressive, that become pack leaders. For the wildest of these dogs, the ones that are several generations removed from domesticity, “It would be almost impossible to rescue them at this point,” says Denizet-Lewis. “They’ve been living without human interaction for too long.”
An extensive 1973 study of “free-ranging” dogs in Baltimore — still one of the few large-scale studies that exists on the topic — found that some of these dogs were relearning to hunt. But Grim says they’re more often stuck between wild and domesticated, able to activate their hunting instinct but not sure what to do when they’ve caught something. “We’ve bred that ability out of them. They kill pigeons but then just carry them around,” he says. “If I open one up for them, they’ll eat the meat.”
The Baltimore study also discovered that urban renewal efforts were wiping whole territories of feral dogs off the map. “The boarding up of buildings and their eventual clearance raises interesting ecological questions regarding the fate of the dogs that use them …Will urban renewal increase dog mortality?” The report concluded that “future slum clearance should consider the fate of the dogs displaced.”
The idea that the fate of feral dogs and cats should be considered when neighborhoods rapidly change sounds almost like a parody of liberal do-gooder thinking. But is it really so crazy? These are cities where some dying dogs and cats go to hospice centers and ICUs. The more we learn about the habits and intelligence of feral animals, the less inclined we may be to see their lives as disposable.
Some cities are already moving in that direction. The Washington Post recently reported on the rise of trap-neuter-release (TNR) for urban feral cats as an alternative to euthanasia, a shift that rests on the assumption that they aren’t better off dead. But perhaps surprisingly, animal-rights group PETA doesn’t support TNR. “They need to be taken off the streets,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk, and if that means humanely euthanizing them, Newkirk says that’s better than the short, brutish life they’ll suffer while homeless. “There’s traffic, weather, illness, injury,” says Newkirk. “People like to have a go at these animals.”
Grim agrees that the life of these dogs and cats can be hell: “Right now I have 500 to 600 dogs in our system, and 70 percent of them have gunshot wounds.” Starvation is never far off (when temperatures drop below freezing, thirst can also be a problem). Disease claims even more of them, and humans are the biggest threat of all, as the fiasco in Harrisburg shows.
As it stands, solutions seem to be growing more distant, not closer. Like the feral population itself, it’s a problem with no owner, largely hidden from view but getting bigger all the time. Eventually, it may come back to bite us.
Stray Pitbulls terrorise a Brookyn neighborhood.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Mishka | The Talking Dog | Video Collection
This first video is the one that made Mishka an internet star!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Beware of Chicken Jerky Treats for Pets from China | Poisoned Pets
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), established in 1863, is a not-for-profit association representing more than 81,500 veterinarians working in private and corporate practice, government, industry, academia, and uniformed services. Structured to work for its members, the AVMA acts as a collective voice for its membership and for the profession.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Dog Shows | Yorkshire Terrier | Westminster | NYC
What is it like to go to a dog show? What do the handlers and dogs go through behind the scenes and during competition?
Here are some videos that examine the Dog Show Experience.
If you are interested in attending Westminster in NYC or attending some of the fun Pre-Westminster events here are links for 2012:
Ticket information for The Westminster 2012 Dog Show
Have a blast at the 2012 Pre-Westminster Dog Fashion Show!
Go to the New Yorkie Fashion Show | NYC 2012
Here are some videos that examine the Dog Show Experience.
If you are interested in attending Westminster in NYC or attending some of the fun Pre-Westminster events here are links for 2012:
Ticket information for The Westminster 2012 Dog Show
Have a blast at the 2012 Pre-Westminster Dog Fashion Show!
Go to the New Yorkie Fashion Show | NYC 2012
Long Island Dog Parks | Have fun with your doggie!
