Canine Heritage Breed Test

Walk into any animal shelter and you may find various breeds of dogs, including possible purebreds, but you will also find several "hound" mixes, "lab" mixes, "retriever" mixes and "shepherd" mixes. This labeling, while based on the best guess of shelter staff, leaves it up to the imagination to determine whether your new-found furry friend will have the fun-loving spirit of a Golden Retriever, the brilliance of a German Shepherd, or the aloofness of a Chow.

Enter the Canine Heritage Breed Test. This brand new dog-breed DNA test, will allow you to send away a swab of your dog's mouth to a lab in California for analysis and determination of your dog's exact breed(s). Sound interesting? Check out NBC's "Today" show next month when Meredith Vieira has her dog Jasper tested.

Pet Food: The Alternatives

While the news about this alarming pet food recall doesn't seem to be subsiding, there does seem to be hope in the headlines for desperate pet owners trying to protect their beloved companions. The headlines lately, are focusing on alternatives for so many pet owners at a loss for finding safe nourishment for their furry friends. While I am not a veterinarian and do not specialize in what is best for Fido or Fluffy's health, I can bring you the news I have found on supposedly safe alternatives.

Here are the latest headlines:

Pet owners choosing locally made pet food

Basic recipes for homemade dog, cat food

Business booms in alternative pet food sources

After recall, pet owners go gourmet

Feeding dogs' inner beast
Orders jump for Winter Park firm's raw-meat food

It is good to see that information on what TO do is now as readily available to pet owners as what NOT to do.

Iditarod Musher Disqualified for Abuse

Two-time runner-up Ramy Brooks was disqualified from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for abusing his dogs. The 38-year-old Brooks hit each of his 10 dogs with a trail marking lathe, similar to a surveyor's stake, after two refused to get up and continue running on an ice field, race marshal Mark Nordman told The Associated Press from Nome on Sunday.

One of Brooks' dogs died the next day on the trail.

Not sure I could possibly have anything constructive to say about this one other than the fact that physical abuse is NEVER the answer. Would love to hear what you think.

Read the full story.

Recalled Pet Food

Menu Foods -- a major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands -- recalled 60 million containers of pet food after reports of kidney failure and at least 10 deaths of cats and dogs.

Read the full story.

For updates on the pet food recall visit Menu Foods.

Top Ten Poisons Dogs Ingest

The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center recently released a list of the ten most common poisons that dogs ingest.

1) Ibuprofen
2) Chocolate
3) Ant and Roach Baits
4) Rodenticides
5) Acetaminophen
6) Pseudoephedrine Containing Cold Medications
7) Thyroid Hormones
8) Bleach
9) Fertilizer, Including Plant “Foods”
10) Hydrocarbons Including Paints, Polishes, and Fuel Oils

For more information visit MSN Dog Central for the full article.

Rabbits: A Classic Story of What NOT To Do

As a child, I had two bunnies that I loved very much but knew absolutely nothing about. All I knew was that they were cute and fluffy and fun to play with from time to time. Little did I know that I was an incredibly irresponsible rabbit owner. My story is a classic case of everything a rabbit owner should NOT do.

My second grade teacher lived on a farm and bred various animals, including rabbits. She told the kids in her class when she had a litter of bunnies up for grabs and I, being a lover of all things furry, had to have at least one. I ended up getting two. I named one Snuffleupagus and my sister named the other Joshua. My father built a big wooden hutch for them, that we kept outside on the porch, with an outdoor area fenced with chicken wire, and an indoor area that we filled with sod.

The outdoor fencing of the hutch was not small enough to always keep the young bunnies inside and they frequently escaped. I remember running through the yard after one, finally cornering and catching him. As they grew, they could no longer escape, but often stuck their heads out through the wire, enticing our dog to lunge for them. The always escaped the dog's jaws but only by a hair.

Joshua was a rather sweet bunny that I often picked up and cuddled but Snuffleupagus was, well, vicious. He bit every finger that crossed his path, and I could only handle him, wearing thick gloves. Neither of the rabbits was neutered and, looking back on it, I guess we were lucky that Joshua was as sweet as he was, considering.

