PetProductNews.com: President Signs Pet Food Safety Legislation. 2007-Sep-27: As expected, President Bush signed the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 into law yesterday, Sept. 27. It includes a mandate for the establishment of pet food safety standards and the creation of an early warning system that identifies pet food contamination. The Secretary of Heath and Human Services, in conjunction with the pet industry and veterinarians, is allotted a two-year timetable to come up with the pet food standards and one year to put the pet food recall alert system into place.
Health News
Looking for Causes of Obsessive Behavior
At Tufts University and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, researchers are studying obsessive behavior in dogs and other purebred domestic animals to see if genetic causes can be established. They hope what they learn may one day help treat mental disorders in humans as well. From the Tufts Animal Behavior Clinic: A collaborative study is occurring which focuses on obsessive compulsive disorders (OCDs) in dogs, cats, and horses. UMass Medical is studying the genetics behind the compulsive behaviors in dogs, cats, and horses while the Cummings Veterinary School behavior clinic is looking at the specific clinical manifestations of the behaviors. Currently, the study is looking for Doberman pinchers, who display flank sucking, blanket sucking, or acral lick dermatitis, and bull terriers, who display tail chasing.
See What?
You can learn amazing things about dog capabilities from Dr. Mark Plonsky, a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point. He teaches animal behavior and trains dogs, but you can go to school on his web site. If you click the link below he has a projection of which colors a dog can see.
Dr. P's Dog Training: Canine Vision: Dogs are red-green color blind. They see a brighter and less detailed world when compared to humans. Peripheral vision is better than humans (dogs see more of the world), but distance is not judged quite as well. Dogs excel at night vision and the detection of moving objects.
No Ice
Hot dogs and ice do not mix. Ice is not the only thing which can cause dogs to bloat, but why take the risk? Ice is not necessarily harmful to dogs, but don't share your ice with them in the summer.
Dogster: Ice Causes Bloat?, 2007-Aug-9, by Joy: The ice water I gave [my dog] Baran caused a violent muscle spasm in his stomach which caused the bloating. Even though I figured his temp was down enough to feed and give him this ice water his internal temp was still high. Dr. Vogf stated that giving dogs ice to chew or ice water is a big NO, NO; there is no reason for them to have ice/ice water. Normal water (room temp.), or cooling with cold towels on the inner thigh--this is the best way to help cool a dog.
Vaccine Informed, Support Research
Unnecessary vaccinations may not only affect the health of your purse, but also the health of your dog. The American Animal Hospital Association maintains an excellent summary of state-of-the-knowledge about canine vaccinations which you can download here. Be sure and remember what they say about maintaining annual check-ups even if vaccinations aren't scheduled: dogs with serious disease often appear healthy and ... regularly scheduled health evaluations facilitate early detection. Concerned pet owners have rallied to study the long-term effectiveness of the rabies vaccine, and you can learn more about their effort at The Rabies Challenge Fund.
Pet Fitness Center
Chicago now has a fitness center for all types of pets. Their biggest fans are the pet owners who need therapeutic treatments--they'll drive in from 100 miles away to get services that will help their pets recover from injury or illness.
Integrative Pet Care: Our 6,000 square foot facility features a resistance swimming pool, underwater treadmills, land treadmills and other therapeutic equipment – all state-of-the-art and designed specifically for animal rehabilitation and exercise.
Dr. Julie Mayer and Dr. Kimberly Curtis are certified in veterinary acupuncture and veterinary chiropractic. Both have significant experience in rehabilitative, complementary and traditional veterinary medicine and oversee all activities and care.
DNA Tests Breed Controversy
Hundreds of dog breeders are now using DNA tests to avoid problems, but also to select traits like color. Whippet owners are divided now they know how to DNA test for strength (which can lead to a stronger, faster dog or an undesirable "bully" or over-muscled dog). Since breeders will select for traits regardless of whether they have DNA information, we should probably just hope that DNA will help them correct breeding problems more quickly and reliably.
NY Times: As Breeders Test DNA, Dogs Become Guinea Pigs. 2007-Jun-12, by Amy Harmon (articles by fee after 7 days)
DNA tests, Ms. Pritchard said, “are the greatest tools that have been offered to dog breeders since the beginning of dogs. You need to use them to improve the breed.” Many breeders hope this new effort to corral nature will weed out the numerous recessive diseases that plague purebred dogs after generations of human-imposed inbreeding. But some question the wisdom of escalating intervention.
How Dogs Digest
Many dog health problems can be traced back to confusion about dog digestion, which is much different than human, and not well adapted for carbohydrates. Lew Olson does a wonderful job of researching and sharing the issues in her newsletter articles, which are archived at the B-Naturals web site. She also moderates a very large and active discussion group of pet nutrition at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Nutrition/, and all its thousands of messages can be searched here even if you'd rather not join.
B-Naturals: Digestion and Anatomy of the Canine, 2005-Sep, by Lew Olson
Since the small intestine of the dog moves food more quickly than that of omnivores and herbivores, dogs are not designed to deal with foods that need fermenting or further breaking down. Foods that work well in this type of environment include animal protein and fat.
Obesity Options
Slentrol, a prescription drug for dogs that reduces appetite and fat absorption to produce weight loss, is now available from veterinarians. But if you and your dog are fit enough, consider exercising together. Ever thought of cycling, swimming or playing volley ball with your dog? Check out the Petsercise program.
The Pet Health Council hopes that 'Petsercise' will motivate pet owners to improve their own health and that of their furry friends. Developed in conjunction with fitness expert Nicki Waterman and vet Alex German from the Pet Obesity Clinic at the University of Liverpool, the new Petsercise programme offers a range of activities for owners and their pets to do together.
Pet Food Industry Connections
Although this magazine article may be difficult to obtain without paying or registering, it does contain a good break-down of the current co-manufacturing agreements in the pet food industry. Many manufacturers are outsourcing the new pouch containers. Remember these food processing agreements change over time. Perhaps this event will pressure the manufacturers to be more open about where each product is being manufactured.
Advertising Age: Recall Sheds Light on Pet-Food Industry's Little Secret, 2007-Mar-20, by Jack Neff
The massive national pet-food recall stemming from deaths of at least 10 pets is also letting consumers in on one of the industry's well-guarded secrets -- that some of most premium pet-food brands in the U.S. use the same manufacturer that processes dozens of low-price private-label products.