Please--be a responsible dog owner. DO NOT bring dogs to dog parks that have aggression issues. A dog park is NOT the place to work on them! Small dogs are especially vulnerable to attacks by agressive dogs. Work out aggression issues with a professional trainer. If you have a small dog--stick to parks that provide a separate area for smaller breed dogs. Small dogs and large dogs don't always mix. Personally, I no longer bring my small dogs to parks that do not have separate areas for small and large dogs. A friend of mine lost her beloved Yorkie this year after a large dog attacked it in a local dog park. This particular park has no separate area for small dogs. Unexpected attacks can happen -- read my post on Jilli Dog. I myself lost a small Yorkie after a large stray came into our yard and attacked him. It was devastating for my family.
In my opinion, mixing small breed dogs with large dogs is just not worth the risk. It is a tragedy waiting to happen. Be wise and be safe--you can still and have fun!
Not from Long Island? CLICK HERE to find a dog park close to you
Here is a list of dog parks on Long Island:
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Horrors for Ukraine's Stray Dogs in 2012
What the European Football Championship in 2012
means for stray dogs in Ukraine?
As I was looking for content for this posting of my blog, I came across multiple videos exposing the recent mass poisoning of stray dogs in Ukraine, which inspired this post. There are videos being posted noting "As Kiev prepares to host the European Football Championship in 2012, animal rights groups claim attempts to beautify the country are coming at the expense of homeless animals." The videos are too gruesome to place on my blog and personally-- I watched part of one of a poisoned street dog-- I couln't watch more than a few seconds. The image disturbed me too much. I have two videos posted below of news reposts about the situation.
Ukraine is known as the one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine and its people have suffered in a world turned upside down. A friend of mine there told me "Under the Soviets, we did not have much, but we knew what we had. Since the collapse, we do not know how much money we will have from month to month."
I have personally visited Ukraine three times and have seen first hand the result of years under Soviet rule--much of Ukraine looks like it was frozen in time.
I could write about many impressions from my experiences there, but in this blog I share my thoughts about dogs and dog boarding. I am a true dog lover. It was difficult for me while I was in Ukraine to see all the stray dogs-- big and small-- wandering the streets and countryside. Every where I went, there were lonely stray dogs. On the subways, in the train stations, on the street, along the road in the middle of no where.
One day we were driving through a farming area --miles and miles of endless farming fields, covered in snow and not a house or person in sight. Suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, there were three small dogs running along the side of the road. The largest looked to be about 15 pounds or so. The second was a little smaller and the smallest perhaps about 10 pounds, trailed behind.
As an American involved in the dog world, it actually pained me to see the sight of three little dogs-- one smaller than the other, all alone in the middle of no where, running along the road-- to where? It was bitterly cold.
The landscape was covered with deep snow and I couldn't see a sign of human life anywhere. Where I live on the East Coast, our strays are quickly picked up by concerned neighbors and brought to a vet or shelter. We have rescue groups for just about every breed imaginable, working to find homeless dogs a new forever family. I myself am a foster mom for Yorkie 911 Rescue, Inc. and so far I have fostered 7 pups while we searched for new families for them.
Back to Ukraine...in the village center of the small remote town where I lived during much of my last my visit to Ukraine, I observed strays of all sizes politely walking through the crowds at the open air shops. These shops were actually nothing more than cramped and dirty outdoor stalls, separated from one another by tarps and sheltered overhead by another tarp which offered some protection from the snow and rain. Hoping for a scrap or morsel from the shoppers and vendors at these open air stalls, these stray dogs stood patiently, hopefully, quietly looking up at the people passing by.
There was one particular stall that caught my attention--in it was the chicken vendor. While there were different cuts of chicken meat available, their most popular item was chicken feet. I suppose people bought the feet for soup. Perhaps it was all they could afford. Occasionally a kind person would drop a chicken foot to a silently begging dog. This lucky little pup would run off with this little treasure to quickly gobble up this scant meal.