The bunnies were also very messy, I didn't know you could litter train them but I didn't know that they should be neutered, either. Cage cleaning duty fell on my patient father who ended up with scars all over his fingers from Snuffleupagus' teeth.

The mess spread into the house, too. We often let them out in the living room to romp, much to my mother's dismay, and they would leave droppings with each hop and chew the back of the sofa, chairs and anything else that looked chewable.

Eventually, Snuffleupagus died. Then when we moved from Maine to Virginia, I gave Joshua to a friend and never saw him again.

Why do I share this story with you now? Not to open myself up to critique or stone-throwing, rather to educate people like me who simply don't understand what it means to care for a rabbit.

DO:

Spay or neuter you rabbit
Give them a litter pan
Keep their cage inside, away from danger
Make sure that they cannot escape from their cage
Give them plenty of safe toys to nibble on
Line their cage with plain paper (shredded paper or care fresh, never cedar shavings)
Give them love and attention
Let them roam around the house in rabbit-proofed areas for some extra exercise
Teach your children about proper rabbit care and handling
Feed them appropriate rabbit food and veggies
Adopt a rabbit forever

DON'T:

Allow your second-grader's teacher to offer rabbits to him or her without consulting you, first
Leave your rabbit outside
Allow the dog or any other animal easy access to your rabbit
Corner a rabbit, you could frighten it to death
Breed rabbits, there are far too many homeless rabbits today
Give a rabbit as an Easter gift

In-Home Breeding Alternatives

A recent story about Yorkie pups that were advertised for sale and then stolen, at gunpoint, raises some real questions in my mind. This story certainly calls to mind the dangers of advertising and selling anything out of your home, but many of the comments I read suggest that dogs should not be bred and sold at all and some say that dogs should only be sold in puppy stores, both of which raise further questions, in my mind.

I, too, obviously believe in spaying and neutering all pets and, of course, knowing how many homeless pets are out there, am not a proponent of any kind of breeding of animals. But I am also realistic enough to know that, despite my wish, not everyone is going to adopt a homeless dog from an animal shelter.

So, what is the alternative to home breeding and selling? Puppy stores? Aren't these the places that get so much of their stock from puppy mills? And aren't puppy mills often guilty of overbreeding, inbreeding, poor care, overcrowded cages and neglect?

So, while so many chastise this family for breeding dogs, charging outrageous prices for them, and selling them out of their home, maybe we should consider the alternative.

Citizen Safety is Never a Waste of Money

Remember the bill that requires states to include pets in their disaster plans or risk losing federal funds? Remember the statistics citing that as many as 44% of those who chose not to evacuate for Hurricane Katrina remained in danger because they would not leave their faithful, furry companions?

Now, some States and Counties are doing the best they can to ensure the safety of their citizens in the event of an emergency. Arlington County, Virginia, has allocated 10% of a Homeland Security grant to purchase and stock an emergency trailer that will be used to transport supplies needed to set up a temporary pet shelter in the event of a disaster.

Of course, as expected, some citizens are grumbling over what a waste of money this is and that it would be better spent on the people of the County rather than the pets. However, if you take just a moment to review what we have learned from Hurricane Katrina, it is obvious that having a plan for Arlington pets is, in fact, helping to ensure the safety and welfare of Arlington citizens, as well. If New Orleans had also had a plan for pets, wouldn't there be 44% fewer people left in danger?

Spay/Neuter: The Truth

Spaying and neutering pets. It's a tough topic to cover in just one blog post and sometimes a bit controversial but with Spay Day USA tomorrow, now's as good a time as any to touch upon the subject.

Spay and neuter is such a fundamental topic for animal shelters that it seems unnecessary to mention. Doesn’t every thinking person agree that spay and neuter is the answer to ending the suffering and death of our surplus (unwanted) companion animals? This is not news, but there still seem to be people, even veterinarians, who are perpetuating the old ideas about waiting until an animal has been through its first heat cycle or even had its first litter(!) before neutering. Shelters across the country have been performing so-called early age neutering for 20 years without adverse effects. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Animal Hospital Association both support early age neutering.

