Why Four Paws and a Wet Nose Equal a Soldier’s Best Friend

Guest post by Maya Szydlowski

Dogs of all breeds have been used in combat since the beginning of ancient times. Several breeds, in fact, originated due to the needs of war including some of our favorite gentile giants like the Mastiff and the Irish Wolfhound. Whether they were toted around for companionship or used on the frontlines, there is no denying how important canines have been to soldiers for centuries.

Although hundreds of dogs remain on patrol and watch in and around several U.S. military bases, in recent decades, the relationship between the dog and the soldier has evolved. While dogs — in particular German and Dutch Shepards and Belgian Malinois, many originating from the Defense Department’s Military Working Dog Program — are still used for bomb sniffing and search and rescue endeavors in combat zones, they are hardly used as messengers and combat weapons like they once were. The Military Working Dog Program still trains hundreds of dogs for military protection and detection of bombs and other harmful substances, with an estimated 2,300 dogs that are currently on duty throughout the world. However, now in conjunction with their wartime service, dogs are also being used to help soldiers recover from the wounds of war – both physically and mentally.

The VA regularly provides service dogs to veterans suffering from loss of vision and those confined to a wheelchair, and new research has proven that canine counterparts are also a great way for soldiers to recover from PTSD – a crippling mental and emotional condition caused by the hardships of war. The dogs, sometimes former soldiers themselves, are able to provide the unconditional support needed to soldiers suffering from PTSD, with many reporting that their dog just seems to “know” when they need extra care or are having a flashback or bad dream.

Dogs that face combat, much like their human counterparts, are often viewed as war heroes – working equally as hard with incredible endurance and determination for months at a time. However, just like a human soldier, many returning war dogs face psychological hardships such as PTSD. But PTSD doesn’t mean the end of the road for service canines. Military dogs have proven to be highly resilient, providing insight into human soldier PTSD, and many make full recoveries and are able to return to service. For those that don’t fully recover, many take residence with veterans or other like counterparts whom understand their condition. There is no doubt that dog’s won’t continue to play an integral part in soldier life. Whether standing watch, sniffing out harmful substances, or offering a warm lick when needed, the dog has earned the title of “war hero,” and should be heralded as such.

Maya Szydlowski is a community manager for Veterans United Home Loans, the nation’s top dedicated VA lender.

 

People Giving Up Pets Because They Can’t Afford Them

I’ve read several articles in the news about people giving up their pets because of the tight economy. More than 80 dogs have been dropped off at a single shelter in West Virginia. Other shelters have seen a sharp increase in people dropping off pets because they can no longer afford them. And, because of the economic scares, fewer people are adopting pets.

It’s hard to understand giving up a family pet because money’s tight. I’d have to be missing some meals before I could give up my fur-kids.  I know there are situations in which the pet truly cannot remain with its owners, and for them I am deeply sorry. Knowing that adult pets are far more difficult to find homes for – and many of them are put down at shelters – I hope that if there’s no money for pet food, there’s also no money for cell phones, cable television, clothes, bottled water, movies and sweets. If there’s money for that stuff, there’s money for your dog.

The decisions we make in the emotional moments after losing a job or filing for bankruptcy are sometimes life-and-death decisions for our pets, who have no say in the decision making process.

Let’s not toss them aside too quickly.

Before you drop your dog off at a shelter, please think about what it really costs to keep your dog. If you already have a leash, collar and crate, what does it really cost? For a healthy dog, it only costs food and heartworm/flea medication. There may be areas in which you can save money that are often overlooked. Do you mow your own lawn? Do you have bottled water delivery? Can you reduce your cable/satellite or Internet service package? How often do you go to Starbucks?

In other words, are the discretionary things you spend your money on worth your dog’s life?

Our dogs give so much, and they don’t ask for much in return. Let’s at least provide a safe home for them with the people they love.

 

Fido Friendly Restaurant Guide

Found this extra-cool blog that lists dog-friendly restaurants in the U.S. It’s called K9 Epicurian (http://k9epicurean.blogspot.com/). It’s part travel, part cuisine, part “where-to-take-your-dog-for -dinner-out.” Most of the restaurants featured are in California, but I’m sure they bloggers would consider well-written blog posts from other parts of the country. Very readable, entertaining, and fun.

 

Pricey Pup!

Pricey Pup at $1.5 Million

Think spending a few hundred dollars for the family pet seems outrageous?  The 11-month-old, 180-pound pup, aptly named “Hong Dong,” meaning “Big Splash” in Chinese, has become the most expensive dog on the planet after a wealthy coal industrialist from China recently procured him for a little more than $1.5 million.