The guest house where I stayed during my stay at this remote village had their own resident stray dog. They called him Bobbick, a Shepherd mix who one day appeared on their property and never left. He was there everyday, no matter what the weather was, in his favorite spot on the slopped hill outside the fenced property of the house. They fed him scraps and kept an eye out for him.
He was very happy during my stay there because I always tried to remember to bring some cookies or biscuits with me when I went outside for him. Bobbick was a sweet dog, he would have made a great family pet.
While I loved my experiences in Ukraine, and I loved the people I met, it still is a harsh society-- where orphaned children are institutionalized and brutalized. It is a country where the weak and defenseless are very vulnerable and often without protection. For a government lacking the resources to properly care for its elderly, its weak, its homeless and orphaned children, there can't be much (if any), provisions for stray, homeless animals.
However, everywhere I went, I saw signs of ordinary people taking care of stray animals. In the Kharkov apartment complex where I lived in for a couple of weeks, I saw people leaving scraps and leftovers outside for the stray cats and dogs of the neighborhood. Everyday there were new offerings left out on planks for the homeless animals. And while I saw many animals living out on the street, I can't say that I saw any emaciated dogs with rib cages showing.
My hope and prayer for Ukraine, is that true reform will come for the people. That the people will find God's peace and healing from the oppression that they lived under for several generations. That the government and society will reform, and that the people of Ukraine find true freedom, that they will prosper and experience economic independence. Perhaps then, when the people have the care and services they need, and eventually there will be the resources for animals-- for spay/neuter programs, shelters and rescue groups to help homeless pets. May God heal and bless the people of Ukraine.
means for stray dogs in Ukraine?
As I was looking for content for this posting of my blog, I came across multiple videos exposing the recent mass poisoning of stray dogs in Ukraine, which inspired this post. There are videos being posted noting "As Kiev prepares to host the European Football Championship in 2012, animal rights groups claim attempts to beautify the country are coming at the expense of homeless animals." The videos are too gruesome to place on my blog and personally-- I watched part of one of a poisoned street dog-- I couln't watch more than a few seconds. The image disturbed me too much. I have two videos posted below of news reposts about the situation.Ukraine is known as the one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine and its people have suffered in a world turned upside down. A friend of mine there told me "Under the Soviets, we did not have much, but we knew what we had. Since the collapse, we do not know how much money we will have from month to month."
I could write about many impressions from my experiences there, but in this blog I share my thoughts about dogs and dog boarding. I am a true dog lover. It was difficult for me while I was in Ukraine to see all the stray dogs-- big and small-- wandering the streets and countryside. Every where I went, there were lonely stray dogs. On the subways, in the train stations, on the street, along the road in the middle of no where.
One day we were driving through a farming area --miles and miles of endless farming fields, covered in snow and not a house or person in sight. Suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, there were three small dogs running along the side of the road. The largest looked to be about 15 pounds or so. The second was a little smaller and the smallest perhaps about 10 pounds, trailed behind.
As an American involved in the dog world, it actually pained me to see the sight of three little dogs-- one smaller than the other, all alone in the middle of no where, running along the road-- to where? It was bitterly cold.
Back to Ukraine...in the village center of the small remote town where I lived during much of my last my visit to Ukraine, I observed strays of all sizes politely walking through the crowds at the open air shops. These shops were actually nothing more than cramped and dirty outdoor stalls, separated from one another by tarps and sheltered overhead by another tarp which offered some protection from the snow and rain. Hoping for a scrap or morsel from the shoppers and vendors at these open air stalls, these stray dogs stood patiently, hopefully, quietly looking up at the people passing by.
There was one particular stall that caught my attention--in it was the chicken vendor. While there were different cuts of chicken meat available, their most popular item was chicken feet. I suppose people bought the feet for soup. Perhaps it was all they could afford. Occasionally a kind person would drop a chicken foot to a silently begging dog. This lucky little pup would run off with this little treasure to quickly gobble up this scant meal.The guest house where I stayed during my stay at this remote village had their own resident stray dog. They called him Bobbick, a Shepherd mix who one day appeared on their property and never left. He was there everyday, no matter what the weather was, in his favorite spot on the slopped hill outside the fenced property of the house. They fed him scraps and kept an eye out for him.