The Animal Welfare League of Arlington started pre-adoption spay and neuter surgery in 2005 for all dogs and cats at least eight weeks old and weighing at least two pounds. Why is this so important? No dog or cat adopted from the League will create a litter of animals that may end up unwanted, uncared for, or abandoned. We think this is reason enough to do everything we can to promote spay and neuter not only for our adopted pets, but for all the dogs, cats, and house rabbits in our community. We sponsor Spay Day every year and subsidize low-cost surgeries for residents year-round with money from our Hantke Memorial Spay Neuter Fund. Until every pet that is born has a home, the campaign for spay and neuter will be a primary mission for all those interested in animal welfare.

Designer Dogs?

What's all the hype over the latest and greatest breeds of designer dogs? Labradoodles, goldendoodles, puggles, cockapoos, boggles. While people are paying hundreds, maybe thousands, for a special new breed of dog, we've got a ton of them right here at the shelter, but we usually call 'em mutts or mixed breeds.

They aren't "pure" Golden Retrievers or Labs, rather a hybrid of some pretty great dogs and adopting one won't take a chunk out of your savings.

Here are some of the "new" breeds we tend to see at the shelter:

Labrotties (lab, rottie mixes)
Shepradors (lab, shepherd mixes)
Chowperds (shepherd, chow mixes)
Hybrahounds (hound mixes)
Chorkies (chihuahua, yorkie mixes)
Shuskies (shepherd, husky mixes)
Berriers (beagle, terrier mixes)

But we're always meeting some even more interesting blends so stop by your local shelter for the most unique breed of loyal companion that won't break the bank!

Pedigree Says It Best

Call me sentimental, but everytime I see this Pedigree dog food commercial I get just a bit choked up. I have seen commercials and ads for homeless animals that make every attempt to tug at the heart strings, using images of abused, sick or ailing dogs and, of course, they are sad, but this one just does it. It's true! Normal, healthy, mixed-breed dogs are the stars of this clip and the stars at just about every animal shelter in the U.S. They are often good dogs who are given up for unsensational reasons such as "not enough time" or "moving to a place that does not allow pets."

Kudos to Pedigree for hitting this nail on the head and for supporting animal shelters!

Protect Paws in Winter

While we’re preparing for winter snow and ice, we need to remember to protect our pets, especially dogs, from harsh de-icing chemicals. Dogs’ paws are particularly vulnerable in winter. Snow and ice can get between their toes, and chemicals can cause their paws to dry and crack. On walks try to avoid areas that have been salted or have other chemical de-icers. Inspect your dog’s feet when you come inside. Wash them off with warm water and dry them thoroughly. And consider using a safe product like sand or kitty litter or a de-icer called Safe Paws. If you can talk your dog into it, you can also protect his or her paws with dog mittens.

Sunroom for Kitties

Indoor cats may finally enjoy the fresh air without the dangers that outdoor cats face. The Cat Veranda is the purrfect little sunroom that allows Fluffy to enjoy the fresh air and bask in the sun without the worry of encountering a treacherous world full of wild animals, speeding cars and freezing temps.

Lost Dog? Search Wisely!

Free enterprise is certainly the foundation this country is built on and I'm an avid supporter of it. It's what ensures that we have choices -- choices in brands of bread, choices in internet service providers, choices in animal shelters and rescues. Although, sometimes it seems that, with so many brands and so many options, it's not only confusing, it's often difficult to make the right decision.

This seems to be the case when it comes to lost and found dog listings. They seem to be popping up all over the internet now, and who's to know whether they will actually do any good in locating a lost dog.

After a quick Google search, I found three potential lost dog services. The first, Fido Finder (FF), listed only two found dogs in Arlington, Virginia. At the Arlington animal shelter, we know that there are more than two dogs that have been found in Arlington and far more that are lost. The second site, Hugs for Homeless Animals (HHA), only allowed me to search by state. The listings did include the city, but no dogs were found in Arlington. The third, Lost Your Pet, actually charges $10 a listing and returned absolutely no results for found dogs in Arlington.

To their credit, FF and HHA do not charge for the listing (HHA does request a donation to their organization, though). A free listing certainly doesn't seem to hurt and may aid somewhat in the search for a missing dog, but it is imperative that dog owners understand the need to contact their local animal shelter.