The Red Tibetan Mastiff is an ancient guarding breed. With its unmistakable bright reddish-brown fur, it has recently become something of a status symbol among China’s uber-wealthy class. The price of Red Tibetan Mastiff pups has skyrocketed over the past few years from only few hundred dollars to six figures and higher.

Reputedly owned by Genghis Khan and Lord Buddha, the Red Tibetan Mastiff is viewed as a “pure Chinese” breed because of its well-documented history and nearly exclusive Chinese population. These dogs are also considered one of the oldest pure breeds in the world. Fewer than 20 are reported to remain in Tibet.

Thought to be holy animals that provide their owners with blessings of health and security, the breed is commonly identified as independent, intelligent and very protective of its owners and their property.

Personally, I’d rather adopt. Isn’t he gorgeous, though?

 

Dog Population

 

Interesting facts about dog population, courtesy of “Amazing Dog Facts and Trivia,” by Ryan O’Meara (Chartwell Books, Inc.):

• There are an estimated 400 million dogs in the world (for perspective, there are about 300 million people living in the USA).
• The countries with the highest dog populations per capita are the USA and France, with an average of one dog per three families.
• The countries with the fewest pet dogs per capita are Germany and Switzerland, with an average of one dog per ten families.
• There are more dogs living in Seattle and San Francisco than there are children.
• There are more dogs living in London than there are people living in the entire country of Norway.

 

Dog Shoes?

Dog shoes, right?

 

The first time I saw dog shoes, I thought they were cute and a little bit off the wall.

Now THOSE are dog shoes!

But now there’s dog shoes. For people to wear. Check out the canine-inspired kicks at designer Kobi-Levi. Brown leather with a little nose bump at the toe. Peep-toe design has a little pink tongue on the sole. Just for fun. Take a look, at http://kobilevidesign.blogspot.com/

 

Shameless Promotion

Blogs.com recently named our blog on its list of Top 10 Popular Dog Blogs (#3) and WordPress recently named is in its 100 fastest-growing blogs. Woo-hoo!

L

 

Book Review: Let’s Have a Dog Party

I was puzzled as to why Ingrid Newkirk, founder and president of PETA, would write a book about dog parties. After all, it’s well known that PETA’s president opposes pet ownership. As she told Newsday (Long Island’s newspaper), “In the end, I think it would be lovely if we stopped this whole notion of pets altogether.”

So why write a book about dog parties? If it’s better for dogs to live without human intervention, why in the world would she promote parties? All you have to do to answer this question is to glance at a few pages. Ingrid Newkirk, who has described herself as a “publicity slut,” wrote a book designed to appeal to dog consumers, the type who dress our dogs in clothes, take them on vacations, and throw parties for them, in order to push her anti-pet agenda … on us of all people. I believe it’s her desire to chastise this type of fully involved ‘pet parent’ into shame by means of this book. The cute cover photo of a dog with some balloons and confetti, the pink and green design, and the celebrity endorsements have probably enticed a few dog owners to buy the book. But then you begin to read it, and you come across the activist language that reveals Newkirk’s real agenda.

The entire first chapter is about how to praise your dog verbally. I’m not sure what this has to do with a book on dog parties, but it’s rife with insults and harsh judgments against people who carry their dogs in carriers, English speakers who don’t speak another language, and people who try to mimic Newkirk’s English accent. At the end of the chapter is a list of words you can say to your dog to tell the dog you love him/her. It occurs to me that if Newkirk really understood the people she’s writing for, she would know this entire chapter is superfluous.

More evidence of this struck me as I read Newkirk’s account of how a fellow PETA staffer’s dog enjoyed rolling around in anything dead. (She’s a dog, Ingrid. They all do.) Newkirk advises that we give the dog what he or she wants (Newkirk claims that she herself goes to the beach and collects smelly things like “decomposing crab limbs and fish spines” and mails them to the dog’s owner, so she can let the dog roll around in them. Her point is to find out what your dog REALLY wants to do when deciding what sort of party to throw. As Newkirk puts it, “Is there some unfulfilled talent, wish or pleasure that it is your duty, as the controller of your dog’s almost criminally restricted life, to ferret out of her?” Among the things she suggests that your dog might like is “winking.” I’m not kidding. It’s on page 28.