He was very happy during my stay there because I always tried to remember to bring some cookies or biscuits with me when I went outside for him. Bobbick was a sweet dog, he would have made a great family pet.
While I loved my experiences in Ukraine, and I loved the people I met, it still is a harsh society-- where orphaned children are institutionalized and brutalized. It is a country where the weak and defenseless are very vulnerable and often without protection. For a government lacking the resources to properly care for its elderly, its weak, its homeless and orphaned children, there can't be much (if any), provisions for stray, homeless animals.
However, everywhere I went, I saw signs of ordinary people taking care of stray animals. In the Kharkov apartment complex where I lived in for a couple of weeks, I saw people leaving scraps and leftovers outside for the stray cats and dogs of the neighborhood. Everyday there were new offerings left out on planks for the homeless animals. And while I saw many animals living out on the street, I can't say that I saw any emaciated dogs with rib cages showing.
My hope and prayer for Ukraine, is that true reform will come for the people. That the people will find God's peace and healing from the oppression that they lived under for several generations. That the government and society will reform, and that the people of Ukraine find true freedom, that they will prosper and experience economic independence. Perhaps then, when the people have the care and services they need, and eventually there will be the resources for animals-- for spay/neuter programs, shelters and rescue groups to help homeless pets. May God heal and bless the people of Ukraine.Thursday, December 29, 2011
Video Collections | How to Groom a Yorkie | Dog Grooming Tips
Recently, I have had some problems bring my Yorkies to groomers. It's not that I don't like my groomers, actually I love them, but my little dogs have had some issues, and I am not sure if it might have happened when they were getting a haircut.
First, my little one got a scratched cornea that couldn't heal. I first noticed her squinting after a trip to the groomer. Did it happen there? I really can't say. After many trips to the Vet, I finally had to have her see a specialist and they she went through a procedure under anesthesia for her eye to recover.
First, my little one got a scratched cornea that couldn't heal. I first noticed her squinting after a trip to the groomer. Did it happen there? I really can't say. After many trips to the Vet, I finally had to have her see a specialist and they she went through a procedure under anesthesia for her eye to recover.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Dangerous Foods for Dogs | Toxic or Poisonous Foods for Dogs
A list of helpful online articles on toxic foods for pets:
Dangerous foods for dogs
Foods potentially poisonous to pets
Prevent Poisonings
Foods to avoid feeding your dogs
List of Toxic Plants
Dangerous foods for dogs include:
Things You Should Never Feed Your Dog
Sadly, there are several household items which we tend to take for granted that are potentially very hazardous to your dog's health.
It is especially important to be aware of this because as you know, dogs are very much scavengers and will often eat whatever they can sink their fangs into. I would say that may own dog is more like a mobile garbage disposal. It is also very important to be aware of these items since their sense of smell is so well developed that your pooch will be able to find what you may think is well hidden.
One of these dangerous household items, it turns out, is simple chocolate. While chocolate has been reported recently to be high in human-friendly antioxidants, it appears to be potentially lethal for our pets, and particularly for our dogs. Cats are mostly unaffected since they do not care for the taste of chocolate, but dogs tend to be crazy about it.
Certain breeds of dogs react indifferently to chocolate. The root of the problem is that chocolate contains various chemicals which are called methylxanthine alkaloids (some types have more of these chemicals than others)
Sadly, relatively minuscule amounts of these chemicals are capable of causing such serious problems as constriction of the arteries and an increased heart rate. Large amounts may cause even more dire symptoms and a pound of milk chocolate could possibly kill a sixteen pound dog.
