When my best friend’s dog, Archie, was diagnosed with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction, I promised Clare I would find out all I could about the syndrome. I turned to Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM, for assistance — mostly because she has written extensively on the topic (see the “Related Reading” section, below) but also because she’s a…
The Friday Five: Is Kibble Ok?
The topic for this week came to me, ironically, from an article that I couldn’t argue against. Kenzo_KW at Twitter.com, who helped with last week’s topic, suggested that his pal Jana Rade send me a piece of hers to use as a jumping off point for this week’s inquiry. Problem is, I agree with everything…
The Friday Five: Vasectomy vs Neutering
As promised, the results of the research on the question posed on Sunday: Should vets reconsider vasectomy for male dogs instead of neutering (castration)? This subject turned out to be very complex but limiting my links to five helped me narrow its scope somewhat. So did not trying to master all the medical literature. Note:…
Your Dog Can’t Be Cured? First, You Cry…
My best friend Clare’s dog, Archie, was just diagnosed with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD): Doggie Dementia, or Canine Alzheimer’s. Archie is nearly 15. According to the speakers at a recent Nestle Purina Companion Animal Nutrition Summit, an estimated one in four dogs over the age of 10 shows at least one sign of brain aging,…
The New Dog Age Calculator
I considered calling this post, “Ahead of the curve, behind in work.” Or maybe, “Promotions, shameful and shameless.” That is, after my last post, on keeping old dogs healthy and happy, I was planning to move on to new and cheerier topics — including the announcement of a new contest that I’m co-hosting with DogJaunt.com…
Keeping Old Dogs the Best Dogs
In line with my last two “things you really don’t want to think about” posts, covering the necessity of making your last wishes for your pet known in case you get put out of commission temporarily or permanently, I figured I’d go for the depression trifecta and write about dog aging. Just kidding — about…
Reconsidering Raw
I know, I can get up on a soapbox. And, hey, that’s what blogs are for. But I’ve also been known to step down from mine if I find a good reason for doing so. I’d like to report I’ve made tentative steps towards soapbox descent on the topic of raw feeding. I argued in…
Pride & Prejudice: Doggie Dental Version
Corneal ulcers, periodontal disease, diabetes… sometimes it’s hard to separate the dog from the health problems. Or, I should say, my emotional reactions to the problems from Frankie’s far more laissez-faire attitude. I’m thinking in particular of my first experience getting Frankie’s teeth professionally cleaned, which I introduced a couple of posts ago. The Trauma…
Why Frankie won’t be BARFing
I like to be open minded. That’s why I gave Jim McBean at DoggyBytes a forum for his advocacy of raw feeding the other day. But I’m not convinced its benefits outweigh its risks and here’s why: Dogs are no longer living in the wild. Yes, they are equipped for eating raw meat. So are…
How to Save $1000 by Feeding Your Dog Raw Meaty Bones
My pal Jim McBean over at DoggyBytes commented extensively on my recent post, Why Anesthesia Free Cleaning is Really Costly — so extensively, in fact, that I suggested he shed more light on the topic by doing a guest post. He agreed. One note: The $1000 in the title alludes to the price that a…