Sprinkled throughout this book are shocking stories of animal abuse, which really put me in the mood for a party. Also curious was her advice to warn any human guests who suffer from migraines that a dog party is not “a peaceful and sedate affair that one might expect in a library,” (does anyone expect it to be?) and encouraging hosts to tell human guests to wear overalls (because jumping and slobbering are encouraged). She spends several pages raving about a couple of famous mechanics who do a radio show, because, among other things, they advise listeners to go buy another car if their dog exhibits fear of riding in the current one. The author proves, page after page, that she has no idea what people who throw dog parties are like, or what their relationships with their dogs is like.

There’s lots of circling away from the topic of the book – which is parties – with such diversions as recommended hotels, hiking tips, movies that dogs might like, what religion a dog might be, why the symbol for the heart doesn’t look like a human heart, what Christopher Columbus thought of Chihuahuas, and a 30-question quiz to find out if you’re the type of pet owner you “ought” to be. The list, predictably, reads like it’s speaking to an animal activist, not a real pet owner. It includes such statements as, I never leave my dog overnight at the veterinarian, I will not make noise when my dog is trying to sleep, I will never make my dog get off the furniture, and I have provided for my dogs in my will. Predictably, there is a plea to make a donation to PETA.

Newkirk’s obvious contempt for dog owers – even as she tries to write a book for them – is evident in such passages as these:

• When talking to your dog, “sit on the floor so your dog doesn’t have to look up at you for once and suffer compressed dics in her neck.”
• “Remember that nasty animal experimentor Pavlov?”
• “Party hats should not be worn by adult humans or dogs of any age.”
• “Be clear that at this party … there will be no reprimands, harsh words or other improprieties.” Evidently, if a dog fight breaks out, Newkirk would choose let the dogs kill each other naturally, rather than employing any of that icky human intervention.

She gives practical ideas for invitations, such as making dog bone invitations (she then provides instructions for buying construction paper and cutting it into bone shapes … does anyone really need instructions for this?).

In the Guest List section, Newkirk states that “a hound would be happiest if the rest of the world spontaneously combusted, leaving just the two of you alone together.” Okay, a) why is this statement in a book about parties, and b) wouldn’t you think Newkirk would refrain from using language that reminds anyone of her staffer, Bruce Friedrich’s famous quote, “I think it would be a great thing if, you know, all these fast food outlets and slaughterhouses and laboratories and the banks that fund them exploded tomorrow”?

The rest of the book is about the same: random ramblings about stupid dog owners, stupid humans in general, the horrible treatment of animals (by people and organizations other than PETA, of course), and tales the good deeds of PETA, an organization that financies terrorism and openly opposes animal ownership of any kind. At one point, she recommends gifts for dogs, including one – permancy – in which she chides us, “It is the look in the eyes of every dog and cat who has been dumped at a shelter, while they watch their person walk out the door. And not compe back. Ever.” This from an organization which euthanizes more than 90% of the pets it takes in.

The bottom line is that like everything PETA touches, this book is filled with concepts of a loving pet/owner relationship that Newkirk herself does not believe in, and is designed to lecture, shame, self-aggrandize and most of all, separate you from your money. My advice? Take a long walk with your dog and keep your $12.95.

 

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Dogs

This Saturday, July 12, 2008 on the Lucky Dog Show, we’ll be answering some tough, funny and altogether mystifying questions about dogs with Justine Lee, DMV, author of “It’s a Dog’s Life … But it’s Your Carpet.” You won’t want to miss this episode of the Lucky Dog Show. Listen via the Internet from anywhere in the world.

Finally, there’s a professional out there who’s not too embarrassed to answer the tough questions dog lovers have been asking for centuries:

• Is a dog’s nose a good indicator of his health?
• Can a Chihuahua and a Great Dane mate?
• Why do dogs eat their own poop?
• What’s the smartest breed?
• Can I get my dog’s ears pierced?
• Why does my dog roll around in dead animal carcasses?
• If I mix food coloring with Fluffy’s kibble, will it make her poop easier to find in the yard?

Veterinarian, critical-care specialist, and dog lover Dr. Justine A. Lee takes you behind the scenes to look at the training and off-the-record opinions of a certified vet, and answers all the questions you’ve always wanted to ask about your dog in her new book: “It’s a Dog’s Life … But it’s Your Carpet.”

Written by one of 200 veterinary board-certified emergency critical-care specialists in the world, “It’s a Dog’s Life . . .. but It’s Your Carpet” offers factual and funny answers to some of the most common, offbeat questions about our beloved companions. Justine A. Lee, DVM, DACVECC, is an assistant clinical professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency Critical Care.