Most animal shelters will take and actively search lost and found reports. Of course, those who live in a dense area should also consider filing reports with all area shelters. Seem redundant? Not at all. Unfortunately, not all shelters have the infrastucture to share reports with other organizations and, while a dog may have been lost in a town like Alexandria, a concerned citizen who may work there but live in Arlington, may bring the dog to the shelter he or she knows. There is also no substitute for ensuring that current lost dog signs are hung around the neighborhood and that neighbors are contacted.

If a dog is lost, it can be heartbreaking experience and many owners may go the extra mile to find him. Just make sure that the first resource is your local animal shelter and the "extra mile" is an online listing.

Active Dogs, Inactive Owners

Think daily walks or a game of fetch is enough to burn off your dog's energy? Think again. Looks like we can't seem to find enough time to devote to our dogs' exercise needs. In turn, we have resorted to investing in equipment designed to increase our dog's activity and, well, decrease our own. The dog-powered scooter is the urban answer to mushing. Hook up your dog, hop on, and your off. Now there's a doggie treadmill?

Really, how lazy or busy must we be if we can't hop off the couch long enough to take our pooches for a good stroll?

Behavior Issue or Health Risk?

It's a sad story but so often a true one -- pet owners giving up there once faithful, loving, well-behaved companions because of sudden behavior problems. It's especially sad when the pet is euthanized for a behavior issue that stems from an undetected health problem.

Thyroid issues, specifically hyperthyroidism, often cause an increase in energy that may make a cat or dog overly hyperactive. Unknown aches and pains can cause pets to snap at just a touch. And, as we often see at the Arlington animal shelter, something as simple as a urinary tract infection can cause a once-perfectly-potty-trained kitty to quit using the litterbox.

While it is quite obviously important to seek veterinary care when such behavior issues occur, it is extremely important to seek care right away, before these behavior issues become unbreakable habits.

Cats Save the Day!

Looks like cats all over the world are busy doing good deeds!

One cat alerted her owners in the Bay Area of their housefire, while another in Australia clawed his owner's face (ouch!) until he awoke to a matress ablaze. The latest, an adopted cat in Iowa, jumped on her guardian, alerting her to a fire and giving her and her daughter enough time to call 911 and escape a fire that destroyed her home.

Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, look out! The family cat is putting your good deeds to shame!

Could you possibly need any more reasons to adopt a furry friend?

Dogs Found, Cats Lost

The latest news is that lost dogs are returned to their owners more often and sooner than lost cats. This, however, is nothing new to animal shelter workers. The reasons are straightforward and the solution quite simple...

1) Dogs more often wear ID tags with current contact information than cats.

2) Dog owners are more aware when their dog is missing than cat owners because cats are often allowed to roam free and dogs must be kept on a leash.

3) People are more apt to react when they see a roaming dog, since roaming cats are more common.

How can we all solve this basic problem?

1) Make sure that all dogs and cats wear id tags at all times.

2) Call your local animal shelter immediately if your dog or cat is missing.

3) Keep your cats safely inside with you at all times.

Crossing the Line: Obesity to Cruelty

Two brothers in the UK were found guilty of "causing unecessary suffering to an animal," by allowing their 10 year old chocolate lab to gain a gross amount of weight, to the extent that he could not even walk more than five or six steps wihtout collapsing.

Some feel this crosses a line, causing pet owners to worry about a pet gaining a few pounds and others wonder if parents will be prosecuted for having "fat" children.

The story, plain and simple, is that the brothers failed to give the dog an appropriate diet and rejected any advice from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Could you even look at this image and watch this video of this poor, helpless creature and argue against this ruling? I'm glad to see that someone is looking out for at least one of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of neglected animals out there.

Diet Drug for Dogs

With the new year come new year's resolutions. One of the top new year's resolutions for people involves getting in shape or losing weight. Well, why not resolve to help your over-weight pet shed a few extra pounds, too?

Last week, the government approved the first "diet" drug for obese canines -- Slentrol. Produced by Pfizer, is meant to help obese canines lose the extra weight. The drug, however, is not without side effects and could cause loose stools, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy and loss of appetite. Hmmm, loss of appetite? Well, isn't that by design?

Of course, why not try a healthy diet and exercise first?