If you find that your dog has eaten chocolate then by all means take note of the it's type and try to estimate the amount eaten. Then get on the phone with a veterinarian or an emergency facility. Be sure that your children know how important it is to keep chocolate out of your dog's reach.
If you are not aware that your dog has consumed chocolate, the consequences could be severe. If consumption is not found within 4 to 6 hours without the right treatment, cardiac failure, seizures, coma and death could result, according to veternarian Dr. Jane Bicks. In addition to seemingly innocent chocolate, there are a number of other common household items that may seem safe for our dogs but that can be downright dangerous.
Some mushrooms, for example, can produce abdominal pain, liver and kidney damage and anemia. So be aware of wild mushrooms when you are out walking your dog in wooded areas.
Garlic may seem benign but can cause vomiting, liver damage, anemia and diarrhea so do not give your pet baby food since it can contain garlic.
Anti-freeze can shut down your dog's kidney and they tend to love the taste. Miscletoe can cause vomiting, abdominal pain and depression.
Onions can cause liver damage, anemia and diarrhea. Onion can also sometimes be found in baby food. Cats are actually somewhat more sensitive to this one so keep out of the reach of both.
Coffee, like cocoa, is especially dangerous, and may cause heart rate increase, diarrhea, seizures, coma, death. Caffeine just does not have the same effect in dogs.
When outside be careful around apple and cherry trees. While the fruit is safe, the leaves, roots and seeds are not.
And be very careful about Moth Balls. it's primary chemical naphthalene is extremely toxic to dogs and can result in tremors and seizures.
Concerning dog food, you should be looking for dyes and other chemicals, according to Dr. Jane BHA, for instance, which is one of the main synthetic antioxidant preservatives used to prevent food discoloration, has been observed to cause cancer in laboratory rats at certain doses. Small doses are as yet unclear but since dog food is eaten every day caution is advised.
Many conventional dog food brands have large quantities of sodium to make them palatable, and this can be quite harmful to a dog. Other ingredients to wary of are dairy, by-products, chemical preservatives and artificial colors
Certain foods, while not considered toxic, can still be unhealthy for your dog. Avoid any foods that are high in fat, sugar or sodium. These foods can contribute to indigestion, obesity, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and more.
Other foods to avoid: Dairy products may be difficult for dogs to digest. Corn cobs and bones can cause GI obstruction. Cooked bones may splinter and break easily, risking GI damage. Like people, too much junk food can cause poor condition and decreased energy.
Remember that your dog is smaller than you and may be sensitive. What seems like "just a bite" for you is more like a small meal for your dog.
Dangerous foods for dogs
Foods potentially poisonous to pets
Prevent Poisonings
Foods to avoid feeding your dogs
List of Toxic Plants
If you suspect your animal may have ingested any of the substances on this list or if your pet shows any abnormal behavior (vomiting, diarrhea, staggering, etc), you should contact your veterinarian immediately. Take a sample of the suspected toxin and its packaging with you to the veterinarian or call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435
Dangerous foods for dogs include:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Apple seeds
- Apricot pits
- Avocados
- Baking Soda
- Bones
- Cherry pits
- Candy (especially CHOCOLATE, which is toxic to dogs, cats and ferrets, and any candy containing the artificial sweetener Xylitol)
- Coffee (grounds, beans, chocolate covered espresso beans)
- Corn on the Cob
- Fat -can cause pancreatitis
- Grapes
- Hops (used in home beer brewing)
- Nutmeg
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy foods
- Mushroom plants
- Mustard seeds
- Onions and onion powder
- Peach pits
- Potato peelings, leaves and stems (green parts)
- Raisins
- Rhubarb leaves
- Salt
- Tea (caffeine)
- Tomato leaves and stems (green parts)
- Walnuts
- Xylitol
- Yeast dough
- One 200mg ibuprofen tablet is toxic to a small dog
- acetaminophen--never assume that a human drug is applicable to an animal unless a veterinarian instructs you to use it.