Whether you’re looking for advice on pet rearing, solutions to your dog’s most frustrating habits, explanations of his weirdest quirks, or simply a good laugh, this show is sure to inform–and entertain–dog lovers of every breed. To listen, visit www.luckydogshow.com/upcomingshows.html and click the red “Listen Now” button on Saturday.

Missed the show? Hear the archive at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/luckydogshow/2008/07/12/Everything-you-Ever-Wanted-to-Know-about-Dogs

 

 

Outside Dogs Benefit No One

I believe the time has come to put an end to the outside dog.

Once upon a time, ours was a farming culture. We did not have fences, and dogs were working animals. Dog roamed their territory during the day, but stayed around their homes at night to provide an early warning system if any animal or person should approach.

It’s different now. We live on zero lots and in apartment buildings. We can’t let our dogs roam the neighborhood because there are a hundred ways they can cause damage or be hurt. So we keep them at home.

But many people still keep their dogs outside in the back yard. This mindset is a holdover whose time has passed.

People have a variety of reasons for keeping their dogs confined to the back yard. They have allergies. They don’t want dirt and dog hair on the carpet and furniture. They want the dog to provide protection. The dog pees in the house, so they keep it outside.

But let’s take a look at the dog’s needs for a moment. Dogs are pack animals. They need their pack, whether it be humans or other dogs. They’re social animals just like us. Dogs who are made to live in isolation in a yard are miserable. They bark, dig, run away and chew the deck down. Dogs need a social interaction. They need exercise. They need a change of scene, and mental stimulation, which is why walks are so good for them.

Making a dog stay outside is a costly waste, and — in my view — cruel. If you got a dog for protection, then bring the dog inside where it can protect your family and belongings. Dogs kept outside cause far more nuisance complaints from barking and escaping than any deterrent to intrusion. Dogs that annoy the neighbors are vulnerable to teasing, harm, theft and release. Locking a dog in a yard protects an intruder, not you. Most dogs will just run away if a gate is opened. Others are killed through the fence. Dogs who are tied are no threat to anyone who simply keeps out of their reach. They’ll bark, but outdoor dogs bark so much already that everyone ignores them.

Compare that to an indoor dog who barks like crazy or jumps up on the door or window that an intruder is attempting to get through and the effect is much different. A robber can’t hurt your indoor dog until the dog can hurt him. For most thieves, it’s not worth the risk. It’s easier to find a house where the dog is restrained outside or in the back yard, and out of the way. According to Dr. Dennis Fetko, Ph.D., yard dogs usually exhibit aggression, not protection. In this dog’s very small world, everyone who passes by or enters has already violated the territory that dog has marked dozens of times a day for years. That’s not protection, it’s not desirable and it overlooks the social contract. Property owners have an implied social contract with others in the community. Letter carriers, paper boys, delivery people, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, meter readers and others are allowed near and at times on your property without your permission. Sure, that ten-year-old was not supposed to jump your fence after his ball, kite or Frisbee; but neither you nor your dog are allowed to cause him injury if he does.

If you have allergies to dogs, you need to find another home for the dog, or employ cleaning methods or flooring materials that allow you to live more comfortably with your dog. I’ve known couples who merge households only to discover that one of them is allergic to the other’s dog. But by replacing carpeting with hardwood or tile and replacing fabric sofas with leather, by teaching the dog not to enter certain rooms such as the bedroom, and teaching the dog not to get on the furniture, many of these allergies were reduced.

The truth is, the more you can control a dog’s environment, the more control you have over the dog itself. Indoor problems such as peeing and chewing are easier to solve than outdoor problems. When a dog is alone indoors, you are still an influence because your scent and personal areas are a reminder of you and your training.

If you keep your dog outside because it pees when it comes inside, then you need to learn how to train your dog not to pee and poop inside the house. Millions of homeowners do manage to teach dogs of all ages and breeds to go outside. There are lots of free resources on housebreaking and crate training that will have any dog housebroke in a couple of weeks. Likewise, there are plenty of low-cost ways to keep a dog occupied and busy so she won’t chew your sofa and cabinets to shreds. People who use behavior problems as an excuse for confining a dog in unnatural isolation in the yard are just abdicating their responsibility.

We’ve all heard countless stories about family dogs saving everyone during a fire. How many people would be dead today if those dogs were kept outside?

People who get dogs need companionship, protection and someone to care for. Our dogs need exercise, social interaction and something to do.

Bring your dogs in with the rest of the family, where they belong.

Special thanks to Dennis Fetko, Ph.D. (www.drdog.com)