What can happen if your dog gets into your takeout:
The case of Buddy and the $10,000 burrito
The case of Buddy and the $10,000 burrito
Things You Should Never Feed Your Dog
Sadly, there are several household items which we tend to take for granted that are potentially very hazardous to your dog's health.
It is especially important to be aware of this because as you know, dogs are very much scavengers and will often eat whatever they can sink their fangs into. I would say that may own dog is more like a mobile garbage disposal. It is also very important to be aware of these items since their sense of smell is so well developed that your pooch will be able to find what you may think is well hidden.
One of these dangerous household items, it turns out, is simple chocolate. While chocolate has been reported recently to be high in human-friendly antioxidants, it appears to be potentially lethal for our pets, and particularly for our dogs. Cats are mostly unaffected since they do not care for the taste of chocolate, but dogs tend to be crazy about it.
Certain breeds of dogs react indifferently to chocolate. The root of the problem is that chocolate contains various chemicals which are called methylxanthine alkaloids (some types have more of these chemicals than others)
Sadly, relatively minuscule amounts of these chemicals are capable of causing such serious problems as constriction of the arteries and an increased heart rate. Large amounts may cause even more dire symptoms and a pound of milk chocolate could possibly kill a sixteen pound dog.
If you find that your dog has eaten chocolate then by all means take note of the it's type and try to estimate the amount eaten. Then get on the phone with a veterinarian or an emergency facility. Be sure that your children know how important it is to keep chocolate out of your dog's reach.
If you are not aware that your dog has consumed chocolate, the consequences could be severe. If consumption is not found within 4 to 6 hours without the right treatment, cardiac failure, seizures, coma and death could result, according to veternarian Dr. Jane Bicks. In addition to seemingly innocent chocolate, there are a number of other common household items that may seem safe for our dogs but that can be downright dangerous.
Some mushrooms, for example, can produce abdominal pain, liver and kidney damage and anemia. So be aware of wild mushrooms when you are out walking your dog in wooded areas.
Garlic may seem benign but can cause vomiting, liver damage, anemia and diarrhea so do not give your pet baby food since it can contain garlic.
Anti-freeze can shut down your dog's kidney and they tend to love the taste. Miscletoe can cause vomiting, abdominal pain and depression.
Onions can cause liver damage, anemia and diarrhea. Onion can also sometimes be found in baby food. Cats are actually somewhat more sensitive to this one so keep out of the reach of both.
Coffee, like cocoa, is especially dangerous, and may cause heart rate increase, diarrhea, seizures, coma, death. Caffeine just does not have the same effect in dogs.
When outside be careful around apple and cherry trees. While the fruit is safe, the leaves, roots and seeds are not.
And be very careful about Moth Balls. it's primary chemical naphthalene is extremely toxic to dogs and can result in tremors and seizures.
Concerning dog food, you should be looking for dyes and other chemicals, according to Dr. Jane BHA, for instance, which is one of the main synthetic antioxidant preservatives used to prevent food discoloration, has been observed to cause cancer in laboratory rats at certain doses. Small doses are as yet unclear but since dog food is eaten every day caution is advised.
Many conventional dog food brands have large quantities of sodium to make them palatable, and this can be quite harmful to a dog. Other ingredients to wary of are dairy, by-products, chemical preservatives and artificial colors
Certain foods, while not considered toxic, can still be unhealthy for your dog. Avoid any foods that are high in fat, sugar or sodium. These foods can contribute to indigestion, obesity, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and more.
Other foods to avoid: Dairy products may be difficult for dogs to digest. Corn cobs and bones can cause GI obstruction. Cooked bones may splinter and break easily, risking GI damage. Like people, too much junk food can cause poor condition and decreased energy.
Remember that your dog is smaller than you and may be sensitive. What seems like "just a bite" for you is more like a small meal for your dog.
Most of the above story was written by Ryan Joseph-- a write and researcher of Pet health issues.
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